Yanni's Blog

Because I have too many commitments on my plate presently, I will temporarily not be posting any blogs or podcasts for the next few months. I expect to start posting again in the Fall of 2010.

In the interim, please check out the Archives section at the bottom of the right-hand column of my blog site. There you will find over four years of my previous blogs and podcasts. It is a very rich resource of inspiring information on Intuition, Meditation and Spirituality.

As well, I have not had a chance to record the meditation for this podcast. If you would like to receive a free copy of the mp3 version of my meditation CD: Peace of Mind is Breath Away: Breathing Free Meditations, please email me at: yanni.maniates@verizon.net and I'll send you a link to it for freee.

Many Blessings!

Yanni

Posted by Yanni at 12:04 AM | Permalink

This is Part XXII of a twenty-two part mini-course in Meditation in which I discuss the benefits of Meditation, how to best do it and use it and then lead you in a guided meditation at the end. In order to get the most out of these blogs and podcasts, it would be best for you to go back and start with the first blog entry on January 25, 2009.

What follows in this blog post is the text of the abdominal breathing meditation which I have recorded as the June 25th, 2009 Podcast. Feel free to either listen to my recording or make your own. As well, read through the text below to get a feel for what you can do to calm yourself down during the day.

Close your eyes now and get nice and comfortable... First thing I would like you to do is to just become aware of your physical body. Notice your feet, how and where they touch the floor. Notice, as well, how you are sitting in your chair, where your body touches the chair and the placement of your arms...

And now become aware, as well, of your whole body. Do a body-scan from the top of your head down to the bottoms of your feet. Just notice if there are any areas that are tight or tense or sore. Or maybe there are areas that feel relaxed. Just have an awareness, not a judgment. Just an awareness of how your body feels.....

Become aware, as well, of your mood, just an awareness of it, don't try to change it.... And your energy level, just an awareness, an objective awareness of how you are right now.

And now I would like you to place your attention on your abdomen and your breathing. I would like you to notice as you breathe in that your abdomen expands slightly. And as you exhale, your abdomen contracts slightly. Now don't force a change in your breathing pattern in order to expand your abdomen; I'm not asking you to change anything, just notice it. Breathing in, the abdomen expands slightly. Breathing out, exhaling, the abdomen contracts, slightly.

So just continue to be aware of your breath, your breathing, your abdomen expanding and your abdomen contracting. Just have an awareness of your breath, your breathing. If there are any distractions or noises that you might hear in the background or foreground, just ignore them. Any thoughts that may come to your mind now; just ignore them, they are not important. Or even any emotions that might bubble up; just ignore them, let them go, let yourself be still and let yourself be quiet.

What I would like you to do now is to begin to see if you can do ten full breaths, a full breath is one inhalation and one exhalation, without getting lost in your thoughts. Find your own rhythm and just see if you can do ten full breaths without losing track. Breathing in, breathing out, without getting lost in your thoughts, emotions or any distractions. Just be present within the stillness of yourself, for it is in that stillness that you will find the real you, that is, a human "being" and not a human "doing."

Continue counting your inhalations and your exhalations. If you lose count and don't make it to ten, that's fine. Start again and start counting all over again. Some thoughts or emotions may make it into your awareness as you do this, but just ignore them and keep counting your breath. Just do you best to keep your primary awareness on your breath. Allow everything else to fade away to recede.

If you get to ten, then just continue counting beyond the ten, just counting the breath, keeping your focus on your abdomen. When you focus on your abdomen and count your breath, it helps to calm you down. It draws the energies down that are bouncing around in your head and grounds them in your belly so to speak. This is a great breath to do whenever you feel anxious, worried or just plain hyper. Just breathe in and breathe out and note the rise and fall of your abdomen as you do.

As you continue, you might even notice or feel that your breathing has become deeper and slower. Your blood pressure is going down and your pulse is slowing. You are releasing relaxation hormones into your blood stream. Physiologically you have made a significant change in your blood chemistry in just these few minutes. Whereas before you may have been in a fight or flight state and your body was tense and poised to run or attack and filled with stress hormones, now you are in a relaxed state, a peaceful state, a healing state. Continue the counting of the breath, the inhalation and the exhalation for a few more breaths....

And now you can begin to let go of your focus on your breath... Make note of what your mood is now.... What your energy level feels like... As you did at the beginning just do a quick body scan from head to toe and just feel, sense, see how your body is doing now....And now become aware of your feet, your abdomen, your chest, your hands, your head, your breathing and your breath. Take a few conscious breaths and begin to come up and out. When you are ready you can begin to open your eyes, with a soft focus, so much more relaxed, so much more at peace, than when we began.

This is Part XXII of a twenty-two part blog.

Hope that you have enjoyed this mini-course on meditation. Wishing you all the best!

Peace be with you!

Yanni

Please go to the following link if you have interest in my award winning book on Meditation and Intuition: http://www.MagicalKeystoSelfMastery.com/

As well, if you have interest in my Meditation CDs, please go to the following link:
http://www.LearnMastery.com/AudioTapesByYanni.htm

Posted by Yanni at 4:00 AM | Permalink

Life Mastery's Friday Weekly Podcast:

"Meditation--A Way to Become Physically, Mentally and Metaphysically Fit, Part XXI Podcast"

(length 5:00 minutes)

Posted by Yanni at 4:00 AM | Permalink

This is Part XXI of a twenty-two part part mini-course in Meditation in which I discuss the benefits of Meditation, how to best do it and use it and then lead you in a guided meditation at the end. In order to get the most out of these blogs and podcasts, it is best for you to go back and start with the first blog entry on January 25, 2009.

What follows are some suggestions on how to prepare to sit in a formal meditation:

Now, in terms of how you sit or what you do when you meditate, the most important thing is to make sure you are comfortable. If you have the flexibility to go into the yoga lotus or the half-lotus position, then certainly do so. If you don't have the flexibility, then I would not suggest you do that. You can meditate very effectively sitting comfortably in straight backed chair. This is the way I do it all the time.

