GenkiJuku <> Wellness Center

Welcome

2012-02-02T16:34:00.000-08:00

。。。　。。。　元　気　塾　。。。　。。。

素晴らしい棚田の恵まれた自然の中　

心身共にリフレッシュしてみませんか

だるまさんの癒しの空間

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Hachidankin 　気功、八段錦

Mandala Therapy 　曼荼羅セラピー　曼陀羅セラピー
マンダラセラピー
Daruma Exercises 　だるま体操

Anmakoo Massage 　按摩功、指圧　など

Katsugen 　活元運動

Autogenic Training 　自律訓練法

Color Therapy - 色彩セラピー: 末永蒼生 Suenaga Tamio 　　　　

Spring Meditation 春を迎える。英文

やきとり体操 Yakitori Taiso やきとりじいさん. ご当地体操

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Incense 　お香、アロマセラピー

Music 　癒しの音楽

Copying the Sutra, Shakyoo 般若心経

 More Resources in English

Absent-minded ... where are you NOW ?

Gestalt Therapy

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だるま資料館 Daruma Museum
http://darumasan.blogspot.com/

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Hachidankin

2010-12-30T21:17:00.000-08:00

八段錦　＜＞　気功の基本

八段錦は気功の基本中の基本です。健康のために毎日行ってください。

八段錦の動作をウェッブムービーで紹介

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私の好きな達磨さんも八段錦をやっています。その元祖である。

Bodhidharma Lifting the Sky
The great Zen teacher, Bodhidharma (448-527 CE), supposedly created the
Eighteen Hands of the Lohan Qigong
The Shaolin 18 Lohan Hands system is much more extensive than the Eight Section Brocade.
http://www.egreenway.com/taichichuan/esb.htm#End

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Eight Section Brocade Exercises

1. Pressing the Heavens with Two Hands
South, Summer
Ch'ien, Heaven, Sky, Air
Intense Yang
Heart, Small Intestine, Stomach, Lungs
(The Triple Warmer)

2. Drawing the Bow and Letting the Arrow Fly
Southwest, Mid-Summer
Sun, Wind, Yang
Kidneys, Spleen, Waist, Eyes, Legs

3. Separating Heaven and Earth
North, Winter
K'un, Earth
Intense Yin
Spleen, Kidneys, Bladder, Pancreas

4. Wise Owl Gazes Backward
West, Autumn
K'an, Water, Yang-Yin
Lungs, Immune System, Large Intestine

5. Punching with Angry Gaze
Spring, East
Li, Fire, Yin-Yang
Liver, Gallbladder, Blood, Eyes

6. Bouncing on the Toes
Northeast, Mid-Winter
Chen, Thunder, Yin
Immune System, Calves, Feet

7. Big Bear Turns from Side to Side
Northwest, Mid-Autumn
Ken, Mountain, Yin-Yang
Heart, Waist, Legs

8. Touching Toes then Bending Backwards
Southeast, Mid-Spring
Tui, Lake, Yang-Yin
Kidneys, Waist, Legs, Back

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The Eight Verses of Wudang Mountain Badunjin :

1. Lift the ground and hold the sky to take care of the three internal cavities
2. Draw a bow to the left and right, just like shooting a vulture
3. Lift the hand up singly to tone and caress the spleen and the stomach
4. Look backwards to cure the five strains and seven injuries
5. Reach down the leg by both hands to strengthen the kidney and the reproductive organ
6. Swivel the head and rock the bottom to calm down
7. Rotate fists and stare to add stamina
8. Vibrate the back seven times to expel illness

© Green Way Research, Red Bluff, California, 2006
By Michael P. Garofalo

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　Daruma Museum, Japan

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Mandala Therapy

2010-12-29T18:12:00.000-08:00

曼陀羅セラピー　Mandala　Therapy
曼荼羅セラピー　・　マンダラセラピー
塗り絵　曼荼羅　

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曼荼羅道　　　　マンダラ・セラピー

ここで紹介したいマンダラ・セラピーと言うのは、決められたパターンに色を塗るだけで想像力を養い、神経を落ち着かせ、全身の健康レベルを高める効果がある。

ヨーロッパでは最近とても人気があります。
得に落ち着かない子供達に簡単なマンダラを与えると不思議に落ち着き、静かになり、集中力が増加します。
睡眠薬や安定剤の代わりに寝るまえに30分をかけて､静かな部屋でマンダラに取り組むとよく寝付く効果があります。

マンダラの模様が世界中の文化圏に昔からあり、必ず真ん丸いものではない。
人間と宇宙、人間と人間、人間と地球の関係を考えさせてくれる道具です。
人類の初期に出来たマンダラの力、エネルギーは今も生き、色を付けるあなたに伝わってくるかもしれない。時間とは、空間とは、生死とは、人生とは。。。
マンダラにはあなたが探しているその返事が隠されているかもしれない。

日本では写経や写仏の伝統がありますが、あまりにも宗教的な修行で、決められたものを繰りかえすだけで、そんなに楽しくないようです。マンダラに色を塗るとご自分が造物主（Creator）になり、ご自分の世界を作ることが出来ますので、思わぬ楽しさがあります。

水彩絵の具、色鉛筆、マーカー　なんでもよろしいのです。明るい色、暗い色、その日の気分で選んでください。全部に色を塗る必要もないし、ご自分のすきなように、自由に行ってください。同じマンダラに何回も取り組むと、その日その日のご自分の変化も現れると思います。上手も下手もない。楽しくやればそれでよいのです。

マンダラに取り組むとご自分の内面に新しい発見があると思います。今日の発見を今日出来上がったマンダラの側に書いておいてください。絵日記の代わりになり、ご自分の道の道しるべにもなります。

道（どう）とは道を進めることであり、目的に到着することではない。マンダラを楽しい道連れにして見てはいかがでしょうか。
ぜひ一度ためしてみてください。

ガビ　グレーベ
医学博士

極楽庵
GokuRakuAn ２００２年

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曼荼羅セラピーの世界ー　資料

マンダラ・セラピーの紹介　　

世界のことわざと友に　（ボケ防止にお勧め）　　
　　ロース窓の世界　　　(ボケ防止のお勧め）　
　　

以下の資料は　 10枚セット　/ 　　30枚セット　
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人生の迷路を行く、世界のマンダラの遍路道　　　 (10枚)
　　
四季の楽しいマンダラ　　　　　　　　　(10枚)　（30枚）

お子様からお年よりまでのマンダラの世界　　　　　(10枚)
　　　お子様からお年よりまでの世界の曼陀羅　　　(30枚)

　　ケルト民族の永遠の結び目　　　　　　(10枚)　（30枚）
　　中央オリエントの模様　　　　　　　　(10枚)　（30枚）
　　チベット文化圏の曼陀羅　　　　　　(10枚)　（30枚）
　　
子供向けシリーズ

お子様向けのマンダラの世界　　　　　　(10枚)　（30枚）

園児向けのマンダラ　　　　　　　　　　(10枚)　（30枚）
幼児向けのマンダラ　　　　　　　　　　(10枚)　（30枚）

小学生向け、１年生から３年生まで　　　(10枚)　（30枚）
小学生向け、４年生から６年生まで　　　(10枚)　（30枚）

小・中学生向けの自然界のマンダラ　　　(10枚)　（30枚）

インデイアンの世界　　　　　　　　　　(10枚)　（30枚）

資料がほかにもたくさんありますので気軽にみに来てください。

Mandala Therapy, English Introduction

ガビの曼荼羅写真集

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友達のLINK

Graphic Art, Shining Light Desing
by Lyn Wandell

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....... 極楽庵の歩く曼荼羅

もう一つの曼荼羅セラピー
Walking the Mandala

津山市の歩く曼荼羅ー Walking Mandala in Tsuyama
ベル作です。まちなか元気ラビリント津山
曼荼羅の種類の写真もいっぱいあります。

津山の子供たちの曼荼羅

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資料：　別の種類の曼荼羅セラピー

マンダラ・セラピー

マンダラとは多くの民族文化に見られる聖なる円で、多くは複雑な幾何学的文様が描かれ瞑想のために用いられます。このワークショップでは、自己洞察とヒーリングのため自分自身のマンダラを創ることに焦点を当てます。参加者には紙とパステル、クレヨンが渡されます。くつろいだ直観力を働かせやすい状態になれるよう、エクササイズした後、ヒーリング・ミュージックを聴きながら、描いた円の中をいろいろな形や色で埋めていきます。

その作業をすること自体がとてもくつろいだきぶんになります。「芸術的」である必要はまったくありません。仕上がりは気にせず色を入れていきます。その後グループの参加者同士作品を見せ合い、どのように感じるか、また発見した自己洞察についてどんなことでも話し合います。マンダラは、自己と宇宙あるいは完全などを現し、マンダラを創造することは非常に単純ですが深みのあるアート・セラピーとなります。
Unicorncenter

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日本でも大良好になりそうな　。。。まんだら塗り絵　！

「５歳の息子よりもママが、まんだら塗り絵にはまった！」

これは本というよりも「塗り絵」でっす。直径２３cmの丸の中にいろいろな模様が描かれていまっす。おおまかなものから細かいものまで４８種ほど。細かいものほど燃えまっす。ただひたすら塗り絵をするだけなのですがっ、出来上がった時の達成感はひとしおでっす。

当初は５歳の息子にねだられて塗り絵ごときに１８００円は高いなぁと思いつつ渋々購入しましたがっ、実際に届いてみると、はまったのは私のほうでしたっ。１枚塗り終えるのに息子は３０分ほどかかりますがっ、集中して塗り絵をしていまっす。集中力を養うためにも買ってよかったなぁっと思っていまっす。日増しに細かいものに挑戦し器用に塗り絵をするようにもなりましたっ。子育てをしていると頼む１０分でいいから静かにしていて欲しいというとき必ずあると思いまっす。

いままでは内心申し訳なく思いつつもビデオをつけていましたがっ、マンダラ塗り絵ならテレビに比べはるかに子どもにもいいような気がしまっす。

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極楽庵
GokuRakuAn

だるま資料館
Daruma Museum, Japan

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Daruma Exercises

2010-12-28T08:47:00.000-08:00

[ . BACK to DARUMA　MUSEUM　TOP . ]
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だるま体操　－　易筋経　
Daruma Health Exercises

達磨さんも皆様にすばらしい体操を教えてくれた。
肩こりなどによく効く体操ですので、試してみてください。

簡単ですが、よく効くのは特徴です。

休憩のポースと3回の腕の位置を変えるポースで呼吸を数えながら腕を伸ばします。

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座禅に似たポースあるいは正座でゆっくり静かにお腹で呼吸します。

以下の姿勢は立ったままでもできます。
足踏みしながらもできます（お散歩をかねての訓練です）。

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正座で行います。

（１）　この腕のポースで吐く息10回を数えます。
これは　休憩のポース　です。

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このポースで吐く息30回を数えて。出来たら、もっともっと長くします。
（１）に戻ります。

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両腕を横にひろげます。手首をよく曲げます。

このポースで吐く息30回を数えて。
（１）に戻ります。

これを参考に、座ったままに行ってください。

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このポースで吐く息30回を数えて。
（１）に戻ります。

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資料はこちらより（英文）
For information regarding DaMo Qigong please refer to
www.damo-qigong.net/

だるまの中国の故郷の写真
Mount Quian Shan Dragon Palace

http://www.damo-qigong.net/qianshan_2.htm#top

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http://www.easternhealingcenter.com

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........... だるまキュアーハウス
........... Daruma Kurhaus

『気功太極導引』講師：　陳　雷　Chen Lei

「易筋経」によれば、仏教を中国に伝えて禅宗を創立した達磨祖師から伝授され始めたもので、少林寺で少林寺武術内容の一つとして代々伝えられてきました。

“易”は、転化、変更するという意味です。
“筋”は筋肉、筋骨のことを示します。
“経”は法典、案内という意味です。

易筋経。１４から３０まで読んでください。
Daruma　Sutra　

索引　：　Index　

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DaMo Quigong 達磨（だも）

When there comes the saint accomplished in Tao,
there arrives the true knowledge
which is at the extremity ofignorance,
for something known means something unknown,
and nothing known means nothing unknown.
The thing that gives no sounds at all plays the grandest music.
The thing that has no taste at all gives the prettiest flavor.
All musical scales floating in the air come from nonexistence.
Existence owes its birth to nonexistence.

