Deep & Slow…“Yogic Breathing”

Yogic Breathing.

Shammi Gupta (Shammi's Yogalaya)'s avatarShammi's Yogalaya

Conscientious application of these two terms can elevate your normal breathing to  “Yogic Breathing”

One would think ‘Deep’ & ‘Slow’ are synonymous, especially in connection with breathing. I too was under the same impression until I went beyond the face value of these words and felt the application, personally, in the realm of breathing. Deeper understanding of these two words and emulating in your daily life immediately uplifts you onto the path of spiritual journey. Your connection with ‘Self’ begins to feel more pronounced.

For years, I have heard and used these two terms as they are the most commonly used terms in traditional yoga practice. But, how many of us have really felt the essence of these two words? I am sure not many. Otherwise, we would have had a much healthier and evolved population.

“Life and breath are intimately connected”

mk1Shallow Breathing

Many of us have turned…

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DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM?

From Mira Prabhu residing in Arunachala, “Do you know who I am?”

Mira Prabhu's avatarmira prabhu

cda434014b3bb07e8d7db7d167fa00a2My father taught me a powerful lesson growing up; I watched many a time as he out-intimidated the legion of official and governmental bullies that routinely harass all Indians and make millions of lives miserable. “Do you know who I am” he would roar, and the would-be bully would literally quake with fear and trepidation. And he did this with genuine anger, because this kind of official misbehavior personally offended him. He stood up not just for himself—in his prime, he was a wealthy, powerful, articulate and educated man with immense influence—but for those with lesser resources, and even for the illiterate poor who had no option but to bow down to these horrible apologies for man so that they could get their work done. Since survival was a burning issue for many of these people, and the bullies knew they held the winning card, most often there was no…

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The Call of Love

Harsha's avatarLuthar.com

Damini

Long ago, I gazed into your eyes
and then stopped breathing
but still survived.

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Meditation and Self-Inquiry: Part 1

Meditation and Self-Inquiry. See it on Facebook or Youtube.

Harsha's avatarLuthar.com

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SEX, DEATH AND SIGMUND FREUD

From the mystic writer Mira Prabhu in Arunachala, India

Mira Prabhu's avatarmira prabhu

d234450d3d62a8926e9c9bca1ac39318Freud opened the minds of millions of Westerners to the hidden codes that determine our behavior. I read his work from time to time as a young woman, and one particular novel I plunged into as a teenager particularly fascinated me since it reduced his teachings to the primal urges of sex and death.

Now, in the Eastern view, these powerful drives stem from the lowest chakra in the human system, known as the root chakra or mooladhara. Yes, it is critically important to understand the root chakra, because our mooladhara drives us to create a life based solely on surviving and thriving in the relative world. If we do not realize this, we are condemned to spin senselessly around in the vicious cycle of samsara for eons, never realizing we are far more than our material body, mind, emotions or possessions.

Eastern mystics and sages authoritatively inform us that…

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THE DIRTY LITTLE SECRET

“The ‘law of attraction’ in the eastern context springs from the wisdom of ‘as you sow, so you reap,’ from the inevitability of the laws of karma, the cosmic software”. ~ Mira Prabhu

Mira Prabhu's avatarmira prabhu

‘The Secret’—a ‘spiritual’ self-help documentary launched in Australia in 2006—hit the Western world with incredible impact, generating millions for its producers. I wrote the following article a year or so later but never published it. Today, although a thousand other scams have rushed in to take its place, the reasons why I reacted so negatively to it are still pertinent. The plethora of gross misinformation spreading across our planet has inspired me to write spiritual fiction, and all three of my novels in the MOKSHA TRILOGY (Whip of the Wild God, Krishna’s Counsel and Copper Moon Over Pataliputra—Whip is out and the other two novels are soon to be published) deal with the great eastern truths that helped me come to grips with reality.) So here goes….