Just sit up straight with you spine erect, but not rigid. It is best that your legs are on the ground and are not crossed. Your hands are in your lap, palms up or down, whatever is most comfortable for you. If at any point during the meditation you are uncomfortable, then shift. Move around a bit. If you need to cough, do so. Don't spend ten minutes suppressing a cough or being physically uncomfortable and then conclude that you can't meditate. As well, breathe in and out of your nostrils and not your mouth.

The most important thing to remember is to make sure you are comfortable while you are doing meditation. I might add, though, not so comfortable that you fall asleep. By the way, I do not recommend that you lie on the floor or a bed when you meditate because you are very likely to fall asleep. Lie down only if you have a significant back problem. So, again, the idea is to be as comfortable as possible, yet still alert; and, most importantly, enjoy the experience of "being" with yourself.

Also, make sure that wherever you do the meditation is quiet and let all your "significant others" know that this is your quiet time to take care of yourself.

On my next podcast of June 25,2009 I will lead you in a guided abdominal breathing meditation.

This is Part XXI of a twenty-two part blog.

Please go to the following link if you have interest in my award winning book on Meditation and Intuition: http://www.MagicalKeystoSelfMastery.com/

As well, if you have interest in my Meditation CDs, please go to the following link:
http://www.LearnMastery.com/AudioTapesByYanni.htm

Posted by Yanni at 4:00 AM | Permalink

Life Mastery's Friday Weekly Podcast:

"Meditation--A Way to Become Physically, Mentally and Metaphysically Fit, Part XX Podcast"

(length 4:40 minutes)

Posted by Yanni at 4:00 AM | Permalink

This is Part XX of a twenty-two part mini-course in Meditation in which I discuss the benefits of Meditation, how to best do it and use it and then lead you in a guided meditation at the end. In order to get the most out of these blogs and podcasts, it would be best for you to go back and start with the first blog entry on January 25, 2009.

In conclusion, regarding the many different meditation techniques that are out there, I have been teaching meditation for twenty years and practicing for forty. From my point of view every type or school of meditation is just a technique. Whatever you are most comfortable with and whatever works best for you is the right one for you to do. That is my take on it. So, if a technique works for you, it is the right one! And if at times you need to change the type of meditation you are doing, then certainly do so.

But I have found that working with the breath is the place most meditative traditions begin and that is why I am focusing on it in this mini-course. If you can master this one simple technique, you are well on your way to a much more health full and peace full life.

And finally, I have come to see that meditation is the greatest tool or gift that I have been given in my life because it has taught me to find the deep well of peace that dwells within me and to discover the ground to my Being. It has taught me to be the Master of my mind and thus the Master of my life. It has taught me how to come to know my Self, that is, my Higher Self--my "most significant other."

There is so much more I can say, but I hope this brief introduction to meditation has been helpful.

Blessings and Peace!

Remember: Peace of Mind is a Breath or a Thought or an Image Away

In the next blog post, number XXI, I share with you directions on how best to meditate. In the concluding blog post, number XXII, I post the text of a 5-6 minute abdominal breathing meditation that I have recorded for the June 25, 2009 podcast. EnJoy!

This is Part XX of a twenty-two part blog.

Please go to the following link if you have interest in my award winning book on Meditation and Intuition: http://www.MagicalKeystoSelfMastery.com/

As well, if you have interest in my Meditation CDs, please go to the following link:
http://www.LearnMastery.com/AudioTapesByYanni.htm

Posted by Yanni at 4:00 AM | Permalink

Life Mastery's Friday Weekly Podcast:

"Meditation--A Way to Become Physically, Mentally and Metaphysically Fit, Part XIX Podcast"

(length 4:36 minutes)

Posted by Yanni at 4:00 AM | Permalink

This is Part XIX of a twenty-two part mini-course in Meditation in which I discuss the benefits of Meditation, how to best do it and use it and then lead you in a guided meditation at the end. In order to get the most out of these blogs and podcasts, it would be best for you to go back and start with the first blog entry on January 25, 2009.

So, again, as I mentioned earlier, meditation is very much like the numerous personal hygiene habits that you already practice such as taking a shower, brushing and flossing your teeth, washing your clothes and keeping your house clean. Meditation is like taking your daily shower or keeping the house of your mind clean. I would not go without doing this.

When you hands are dirty, do you wash them? When your thoughts are junky, do you clean them up? Why not?

Lastly, I would like to address an issue that comes up a lot for people who are beginning to meditate or starting up again. One of the things they often say to me is how can I find any more time in my already jam packed day to do this - it is going to stress me out even more?

Again, as I mentioned earlier there is enough time in the day. There really is! You don't have to sit in meditation for an hour--though if you want to, you certainly can--but you can find time to meditate in the car or when you waiting in line or in those in between times in your day. You just have to remember.

Give yourself a break from all your incessant thinking to calm down and refresh your mind and body. As you build this habit into your life, you will come back to it more and more because it gives you life and energy.

In time, more and more you will learn to respond from a place of a deep conscious full breath, rather than from a place of hyperventilation. You cannot have a negative emotion or thought when you are breathing deeply and fully. Your mind is as clear as it can be when you are breathing fully and deeply.

So, why not live your life clear? Why not live your life with your brain having as much oxygen as possible so that you can make decisions with all of its capacity engaged? As well, you can be physiologically a lot less tense and so much relaxed and balanced.

This is Part XIX of a twenty-two part blog.

Please go to the following link if you have interest in my award winning book on Meditation and Intuition: http://www.MagicalKeystoSelfMastery.com/

As well, if you have interest in my Meditation CDs, please go to the following link:
http://www.LearnMastery.com/AudioTapesByYanni.htm

Posted by Yanni at 4:00 AM | Permalink

Life Mastery's Friday Weekly Podcast:

"Meditation--A Way to Become Physically, Mentally and Metaphysically Fit, Part XVIII Podcast"

(length 4:54 minutes)

Posted by Yanni at 4:00 AM | Permalink

This is Part XVIII of a twenty-two part mini-course in Meditation in which I discuss the benefits of Meditation, how to best do it and use it and then lead you in a guided meditation at the end. In order to get the most out of these blogs and podcasts, it would be best for you to go back and start with the first blog entry on January 25, 2009.