This is just an excerpt from a great article by Mr. Wang Tao.

The exercises are so simple you might first think this does not work,
but trust me and Daruma san, they DO !

http://www.damo-qigong.net/2nature.htm

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だるま資料館
Daruma Museum, Japan

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Yakitori Taiso

2009-10-11T22:57:00.000-07:00

やきとり体操 Yakitori Taiso

やきとりじいさん

運動でダイエットしたいのですが、何をやっても挫折してばかり。無精者でも楽しく続けられる運動はありませんか。

考案者は、桜の聖母短大（福島市）講師で、市民向けの健康講座も受け持つ岡田麻紀さん（３２）。
岡田さん自身、体育学を学んでいた学生時代から１２年間、あらゆるダイエット法に挑戦しては挫折を繰り返してきた。継続できる体操がないなら自分で作ろうと、一念発起。長年の失敗の原因を探ったうえで試作、実践してみると、３か月で１０キロ・グラムの減量に成功した。

　岡田さんが挫折経験から学んだ「毎日継続するための条件」は、〈１〉自室でできる〈２〉お金がかからない〈３〉手近なものを小道具に使う〈４〉楽しく笑顔になれる――の４点。自室でタダなら、いつでもできる。小道具は、気が乗らないときでも腰を上げるきっかけになる。部屋の中ですぐ使えるものが効果的だ。この体操では音楽がその役割を担うが、枕やタオルなどもいいそうだ。
source : www.yomiuri.co.jp

. . . CLICK here for Photos !

gotoochi taisoo ご当地体操 local exercises
seems very popular these days.

. . . CLICK here for Photos !

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極楽庵
GokuRakuAn

だるま資料館
Daruma Museum, Japan

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Body language : Seishindo

2008-11-15T14:23:00.000-08:00

quote from

The "Pure Heart, Simple Mind" Newsletter
Written by Charlie Badenhop, Originator of Seishindo

©　Charlie Badenhop / Volume 6, No. 18; November 15, 2008

Your "body language" determines your thoughts and emotions

Body language
In Seishindo we consider "body language" to be the entire process involved in A. Breathing, B. Body usage (posture, movement, and overall muscle tone), and C. Neurotransmitter activity. (Neurotransmitters are chemicals that relay, amplify and modulate signals between neurons and the cells of the body. Adrenaline, cortisol, serotonin, etc.). This definition of "body language" is much broader than what most people use, and thus it's important to note. In Seishindo the terms "body language" and "somatic language" are interchangeable.

It's your body language at any given moment, that determines your emotional response to events and circumstances, and your current thinking. Tighten your shoulder and neck muscles, and breathe in a rapid shallow manner, and soon you'll be talking about how you've been feeling tense lately. Breathe deeply while relaxing the muscles of your face, neck, shoulders, and chest, and you'll likely report feeling calm.

When you change the way you breathe, use your body, and release neurotransmitters, you change your emotions, thoughts, and overall health condition. How to bring about such changes is a major part of what we teach in Seishindo.

Emotional response
Your emotional response to circumstances is a major factor determining the meaning of your experience, your beliefs about what transpired, and your perception of self and others. If you make a mistake when calculating some numbers and get upset at yourself, then you'll likely see your mistake as a sign that you're not good at math, or that you are careless. If you make the same mistake without getting upset, then you will simply correct the calculation and not develop a negative belief about yourself.

Emotional triggers
In most instances, your emotional response to circumstances is triggered prior to thinking about or assigning meaning to what's taken place. The speed of your emotional response is significantly faster and more primal than your ability to "understand" or describe what has transpired. Consider how quickly you pull your hand away from a hot stove. Your emotional response is often this quick. It's part of your survival instinct.

Verbal descriptions of events and circumstances are literally an "afterthought". The verbal language used to describe your experience (For instance, "I'm upset!") is generated as a response to your body language. In order to report feeling upset you will first have to release certain neurotransmitters and restrict your breathing some.

Emotional habits
If it's been your tendency to get upset by certain circumstances over and over again, then you'll likely get upset by these same circumstances in the future. In this regard, our emotional responses are similar to various other habits we have, like clearing our throat prior to speaking in public, or looking down when feeling embarrassed. Every time you duplicate an emotional response, you are that much more likely to once again have that response in the future.

The good news here is that indeed your system IS learning. So the more often you interrupt an old habit and replace it with a new way of responding, the more likely you will be to respond in this "new" way in the future.

Which of your brains mediate your emotions?
The activity of your enteric nervous system, reptilian brain, limbic brain, and heart, are for the most part responsible for your emotional response to circumstances. Over time, and with practice, you can mediate these responses and become more emotionally balanced.

There's no two ways about it, your neo-cortex is not in charge of mediating your emotions. Your neo-cortex is in charge of talking about your emotions though.

Two 80-20 rules
It's widely considered that approximately 80% of the emotional message conveyed in verbal communication is a result of verbal speed, tone of voice, intonation, emphasis, volume, and phrasing. In other words, as important as it is to choose the proper words to describe what you're thinking, words in and of themselves, are not enough to convey what you're feeling. High quality communication is all about conveying one's feelings in a balanced manner, and thus it's crucial that you become ever more aware of the 80% of communication that's beyond the words.

Another 80-20 rule is that at least 80% of your emotional understanding/response to circumstances occurs prior to your neo-cortex entering into the process of "understanding" what's going on. Emotion is not dependent on rational logic.

The recursive loop of language and body
Change the way in which you describe your circumstances (Verbal speed, rhythm, tone, volume, pausing, and breathing patterns.) and you will affect and change the meaning you assign to circumstances, your perception, and thus your emotional response.

Your body does not comprehend the words you speak, but your body does indeed comprehend the emotional tone that you deliver your words with. The more you speak in a slow pleasing rhythm, while breathing freely and easily in between phrases, the better able your body is to calmly digest your conversation. All of which will lead to a more solution oriented outlook on life.

As you change your emotional response to circumstances, you affect and change the overall condition and health of your body, which in turn will affect and change the language you use to describe your experience. In order to truly make a difference in your emotional state, solution oriented language patterns must be accompanied by a relaxed, physically balanced body.

Emotion consists of a recursive interaction of language and body. Emotion is a system that is coherent at a deeper level than language or body taken separately. When your emotional state truly changes there will be a concurrent recursive change in your body, and your use of verbal language.

The bio-chemistry of emotion
The various neurotransmitters you release into your body play a major role in determining your overall sense of health and well-being. The bio-chemical processes that make up your emotional response cannot be mediated by your rational mind. No matter how many times you tell yourself to "calm down" you won't get the results you desire unless you stop releasing adrenaline and or cortisol into your system.

If large quantities of cortisol and adrenaline are dispersed throughout the body, you'll report being overly excited or anxious. If your body does not generate and release sufficient amounts of serotonin, you will likely report feeling depressed.* The bio-chemical activity of your body is integral in determining your emotional response to events, and yet the average person is unable to mediate this activity without significant training.
*Approximately 85% of the systems serotonin is produced in the gut (the enteric nervous system) and this activity is not controlled by the brain in your skull! For more info on this see "The Second Brain" by Dr. Michael Gershon.

Using what "you" can change, to change what "you" can't
By learning how to change the systematic and habitual way you use your body and breathe, you'll little by little begin to change the systematic and habitual release of neurotransmitters. Changing the way you use your body leads to a change in your bio-chemistry, which further leads to a change in your emotional state.

In Seishindo we focus on changing the variables of body language we are clearly capable of changing (body usage and breath). In the long run this enables you to mediate the changes in bio-chemistry that are normally beyond your conscious control.

The importance of breath
Your breath plays a crucial role in enabling the body to distill life affirming meaning from your experience. In order for you to learn, adapt, and change in a generative manner, your body needs enough oxygen to facilitate proper digestion of your emotional responses.

Copious amounts of oxygen nurture and support your ability to rest, relax, and heal. Insufficient oxygen leads to excessive levels of carbon dioxide in the body, which leads to the body being overly acidic and thus toxic. A toxic body leads to a fight or flight response.

Two minds, two outlooks on life
We can say that each person embodies two different yet complementary minds. The rational mind (reasoning) and the emotional mind (feelings). Reasoning and emotion are two separate yet potentially complementary ways of understanding one's experience.

Your rational mind talks to you in the native language of your birth, and your emotional mind, talks to you via your body language. The key to living a healthy emotionally fulfilling life involves learning how to respond to life in a way that satisfies the desires of both minds.

Your emotional mind is eminently powerful, and it rarely loses an argument with the rational mind. When your rational mind and your emotional mind are working at cross purposes, it's usually the emotional mind that winds up dominating, and the result is that "you" seem unable to achieve what "you" desire. When your two minds are working in harmony life is just as you would like it to be.

You'll do well to ask "How" instead of "Why"
Most of us have spent a good deal of time asking ourselves or our coaches or therapists "Why is it that I keep on doing this?!" You might wind up deciding that you act the way you do because of the way your parents treated you, or because you grew up as the youngest child in your family. While there might be some truth in such thinking, it's rare that understanding "why" will lead to different emotional responses in the future.

The suggestion we make in Seishindo is that you spend time exploring how it is you generate your emotions. How what you do with your body leads you to feel a certain way. The more adept you become at realizing and responding to what your body is saying, the better able you'll become at managing your emotional responses in the future. Soon you'll wind up discovering that you are indeed capable of changing the way you think and feel.

