Mindful Quotes - Inspirational Quotes on Mindfulness

Mindful Quotes - Inspirational Quotes on Mindfulness

Mindful Quotes

This great collection of mindful quotes will not only inspire you, they will also help you to come to a better understanding of how to practice mindfulness. You can find even more great meditation quotes here.

Take some time to really contemplate some of these mindful quotes so that you might better understand the art of mindful living.

Perhaps you might like to just select one or two of your favourite quotes - the one's that strike a chord with you personally, and then just let their meaning circulate in your mind over the next day or two.

You can find even more quotes about mindfulness and meditation here.

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Two thoughts cannot coexist at the same time: if the clear light of mindfulness is present, there is no room for mental twilight.
Nyanaponika There

Observe the space between your thoughts, then observe the observer.
Hamilton Boudreaux

The practice of mindfulness begins in the small, remote cave of your unconscious mind and blossoms with the sunlight of your conscious life, reaching far beyond the people and places you can see.
Earon Davis

Some people do not know the difference between mindfulness and concentration. They concentrate on what they're doing, thinking that is being mindful. . . . We can concentrate on what we are doing, but if we are not mindful at the same time, with the ability to reflect on the moment, then if somebody interferes with our concentration, we may blow up, get carried away by anger at being frustrated. If we are mindful, we are aware of the tendency to first concentrate and then to feel anger when something interferes with that concentration. With mindfulness we can concentrate when it is appropriate to do so and not concentrate when it is appropriate not to do so.
Ajahn Sumedho

Life is not lost by dying; life is lost minute by minute, day by dragging day, in all the small uncaring ways.
Stephen Vincent Benet

The habit of ignoring our present moments in favor of others yet to come leads directly to a pervasive lack of awareness of the web of life in which we are embedded. This includes a lack of awareness and understanding of our own mind and how it influences our perceptions and our actions. It severely limits our perspective on what it means to be a person and how we are connected to each other and the world around us. Religion has traditionally been the domain of such fundamental inquiries within a spiritual framework, but mindfulness has little to do with religion, except in the most fundamental meaning of the word, as an attempt to appreciate the deep mystery of being alive and to acknowledge being vitally connected to all that exists.
Jon Kabat-Zinn

If the doors of perception were cleansed, everything would appear to man as it is, infinite.
William Blake

Mindful meditation has been discovered to foster the ability to inhibit those very quick emotional impulses.
Alan Pardee

Our suffering stems from ignorance. We react because we do not know what we are doing, because we do not know the reality of ourselves. The mind spends most of the time lost in fantasies and illusions, reliving pleasant or unpleasant experiences and anticipating the future with eagerness or fear. While lost in such cravings or aversions, we are unaware of what is happening now, what we are doing now. Yet surely this moment, now, is the most important for us. We cannot live in the past; it is gone. Nor can we live in the future; it is forever beyond our grasp. We can live only in the present. If we are unaware of our present actions, we are condemned to repeating the mistakes of the past and can never succeed in attaining our dreams for the future. But if we can develop the ability to be aware of the present moment, we can use the past as a guide for ordering our actions in the future, so that we may attain our goal.
S.N. Goenka

The range of what we think and do is limited by what we fail to notice. And because we fail to notice that we fail to notice there is nothing we can do to change until we notice how failing to noticeshapes our thoughts and deeds.
R.D. Laing

People will do anything, no matter how absurd, to avoid facing their own soul.
Carl Gustav Jung

All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players.
William Shakespeare

As long as we have practiced neither concentration nor mindfulness, the ego takes itself for granted and remains its usual normal size, as big as the people around one will allow.
Ayya Khema

Do you have patience to wait till your mud settles and the water is clear? Can you remain unmoving till the right action arises by itself?
Lao Tzu

Don’t worry about what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive and do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.
Howard Thurman

Your own self-realization is the greatest service you can render the world.
Ramana Maharshi

I never came upon any of my discoveries through the process of rational thinking.
Einstein

Want More Quotes?

I trust that you enjoyed these mindful quotes. CLICK HERE for even more great mindful quotes, or follow the links at the bottom of the page to learn more about mindfulness.

Mindfulness Benefits - A Summary of the Benefits of Mindfulness

Mindfulness Benefits - A Summary of the Benefits of Mindfulness

A clear summary of the benefits of mindfulness and how YOU can use mindfulness to enhance your quality of life. 