Let me be clear, though. I am not saying don't get angry. Situations arise where anger is appropriate. But what should you do with your anger? Anger is really a trigger for you to take action, which is either to get out of the situation or to express yourself appropriately. But when anger arises it is not good to hold the anger in and do nothing with it because then it burns you up inside and implodes within you or you eventually explode it out there in an inappropriate manner. So you either implode it within you or explode out. Or you deal with it appropriately.

When you feel anger, take ten deep breaths and then decide the appropriate action to take. Don't be angry and act angry. First be aware you are angry, take it as a cue to take action, take ten deep breaths and then act appropriately. Find an appropriate way to express what is important to you or wait for an appropriate time to express it.

Stephen Covey the author of "The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People" explains that between every stimulus and every response, there is always at least a brief lapse of time. The gift of what you learn with meditation is to increase that amount of time between the stimulus and your response so that you can make a conscious, volitional, intentional, effective, intelligent response rather than a habitual, spur of the moment one that can get you in trouble.

This applies not only to your interactions with another person, but also relative to yourself. Sometimes we get caught up in negative mental patterns either about another person or about ourselves. But if you just notice you are doing this and stop and say to yourself, "Whoa, wait a minute, what good is this doing me?" Then you can literally change your whole physiology, your blood chemistry and, as well, take the most appropriate action. You can stop and take ten deep breaths and then decide what action to take. In this way, you neither internalize nor externalize what you are feeling or thinking in an inappropriate way.

This is Part XVIII of a twenty-two part blog.

Please go to the following link if you have interest in my award winning book on Meditation and Intuition: http://www.MagicalKeystoSelfMastery.com/

As well, if you have interest in my Meditation CDs, please go to the following link:
http://www.LearnMastery.com/AudioTapesByYanni.htm

Posted by Yanni at 2:00 AM | Permalink

Life Mastery's Friday Weekly Podcast:

"Meditation--A Way to Become Physically, Mentally and Metaphysically Fit, Part XVII Podcast"

(length 4:35 minutes)

Posted by Yanni at 4:00 AM | Permalink

Life Mastery's Friday Weekly Podcast:

"Meditation--A Way to Become Physically, Mentally and Metaphysically Fit, Part XVI Podcast"

(length 4:25 minutes)

Posted by Yanni at 4:00 AM | Permalink

This is Part XVI of a twenty-two part mini-course in Meditation in which I discuss the benefits of Meditation, how to best do it and use it and then lead you in a guided meditation at the end. In order to get the most out of these blogs and podcasts, it would be best for you to go back and start with the first blog entry on January 25, 2009.

So, what is a healthy, balanced amount of breaths per minute? Eight is. Be assured, though, that you don't have to be a Yogi to attain this or have bells on your toes and rings on your nose. Again, a normal amount of breaths per minute is eight. What most of us usually do is fourteen to fifteen, if not even more.

At eight breaths per minute we are breathing deeply enough to fully use all of our lung capacity and fully oxygenate our bodies. Why we usually breathe in a shallow manner is because we are tense and this tension causes us to not get enough oxygen into our systems.

And, again, the reason we are not getting enough oxygen is because we are only using 40% of the capacity of our lungs. We are only using, at best, the top two thirds of our lungs. By the way, researchers have found that anyone with a cardiovascular problem, no matter what the problem, is a shallow breather.

Interestingly, when these same researchers taught their subjects to breathe deeply, they were able to help them lower their blood pressure and were even able to begin the process of helping them reverse other cardiovascular conditions from getting worse and prevent other conditions from arising at all.

Dean Ornish, MD, has done a lot of research and work in this area. He has a number of best selling books on this topic. His approach regarding cardiovascular issues revolves around teaching his patients how to eat a healthy diet and practice meditation. For him meditation is as important a part of his program as is diet.

This is Part XVI of a twenty-two part blog.

Please go to the following link if you have interest in my award winning book on Meditation and Intuition: http://www.MagicalKeystoSelfMastery.com/

As well, if you have interest in my Meditation CDs, please go to the following link:
http://www.LearnMastery.com/AudioTapesByYanni.htm

Posted by Yanni at 4:00 AM | Permalink

Life Mastery's Friday Weekly Podcast:

"Meditation--A Way to Become Physically, Mentally and Metaphysically Fit, Part XV Podcast"



(length 4:39 minutes)

Posted by Yanni at 4:00 AM | Permalink

This is Part XV of a twenty-two part mini-course in Meditation in which I discuss the benefits of Meditation, how to best do it and use it and then lead you in a guided meditation at the end. In order to get the most out of these blogs and podcasts, it would be best for you to go back and start with the first blog entry on January 25, 2009.

The value of breathing in deeply and pushing the diaphragm down lies in the fact that this action allows the lungs to fully oxygenate, to fully be used. Because we are so tense most of the time, we don't breathe deeply enough to expand our diaphragm. Actually, our diaphragm barely moves and as a result we are not using the bottom third of our lungs when we breathe.

Well, so what does that mean? It means that we are only getting 40% of the oxygenation we could potentially get. What does that mean? It means brain freeze when there is not enough oxygen going to your brain.

It means that your cells age more rapidly than necessary. For example, your red blood cells are recreated every 120 days. In other words after 120 days all of your red blood cells have died off and have been replaced with new ones. And what do you think is the primary nutrient for red blood cells? It is not food, it is oxygen.

So, every time we breathe in a shallow, tense manner we are depriving our red blood cells of the primary nutrition they need. As a result of this deprivation the next generation of red blood cells we create is less healthy and vital than the first one and so on down the line. So, we are gradually and consistently wearing and tearing ourselves down and diminishing the quality of our cells and therefore our lives because of tense improper breathing and thinking.