Simple, yet not easy
It's as simple as that, yet not necessarily easy! I don't say this to discourage you. Indeed, I say this so that you won't become discouraged when you don't get immediate long lasting results. Living a happy healthy life is an artful activity that requires life long learning. Whatever you learn today, you can little by little improve upon tomorrow. Focus on the change you do get, and explore how to further improve over the course of time.

Written by Charlie Badenhop, the originator of Seishindo

http://www.seishindo.org/newsletter.html

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だるま資料館
Daruma Museum, Japan

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Anmakoo Massage

2007-12-27T21:40:00.000-08:00

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按摩功　Anmakoo

元気塾では先ず按摩功を行います。簡単に言えば、自分に指圧をすることです。

詳しいことはまた後で。

Do it yourself, Shiatsu 　指圧　!

Zen Shiatsu
The Legacy of Shizuto Masunaga

BASIC CONCEPTS
Consistent with the basic concepts of traditional Chinese medicine, Zen Shiatsu is grounded in the theory that health problems are attributed to, or at least involve:

imbalances in yin and yang;
disharmonies between the internal organs; and
blockages to the circulation of ki (in Chinese: qi; in English: chi) through the meridians.

http://www.itmonline.org/arts/shiatsu.htm

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『自我内功按摩』
南天　　櫛引

source : 按　摩　動　功

source : kinsei.net

Acupuncture Points in English

source : Anma Massage

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極楽庵
GokuRakuAn

だるま資料館
Daruma Museum, Japan

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Katsugen

2007-12-26T01:11:00.000-08:00

[ . BACK to DARUMA　MUSEUM　TOP . ]
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活元運動　（かつげんうんどう）

この方法で体のバランスをとりもどします。個人個人の体が自由に動きますので、個人によく効きます。
鎌倉で長い間勉強してきた方法の一つです。準備運動から始まるが後は自由に体を動かすだけ。

ガビ

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「活元運動」　Katsugen Undo
©　Seishindo
（日本語訳：下尾崎勉）

このエクササイズは、野口晴哉(ハルチカ)先生が実践された野口整体を基本とし、そこからいくらか私自身が発展させたものだ。

　身体に過剰なエネルギーを蓄えてしまう傾向が誰にでもあり、そのために身体が自然にバランスを保とうする力が抑制されてしまう、と野口先生は語る。身体的にも感情的にも心理的にも健康になろうとする自分の能力が、知らないうちに余剰エネルギーによって妨害されるのだ。

　このことは、身体的コミュニケーションの癖をつくり出し、自分の能力の限界をつくり出だすことになりかねない。多くの人が、自分の身体とフルにコミュニケートする能力を失い、身体の状態に十分気づく能力を失っている。身体とコミュニケートするパターンは、言葉によるコミュニケーションのパターンとつながっている。自分の身体とのコミュニケーション能力や気づきが抑制されることは、言葉によるコミュニケーション能力と言語的な気づきも抑制され、とうぜん健康状態全般にも影響を及ぼす。

　最大限に自分の身体とコミュニケートする能力を体現し、身体の状態に気づく能力をのばそう。言葉によるコミュニケーション能力をのばし、自分が感じていることを‘理解’できるようになろう。

　言葉による人とのコミュニケーションを理解するための前提：

1) 自分の身体とのコミュニケーションを活気づいたものにする
2) 他者が自ら行っている身体とのコミュニケーションを理解する方法を学ぶ

　野口晴哉先生が残された2冊の著作は、どちらも英訳されている。
「整体入門(Order, Spontaneity and the Body)」
「風邪の効用(Colds and Their Benefits)」。

整体入門が先生の神髄だろう。先生の言葉によると、活元運動の目的は、本人が動かそうと思って動かすのではない身体じたいに備わった、偏りを自動調整する能力を活性化することにある。

野口晴哉：著『整体入門』
『風邪の効用』ちくま文庫(ISBN4480037063)
ちくま文庫(ISBN4480038078)

PART I　(邪気の吐出)

1) 正座またはイスに浅く腰かける。

　自分が動きたいように身体のあちこちをいろんなふうに動かす。頭と首と腕をぐるぐる回す。胴体を前後にゆする。筋肉を緊張させたり逆にだらりと緩めたりする。自分が動ける無理のない範囲で動かそう。背骨と首と頭が天井に向かって広がるのを感じよう。自分が世界のてっぺんに座っている感じを味わう。しっかりと呼吸を感じる。そこから見えるもの、聞こえるもの、感じることに気持ちをむける。どんな音であれ、そのときの自分にあった音や声を出す。

2) 両手の指で胸骨の下に触れる(胸骨はろっ骨の一番下。ろっ骨の真ん中。鼻とヘソを結ぶ直線とろっ骨の一番下とが交差する点) 。一方の手で、胸骨から下へ指3本分の幅のところにあるいくらかやわらかい部分に触れる。ここが太陽神経叢だ(俗にいうみぞおち)。もう一方のひとさし指、中指、薬指で、先の手に重ねる(科学的に正確かどうかよりも自分がいいと感じることが大切)。

3) 手をその位置のまま、鼻から深く息を吸い込む。自分のお腹までいっぱいにするつもりで吸い込もう。次に身体を曲げながら、ハァァァという音とともにゆっくりと、口から全部残らず空気を吐き出す。前方に身体をこごめながら、手でみぞおちを可能なかぎり強く深くしっかりと押し込む。

4) 一度全部吐き切ったら、身体は曲げたままで急に指と全身の力を抜く。

5) 同じ姿勢のまま楽に呼吸する。15～20秒そのままにして、その後まっすぐに座りなおす。

6) 3、4、5のステップを4～5回くり返す。くり返すうち、太陽神経叢がやわらかくなり、よくあくびが出る。

PART II　(上体ひねり)

1) ひざの上に両手を置く。
ゆっくりと胴体と頭を可能なかぎりねじる。自分の背骨を見ようとするみたいに、目もいっしょに後ろへ向ける。

2) 最大限ねじりきったところで、急に完全に力を抜き、もとの正面を向いた姿勢にもどる。

3) 反対側にも同じようにねじってから、15～20秒楽に座る。呼吸と、見えるもの、聞こえるもの、感じることに気持ちを向ける。

4) 上のプロセスぜんたいを4～5回くり返す。

5) 少し時間をとって、呼吸している感じと、見えるもの、聞こえるもの、感じることに気持ちを向ける。

PART III　(スウィング)

1) 前と同じねじりの動きを数回行う(目もしっかりグルッと回すこと)。

2) 今回は、いくぶんはずみをつけて頭と胴体をひねり、ねじる方向へ両腕もはずみをつけて回す。

3) 最大限ねじりきったら、すかさず反対側へもはずみをつけて身体をひねる。

4) 反対側も最大限ねじりきったら、急に完全に力を抜き、もとの正面を向いた姿勢にもどる。

5) 鼻から大きく息を吸い込み、口から吐く。3回くり返す。一拍、間をとった後、上のプロセスぜんたいを4～5回くり返す。

6) 全部が終わったら、完全に力を抜いて座る。見えるもの、聞こえるもの、感じることに気持ちを向ける。自分の呼吸をしっかり感じとる。

PART IV　 (上体そらし)

　いったんやり方が分かれば、以下のステップをひとつの連続した動きとして行う。

1) 両手とも親指を中に入れてこぶしをつくる(何かを殴るためのこぶしではない)。

2) 鼻から息を吸い込みながら、両腕を90度に曲げたまま肩の高さまで上げる(いわゆるガッツポーズ)。

3) 奥歯をかみしめ、全身を緊張させながら(顔の筋肉とおしりの穴も)、ハァァァという音とともに口から息を吐き出す。上げた両腕と頭を後ろへ強くそらす。肩甲骨どうしを後ろでくっつけるつもりでそらす(力を込めるときふつうは息を詰めるものだが、それとはアベコベに、息を抜きながら全身を緊張させるのがここでのポイント)。

4) 最大限そらしきったら、急に完全に力を抜く(崩れ倒れないように)。自分の呼吸をしっかり感じとる。

5) 少しの間、見えるもの、聞こえるもの、感じることに気持ちを向ける。それから、上のプロセスぜんたいを4～5回くり返す。

6)
以上の準備運動が終わったら目を閉じて座り、呼吸に気持ちを向けながら、どんなふうであれ身体が動くのにまかせよう。

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運動が終わったら（大体20分）、次のことを必ず行います：

正座になります。こらえたまま、お腹にまで空気を満たすつもりで大きく息を吸い込み、ゆっくり鼻から吐き出す。もう一度深く呼吸します。自然に深い呼吸になります。そしてゆっくり
片目づつあけてください。

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私の日本語より分かりやすいでしょう。

とにかく、以上の準備運動をやった後で、自由に自由に体が動くのを待って、体に任せます。
ある人は腕を振るいます、ある人は足を天にけります、座ったり、立ったり、曲がったり　。。。何でもよいのです。恥ずかしくないように。上手も下手もない。

日本人にはそんな自由な世界、体の使い方がチョット難しいかもしれない。でも、信頼ある仲間なら遠慮はいりません。

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LINK

活元運動（自働運動）とは、からだの奥から出てくる、意識しない動きです。からだを鍛える運動ではありません。どうやってからだが歪んだか、またどうやって病へと傾斜したか、それがわかるのは他ならぬ本人のからだであり、いかなる抑圧がかかっていて、いかなる調整で解消されるかがわかっているのも本人のからだなのです。
自働運動とは、内に堆積している歪みを解消する運動を無意識のなかから引き出し、同時にそれをおこなうことでからだを敏感にし、異常があればそれをきちんと異常と感じられる、自然治癒力を豊かにする運動です。
写真もあります：
http://www.yuwa-seitai.net/katsugen.html

なぜ活元運動が出ないのか
http://www.ne.jp/asahi/ki/shizenkh/shiraishi.html

「野口整体」
http://www.h2.dion.ne.jp/~hakusan/seitai.htm

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Katsugen exercises the autonomic nervous system's involuntary movements to establish better health, balance the body's energies and relieve stress and toxins. It is a dynamic exercise and philosophy that frees you from the layers of societal conditioning and increases your innate ability to be physically, mentally and spiritually healthy, happy and well.

source : www.thegentleartofwellbeing.com

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The healing ideas of traditional Japan.

Katsugen Undo, is originally a practice developed by renowned healer
Haruchika Noguchi (1911 - 1976), as a way of augmenting his healing practice - referred to as Noguchi Setai.

Essentially, Noguchi believed that we all tend to hold on to excess energies that inhibit our self-balancing and self-regulating systems, thus impairing our physical, mental, and emotional functions.

Katsugen Undo is a dynamic exercise intended to relieve stress, detoxify the system and bring the body's energies into natural, healthy balance.

It aims to achieve this by giving free rein to the autonomic nervous system's involuntary movements. Katsugen Undo takes the body beyond conscious exercise into the realms of primal expressive movement arising from the ancient core of our being. It is about going beyond
the illusion of intellect and connecting with the body's natural wisdom.