Mindfulness, whether practiced as a form of meditation, or whether it is practiced as an activity, can yield tremendous psychological, emotional and physical health benefits.

Just take a look at this article on the benefits of meditation and you’ll see just how much mindfulness meditation can improve your life. The practice of mindfulness benefits EVERYONE.

But how exactly will mindfulness benefit you?

1. Stability of Mind
Mindfulness benefits include a much more balanced outlook on life, and a state of mind that is less likely to bounce around from one thought to the next.

2. Flexible Awareness
Mindfulness will help train you to take command of your awareness, so that you can shift your attention from depressing or angry thoughts to more positive ones with greater ease.

3. Self Awareness
Mindfulness trains you to become aware of what is going on inside you and how your inner world of thoughts and feelings is reacting to the events that are taking place in the world around you. When you develop this kind of awareness, you will be more aware of inner disturbances if they arise, and therefore more able to take steps to maintain a positive outlook if they do. Oftentimes, stress and anxiety build up over a period of time because we are not paying attention to what is going on inside us.

4. Non Reactivity
Through mindfulness, and especially through the practice of mindfulness meditation, you learn to observe your thoughts and feelings and any environmental circumstances with a more detached outlook. You learn to stop labelling the events in your life as “bad” or “irritating” or “boring” and so on. Instead, you learn to simply accept things as they are without reacting to them. Of course, this does not mean that you stop working to change the things in your life that problematic for you, but it does mean that you will not be so burdened by problems that you may once have deemed to be intolerable. Non reactivity is summed up nicely by the ever popular “serenity prayer”:

"God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference."

Mindfulness leads to a strengthening of your ability to concentrate, and a dramatic reduction in stress. Through the practice of mindfulness you will experience a greater sense of wholeness and aliveness, even during seemingly mundane moments in life, and you’ll find that your mind begins to disentangle itself from negative thoughts, negative reactions and negative judgements.

You will become aware that your thoughts and feelings are not the sum total of who you are, and that you need not be a victim of your own thinking. There is a great sense of freedom in this realization.

You’ll also find that you greatly improve your ability to deal with any major upheavals that might arise in your life. But mindfulness is more than just a good coping mechanism. It is also very powerful for clearing the mind and developing space for deeper awareness, spiritual connectedness, and deep meditation.

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Keep Exploring Mindfulness...

Visit our Mindfulness Homepage for expert advice and inspiring information about mindfulness

Learn more about the Benefits of Mindfulness Meditation
Download a guided mindfulness meditation

Reinforce your meditation with these mindfulness exercises

Bring the peace of meditation into everyday life with these Mindfulness Actvities

The Mindfulness Meditation "How To" guide.

Return to The Guided Meditation Homepage

Mindfulness Meditation - Tips & Techniques For Mindful Meditation

Mindfulness Meditation - Tips & Techniques For Mindful Meditation

Mindfulness activities - Great Exercises For Enhancing Mindfulness

Mindfulness activities - Great Exercises For Enhancing Mindfulness

Mindfulness Exercises - Mindfulness Techniques That Work

Mindfulness Exercises - Mindfulness Techniques That Work

These easy mindfulness exercises are simple enough for anyone to try, and yet they are an extraordinarily powerful method for developing self awareness.

Mindfulness is awareness of the present moment. It’s living here and now. Through mindfulness, you are freed from becoming entangled in thoughts of your past, and you are freed from worrying about the future.

In the here and now, everything just is...and there is great peace in that.

But how to stay in touch with this moment, especially when your mind keeps running away from you like it so often does? If mindfulness is a new idea to you, then it might seem a little daunting to try and keep your attention fixed in the present moment.

These mindfulness techniques are an important part of learning how to practice mindfulness.

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Exercise 1: One Minute of Mindfulness

This is an easy mindfulness exercise, and one that you can do anytime throughout the day. Take a moment right now to try this. Check your watch and note the time. For the next 60 seconds your task is to focus all your attention on your breathing. It’s just for one minute, but it can seem like an eternity. Leave your eyes open and breathe normally. Be ready to catch your mind from wandering off (because it will) and return your attention to your breath whenever it does so.

This mindfulness exercise is far more powerful than most people give it credit for. It takes some people many years of practice before they are able to complete a single minute of alert, clear attention.

Keep in mind that this mindfulness exercise is not a contest or a personal challenge. You can’t fail at this exercise, you can only experience it.