Also, it is important to note that the average number of breaths per minute that most people take is somewhere between thirteen to fifteen breaths. This number of breaths is not occurring when you are really hyped out. It actually occurs when you are functioning relatively "normally." What is significant here is that starting at fourteen breaths and up per minute you are clinically in a stress cycle.

This is Part XV of a twenty-two part blog.

Please go to the following link if you have interest in my award winning book on Meditation and Intuition: http://www.MagicalKeystoSelfMastery.com/

As well, if you have interest in my Meditation CDs, please go to the following link:
http://www.LearnMastery.com/AudioTapesByYanni.htm

Posted by Yanni at 12:00 AM | Permalink

Life Mastery's Friday Weekly Podcast:

"Meditation--A Way to Become Physically, Mentally and Metaphysically Fit, Part XIV Podcast"

(length 4:50 minutes)

Posted by Yanni at 4:00 AM | Permalink

This is Part XIV of a twenty-two part mini-course in Meditation in which I discuss the benefits of Meditation, how to best do it and use it and then lead you in a guided meditation at the end. In order to get the most out of these blogs and podcasts, it would be best for you to go back and start with the first blog entry on January 25, 2009.

If you want to change, you have to change something. Most people are willing to change their physical diet. But I would urge you to realize that changing one's mental diet is just as important, if not perhaps more important. In order to change, you must change your mind first or you will never change. You will remain the same.

As Henry Ford wrote, "Whether you think you can or whether you think you can't, you are right." So, what you constantly think about manifests in your life. Believe you can change and you will. Believe you can't and you won't. Junky thoughts create a junky life.

One more piece I would to focus on is the value of deep or conscious breathing. I would like to spend a little time now explaining the mechanism of breathing.

We all have lungs. They are pear shaped by virtue of the way they were formed. As well, gravity helps them to be pear shaped or wider at the bottom and thinner at the top. What researchers have found is that during each minute you are breathing, the top third of your lungs process approximately three ounces of blood per minute--in other words, the oxygen/carbon dioxide exchange. The middle third of your lungs process twenty-two ounces of blood per minute and the bottom third of your lungs process thirty-six ounces of blood per minute. Obviously a lot exchange is happening in the bottom third.

Why I am bringing this up is because most people do not breathe deeply and fully enough. They have what are called "frozen" diaphragms. The diaphragm is a muscle that separates the heart cavity from the abdominal cavity. It is concave when it is in a relaxed mode. Thus, when you breathe in, you push down on it and elongate it. That is what creates the Buddha belly or the expansion of your abdomen when you inhale. It is your diaphragm going down and pushing out that causes your belly to expand.

This is Part XIV of a twenty-two part blog.

Please go to the following link if you have interest in my award winning book on Meditation and Intuition: http://www.MagicalKeystoSelfMastery.com/

As well, if you have interest in my Meditation CDs, please go to the following link:
http://www.LearnMastery.com/AudioTapesByYanni.htm

Posted by Yanni at 4:00 AM | Permalink

Life Mastery's Friday Weekly Podcast:

"Meditation--A Way to Become Physically, Mentally and Metaphysically Fit, Part XIII Podcast"

(length 4:44 minutes)

Posted by Yanni at 4:00 AM | Permalink

This is Part XIII of a twenty-two part mini-course in Meditation in which I discuss the benefits of Meditation, how to best do it and use it and then lead you in a guided meditation at the end. In order to get the most out of these blogs and podcasts, it would be best for you to go back and start with the first blog entry on January 25, 2009.

Regarding multi-tasking, if you have deal with multiple issues at the same time, that is fine some of the time. But you don't need to be "doing" all the time. As I mentioned earlier, in this regard Deepak Chopra has said: "We are human 'beings.' We are not human 'doings'."

So, we have to learn to not just be "doing" all the time. When I get burnt out from being on the computer too long, I just go lie on the floor and breathe for five minutes. Then I go back to my computer and I can work again. Five minutes, I feel fine and I am back.

Yeah, I know, I work out of my home. OK. But I also had a job with a corner office in New York on 5th Avenue. But I would still close the door. People knew that when my door was closed, if you came in there, you were in trouble. Come in when the door is open, it is OK. I would close the door for just five minutes. I would either lie on the couch or sit in my chair. By doing this I could clear enough tension with my abdominal breathing to feel refreshed enough to work again.

So maybe you work in a cubicle or parent many children. Whatever? In the car, during a break, whenever, you can find a minute or two to consciously breath. And what is so neat about all this and what will end up happening is that you will remember in the middle of a stressful situation, instead of hyperventilating, to instead breathe. And then you can make a decision about what to do in the situation that is centered and grounded, and therefore, most likely to be constructive.

We can make conscious, intelligent, effective choices. But if we are habitually programmed or simply chose to respond in dysfunctional ways, we will continue responding dysfunctionally.

This is Part XIII of a twenty-two part blog.

Please go to the following link if you have interest in my award winning book on Meditation and Intuition: http://www.MagicalKeystoSelfMastery.com/

As well, if you have interest in my Meditation CDs, please go to the following link:
http://www.LearnMastery.com/AudioTapesByYanni.htm

Posted by Yanni at 4:00 AM | Permalink

Life Mastery's Friday Weekly Podcast:

"Meditation--A Way to Become Physically, Mentally and Metaphysically Fit, Part XII Podcast"

(length 5:02 minutes)

Posted by Yanni at 4:00 AM | Permalink

This is Part XII of a twenty-two part mini-course in Meditation in which I discuss the benefits of Meditation, how to best do it and use it and then lead you in a guided meditation at the end. In order to get the most out of these blogs and podcasts, it would be best for you to go back and start with the first blog entry on January 25, 2009.

So, meditation is a way, in a sense, to kind of cleanse your mind, so to speak, as well as your emotions, to clean out a little bit, chill out, come to another place with it all--to let go of some of the junk and tension that is there.

So, do these abdominal breaths for at least three minutes at a time. It only takes three minutes to switch from having catabolic, stress hormones being released into your blood stream to having relaxation or anabolic, healing hormones being released into your system. It really just takes three minutes and in that time you can feel physiologically very different--so much better. Modern science has found that simply by practicing this breathing technique, you can profoundly change the composition of your blood chemistry in your body in just three minutes.