Practice of Katsugen Undo is said to bring many benefits including:

Relief from stress
Enhanced self-healing and resistance to illness & depression
Increased physical co-ordination, stamina, suppleness/flexibility
Increased self-confidence, happiness and sense of well-being
Greater mental flexibility and openmindedness
Greater ability for self expression/creativity
A deepening of spiritual values & sense of inner strength

It must be stressed that safety of the practitioner(s) and others in close proximity to the practitioner(s) is an important consideration in undertaking Undo

Undo is best performed in an expansive and uncluttered space [thick matting on the floor would also be of benefit]

Katsugen Undo

Sit on a chair, on the front half of the seat.
Begin by loosening up with some simple twists and stretches, e.g.:
- tense and relax your muscles
- roll your neck and head in a circle, clockwise and anti-clockwise
- move your arms up and back behind you in a wide arc
- twist at the waist and bend backwards

When you feel sufficiently loose and flexible, place your hands palms-up on your lap.

Imagine that your head is gently being raised up, your neck and your spine are expanding/ elongating upwards towards the ceiling.

Be conscious of all your senses and what you are experiencing through them. Be aware of your breath - feel your lungs expanding and contracting - and take notice of your feelings.

And as you exhale, (putting aside any sense of self-consciousness) vocalise some sounds - what sounds ever you feel inclined to in the moment

[The main Katsugen Undo exercise process is divided into five parts purely for tuition purposes]

Part A:
With the index, middle, and ring fingers of both hands pressing gently on a point just below your solar plexus (- the solar plexus is an area approximately mid way between the base of the sternum and your navel), inhale deeply through your nose, taking the breath all the way down into your abdomen.

Exhale slowly through your mouth, making a 'haaa' sound as you do so.

At the same time as you exhale, bend forward, pressing your fingers deeply into the area just beneath your solar plexus.

Match your movement and breathing so that you complete your exhalation just as you reach the lowest point you can comfortably bend forward to.

At this point, suddenly relax your entire body (including your finger pressure) while remaining bent over.

Remaining in this position for fifteen to twenty seconds, breathe easily, then return to an upright position.

Repeat the process about four or five times:
fingers pressing gently below the solar plexus, inhale deeply through the nose into the abdomen. Exhale through the mouth with a 'haaa' sound - bending forward and pressing firmly into the point below your solar plexus. Remaining bent forward, suddenly relax - breathing easily for fifteen to twenty seconds, then sit upright again....

It is frequently the case that many people feel the desire to yawn at some point during this process - if you do, just let it happen - you should also find that your diaphragm will begin to feel somewhat softer.

B:
Place your hands on your lap again - palms upwards - and inhale.
Then, in an attempt to see directly behind your spine, slowly twist your, head and upper body as far as you can to your left as you exhale. Actually look behind you - stretching your eye-muscles

Match your movement and breathing so that you complete your exhalation just as you reach the point of maximum twist.

At the point of maximum twist, suddenly relax your entire body while returning to a forward-facing position, letting the air flood back into your lungs.

Next, slowly twist your head and upper body as far as you can to your right, again, at the point of maximum twist, suddenly relax your entire body while returning to a forward-facing position.

Breathing easily for fifteen to twenty seconds, be aware of what you are experiencing through your senses.

Repeat this entire process to both sides, four or five times.

Relax, feel your breath, and be aware of what you are experiencing through your senses.

C.
You repeat the twisting movement from the previous exercise.
As you do so this time, do it with a slight bouncing motion and swing both arms in the direction you are twisting.

At the point of maximum twist, suddenly relax your entire body while returning to a forward-facing position, letting the air flood back into your lungs.

Then immediately bounce and twist to the other side, again, at the point of maximum twist, suddenly relax your entire body while returning to a forward-facing position, letting the air flood back into your lungs.

Facing forward again, inhale strongly through your nose and exhale through your mouth three or four times, then after a few second's pause, repeat the entire process four or five times.

Relax, feel your breath, and be aware of what you are experiencing through your senses.

D.
Fold your thumb onto your palm and fold your fingers over the thumb (making a fist but with the thumb on the inside)

Inhale through your nose, as you do so bending your arms at right-angles and raising both arms out to the sides. Your elbows are at shoulder height, fists facing forward.

Exhale slowly through your mouth, making a 'haaa' sound as you do so.
At the same time, with the exception of your throat and chest, tense your entire body ( - head, neck, face, torso, limbs, buttocks - even your perineum) , throw back your head, and thrust your shoulders vigourously back as if to make your shoulder blades touch.

At the point of maximum tension, suddenly relax your entire body - yet remain upright, letting the air flood back into your lungs.

Relax, feel your breath, and be aware of what you are experiencing through your senses.

Repeat this whole process four or five times.

E.
Next, (and for this part you can remain seated on the chair, sit in seiza, recline, or stand - if standing, let your arms hang by your sides, if seated hands rest palms up on your lap) close your eyes, and let your thoughts fall away.

Simply feel - feel what you are experiencing through your senses - feel your body, your breath, your blood circulating in your arteries and veins and the life energy flowing within.

Without expectation, without attempt to control it, allow the sensations of your body to intensify - simply 'let go' - lead you into whatever movement your body's wisdom might desire.

Refrain from 'doing'. Do not make or intend any conscious movement.

Withdraw the mind from 'seeking after outcomes' - let it happen naturally, of its own accord.

Let the your energy flow and let yourself flow with it - simply follow the energy.

As well as movement, many people experience spontaneous vocalisations - frequently guttural noises or other sounds.

These spontaneous expressions of sound, movement, etc. may last only a few moments or may continue for some time.

The phenomena may be mild, or may become very energetic and intense. If at any time you feel the movement becomes too great, too intense, or you become concerned, simply stop, take a centering breath, and begin again.

Each individual's experience is unique, depending on their needs, and on how much they are willing to 'let go' and give in to the process.

If allowed to flow freely, the movements will eventually fade into stillness of their own accord. However if for any reason you choose to limit the time you are willing to commit to Katsugen Undo, the following 'closure' is suggested:

With eyes still closed, inhale deeply into your abdomen. Holding the breath for a moment, exhale forcefully and suddenly by tensing the abdomen, making a sharp 'hmmh' sound from deep within as you do so.

Keep the abdomen contracted as, one at a time, you open your eyes and refocus.

The effects of Undo are cumulative, and it is not unheard of for the practice to be carried out daily for many months in succession.

While some people feel comfortable practicing Undo in a group setting, it is essentially a private practice in which the individual communes with the primal wisdom of the body

source : Darumasan-Japan

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だるま資料館　：　Daruma Museum, Japan

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Autogenic Training

2007-12-25T01:11:00.000-08:00

自律訓練法(Autogenic Training)

体をリラックスさせるドイツの方法です。

『健康心理学辞典（実務教育出版）』より

シュルツ（Schultz,J.H,1928)　によって開発された心理生理的訓練法。

　具体的には、段階的に訓練を進めていくことによって、弛緩鎮静、自律神経系の安定などの方向に心身全般が変換した状態（自律状態）が得られるように工夫されたセルフコントロール技法である。

　自律訓練は本来、不安、緊張などが基底にある心身症や神経症の治療法として開発されたものであるが、現在では一般的な自己弛緩法、ストレス緩和法、心身の健康維持・増進法などとして普及してきているほか、スポーツにおけるあがり対策、教育領域における集中力や持続力の向上などから能力開発法まで広く用いられている。

　自律訓練法には、自己暗示的な言語公式を用いて進めていく７段階の練習から構成された標準練習と、その標準練習によって得られた被暗示性の亢進やイメージが出やすいことなどの心身の変換を基盤にして進められる上級練習がある。

　標準練習は、公式化された語句を反復暗唱しながら次第に心身の弛緩した状態が得られるように工夫された7段階の練習から構成されている。この練習を通して、心理的には受動的態度が、生理的には筋弛緩、自律神経系の安定状態が得られる。

（１）背景公式（安静練習）：「気持ちが落ち着いている」
（２）第１公式（四肢重感練習）：「両腕両足が重たい」
（３）第２公式（四肢温感練習）：「両腕両足が温かい」
（４）第３公式（心臓調整練習）：「心臓が（自然に）静かに規則正しく打っている」
（５）第４公式（呼吸調整練習）：「（自然に）楽に息をしている」
（６）第５公式（腹部温感練習）：「お腹が温かい」
（７）第６公式（額部涼感練習）：「額が気持ちよく涼しい」

　一般的な心身の健康維持・増進法としては、安静練習と四肢の重・温感練習を用いる。

　自律訓練法には、標準練習によって得られたイメージが出やすい状態を基盤にして進めていく黙想練習、無意識的な精神活動の存在の確認とその活性化を目的として行われる時間感覚練習、右脳半球機能の賦活を目的として開発された空間感覚練習、被暗示性の亢進状態を積極的に利用して、心身に治療的変化をもたらそうとする自律性修正法、心身を調整する一種の心理生理的なカタルシス現象である自律性解放を積極的に利用する自律性中和法などの特殊練習がある。

http://www.komazawa-u.ac.jp/~sasakiyj/at.htm

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自分に言い聞かせる時、２と３なら、初心者なら、たとえば

右足がとても重い（温かい）です。左足がとても重いです。
右腕がとても重いです。左腕がとても重いです。
と
四回に分けて自分に言い聞かせても結構です。

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極楽庵　：　GokuRakuAn

だるま資料館　：　Daruma Museum, Japan

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Tibetan exercises

2007-12-18T22:22:00.000-08:00

チベット体操 The Five Tibetan Exercises

Tibet
チベット体操は1939年ピーターゲルダー氏の著書
「若さの泉」(The Eye of Revelation)によって世界に紹介されました。

チベット体操の内容は、チベットのラマ僧の間に伝えられていると言う、健康体操で、その効果は、いつの時代でも求められる若返り！アンチエイジングだとされています。

チベット体操第１の儀式
直立姿勢、ヨガでいうと”ターダアサナ（山のポーズ）”から
両手を肩の高さに左右に開き
時計まわりに体を回転する体操です。

チベット体操第２儀式
あお向けになり息を吸いながら
両足と頭を上げ、息を吐きながら下ろす体操。

チベット体操第3儀式
膝立ちから、腰を前に出しながら
上体を反らせ、戻るを繰り返します。

チベット体操第４儀式
足を伸ばして坐る”長坐”から、
あお向けで腰をあげ体でテーブル（橋）を作り、
また長坐へ戻るを繰り返します。

チベット体操第5儀式
ヨガをされてる方にはご存知、
犬の背伸びのような体操”ドッグポーズ”といわれる動きです。
アップドッグ、ダウンドッグです。

©　www.interq.or.jp

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The Five Tibetans

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極楽庵
GokuRakuAn

だるま資料館
Daruma Museum, Japan

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Incense

2007-11-02T09:44:00.000-07:00

お香　－　Incense

体をリラックスさせるにはお香も最適です。アロマセラピーも同じことですね。

極楽庵で進めのお香があります。鎌倉で見つけたものです。

癒しの音楽を聴いて、　お香を焚いて　。。。それだけでも心が落ち着きます。寝る前にお勧めします。

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鬼頭天薫堂

沈香寿王
インドや東南アジアで算出する沈香は、特別な木に香りの樹脂が沈着したものです。採取が困難で量も少なく、古来よりことのほか大切に扱われて参りました。
千年余の伝統を受け継ぐ天薫堂の秘蔵の沈香の清楚で上品なかほりをお楽しみ下さい。