9159ab7fd715aa61603466cadef10395In the summer of 2008, I lived in a delightful suburb located a twenty-minute drive from the White House in Washington D.C. A string…

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BLISS JUNKIE

From Mira Prabhu. “when we follow the example of those who have walked the highway to liberation before us, and who have succeeded in this awesome task, we begin to experience a new lightness of being and a deep unchanging happiness”.

Mira Prabhu's avatarmira prabhu

9a98b5caac8b4a9fc6c46747c8fdfc73One result of discovering the amazing teachings of Eastern philosophy was that I began to closely study my own relative nature. Over time I came to the conclusion that it was composed of two almost equal but opposing sides: yes, I was half hedonist and half ascetic. Not surprising since we are enmeshed in a dualistic structure and are inclined to strong likes and dislikes. The stronger the personality, the more intense are these likes and dislikes, so, someone like me, for instance, would seek all sorts of sensory pleasure while suffering from an abysmally low tolerance for pain.

Now a wise human would gravitate to pleasures that are meaningful and that last, but the confused adolescent that I was sought enjoyment in fleeting things that left me dissatisfied and hungry for more. It was only when I heard the phrase: “insanity is doing the same thing over and over…

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DID I TELL YOU NOT TO HISS?

A good action is one that might appear to be harsh or cruel, but in fact brings benefit to all involved. ~ Mira Prabhu

Mira Prabhu's avatarmira prabhu

8b0491b2a715579b114da4fdb36d7daaThe great sage Ramakrishna told this old tale to his disciples: an angry snake terrified the village boys so greatly that they dared not venture near his territory. One day a yogi was walking through the village when a boy warned him not to venture near the abode of the vicious serpent. The yogi told the boy not to worry, for he knew a mantra that would calm the serpent. He was speaking the truth: when the snake slithered forward to attack him, the yogi intoned the mantra and the snake became still and peaceful. Then the yogi gave the snake another mantra to chant and told him not to trouble the boys but instead to seek a higher peace. The snake obeyed. But when the village boys discovered the snake was now peaceful, they began to torment him. One bully even picked him up and slammed him repeatedly against…

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EVERYTHING IS BEAUTIFUL

Happiness is an inside job—and if we truly want a beautiful planet where all beings live in harmony with each other, we must first eradicate all that is violent within our own natures. ~ Mira Prabhu

Mira Prabhu's avatarmira prabhu

b71a7289e9e20118cedd41eba5a47a6fAll through the night it had snowed heavily; when I awoke, in a beautiful Ashram in America with a view of the Blue Ridge Mountains, I looked out to see my world blanketed in pure white. Usually I love the snow, but this time I was furious with myself—for all the mistakes that had led to this point in my tumultuous life.

As many had made it a point to inform me, I’d been blessed with more than most—and yet I’d continued to mess up my life, due to impulsiveness and bad judgment. My most recent crisis was the result of a decision to break away from a man I’d deluded myself into believing would make me a perfect spiritual mate; gradually I came to see him as superficial and ethically unreliable, and had forced myself to cut the cord.

I’d written to my first major spiritual teacher and he’d…

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A DIFFERENT POINT OF VIEW

Mira Prabhu on parents and children and the challenges of life.

Mira Prabhu's avatarmira prabhu

9e4db9873c00799c674eaa9df76ed47aI just finished reading a beautifully crafted novel set in Greece where one of the protagonists is a billionaire who adores his only son. And so does his gorgeous mistress. It’s a bizarre situation, because the man’s wife knows he loves his mistress, who has free rein to enter and leave his home as she pleases, and even to openly entertain important guests in his house. This man is so wealthy that his wife has her own plush apartment attached to the main house, and so the two rivals never have to meet and be embarrassed.

Well, the boy enters the lavish room where his father and mistress are enjoying their martinis and chats with both of them in his charming way. When he leaves, the man says to his mistress: I know you love my son dearly, and I can see why, he is special, but I often wonder…

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