Actually, I recommend five minutes, simply because it takes a minute or so to get into the state initially and you definitely want to come out of it slowly for at least a minute or so. Regardless, this is not a lot of time given the benefits that you gain. There are enough breaks in the day to do this a few times a day.

As I mentioned earlier, I do this on the grocery or the bank line if they are long. I can stand on line and get angry or cranky or I can stand there and just breathe and relax. Just breathe! Just focus on my breathing. Then my mind gets away from thinking, "God this is taking forever!"

Or I can do the breathing while in traffic or during totally boring meetings. Instead of sitting there and getting all uptight, I can just focus on my breath. If you are not thinking about something negative, then your body is not experiencing negativity. A tense mind is what creates a tense body.

This is Part XII of a twenty-two part blog.

Please go to the following link if you have interest in my award winning book on Meditation and Intuition: http://www.MagicalKeystoSelfMastery.com/

As well, if you have interest in my Meditation CDs, please go to the following link:
http://www.LearnMastery.com/AudioTapesByYanni.htm

Posted by Yanni at 4:00 AM | Permalink

Life Mastery's Friday Weekly Podcast:

"Meditation--A Way to Become Physically, Mentally and Metaphysically Fit, Part XI Podcast"

(length 4:53 minutes)

Posted by Yanni at 4:00 AM | Permalink

This is Part XI of a twenty-two part mini-course in Meditation in which I discuss the benefits of Meditation, how to best do it and then lead you in a guided meditation at the end. In order to get the most out of these blogs and podcasts, it would be best for you to go back and start with the first blog entry on January 25, 2009.

So, whenever you are feeling upset or worried, anxious, or overly excited, remember to breathe into your belly. Your abdomen naturally expands and contracts when you are breathing. Just feel your abdomen rise on the inhalation and then on the exhalation feel your abdomen fall. By doing this you can calm yourself down. This is called abdominal breathing.

So, to explain in more detail, breathe in for a count of 4 as your abdomen expands, then hold for a count of 1-2, imagining any tension that is in there being gathered on the hold. Then on the exhalation, the length of the exhalation does not matter, release. Do this while breathing in and out through your nostrils. Do your best to do ten full breaths of this abdominal breathing without losing count--without getting lost in your thoughts.

As I mentioned earlier, you can do this simple exercise in most any setting: while waiting at the chiropractor's, standing in line at the bank or grocery store, during a meeting, you can even do it while driving your car with your eyes open, of course.

So, when you are feeling these emotions, just breathe down into your abdomen.

Life too often brings us situations where we can get upset, overly excited or anxious or worried. But consider this, if your hands are dirty, you would want to wash them. Wouldn't you? So if you are full of tension, isn't that a kind of a mental dirt? Wouldn't you want to wash it off?

We all practice physical hygiene, take showers, brush and floss our teeth, which we do every day; Right? and we wash our hands if they are really dirty. Right? But do we ever think of regularly cleaning off this other "debris." I would say that doing this is as important as our physical hygiene.

This is Part XI of a twenty-two part blog.

Please go to the following link if you have interest in my award winning book on Meditation and Intuition: http://www.MagicalKeystoSelfMastery.com/

As well, if you have interest in my Meditation CDs, please go to the following link:
http://www.LearnMastery.com/AudioTapesByYanni.htm

Posted by Yanni at 4:00 AM | Permalink

Life Mastery's Friday Weekly Podcast:

"Meditation--A Way to Become Physically, Mentally and Metaphysically Fit, Part X Podcast"



(length 4:14 minutes)

Posted by Yanni at 4:00 AM | Permalink

This is Part X of a twenty-two part mini-course in Meditation in which I discuss the benefits of Meditation, how to best do it and use it and then lead you in a guided meditation at the end. In order to get the most out of these blogs and podcasts, it would be best for you to go back and start with the first blog entry on January 25, 2009.

If something stressful happens, the calmer you can remain the wiser and more sensibly you will respond. If you are constantly freaking out, then you are just going to respond in a way that is usually not very appropriate. So, what I am saying here is that most people don't realize that the calmer they are the better they are able to respond to any given situation.

Yes, again there are certain situations where being proactive is good, of course, but if we are always anticipating and always being hyper-vigilant, oh my God, we are always on guard. How can you ever be relaxed? How can you enjoy your life?

Also, it is interesting to note that depending on the kind of stress you are experiencing, the tension gets stored in specific areas of your body. If you are into a lot of worry, anxiety, being very upset and/or overly excited, the tension goes into your abdominal area.

When you are in any of these emotional states what happens is that your adrenals are going crazy and are in overdrive and as a result they are secreting stress hormones. As well, your digestive track is compromised thus you don't eat when you are stressed because there are no digestive juices being secreted. Or you do eat and your food is poorly digested and minimally absorbed. As well, your pancreas is overworked and your blood sugar goes berserk. Do this enough and you end up with diabetes. Also your spleen gets all stressed out which compromises up your immune system. So when we are overly worried and anxious we store a lot of tension in this area and negatively affect a lot of organs.

This is Part X of a twenty-two part blog.

Please go to the following link if you have interest in my award winning book on Meditation and Intuition: http://www.MagicalKeystoSelfMastery.com/

As well, if you have interest in my Meditation CDs, please go to the following link:
http://www.LearnMastery.com/AudioTapesByYanni.htm

Posted by Yanni at 4:00 AM | Permalink

Life Mastery's Friday Weekly Podcast:

"Meditation--A Way to Become Physically, Mentally and Metaphysically Fit, Part IX Podcast"



(length 4:28 minutes)

Posted by Yanni at 4:00 AM | Permalink

This is Part IX of a twenty-two part mini-course in Meditation in which I discuss the benefits of Meditation, how to best do it and use it and then lead you in a guided meditation at the end. In order to get the most out of these blogs and podcasts, it would be best for you to go back and start with the first blog entry on January 25, 2009.