鬼頭天薫堂

古都鎌倉に佇む大社古刹の美しさ。そのひとつひとつに、伝統の技と文化が刻まれ、訪れた人々を魅了します。大自然の中で生まれた香木もまた、悠久の歴史が残した天然の芸術。いつの時代にも自然と調和した文化の結晶を香司鬼頭天薫堂は、大切に受け継ぎながら新しい香りの文化を創り出す香老舗。

〒248-0005 鎌倉市雪の下1- 7- 5
TEL：0467-22-1081 FAX：0467-22-1083

すくっと立ち昇っては消えていくはかない香りを日本人は、「香道」により受け継いできました。 “香”のかもしだす優雅な世界は、時代の潮流にのまれることなく、さらに日本独特の美意識によって磨かれていきました。

「ふるきを訪ねて新しきを知る」といいますが、天薫堂では、「香道」をそのままに次の世代に伝えると共にその中に秘められている新しき魅力を訪ね、現代の暮らしに彩りを添える、新しい“香りの世界”を、歴史が息づく鎌倉で育んでいきたいと考えています。
http://www.tenkundo.co.jp/kodo/

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極楽庵
GokuRakuAn

だるま資料館
Daruma Museum, Japan

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Music

2007-11-01T02:11:00.000-07:00

癒しの音楽　　Healing Music

元気塾でよく音楽を使います。癒しの音楽、リラックスを誘います。

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宮下富美夫　Miyashita Fumio

やすらぎ　Yasuragi

お昼寝の音楽に。。。

瞑想 Meisou

軽い運動をしながら。。。

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西村公栄、愛宕念仏寺 Nishimura Kooei, Otagi Nenbutsudera

http://www.otagiji.org/page009.html
http://www.otagiji.org/page002.html

仏像の祈り、などなど

愛宕念仏寺の紹介

５００羅漢さんで有名な、私が大好きなお寺です。

お寺にて公朝作の仏像仏画が多数拝観できます。　

公栄さんは仏像の研究者、西村公朝の息子様であります。
「西村公朝の祈りの造形」

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Tibetan Cymbals
チベットのシンバル

集中力を高めるために使います。

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極楽庵
GokuRakuAn

だるま資料館
Daruma Museum, Japan

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Kafun Bee Pollen

2007-10-01T23:10:00.000-07:00

花粉　Bee　Pollen
ビーポーレン　

花粉はローヤルジェリーよりやすい。

花粉の粒をヨーグルトに十分溶かし、召し上がってください。

花粉症は花粉で治す！
疲れは花粉で治す！
肥満は花粉で治す！

などなど　。。。

英文の説明
English Explanation

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極楽庵
GokuRakuAn

だるま資料館
Daruma Museum, Japan

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Science of Happy

2007-01-26T16:45:00.000-08:00

"Science of Happy"

how to measure happiness
By CLAUDIA WALLIS

Sugary white sand gleams under the bright yucatan sun, aquamarine water teems with tropical fish and lazy sea turtles, cold Mexican beer beckons beneath the shady thatch of palapas—it's hard to imagine a sweeter spot than Akumal, Mexico, to contemplate the joys of being alive. And that was precisely the agenda when three leading psychologists gathered in this Mexican paradise to plot a new direction for psychology.

For most of its history, psychology had concerned itself with all that ails the human mind: anxiety, depression, neurosis, obsessions, paranoia, delusions. The goal of practitioners was to bring patients from a negative, ailing state to a neutral normal, or, as University of Pennsylvania psychologist Martin Seligman puts it, "from a minus five to a zero." It was Seligman who had summoned the others to Akumal that New Year's Day in 1998—his first day as president of the American Psychological Association (A.P.A.)—to share a vision of a new goal for psychology. "I realized that my profession was half-baked. It wasn't enough for us to nullify disabling conditions and get to zero. We needed to ask, What are the enabling conditions that make human beings flourish? How do we get from zero to plus five?"

Every incoming A.P.A. president is asked to choose a theme for his or her yearlong term in office. Seligman was thinking big. He wanted to persuade substantial numbers in the profession to explore the region north of zero, to look at what actively made people feel fulfilled, engaged and meaningfully happy. Mental health, he reasoned, should be more than the absence of mental illness. It should be something akin to a vibrant and muscular fitness of the human mind and spirit.

Over the decades, a few psychological researchers had ventured out of the dark realm of mental illness into the sunny land of the mentally hale and hearty. Some of Seligman's own research, for instance, had focused on optimism, a trait shown to be associated with good physical health, less depression and mental illness, longer life and, yes, greater happiness. Perhaps the most eager explorer of this terrain was University of Illinois psychologist Edward Diener, a.k.a. Dr. Happiness. For more than two decades, basically ever since he got tenure and could risk entering an unfashionable field, Diener had been examining what does and does not make people feel satisfied with life. Seligman's goal was to shine a light on such work and encourage much, much more of it.

To help him realize his vision, Seligman invited Ray Fowler, then the long-reigning and influential CEO of the A.P.A., to join him in Akumal. He also invited Hungarian-born psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (pronounced cheeks sent me high), best known for exploring a happy state of mind called flow, the feeling of complete engagement in a creative or playful activity familiar to athletes, musicians, video-game enthusiasts—almost anyone who loses himself in a favorite pursuit. By the end of their week at the beach, the three had plans for the first-ever conference on positive psychology, to be held in Akumal a year later—it was to become an annual event—and a strategy for recruiting young talent to the nascent field. Within a few months, Seligman, who has a talent for popularizing and promoting his areas of interest, was approached by the Templeton Foundation in England, which proceeded to create lucrative awards for research in positive psych. The result: an explosion of research on happiness, optimism, positive emotions and healthy character traits. Seldom has an academic field been brought so quickly and deliberately to life.

What Makes Us Happy
So, what has science learned about what makes the human heart sing? More than one might imagine—along with some surprising things about what doesn't ring our inner chimes. Take wealth, for instance, and all the delightful things that money can buy. Research by Diener, among others, has shown that once your basic needs are met, additional income does little to raise your sense of satisfaction with life. A good education? Sorry, Mom and Dad, neither education nor, for that matter, a high IQ paves the road to happiness. Youth? No, again. In fact, older people are more consistently satisfied with their lives than the young. And they're less prone to dark moods: a recent survey by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that people ages 20 to 24 are sad for an average of 3.4 days a month, as opposed to just 2.3 days for people ages 65 to 74. Marriage? A complicated picture: married people are generally happier than singles, but that may be because they were happier to begin with. Sunny days? Nope, although a 1998 study showed that Midwesterners think folks living in balmy California are happier and that Californians incorrectly believe this about themselves too.

On the positive side, religious faith seems to genuinely lift the spirit, though it's tough to tell whether it's the God part or the community aspect that does the heavy lifting. Friends? A giant yes. A 2002 study conducted at the University of Illinois by Diener and Seligman found that the most salient characteristics shared by the 10% of students with the highest levels of happiness and the fewest signs of depression were their strong ties to friends and family and commitment to spending time with them. "Word needs to be spread," concludes Diener. "It is important to work on social skills, close interpersonal ties and social support in order to be happy."

Read more HERE !

　© By CLAUDIA WALLIS / Time.com

MORE
　The New Science of Happiness

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極楽庵
GokuRakuAn

だるま資料館
Daruma Museum, Japan

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High Blood Pressure

2007-01-25T00:37:00.001-08:00

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© 高血圧と漢方

高血圧症に対するWHO（一九九三年）の基準では、最高血圧が１８０以上、最低血圧が１０５以上のものを中等・重症高血圧症、
最高血圧が１４０以上１８０未満、
最低血圧が９０以上１０５未満のものを軽症高血圧症としています。

からだの中では、基本物質がバランスを保っている
　からだの中では、活動エネルギー（陽気）と、血液・正常な水液・からだの成長発育の源となる物質である「精」（陰液と総称）といった、からだをつくる基本物質が助けあい、抑えあい、変化しあいながら生命活動を行っています。これらの基本物質は、いずれも飲食物からつくられます。
　活動エネルギーは、陰液が蒸されて気化したもので、目に見えないほど小さな物質からなっています。熱く活動的で、上あるいは外の方向に向かう性質があります。一方、陰液は液状の栄養物質で、重くて冷たく、下あるいは内側に向かう性質をもっています。
　陰液は、活動エネルギーによって非常に細かい栄養素につくり変えられ、さらに細かくされて、活動エネルギーにまで高められます。また、活動エネルギーは飲食物を取り入れ、新たな陰液をつくりだすという代謝の過程を通して、互いにバランスを保ち、無数に張りめぐらされた「通り道」を通って、内臓をはじめ、からだじゅうをめぐって働いています。

「高血圧症」は活動エネルギーと陰液のアンバランスで起こる

　環境が悪化する中で繰り返してかぜなどの病気を患ったり、喜びや悲しみ、驚きや怒りといった心の動きや、乱れた食生活、過度の性生活といった、ある程度避けられない不節制が続くと、そのしわ寄せが活動エネルギーと陰液のアンバランスとなって現れ、少しずつからだをむしばんでいきます。特に４０歳ころになると、アンバランスがはっきりとしてきます。

　基本物質どうしのアンバランスが内臓で起こると、内臓の働きが悪くなります。基本物質のうち、陰液が不足し、そのためからだを温める活動エネルギーの働きが相対的に高まり進みすぎた状態のひとつが「高血圧症」です。多くの高血圧症は、陰液の不足による活動エネルギーの働きの異常な高まりが基礎になって起こります。

血圧が上がるのは「血液を調節する内臓」の問題

　内臓は生命活動の中心で、互いに深く結びついています。ですから、高血圧症にはすべての内臓がかかわっているといえますが、中心となるのは、血液を貯え、血液の循環量を調節している「肝」です。
　肝の活動エネルギーと陰液を保障する関係にある「腎」の機能低下が肝に影響を及ぼすこともありますし、そのほかの内臓の問題が肝に影響することもあります。しかし、どのような経過をたどっても、最終的には、肝を構成する活動エネルギーと陰液のアンバランスが起こってはじめて、高血圧症が起こると考えられます。特に肝のアンバランスは、まず陰液の不足が起こり、そのため活動エネルギーが相対的に余って起こることが多い、という特徴があります。

活動エネルギーが異常に高ぶり進む場合

　激しく怒るといった、心の異常な急変や、生活環境の激変などが引き金になると、たとえ陰液が正常でも、からだの機能を調整する肝の働きが異常に高ぶり進むため、炎が上に突き上げるような、激しい急性の熱症状が起こります（肝火上炎）。