Use this exercise many times throughout the day to restore your mind to the present moment and to restore your mind to clarity and peace.

Over time, you can gradually extend the duration of this exercise into longer and longer periods. This exercise is actually the foundation of a correct mindfulness meditation technique.

You can also use a mindfulness bell to focus your attention on, instead of your breathing. If you have struggled with mantra meditations or breathing meditation techniques in the past, then a mindfulness bell recording can really help you to focus your attention in the present moment and achieve a state of mental stillness.

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Exercise 2: Conscious Observation

Pick up an object that you have lying around. Any mundane everyday object will do...a coffee cup or a pen for example. Hold it in your hands and allow your attention to be fully absorbed by the object. Observe it. Don’t assess it or think about it, or study it intellectually. Just observe it for what it is.

You’ll feel a sense of heightened "nowness" during this exercise. Conscious observation can really give you a feeling of "being awake". Notice how your mind quickly releases thoughts of past or future, and how different it feels to be in the moment. Conscious observation is a form of meditation. It’s subtle, but powerful. Try it...by practicing mindfulness in this way you’ll really start to sense what mindfulness is all about.

In the book Mindfulness, Bliss and Beyond, Ajahn Brahm describes his own personal experience of conscious observation...

“The mind is like a megawatt searchlight, enabling you to see so much deeper into what you are gazing at. Ordinary concrete becomes a masterpiece. A blade of grass literally shimmers with the most delightful and brilliant shades of fluorescent green. ..the pretty becomes profound and the humdrum becomes heavenly under the sparkling energy of power mindfulness.”

You can also practice conscious observation with your ears rather than your eyes. Many people find that mindful listening is a more powerful mindfulness technique than visual observation.

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Exercise 3: The Ten Second Count

This is more of an exercise in practicing concentration than it is in mindfulness, and it is a simple variation on exercise 1. In this exercise, rather than focussing on your breath, you just close your eyes and focus your attention on slowly counting to ten. If your concentration wanders of, start back at number one! For most people, it goes something like this...

“One...two...three...do I have to buy milk today or did John say he’d do it? Oh, whoops, I’m thinking.”

“One...two...three...four...this isn’t so hard after all... Oh no....that’s a thought! Start again.”

“One...two...three... now I’ve got it. I’m really concentrating now...”

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Exercise 4: Mindfulness Cues

In this exercise you focus your attention on your breathing whenever a specific environmental cue occurs. For example, whenever you hear the phone ring, you promptly bring your attention into the present moment and stay focussed on your breath.

Simply choose a cue that works for you. Perhaps you will choose to become mindful every time you look in the mirror. Perhaps it will be every time your hands touch each other. Perhaps it will be every time you hear a bird.

Mindfulness cues are an excellent mindfulness technique that are designed to snap you out of the unconscious “autopilot” state of mind and bring you back into the present moment.

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Mindfulness Exercises: Taking it to the Next Level

These mindfulness exercises are designed to develop your ability to stay in the present moment and they are a great way to improve your ability to concentrate. If you practice these exercises, you’ll also find it easier to meditate, as you are strengthening all the right mental muscles in the process.

Ideally, mindfulness is something that you will learn to integrate into all the moments of your daily life. These easy exercises are a great way to help you experience moments of mindfulness - brief awakenings so to speak. To really experience the profound benefits of mindfulness, I encourage you to learn to gradually incorporate mindfulness into everything you do and ideally, to learn how to practise formalmindfulness meditation.

Take a look at these mindfulness activities and take another step towards a more conscious, enlightened and peaceful experience of life.

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The Difference between Concentration and Mindfulness

It is important to realize that there is a difference between mindfulness and concentration. Concentration is important. It helps you to focus your attention on one thing or another, and in this way it helps you to take command of what goes on in your mind. But mindfulness is another step beyond concentration. Mindfulness is a state of awareness. It is “presence” of mind.

Concentration is the tool you use to bring your mind into focus and to close the door on mental chatter, but it’s still up to you to “show up” and be present in the moment.

If this doesn’t quite make sense to you yet, then perhaps this information on how to practice mindfulness will clear things up.

Mindfulness - A Guide To Understanding & Practicing Mindfulness

Mindfulness - A Guide To Understanding & Practicing Mindfulness

The Power of Mindfulness

You know, as a member of the human race you are blessed with some truly awesome mental capabilities, but like most people you probably take them for granted. Your imagination and your intelligence for example...where would you be without them?