The mind creates all kind of havoc when it is in overdrive and anything that is in overdrive too long eventually crashes or causes crashes. Run your computer with too many programs all at once and it just freezes up on you. And then you have to do whatever you have to do to get it back up and running again. The same thing applies when you overload your mind with fear, worry, anger, etc, you create a systems breakdown within your body. Modern science is substantiating this.

The mind is not meant to be going or multi-tasking all the time. Believe me, when I started learning about all of this, I thought that what I have just been saying was a pile of poop. It was like, "Right?" I was convinced that I had to always be thinking and anticipating everything. I thought I was a human "doing" and a human "thinking" rather than a human "being" as Deepak Chopra writes.

So, despite my Southern Mediterranean ancestry which I conveniently blame for everything wrong with me--you know, all that over excitability that we kind of get into--but despite my ancestry, my over excitability does not have to be the way I function in life. I can use my ancestry and upbringing as an excuse for my "problems," but my life is really completely in my control if I learn how to "catastrophyze" and "awfulize" less and less.

If you can remember to just take slow, long deep breaths as often as you can and focus on your breath, then your mind will chill out and your body will relax. When you do this, you come back to what is really important. Matter of fact, what is really most important comes to you more easily because you are calmer and, therefore, more aware.

This is Part IX of a twenty-two part blog.

Please go to the following link if you have interest in my award winning book on Meditation and Intuition: http://www.MagicalKeystoSelfMastery.com/

As well, if you have interest in my Meditation CDs, please go to the following link:
http://www.LearnMastery.com/AudioTapesByYanni.htm

Posted by Yanni at 4:00 AM | Permalink

Life Mastery's Friday Weekly Podcast:

"Meditation--A Way to Become Physically, Mentally and Metaphysically Fit, Part VIII Podcast"



(length 4:09 minutes)

Posted by Yanni at 4:00 AM | Permalink

This is Part VIII of a twenty-two part mini-course in Meditation in which I discuss the benefits of Meditation, how to best do it and use it and then lead you in a guided meditation at the end. In order to get the most out of these blogs and podcasts, it would be best for you to go back and start with the first blog entry on January 25, 2009.

Another way of saying what I am saying is that if you put "junk food" in your body, you know you will end up with a junky body eventually. What most people don't realize is that if you have a lot of junky thoughts, you will, also, have a junky body and, as well, as end up with junky experiences in your life.

Whatever you focus on, you end up experiencing in life. Whatever you are looking at, you see. That is just the way it works. The purpose of explaining all of this is not to turn you into a meditating junkie or a guru or have you go off to the Himalayas, take your clothes off and wander around eating berries. I mean unless that is your idea of a good time. It is not mine, I might add. Eating berries are OK, but I would rather buy them at a grocery store.

What I am suggesting is that when you were a child you knew how to breathe correctly and you knew how to relax. Kids know how to find the "zone." But as time went on, you acquired patterns that taught you that "thinking" or "doing" or "worrying" all the time somehow was good.

Now am I saying here; "Don't think?" No, not at all! Am I saying don't be proactive? No, not at all! What I am saying is that this organ, the mind, is meant to slow down periodically or to go into neutral. Just like your car does. If your mind does not take periodic breaks, you don't sleep well at night. It is, also, why you may feel jittery and can't focus. It is very likely why you overeat. As well, it has many other negative ramifications.

This is Part VIII of a twenty-two part blog.

Please go to the following link if you have interest in my award winning book on Meditation and Intuition: http://www.MagicalKeystoSelfMastery.com/

As well, if you have interest in my Meditation CDs, please go to the following link:
http://www.LearnMastery.com/AudioTapesByYanni.htm

Posted by Yanni at 4:00 AM | Permalink

Life Mastery's Friday Weekly Podcast:

"Meditation--A Way to Become Physically, Mentally and Metaphysically Fit, Part VII Podcast"



(length 6:54 minutes)



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Posted by Yanni at 4:00 AM | Permalink

This is Part VII of a twenty-two part mini-course in Meditation in which I discuss the benefits of Meditation, how to best do it and use it and then lead you in a guided meditation at the end. In order to get the most out of these blogs and podcasts, it would be best for you to go back and start with the first blog entry on January 25, 2009.

But even though what you were worrying about doesn't actually happen to you, you still physiologically have the experience as if you did. You may have been taught if you worry about things, they won't happen or you will better anticipate what to do. But worrying all the time really wears your body down because of all the catabolic hormones you release into your body.

I would suggest that if you proactively come up with a plan for something that you think might happen, let the plan sit and don't worry or think about it again. This way you will not be wearing your body out with stress hormones. When the time comes to act, you will know what to do and you will do what is best for the situation.

But if you "awfulize" all the time, you then send stress hormones throughout your system and catabolize or breaking down your system. So, worrying all the time will eventually trigger whatever genetic weaknesses you may have to come to the surface. If you are not doing all this "awfulizing and catastophyzing", then the genetic predispositions may never surface or may surface in a way that is not significant.

So we don't choose the genetic predispositions we inherit, but we do choose, to a greater degree, which ones are triggered and to which degree they are triggered by our mental and emotional behavior, as well as our diet.

So, it is so important to understand that meditation is an integral and essential component in attaining wellness. It is as important as diet and exercise in terms of physiological well-being. Most people don't associate meditation with being physiologically well. But the connection is essential.

This is Part VII of a twenty-two part blog.

Please go to the following link if you have interest in my award winning book on Meditation and Intuition: http://www.MagicalKeystoSelfMastery.com/

As well, if you have interest in my Meditation CDs, please go to the following link:
http://www.LearnMastery.com/AudioTapesByYanni.htm

Posted by Yanni at 4:00 AM | Permalink

Life Mastery's Friday Weekly Podcast:

"Meditation--A Way to Become Physically, Mentally and Metaphysically Fit, Part VI Podcast"



(length 4:14 minutes)

Posted by Yanni at 4:00 AM | Permalink

This is Part VI of a twenty-two part mini-course in Meditation in which I discuss the benefits of Meditation, how to best do it and use it and then lead you in a guided meditation at the end. In order to get the most out of these blogs and podcasts, it would be best for you to go back and start with the first blog entry on January 25, 2009.