　頭がふらついてクルクルまわる、顔面の紅潮、目の充血、口が苦い、頭が割れるように痛んだり脹るというように、からだの上部、特に頭と顔に症状が集中します。ひどい場合には、突然意識を失って倒れることもある、危険な状態です。脈は、弦をピンと張ったようになって柔軟性を失い、脈拍数が多くなります。舌は熱のために先端や辺縁が紅くなり、苔は乾燥して黄色くなります。
　このような症状に便秘や下痢、尿の色が濃い、頻尿、少量の尿、排尿痛、悪臭のある帯下、不正出血といった、からだ下部の熱症状をともなうときには、肝の火を消し、下半身の熱を追い出す「竜胆瀉肝湯」を使うといいでしょう。

　このようなタイプは急性の高血圧症にあたります。この段階を越えると、やがて正常な機能を失った活動エネルギーが火に変化し、絶えず陰液を消耗します。そのため、相対的に余った活動エネルギーを抑えることがいっそうできなくなり、肝だけでなく腎の陰精をも消耗して（陰虚陽亢）、慢性的な高血圧症になります。高血圧症はこのケースで起こることが最も多いと考えられます。

index

http://www.sageru.jp/lsd/02_02.html

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Herbal Medicine

西洋　ノコギリソウ（ヤローホワイト）
Achillea millefolium

菊花
Chrysanthemum morifolium

山査子（さんざし）
Crataegus
http://www.e-yakusou.com/sou/sou228.htm
and
Arnica montana
http://www.heilpraktikerverband.de/heilv/natur_298.php?sid=&s_von=para
http://www.sanei-kaihatu.co.jp/kenkou_sanzashi/sanzashi_htm/sanzashi_top2.htm

カッコウチョロギ
Stachys officinalis
Betonie (syn. Echter Ziest, Gemeine Betonie, Heilziest, Flohblume)

Tilia europaea, (Linden flower)
リンデンバウム，セイヨウシナノキ

スノーボール=セイヨウテマリカンボク（西洋手毬肝木）
セイヨウカンボク（西洋肝木）
Viburnum opulus

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Arzneipflanzen gegen Herz- und Kreislaufbeschwerden

Azaroldorn, Crataegus azarolus (Randbeet O2)
Besenginster, Cytisus scoparius (Randbeet O2)
Echter Lavendel, Lavandula angustifolia
Eingriffliger Weißdorn, Crataegus monogyna (Randbeet O2)
Frühlings-Adonisröschen, Adonis vernalis
Fünfsteiniger Weißdorn, Crataegus pentagyna (Randbeet O2 (geplant))
Herzgespann, Löwenschwanz, Leonurus cardiaca
Maiglöckchen, Convallaria majalis
Meerzwiebel, Charybdis maritima
Oleander, Nerium oleander
Rosmarin, Rosmarinus officinalis
Rostblättrige Alpenrose, Rhododendron ferrugineum (N1, Beetrand)
Roter Fingerhut, Digitalis purpurea
Schwarzfrüchtiger Weißdorn, Crataegus nigra (Randbeet O2 (geplant))
Wolliger Fingerhut, Digitalis lanata
Zahnstocher-Knorpelmöhre, Ammi visnaga
Zitronen-Melisse, Melissa officinalis
Zweigriffliger Weißdorn, Crataegus laevigata (Randbeet O2)

Prophylaxe gegen allgemeine Arteriosklerose
Echter Buchweizen, Fagopyrum esculentum
Knoblauch, Allium sativum
Saflor, Färberdistel, Carthamus tinctorius
Zwiebel, Bolle, Allium cepa

http://www.bgbm.org/BGBM/garden/bereiche/bereiche/az_plan.htm#h

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REFLEXOLOGY

2006-06-06T19:24:00.000-07:00

REFLEXOLOGY

©　Japan Times, Tuesday, June 6, 2006
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/mail/fs20060606a3.html

From the sole, a new soul

By ERICA ANGYAL
Special to The Japan Times

There's nothing quite like a foot rub, especially after a hard day's work and a long commute home. It's sure to be even more pleasurable if the person working on your feet is a trained practitioner of reflexology, a holistic therapy currently enjoying a boom throughout Japan. Reflexology is an easy way to relieve stress and, arguably, receive other therapeutic benefits, which has no doubt contributed to its popularity -- you can pop into a local salon, take off your shoes, and be out the door in less than 30 minutes, feeling relaxed, refreshed and invigorated.

The human foot, which contains 26 bones and 33 different joints, was once described by Leonardo da Vinci as "a masterpiece of engineering and a work of art." Each foot contains more than 7,000 nerve endings, which connect via the spinal cord and brain to all areas of the anatomy. This is the basis of the practice of reflexology, which uses specific pressure points on the feet to relieve problems elsewhere in the body.

According to reflexology practitioners, the foot is divided into a number of reflex zones, which correspond to different parts of the anatomy. For example, the toes represent the head, including the teeth, mouth, nose, brain, eyes and ears, and the ball of the foot represents the chest area, including the lungs and heart. In essence, the feet are a mirror of the body. Through application of pressure (using the thumbs, index finger and even the knuckles) on these reflexes, reflexology is believed to relieve tension and promote the natural function of the related areas of the body. According to Opal Knowles, president of the Reflexology Association of America, "Reflexology works with all the body's systems to improve the function of the entire system, including organs, glands, and circulation."

Cultures throughout history have utilized various forms of therapeutic foot massage. Foot massage is depicted in relics from ancient Egypt, China, India and Japan. An ancient Egyptian wall painting from the Sixth Dynasty (about 2400 B.C.), found in the tomb of an Egyptian physician, depicts two men massaging the feet and hands of two other men, while Cleopatra is known to have worked on Mark Anthony's feet (circa 60 B.C.). The Brazilians used to perform a technique on the toes known as Brazilian toe massage to balance the energy channels, and the Chinese developed the meridian system, with acupressure points starting or ending on the feet or hands and running through the whole body, which are believed to balance the energy flow, or chi (life force), to all the major organs.

Reflexology's immediate origins, though, lie in a technique known as zone therapy, which was developed by U.S. physician William Fitzgerald in the early 20th century. He discovered that applying pressure on specific parts of the body could have an anesthetic effect on another area of the body. For example, he found that if pressure was applied on the fingers, this could cause a local anesthetic effect from the hand, arm and shoulder right up into the jaw, face and nose. Working on this theory, he divided the body into 10 vertical zones, five on each side, that extended from the head to the fingertips and toes, and from front to back. His conclusion was that pressure on one part of the zone could affect everything else within that zone.

Later, in the 1930s, American physical therapist Eunice Ingham took Fitzgerald's work a step further, by charting the way in which the feet related to the zones, and developing a "map" of which reflex zones in the feet were connected to parts of the anatomy. Ingham, who wrote her first book, "Stories the Feet Can Tell," in 1938, is recognized as the founder of modern foot reflexology.

While shiatsu has a long pedigree in Japan, and Taiwanese foot massage has been popular here for several decades, reflexology was first introduced to Japan just 10 years ago by Keiko Fujita, a savvy former JAL flight attendant who had trained as a reflexologist in England.

On returning to Japan, Fujita and her daughter Maki, who had also studied in England, founded the Reflexology Association of Japan (RAJA) in 1996, followed by the Maki Fujita Reflexology School, and RAJA Inc., a company that manages a chain of reflexology salons, including the Queensway chain, that employ graduates from the school.

According to Sayo Kanagawa, RAJA's public relations director, there are 100 Queensway salons throughout Japan and about 1.8 million people enjoy reflexology treatments in RAJA salons every year. And it's not just the latest women's fad -- men make up about 40 percent of the chain's customers.

There are no laws regulating reflexology practitioners in Japan, and according to reflexology purists, these type of salon treatments are more of a foot massage and less of a real reflexology treatment. If you are seeking a more in-depth experience, you may want to trying visiting one of the private clinics set up by graduates of the British School of Reflexology Japan. In a private clinic, you can expect questions about your medical history and your general health. The reflexologist may take detailed notes about your lifestyle before looking at your feet, and will then make notes about the color, look and feel of your feet and devise a treatment accordingly.

Michelle (Miyuki) Matsuyama, principal of the British School of Reflexology Japan and the Michelle Matsuyama Wholistic Healing School, notes that "every clinic and practitioner has a different philosophy and training, but at the end of the day it's the result that matters the most, and the key is that the person receiving the treatment leaves feeling relaxed and refreshed, with a renewed sense of well-being."

In both salons and private clinics, a reflexology treatment will take place with you seated in a comfortable lounge chair, or lying on a reflexology table, fully clothed with only your shoes and socks removed. Depending on your session plan, the reflexologist will work the feet, or a combination of feet, lower legs and perhaps your hands as well. For the most part, the sensation is pleasant and soothing, but it can be painful at times as the practitioner kneads away at sore spots on your feet.

According to Ann Gillanders, principal of the British School of Reflexology and author of a number of books on reflexology, "the principle of reflexology is to find and work out the sensitive spots in the feet by an alternating pressure of the thumbs and sometimes the index finger on all parts of the foot." Any discomfort is believed to be an indication of congestion or imbalance in a corresponding part of the body.

There are a number of theories as to how reflexology works, yet to date none have been proven. In some circles, reflexology is regarded as a pseudoscience, offering no more benefits than ordinary massage. Robert Todd Carroll of the Skeptics Dictionary, a Web site dedicated to exposing claims that its editors consider unsubstantiated, speculates, "One reason foot massage may be so pleasurable and is associated with significant improvement in mood, is that the area of the brain that connects to the foot is adjacent to the area that connects to the genitals. There may be some neuronal overlapping."

Although scientific evidence is limited, some studies have shown reflexology to be beneficial. One 1993 study in the Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology found that compared to a placebo treatment, women who received real reflexology treatments reported a significantly greater decrease in PMS symptoms. A further study conducted in Denmark on people with tension or migraine headaches found that 81 percent of the group reported that reflexology sessions reduced or cured their headache pain. And, in yet another recent study, it was found that breast and lung cancer patients experienced less anxiety after reflexology, with the breast cancer patients also reporting a decrease in pain.

Reflexology, done properly, is believed to gently nudge the body toward better functioning by improving lymphatic drainage and venous circulation, stimulating the nerve pathways, and promoting muscle relaxation. Either way, reflexology is used primarily to relieve stress and tension and produce deep therapeutic relaxation.

If you don't have the time or inclination to visit a clinic, there are a plethora of do-it-yourself reflexology books that explain the fundamentals of the technique. You can also select from a wide range of acupressure insoles, sandals, reflexology mats, beaded foot massagers (over which you roll the soles of your feet) and other products designed to stimulate your soles and give you happy, healthy feet. While self-help reflexology is effective, though, nothing really beats a session given by a certified professional to soothe aching soles.