What you may not realize is that there is another aspect of your mind that is just as powerful as imagination and intelligence. You may be unaware of its awesome power. It’s mindfulness.

What is Mindfulness?

Mindfulness is a form of self-awareness that I will describe as "a state of being in the present moment and accepting things for what they are without judgement".

This concept was originally taken from Buddhist meditation teachings, but it has been adapted for use in the treatment of depression and for assisting with mood regulation, and has been found to have considerable health benefits.

When you are mindful, your awareness is in the current moment. You become keenly aware of yourself and your surroundings, but you simply observe these things as they are. You are aware of your own thoughts and feelings, but you do not react to them in the way that you would if you were on "autopilot". It’s like a form of alert meditation that you can absorb yourself in at any time, or all the time.

Switching off your autopilot

Most of them time we live our lives on "autopilot". Our minds seem to have a will of their own. Thoughts come and go, and it seems as though we don’t have much say in what thoughts turn up in our head.

If each of us were to stand back and observe our own mind, we would notice how easily our thoughts skip from one unfinished idea to the next, constantly interrupting each other and overlapping in a constant stream of pictures, ideas, memories and desires. 

Through mindfulness you learn to "take a step back" and observe all this mental activity and all the feelings and impulses that it causes, and you begin to separate yourself from their influence.

This is the essence of mindfulness.

When you are mindful, you become a relaxed witness to your inner life, and you are freed from being constantly affected by all your mental activity and by all your judgements about the world and everything that’s taking place within it.

"Observation" is the key word here. You consciously observe your thoughts and feelings, rather than allowing yourself to swim around in them. The moment you become aware and conscious in this way, you are living in the moment, and not on autopilot.

At first this feels like you are creating a sense of space within yourself. With time and practice it opens up a whole new dimension of freedom, relaxation and stillness.

Mindfulness will free you from harmful judgements

When you are mindful, you remain in a state of alert attentiveness to the present moment. Instead of judging the things that are going on around you as "good" or "bad", you simply accept them for what they. By not labelling or judging the events and circumstances taking place around you, you are freed from your normal tendency to react to them. Consider this basic example of just how fruitless judgement can be...

Imagine you are driving down a freeway when all of a sudden, another motorist cuts in front of you. Your mind instantly judges the motorist’s actions as "bad" or "disrespectful", and within an instant you begin to feel angry.

Now you have the right to feel anyway you choose about the other motorist, but make no mistake, your anger is definitely a choice, albeit a choice that your autopilot made for you. When you are on autopilot, your thoughts, feelings and reactions just seem to happen to you. But when you are alert and mindful of the present moment, you respond to the world with an openness, and a sense of acceptance, rather than with judgement and automated reactions.

When you are mindful, you get to choose how you react to life.

So often, judgement is not just fruitless, it’s also harmful to yourself. If (for example) you have just reacted with anger towards another driver, then stop and realize that there is nothing you can do to change what has just happened. The event has come and gone. You’d probably rather not be feeling angry, and yet you are. This makes you even angrier. You are probably blaming the other driver for making you feel this way and yet, you are the one who CHOSE anger as your reply to their actions. Remember. . .

"You will not be punished for your anger,
you will be punished BY your anger."

Buddha

Click here for more quotes about mindfulness

When you are mindful, you are more keenly aware of everything that is going on around you in this current moment, because you are not so preoccupied with your usual mental wrangling. The "space" that mindfulness opens up gives you the opportunity to observe the happenings of the world in a fresh light and to accept "what is" and leave it at that.

Without mindfulness, you react mentally, emotionally and physically to life, and sometimes the consequences of those reactions are even more damaging that the events that brought them up in the first place!

A new way to heal emotional disturbances

Mindfulness also applies to your inner awareness, just as much as it does to your awareness of the activities taking place in the world around you. In the same way that a rude motorist might intrude into your life, negative thoughts or troubling emotions may also interfere with your inner harmony.

The practise of mindfulness will help you to observe these inner events, thoughts and feelings, without judgement. You’ll still feel them, but you’ll be aware that that they are not who you are, and that they are temporary.

It is inevitable that life will involve some hard times and that you are bound to feel emotions such as sadness, grief or anger along the way. We can’t be happy all the time. But with mindfulness, you learn to observe these feelings without labelling them good or bad. You can choose to accept "what is", even if it is taking place inside you.