Before we get to the meditation exercise, I would like to share the following regarding the physiological value of meditation. There are studies showing that just mediation by itself can actually help to not only prevent heart disease but to actually reverse it. It has been found that by meditating regularly plaque can actually be sloughed off of the arteries. This can occur because when you meditate you release hormones into your body that heal and repair--that is, anabolic hormones. When you are having stressful, negative thoughts your body does not release these hormones. It releases, instead, catabolic hormones that tear down your body.

Your body is always striving to maintain and attain homeostasis or balance. If you stop creating tension, you give it a chance to find this balance and healing.

When a rhinoceros is charging, you need to run or fight, in other words, the fight or flight response. And so, when under stress, you release hormones that give you the energy to run like the dickens or fight to the death, but in the process you are tearing your body down from the inside-out.

Also, it is interesting to note that modern science has discovered that whatever we imagine, we experience physiologically. So, if you just imagine something negative, your body responds physiologically as if it is having the negative experience. So that is why worry is totally useless and detrimental to do because 80% or 90% of what worry about does not even happen.

This is Part VI of a twenty-two part blog.

Please go to the following link if you have interest in my award-winning book on Meditation and Intuition: http://www.MagicalKeystoSelfMastery.com/

As well, if you have interest in my Meditation CDs, please go to the following link:
http://www.LearnMastery.com/AudioTapesByYanni.htm

Posted by Yanni at 4:00 AM | Permalink

Life Mastery's Friday Weekly Podcast:

"Meditation--A Way to Become Physically, Mentally and Metaphysically Fit, Part V Podcast"



(length 4:31 minutes)

Posted by Yanni at 4:00 AM | Permalink

This is Part V of a twenty-two part mini-course in Meditation in which I discuss the benefits of Meditation, how to best do it and use it and then lead you in a guided meditation at the end. In order to get the most out of these blogs and podcasts, it would be best for you to go back and start with the first blog entry on January 25, 2009.

As well, please note that you can do the breathing meditation/exercise that I will share with you later on with your eyes wide open, while you are standing in line at the bank or a grocery store, while attending a boring meeting, etc., in any setting where you don't need to be putting your complete attention on anything in particular. You don't have to sit for hours in meditation to get its benefits.

You can even do this while driving your car with your eyes open, of course. No, I'm not crazy! You can do this while driving. I always do it. As I drive to teach a class or to any destination, for that matter, instead of thinking about the hundreds of things that I may need to do, I choose instead to just BE, to be present and conscious with myself, with my body and with my breath. This way I am more relaxed while I am driving and as a result of being more relaxed, I am much more alert.

So, instead of incessantly thinking, I give myself a break from all that "thinking" and "doing" and just consciously breathe all the way to my destination. As well, I do this as often as I can in as many other settings as possible.

Again with regard to driving, you really are much more alert when you are relaxed. Accidents occur when you are distracted and usually you are distracted because you are overly caught up in some emotional or mental drama in your mind. By doing this technique, you will actually be much, much more alert and relaxed while driving and you also will be much more relaxed when you reach your destination. You will respond more effectively to any stimulus that occurs while you are driving and you will be aware of a lot more of what is going on than you would be if your mind were overly cluttered and distracted by too many thoughts.

This is Part V of a twenty-two part blog.

Please go to the following link if you have interest in my book on Meditation and Intuition: http://www.MagicalKeystoSelfMastery.com/

As well, if you have interest in my Meditation CDs, please go to the following link:
http://www.LearnMastery.com/AudioTapesByYanni.htm

Posted by Yanni at 4:00 AM | Permalink

Life Mastery's Friday Weekly Podcast:

"Meditation--A Way to Become Physically, Mentally and Metaphysically Fit, Part IV Podcast"



(length 4:02 minutes)

Posted by Yanni at 4:00 AM | Permalink

This is Part IV of a twenty-two part mini-course in Meditation in which I discuss the benefits of Meditation, how to best do it and use it and then lead you in a guided meditation at the end. In order to get the most out of these blogs and podcasts, it would be best for you to go back and start with the first blog entry on January 25, 2009.

So, meditation can help you to learn how to slow your mind down enough so that you can consciously and proactively choose what you think about and how you feel. Yes, there are stressors or "buttons" that will get pushed, and will cause you to "loose it;" that's called "life." But one can still choose how one reacts, no matter what is happening or has happened. You can choose to "loose" it completely or just step back and be objective with regard to what is going on.

So, the key here is to learn how to bring forth the relaxation response more and more often during your day instead staying stuck in a constant state of overdrive, of over-thinking. In other words how can you minimize being hyper during the day? How can you minimize the fight or flight response?

You can minimize it by creating many little mini-breaks during your day to help calm yourself down. All you need is three minutes at a time. I will outline a breathing exercise shortly that will change your blood chemistry from one that is overloaded with stress hormones to one that is full of healing relaxation hormones. All you need is three minutes. And in those three minutes you will have affected a profound physiological change in your body and you will feel quite different.

The whole point of teaching you this breathing meditation is to help you to remember to take regular breaks from your incessant "thinking" and "doing" so that you can give your mind a respite and your body a breather, physiologically.

This is Part IV of a twenty-two part blog.

Please go to the following link if you have interest in my award-winning book on Meditation and Intuition: http://www.MagicalKeystoSelfMastery.com/

As well, if you have interest in my Meditation CDs, please go to the following link:
http://www.LearnMastery.com/AudioTapesByYanni.htm

Posted by Yanni at 4:00 AM | Permalink

Life Mastery's Friday Weekly Podcast:

"Meditation--A Way to Become Physically, Mentally and Metaphysically Fit, Part III Podcast"



(length 4:04 minutes)

Posted by Yanni at 4:00 AM | Permalink

This is Part III of a twenty-two part mini-course in Meditation in which I discuss the benefits of Meditation, how to best do it and then lead you in a guided meditation at the end. In order to get the most out of these blogs and podcasts, it would be best for you to go back and start with the first blog entry on January 25, 2009.