While anecdotal and other evidence indicates that reflexology helps ease a wide variety of chronic problems, including digestive disorders, back pain, migraines and headaches, sinus problems, stress and anxiety, it is not a panacea for all ills. It is certainly not a substitute for medical treatment, but it can be used as a complement to any medical approach or therapy.

For whatever reason, we do know that patients treated with reflexology feel better and enjoy a newfound mental and physical relaxation. It all comes back to those 7,000-plus nerve endings in each foot, and maybe this fact more than any other explains why we feel so much better when our feet are treated. Foot massage is considered a form of relaxation and, to some extent, a luxury. And maybe, given the hectic, pressured lives we lead, that's as good a reason as any for trying it.

The Japan Times
(C) All rights reserved

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極楽庵
GokuRakuAn

だるま資料館
Daruma Museum, Japan

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Color Therapy　. Shikisai Serapii

2006-02-03T23:16:00.000-08:00

色彩セラピー　Color Therapy

心を元気にする色彩セラピー
―色が気持ちを変えてくれる!
末永蒼生 Suenaga Tamio

末永先生と江崎泰子先生は9月4日に東京から大垪和にお見えになり、極楽庵の見学もしました。
極楽庵見学

気分転換のために違う色の洋服を着る。季節ごとにカーテンの色を変える。ベランダに花を飾る……これらの暮らしの知恵に共通するのは色彩です。人の心と色彩には非常に強い引力があり、色をうまく利用することで、気分を高めたり、落ち着かせたりもできるのです。

本書は、長年、色彩心理を研究し、日常生活にも応用できる独自の色彩心理セラピーの方法を開発した著者が、色と心の不思議な関係や心豊かな暮らしのために、どのように色彩の知識を採り入れれば良いかを、カラーページを満載してやさしく解説したものです。第1章は｢色彩の心理的効果」、第2章は「色彩の意味」、第3章は「色彩セラピーの方法」と、子育てから高齢者のメンタルケアまで、暮らしに役立つカラーセラピーの仕方を紹介、巻末には「心のマッサージのための『ぬりを用意するなど、誰もが簡単に色彩セラピーを楽しめるよう工夫された、まさに入門書の決定版となっています。
Amazon Com

末永蒼生（すえなが　たみお Suenaga Tamio）

色彩心理学者・心理学博士・「子どものアトリエ・アートランド」主宰。
株式会社ハート＆カラー代表。東京・青山の本部アトリエでは幼児から中学生までの子どもたち100人以上が通ってきています。現在、「アート＆セラピー色彩心理協会」会長、多摩美術大学非常勤講師。主な著書に「心を元気にする色彩セラピー」、「答えは子どもの絵の中に」他多数。

★自由に絵を描かせることの効能について教えて下さい★
子ども達が幼少の頃からお絵描き遊びや、色遊びが好きなのには理由があります。それは、子どもの脳が発達期にあり、絵を描くことが脳の発育に良く、本能的にやると考えられるからです。絵は、大きく色と形の二つに分けられます。色は五感や感情、情緒を育てる部分を発達させ、形は考える力や観察力を発達させます。脳には右脳と左脳がありますが、色は右脳を刺激し、形は左脳を刺激するのです。色と形をまとめて描くと、創造脳といわれる前頭前野が育ち、クリエイティブな能力が伸びるのです。これは、自由に絵を描くことで発達し、バランスのいい心を育てます。

★テーマを与えて絵を描くことについて教えて下さい★
テーマを与えて絵を描くことでは、脳の発達効果は期待できません。課題のあるものはむしろマイナスです。乳幼児は、色彩感覚や情緒的な部分が育つ発達段階にありますが、指示を出すとこうした情緒の部分が育ちにくくなるのです。学校で図工や美術の授業を受けた結果、絵を描くことが嫌いになる子どもはとても多いです。それは、大人が出す課題は、子どもの脳の自然な発達段階に合っていないからです。例えば小学校では、形がしっかりと描けるようになってから絵の具を与えていますが、それでは脳の発達とずれてしまいます。絵の具は、幼児の時期に与える必要があるのです。課題を押し付けず、子どもの本能にあった画材を与えると、子どもの能力はぐんぐん伸びますよ。

★大人にも絵を描くことで何かメリットはありますか？★
大人にも、「カラーセラピー効果」「アートセラピー効果」というものがあります。例えば、最近では自由に色を使う大人の塗り絵が流行っています。「色を使いたい」という欲求が満たされて、ストレスが解消されるのです。絵を描くことは、脳に良い刺激を与えるという点で子どもの場合と同じ効果があり、高齢者の心のケアにも役立っています。例えば、認知症の人が絵を描いたり塗り絵をすることで、症状に改善が見られるという報告があります。このことによっても、絵を描いたり色を使うことが、脳に良い刺激を与えていることが分かります。

★色彩心理を生かしたメンタルケアについて教えて下さい★
ストレスが多い状況にあるときは、ダークな色を使うことが多いですね。最近では、デトックスと呼ばれる体の毒出しが流行っていますが、ダーク系の色で苦しみを表現することは、心の毒出しです。私は「心のトゲ抜き」と呼んでいますが、にごった色でもかまわないので、どんどん表現させてあげて下さい。そうして表現しているうちに、次のステップで明るい色が使えるようになってきます。最近の子どもは、忙しい親の時間に合わせていて、自分の時間を持てずストレスを感じているケースが多いですね。繰り返しにごった色を使うようであれば、時間の過ごし方やきょうだい関係のストレスなど、思いあたる状況を緩和してあげるように気をつけてあげると良いでしょう。

★子どもが選ぶ色と心理状態について教えて下さい★
暖色系は、活力があり、気持ちが外に向いている精神状態を表わします。暖色は交感神経に刺激を与え、気持ちが興奮している状態です。一方寒色系は、ゆったりと内側に気持ちが向いている時で、副交感神経を刺激し、リラックスしている状態です。前向きな気分の時は暖色系、休みたい気分の時は寒色系を選ぶ傾向があります。

★子どもの描く絵から、どんな心理が伝わってくるのか、見方について教えて下さい★
Aを描いた男の子は、耳や口を赤い色でしっかりと描いています。これは、おしゃべりをすることも、人の話を聞くのも上手ということ。また、人物は手を広げ、木は上に向かって伸びようとしています。これからどんどん成長するぞ、という本人の意欲が伝わってくる絵です。

Bを描いた女の子の絵のように、人物に耳が描かれていない場合、しつけに口うるさいお母さんの話を聞きたくない、という気持ちが表れていることも考えられますね。

Cの絵は、自分自身の象徴です。この時期の子どもは、まだ自分と親を一体化していて、絵には一人の人間しか出てこないことが多いです。最大の関心が自分に向けられる成長期なのです。

Dの絵は、抽象的な線から形になりかけています。これはDを描いた男の子が、情緒的発達から思考力が伸び始めている段階にあることを表わしています。脳の発達が右脳から左脳へ移行しているときに、絵には形が出はじめるのです。

★小さいお子さんにおすすめの画材選びについて教えて下さい★
0～3歳児の時期は、触感を刺激する画材を選んであげましょう。粘土を手でこねて遊んだり、絵の具も手を使って遊ばせてあげます。クレヨンは20色以上あるものを用意してあげると良いでしょう。小学校になる頃には、左脳的部分が発達し、マーカーやボールペンなど細密な画材をほしがります。選択肢を多くして、好きなものを選べるようにしてあげると、子どもが本能的にあった画材を使うことができます。食べ物と同じで、自分に必要な画材も、本能的に知っていて自然に選んでいくのです。

Q: なぐり描きばかりで絵が下手ですが、どうやったら上達しますか？
A: 幼児期にはなぐり描きをどんどんやらせてあげてください。　色を使ったり、ぐちゃぐちゃに描くことで、絵を描く感覚をつかんでいくのです。この作業は右脳を発達させ、精神衛生にも効果があります。私の経験から言うと、小さい時期になぐり描きをした子どもほど、絵が上手になっているんですよ。

Q: 画面の中央に、小さくチマチマと絵を描きます。心理的に何か理由があるのでしょうか？
A: 小さく描く理由は二つ考えられます。一つは、自分に自信がなく、大きく描けないということ。こういうお子さんには、自信がつくように言葉をかけ、はげましてあげて下さい。そうしているうちに、堂々とした絵が描けるようになります。もう一つは、お子さんの左脳が発達していて、知能が伸びている時期にある場合。緻密な絵や、迷路などを描いているときは知能の発達段階にあります。この場合、特に心配することはありません。
　
Q: いつも黒や茶色いクレヨンでぐちゃぐちゃと汚い絵を描きます。どうやったらきれいな色彩で絵を描くようになるのでしょう？
Q: ダークな色を使う時は、何かストレスを感じている時に多く見られますが、絵を描くこと自体でストレスを発散できているので、無理にやめさせず、むしろ好きなだけ描かせてあげましょう。そうしているうちに、きれいな色を使うようになってきます。それまでのプロセスを大切に見守ってあげて下さい。

Copyright © World Famiry K.K.All Rights Reserved.
ワールド・ファミリー株式会社
http://www.world-family.co.jp/WFW/marketing/park/meet/backnumber/vol19.html

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色彩セラピーについての本
http://www5e.biglobe.ne.jp/~groovy-/book5.htm

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COLOR CONSCIOUS
By Ambica Gulati

We certainly could do with some color in therapy. But color therapy? That's right. And it is really about healing with something as simple as color.

There is more to color than meets the eye. From time immemorial, colors have been credited with miraculous healing powers. Sages of ancient India discovered how the unique vibration of each color could help heal ailments, and this knowledge was later codified in the Atharva Veda, ancient Indian scripture, as Surya Kiran Chikitsa—healing with the sun's rays. In the Egypt of yore, temples had special healing rooms where the sun dispersed the seven colors of the rainbow. Today, this ancient healing technique is making a popular comeback under the quasi-scientific label of chromotherapy.

But how do colors work their healing power? "The seven colors of the rainbow are associated with the seven chakras (energy centers) of our body," explains Dr M.C. Verma, a chromotherapist. "
The muladhara chakra (root center) is related to the color red, and the swadisthana chakra (cross center) to orange. As we travel upward to the manipura (navel center), anahata (heart center), vishuddhi (throat center), agya (third eye center) and finally the sahasrara (crown center) chakras, the colors follow the sequence of yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet respectively. Each chakra, in its turn, is related to a specific gland. So, a proper use of color helps heal the body ailment concerned." For instance, red is used to treat liver disorders, blue affects the pineal gland and green helps treat pituitary problems.

According to Gita Ramesh, director of Kairali Ayurvedic Health Club based in New Delhi, India, ayurveda links certain colors with the three basic doshas (humors): Vata (colic) is associated with blue, pitta (bile) with fiery red and kapha (phlegm) with light and luminous shades of yellow. Ayurveda also recognizes the close relation that the five elements of the body—ether, fire, air, water and earth—have with the world of colors: ether is associated with light blue, water with deep blue, air with green, fire with red and earth with yellow. Any disturbance in these elements leads to an imbalance in the physical, mental and spiritual body that can be corrected by boosting the color concerned.