This is such an important concept to understand. When you allow an emotion to "just be" you give it the opportunity to pass on by. We all have emotions, like the tides they come and go, they rise and fall. No feeling that you ever experience is permanent, but by labelling emotions as "bad" and resisting them, then they tend to carry on a lot longer than they need to. Remember. . .

“What you resist, persists”.
Carl Jung

Mindfulness is "allowing", and allowing emotions to come and go is one of the most powerful ways to relieve yourself of inner turmoil. As Sogyal Rinpoche writes in his book, "The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying":

"The practice of mindfulness defuses our negativity, aggression, and turbulent emotions…..Rather than suppressing emotions or indulging in them, here it is important to view them, and your thoughts, and whatever arises with an acceptance and generosity that are as open and spacious as possible." 

Mindfulness & Meditation

Meditation and mindfulness go hand in hand, and the practice of one strengthens the other. But unlike other relaxation techniques, mindfulness can be developed to the point where it can be practiced right in the middle of stressful situations. While being mindful you can still remain alert and respond appropriately to the situation at hand, but without resorting to your autopilot and reacting.

By practicing mindfulness, you will find that you accumulate far less mental noise during the course of the day. You will begin to feel calmer and clearer as you go about your activities, and when it comes time for you to practice your daily meditation, you will find that you are already quiet-minded to begin with.

As a result, you will find it much easier to enter into a state of deep meditation, as you have less mental clutter to work through.

Just as the practice of mindfulness enhances your ability to meditate, the practice of deep meditation strengthens your ability to be mindful, so that during the course of the day, you pick up even less and less mental chatter. Meditation and mindfulness are completely synergistic and complementary.

The Gift of Mindfulness

One of the greatest benefits of mindfulness is an increased appreciation of life. A person who is highly attentive and mindful tends to find that all of life’s activities become more fulfilling.

You may find that intrinsically pleasant experiences, such as eating food or listening to music, are more vivid and satisfying simply because you are more fully "in the moment." Furthermore, ordinary everyday experiences like driving your car or washing dishes can take on a quality of extraordinary vibrancy and fascination.

Some people go to great lengths to enjoy the uplifting feeling that mindfulness provides. For example, bungee jumpers and skydivers (adrenaline junkies as we sometimes call them) experience a form of mindfulness when they leap from bridges or jump from aeroplanes. Many of them describe how their mind "just stops" during the brief moments when they are falling. While adrenaline is probably the main reason for the "high" that they feel, it's interesting to note that most people who perform sports like these speak with great excitement about the feelings of joy and freedom they experience when they are "totally in the moment".

Awareness of the present moment is an incredibly enlivening and liberating experience, but you do not need to jump out of an aeroplane to experience it! The practice of meditation and mindfulness will clear away the dullness of being on autopilot, and free you to live more fully than you ever have before.

SPECIFIC YOGA POSTURES FOR CHAKRAS For Chakras 1 through 7

http://www.allgoodthings.com/yoga/postures/chakraposts.html

This page is only a summary of specific postures for Chakras 1 through 7. Click on links below (or the Chakra images in the right column) to get full instructions for each posture. There are many reasons to practice these postures other than to open the Chakras, and these reasons are covered in the Postures series in detail. Some of these postures are also given in Hatha Yoga Pradipika. For this reason I have included one page withall the postures on this site, individually and in groups. When one posture is given for several Chakras, the links all go to the specific posture page.

• POSTURES FOR ROOT CHAKRA
  (Muladhara)

This first exercise, Kegel, is not a Yoga posture, but is an invaluable stretch for the muscle that encircles the vagina and anus in women and the base of the penis and anus in men. It is the pubococcygeus (aka PC muscle). It stretches from the pubic bone to the coccyx, and can be strengthened with the Kegel exercise. It is a very important exercise to do every day, as often as you can think about it!

Chakra Bandhasana (= The Wheel) This is how it looks when danced to music on my DVD,Yoga Nata. The book, and this site, provide preliminary exercises to make it easier for you.

Shalabhasana (= Locust or Grasshopper) If you have kidney problems, this is the posture to do every day. The blood flows through the legs down into the kidneys to flush out toxins.