Our bodies were not built to live under the mental stresses of this age nor were they meant to be sedentary. Now, I am not suggesting that you go into a cave, eat wild berries, roam the forests and meditate for the rest of your life, and forget all of your responsibilities.

But what we can do is to learn how to lessen the intensity of the over-stimulation that we experience. Our bodies are not capable of handling this over-stimulation for long periods of time without significantly breaking down, be it physiologically or emotionally.

So, what meditation does, and it has been around for many millennia, is to help you to slow down and to feel physiologically and emotionally better and more balanced. This is the incredible gift that meditation freely offers anyone willing to experiment with it.

What we do not realize is that our minds do not think on their own; we choose what we think about. It may seem at times that we don't choose our thoughts and that we don't choose our emotional reactions and that our minds and emotions have a "mind of their own." But, in fact, you can learn to choose what you think about and you can learn to choose how you feel.

You can choose to "awfulize" or you can choose to see the best in yourself and your situation.

There can be a big difference in how you experience an event. It depends on whether you see the cup half-empty or half-full. How you choose to perceive an event determines how you physiologically and emotionally experience it.

This is Part III of a twenty-two part blog.

Please go to the following link if you have interest in my award-winning book on Meditation and Intuition: http://www.MagicalKeystoSelfMastery.com/

As well, if you have interest in my Meditation CDs, please go to the following link:
http://www.LearnMastery.com/AudioTapesByYanni.htm

Posted by Yanni at 4:00 AM | Permalink

Life Mastery's Friday Weekly Podcast:

"Meditation--A Way to Become Physically, Mentally and Metaphysically Fit, Part II Podcast"



(length 4:33 minutes)

Posted by Yanni at 4:00 AM | Permalink

This is Part II of a twenty-two part mini-course on Meditation in which I discuss the benefits of Meditation, how to best do it and use it and then lead you in a guided meditation at the end. In order to get the most out of these blogs and podcasts, it would be best for you to go back and start with the first blog entry on January 25, 2009.

Negative or intense thoughts release stress hormones and relaxing, happy thoughts release relaxation hormones. The hormones have more complicated names than that, but so be it in this kind of a presentation.

So, as your mind slows and calms down, so does your body. And not only does your body slow and calm down so that it is not as tense, but, as an added benefit, the relaxation hormones you are now releasing are "anabolic," that is, they actually build up or heal your body.

In contrast, when you secrete stress hormones, you create a "catabolic" effect; that is, an effect that breaks down your body. So when you are stressed you are creating an environment within yourself physiologically that is literally breaking you down (catabolism). That is why there are a lot of stress related illnesses. Some experts believe that nearly 80% of all doctor visits are stress related.

So, therefore, in order to be as fit physiologically as you can, it really is important to learn how to master your mind. You need to learn how to allow your mind to go into a neutral state more often than it does now. [By the way, there is nothing wrong with multi-tasking. It is a very useful function. But the problem occurs when you are multi-tasking all or most of the time.] Our human bodies have been around a very long time and there really is only about a 1.0% difference between the makeup of a Neanderthal's body and ours.

So, we were created to function optimally by being, as our ancestors were, physically active. As well, we are not made to be as mentally over-stimulated as we are with all the data and information and "doing" and "thinking" we engage in in this modern technological age.

This is Part II of a twenty-two part blog.

Please go to the following link if you have interest in my award-winning book on Meditation and Intuition: http://www.MagicalKeystoSelfMastery.com/

As well, if you have interest in my Meditation CDs, please go to the following link:
http://www.LearnMastery.com/AudioTapesByYanni.htm

Posted by Yanni at 4:00 AM | Permalink

Life Mastery's Friday Weekly Podcast:

"Meditation--A Way to Become Physically, Mentally and Metaphysically Fit, Part I Podcast"



(length 4:32 minutes)

Posted by Yanni at 4:00 AM | Permalink

Starting today and continuing through the next twenty-two weeks of blogs and podcasts, I will be offering a course on Meditation. The first twenty one posts will be a discussion about Meditation, its benefits and how to best use it and do it. In the last post I will lead you in a guided meditation.

Most people discount meditation when they speak of getting fit. They usually think of fitness solely in terms of doing exercise and eating a proper diet. From my point of view it is not only physical fitness that we want to aim towards, but there is also a mental and psychological or even a metaphysical fitness that I personally believe is primary in attaining well rounded health and wellness.

What meditation really helps one learn how to do is to slow down and quiet the mind. Of course, you might well ask, "What good does that do?" Actually slowing the mind down is a very valuable skill to learn because every thought and feeling that we have gets expressed in every cell in our body.

This happens because every thought and feeling we have creates synaptic exchanges in our brain which then creates a hormonal response. So, a hormone of some kind, either a stress or relaxation one, is released as result of the kinds of thoughts and feelings we have. These hormones, courtesy of our cardiovascular system, are then pumped throughout our whole body and bathe all our cells. So that when you are angry about something, the cells in your big toe are bathed in an anger hormone and you now have an angry big toe, so to speak.

So, too, with being uptight or anxious, when you are uptight or anxious it is not just something that is going on in your mind, it is something that also is happening in you physiologically--in your body. So the kinds of thoughts and feelings you have determine whether a stress or a relaxation hormone is released into your bloodstream and that then determines what your body is experiencing.

This is Part I of a twenty-two part blog.

Please go to the following link if you have interest in my award-wining book on Meditation and Intuition: http://www.MagicalKeystoSelfMastery.com/

As well, if you have interest in my Meditation CDs, please go to the following link:
http://www.LearnMastery.com/AudioTapesByYanni.htm

Posted by Yanni at 4:00 AM | Permalink

Life Mastery's Friday Weekly Podcast:

"Emotional/Mental Fitness: A Daily Routine; A Meditation," Podcast

(length 6:12 minutes)

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Posted by Yanni at 4:00 AM | Permalink