Janu Sirsasana (= Head to Knee Pose) If you are trying to lose inches around the middle of your body, this is a great exercise. This is also a wonderful stretch to do with rhythmic breathing techniques, which are provided on this posture's page.

YogaNidra (Relaxation) An entire series is devoted to this, so the link goes to the first page of that series. This link is on every page of this site as a main category (top left). This is included in Hatha Yoga Pradipika. Anyone who is stressed on any level should practice this every day. There is a 30-minute audioRelaxation CD available on this site that can be used to release stress. It is just the relaxation excerpted from the YogaNata DVD.

• POSTURES FOR SACRAL CHAKRA
  (Svadhisthana)

Bhujangasana (= Cobra) This posture, a true classic in Yoga, and is indicated for the 2nd, 3rd and 4th Chakras. It improves posture, strengthens the spine while helping it to be more flexible. Circulation is improved from the additional blood flow through the vertebrae. It is also good for the heart.

Trikonasana (= Triangle) This posture is good for so many things, but especially for trimming the thighs and toning the muscles. The spine is stretched, the lungs are expanded, the stomach muscles are strengthened, and you can get rid of extra weight around the middle of your body. This image shows an advanced variation.

Ardha Matsyendrasana (= Twist) If you want get your spine to be more flexible and increase the blood flow into the vertebrae and nerves, this posture stimulates it all. It also strengthens the inner organs (liver, pancreas, and spleen). This is also written about in Hatha Yoga Pradipika.

Ardha Pada Hastasana (= Leg Lifts) This exercise (for the 2nd and 3rd Chakras) strengthens the stomach muscles, thighs, legs, and all the muscles around the pelvis and buttocks. It helps to release stiffness in the hips. It also eliminates extra fat from the thighs and buttocks.

Nakra-Kriyas (= Crocodiles) There is nothing better for a bad back. This is not static. You move the entire time. Detailed instructions for many variations are given, including lying down, standing, and sitting. This version is with the one knee bent and the foot placed on the other knee. A must for everyone to learn. These are included for the 2nd and 3rd Chakras.

• POSTURES FOR NAVEL CHAKRA
  (Manipura)

  Also called Solar Plexus Chakra

Bhujangasana (= Cobra) This posture, a true classic in Yoga, is indicated for the 2nd, 3rd and 4th Chakras. It improves posture, strengthens the spine while helping it to be more flexible. Circulation is improved from the additional blood flow through the vertebrae. It is also good for the heart.

Dhanurasana (= Bow) Enough can't be said about this posture, it is so all-encompassing for so many areas of the body. This is an advanced version. This posture is covered in several series on this site, so you will read about it on various pages, including in My Story about a miraculous healing from a student doing this. This is also included in Hatha Yoga Pradipika.

Vajroli Mudra (mudra = sealing posture) This posture is specifically for the reproductive and urinary systems, and strengthens the entire abdominal area.

Ardha Pada Hastasana (= Leg Lifts) This exercise (for 2nd and 3rd Chakras) strengthens the stomach muscles, thighs, legs, and all the muscles around the pelvis and buttocks. It helps to release stiffness in the hips. It also eliminates extra fat from the thighs and buttocks.

Nakra-Kriyas (= Crocodiles) There is nothing better for a bad back. This is not static. You move the entire time. Detailed instructions for many variations are given, including lying down, standing, and sitting. This version is with both knees bent and the feet up under the thighs. A must for everyone to learn. These are included for the 2nd and 3rd Chakras.

• POSTURES FOR HEART CHAKRA
  (Anahata)

Ustrasana (= Camel) This is another posture that is a powerful stretch for the thighs, back, arms, and hips. It opens up the chest and helps the low back to get a stretch it so often does not get. In the final posture, the head should be hanging all the way back, as relaxed as possible. This illustration is incorrect with the head being held up.

Bhujangasana (= Cobra) This posture, a true classic in Yoga, is indicated for the 2nd, 3rd and 4th Chakras. It improves posture, strengthens the spine while helping it to be more flexible. Circulation is improved from the additional blood flow through the vertebrae. It is also good for the heart. It is included in the Hatha Yoga Pradipika.

Matsyasana (= Fish) The back is fully stretched (the dorsal especially). The chest is expanded like a rooster. The neck and throat are stretched. This opens up the entire region of the heart. It is included for the 4th through 7th Chakras, and also in the Hatha Yoga Pradipika.

Sukh-Purvak Breath Technique - An entire series is devoted to Breath on this site, so this link takes you to the Sukh-Purvak page of that series. This is a powerful breath method to open the Chakras.

• POSTURES FOR THROAT CHAKRA
  (Visuddha)

Matsyasana (= Fish) The back is fully stretched (the dorsal especially). The chest is expanded like a rooster. The neck and throat are stretched. This opens up the entire region of the heart. It is included for the 4th through 7th Chakras, and also in the Hatha Yoga Pradipika.

Halasana (= Plough) This stretches the spine, but it also brings blood directly to the throat, which is where the 5th Chakra is. This posture is included with the 6th Chakra series, because it is a preliminary for the Shoulder Stand.

Sarvangasana (= Shoulder Stand) There are many variations to this posture, and all of them are provided in the Shoulder Stand series (which includes the Plough above). This is for the 5th through 7th Chakras.

• POSTURES FOR THIRD EYE (Anja)
  and
  CROWN (Sahasrara) CHAKRAS

The postures, breath techniques and meditations are the same for the last two Chakras.

Matsyasana (= Fish) The back is fully stretched (the dorsal especially). The chest is expanded like a rooster. The neck and throat are stretched. This opens up the entire region of the heart. It is included for the 4th through 7th Chakras, and also in the Hatha Yoga Pradipika.

Yoga Mudra (= Sealing Posture) There are many variations for Yoga Mudra. This is on the way to reaching one of them. This image is from my DVD (sold on this site in theProducts section), and I am dancing Yoga into the Mudra to beautiful music here, the image taken directly from the DVD.

Sarvangasana (= Shoulder Stand) There are many variations to this posture, and all of them are provided in the Shoulder Stand series (which includes the Plough above). This is for the 5th through 7th Chakras.

Sukh-Purvak This is such a powerful breath technique for the Chakras, that it also given for the Heart Chakra. This is part of the Breath series on this site, so this link leaves this Postures series. You can return to this page by going to the Postures link provided in the navigation menu (upper left).

Meditation This is also a very large series on this site with many different meditation techniques. It is my belief that we each find the meditation that works for us. But if you have never meditated, one of the best beginning techniques is to just sit and stay focused on your own breath. Buddha says if you can do this for one hour, you are already enlightened!

Chanting Learning to sing is one thing, but learning to sing with sounds that have been created with higher frequencies in mind is another thing altogether. I have referred to Sanskrit many times on this site. I also admit that I have no clue what these symbols mean, but they are compelling. Chanting is a powerful way of releasing and opening. Learning to sing properly is also wonderful. There is a singing lesson on this site in the Breath series that is quite powerful if you are interested in having a better singing voice.

All Postures Series




• Yoga Postures - Part 1

• Yoga Postures - Part 2 - Muscles

• Yoga Postures To Open Chakras

• Hatha Yoga Pradipika Postures

• Yoga Nakrakriyas: Crocodile Variations

• Other Favorite Yoga Postures

• Nauli-Kriya Yoga

• All Yoga Postures on this Site

• Yoga Sun Salutation

• Yoga Moon Salutation

• Pradipika Yoga Mudras - Bandhas




ROOT CHAKRA POSTURES

• Kegel

• Wheel

• Locust

• Head to Knee

• Relaxation

(Yoga Relaxation leaves this Postures series. A link there will bring you back to Postures.)




SACRAL CHAKRA POSTURES

• Cobra

• Triangle

• Twist

• Leg Lifts

• Crocodile Variation




NAVEL TO SOLAR PLEXUS CHAKRA POSTURES

• Cobra

• Bow

• Abs Strengthener

• Leg Lifts

• Crocodile Variation




HEART CHAKRA POSTURES

• Camel

• Cobra

• Fish

• Sukh-Purvak




THROAT CHAKRA POSTURES

• Fish

• Plough (together with Shoulder Stand, next)

• Shoulder Stand




THIRD EYE AND CROWN CHAKRA POSTURES

• Fish

• Yoga Mudra

• Shoulder Stand

• Sukh-Purvak

• Meditation

• Chanting

NAVIGATION INFORMATION: Every effort is made on this site to make navigation easy and quick. Because there are so many Yoga Series on this site for Yoga Postures, the links above are extensive and will bring you to each of the Postures for Chakras and the Series for other Postures. I have also listed every posture in alphabetical order in All Yoga Postures on this Site (also in the above list).