To do this, naturopaths harness the five elements in colored bottles. "We fill a colored glass bottle three-fourth with water or oil and keep it in the sunlight, exposing it to ether," says Dr Verma. "Air fills up the little space left in the bottle. Thus, all the elements are collected in the bottle."

According to reiki master Damini Singh, this singular technique works wonders. Damini begins her day by drinking water charged in a green bottle and claims that it "harmonizes the nervous system and keeps me active the whole day". Says Damini: "If I don't drink green-charged water for a few days, I feel irritable and disoriented."

SPIRIT OF SHADES

Red
Increases blood circulation, alertness and self-confidence; decreases lethargy and depression.

Orange
Increases confidence and joy; decreases loneliness and fatigue.

Yellow
Increases memory, persuasive abilities and charm; decreases desire to be critical.

Green
Strengthens finance, luck and energy; reduces claustrophobia, indecisiveness and anxiety.

Blue
Heightens tranquility and patience; lowers negativity and stress.

Indigo
Increases stability and rational thought and actions; decreases blood pressure and impulsiveness.

Violet
Increases psychic ability and spirituality; decreases aggression and insomnia.

You can not only drink but also breathe color. Just put the required colored bottle out in the sun for a couple of hours and then inhale the air within the bottle. If this sounds tame, try sitting inside a thermolium, a wooden cabin with colored glass panes. To keep your vital energy flowing smoothly all day long, you could even wear clothes of naturally soothing colors.

If nature is here, can technology be far behind? Gone are the days when color therapy required the sun. The modern therapist makes use of colored bulbs to give out radiation on infected areas. In fact, Italy has also invented a chromotherapy machine called Chromogei that uses colored gel filters. In Delhi, this machine is used by Joto, a company specializing in alternative healing equipment. "Chromogei," says Neelam Khurana, director of Joto, "is more effective than cellophane-wrapped bulbs as cellophane tends to fade with time."

Colors have as much to do with the physical as with the metaphysical. In his book Ayurveda and the Mind, David Frawley notes that many mantras (Hindu couplets invoking deities) give out vibrations that are similar to the vibrations of some colors. For instance, the mantra 'Ram' should be meditated upon a red triangle.

In Magic and Mystery in Tibet, Alexandra David-Neel writes that the six syllables of the basic Tibetan Buddhist mantra, Aum mani padme hum, are closely connected with the six mystical colors: white, blue, yellow, green, red and black.

In his book Surya Chikitsa, Dr M.L. Kathotia notes that colors can resolve your past karma. The seven chakras of our body are centers of different karma, and the negative karma can be taken care of by proper color visualization.

Color, in fact, has always been an integral part of our lives. Centuries ago, when color was not mass manufactured, buildings and other objects were painted with natural pigments. The Indians of New Mexico trimmed their earthen houses with blue pigments. In India, you have the festival of Holi, where a vibrant splash of color welcomes—and invokes—the fecund power of nature in all its spring splendor.

Colors also trigger varying responses from different cultures. Christian brides, for instance, wear white on their wedding day, signifying purity. In Japan, a bride wears white to signify her 'death' to her family. The same white becomes a color of mourning in India. For weddings, Indian brides prefer the passionate red—symbolizing the awakening of their sexuality.

The rarer the color, the greater its significance. Gold symbolizes opulence and divinity. Purple, on the other hand, signifies high order—so much so that at one time purple clothing was only worn by priests and kings. In Greece, thousands of murex shells used to be crushed in order to get a small quantity of this dye.

Colors, however, do more than look attractive. In fact, it might not take a psychiatrist long to figure out your basic personality from the colors you have done up your room in. Nicholas Humphrey, a British zoologist, links the visual concept of colors to the evolution of colors in nature. According to him, we respond to bright colors, for instance red, with the emotional part of our brain. First, our muscles get tense, then we lean towards the color. Our respiration and heart rate goes up and the blood pressure starts rising. The opposite reactions occur when we see light colors such as blue. Our muscles relax, the heart and respiration rate drops and the blood pressure lowers.

Since bold colors stimulate conversation, they are normally accentuated in living areas and restaurants. Light, relaxing colors are best suited to bedrooms. This link with the psyche also forms the core of chromotherapy.

Notes Dr K.K. Aggarwal, senior consultant in medicine and cardiology at Indraprastha Apollo hospital, New Delhi: "The so-called therapeutic effect of colors is largely psychological. It can't be proven empirically. But then, perhaps this system needs no proof."

Unconventional words indeed from a man of medicine, but the kernel of truth in such a statement cannot be avoided. For, at the end of the day, some questions may not have a so-called rational answer.

What would life be without colors? Where do the sunbeams disappear?

COLOR CHARGED

Take a clean colored glass bottle or wrap a colored cellophane on a transparent bottle.
Keep the bottle in sunlight.
Fill three quarters of the bottle with water.
Put a cork to stop dust from getting in. Clean the bottle at least once in a day.
Don't let the cellophane fade.
Water takes six to eight hours to get charged. For emergency, you can charge water for about two hours, but only in the morning sun.

Copyright © 2000 WPI Group Inc.
http://www.lifepositive.com/body/naturopathy/color-therapy/color-healing.asp

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極楽案
GokuRakuAn

だるま資料館
Daruma Museum, Japan

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Hardships and Epictetus

2006-02-01T23:34:00.000-08:00

"What ought one to say then
as each hardship comes?

I was practicing for this,
I was training for this."

-Epictetus

Epictetus (c.55–c.135) was a Greek Stoic philosopher. He was probably born at Hierapolis, Phrygia, and lived most of his life in Rome until his exile to Nicopolis in northwestern Greece, where he died. The name given by his parents, if one was given, is not known - the word epiktetos in Greek simply means "acquired."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epictetus

Epictetus Quotes - The Quotations Page

Even though he was born a slave in Hierapolis and endured a permanent physical disability, Epictetus held that all human beings are perfectly free to control their lives and to live in harmony with nature. After intense study of the traditional Stoic curriculum (established by Zeno of Citium and Chrysippus) of logic, physics, and ethics, Epictetus spent his entire career teaching philosophy and promoting a daily regime of rigorous self-examination. He eventually gained his freedom, but was exiled from Rome by Domitian in 89.

Read more here:
http://www.philosophypages.com/ph/epit.htm

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極楽庵
GokuRakuAn

だるま資料館
Daruma Museum, Japan

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Hieshoo

2006-02-01T02:22:00.000-08:00

冷え性

寝る前に床の中で足を動かします。
足首を動きながらつま先を前へ、後ろへ、１０回。

足のマッサージを行います。
足の甲で、第３と第４指の付け根より溝の真ん中あたりをよく圧力をかけます。

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極楽庵
GokuRakuAn

だるま資料館
Daruma Museum, Japan

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Cloud Hands

2006-01-31T00:06:00.000-08:00

雲　手　Cloud Hands

Taijiquan and Qigong
Guides, Bibliographies, Links, Resources, Lessons

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Bodhidharma Lifting the Sky
The great Zen teacher, Bodhidharma (448-527 CE), supposedly created the
Eighteen Hands of the Lohan Qigong

Michael P. Garofalo
Extensive Resource BLOG in English

Hachidankin 　気功、八段錦
Daruma Exercises 　だるま体操

Scroll down for more English resources.
Or check the ten previous articles.

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極楽庵
GokuRakuAn

だるま資料館
Daruma Museum, Japan

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Gestalt Therapy

2006-01-25T18:17:00.000-08:00

Gestalt Therapy

Gestalt therapy focuses more on process (what is happening) than content (what is being discussed). The emphasis is on what is being done, thought and felt at the moment rather than on what was, might be, could be, or should be.

Gestalt therapy is a method of awareness, by which perceiving, feeling, and acting are understood to be separate from interpreting, explaining and judging using old attitudes. This distinction between direct experience and indirect or secondary interpretation is developed in the process of therapy.

The phenomenological method is comprised of three steps:

(1) the rule of epoché,
(2) the rule of description, and
(3) the rule of horizontalization (Spinelli, 2005).

In the rule of epoché one sets aside his or her initial biases and prejudices in order to suspend expectations and assumptions.
In the rule of description, one occupies him or herself with describing instead of explaining.
In the rule of horizontalization one treats each item of description as having equal value or significance.

Experimental freedom
Through experiments, the therapist supports the client’s direct experience of something new instead of the mere talking about the possibility of something new.

Self
In field theory, self is a phenomenological concept, and is a comparison with 'other'. Without other there is no self, and how I experience other is inseparable from how I experience self. The continuity of selfhood (personality functioning) is something achieved rather than something inherent "inside" the person, and has its advantages and disadvantages.

Change
... change comes about as a result of "full acceptance of what is, rather than a striving to be different" .

Dan Rosenblatt led Gestalt training groups in Japan for 7 years and Stewart Kiritz followed with public workshops and training workshops in Tokyo from 1997 through 2005.

© More in the WIKIPEDIA !

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Robert H. Deluty

Abstract
This paper addresses the commonalities between the creative processes and products of psychotherapists and haiku/senryu poets. These commonalities exist in the realms of awareness/insight; genuineness; here-and-now experiencing; interdependence of events; humor; use of blank space; and parsimony.
©　www.springerlink.com

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Blue Puddles [Haiku]

Splash inside puddles ~
Do not be afraid ~
Your own gestalt therapy

Blue symbolic entities
shape your mind and soul
as well as your heart

Feel free and float there ~
Hot foam on cappuccino ~
Bump into the air

Broken promises
disappear before your eyes ~
You really don't mind

Hungry sandworms left on Dune
can't consume you now ~
You are free and clear

You begin (again) today
to see everything
with new perception

Listen to the sound
of the pulse of life
that surrounds you where you are

Beautiful pictures
wonderful feelings
God blesses you (and me too)

©　Candy

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極楽庵
GokuRakuAn

だるま資料館
Daruma Museum, Japan

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Ten Minutes Exercises

2006-01-24T23:32:00.000-08:00

10 Minute Exercises

some samples

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Workout in details

All times are approximate.
0:01 - 1:00 - Begin by walking briskly in place to warm up the muscles. Warming the muscles makes them pliable and will allow you to work longer.
1:01 - 3:00 - Perform as many squats as possible in two minutes.
3:01 - 4:00 - Rest for one minute.
4:01 - 6:00 - Perform as many plies as possible in two minutes.
6:01 - 7:00 - Rest for one minute.
7:01 - 9:00 - Perform as many lunges (both legs) as possible in two minutes.
9:01 - 10:00 - Recovery and stretching.

and so on for all parts of the body ...

http://www.grabthebasics.com/fitness/10minute_exercises_with_big_results.asp

Same is here
http://www.fitness-digest.com/fitness/fitness/10-minute_exercises/

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A team of health care professionals developed Stretch Break to increase circulation, relieve tension, boost your energy level, and help guard against Repetitive Strain Injuries (RSIs).
Once installed on your hard drive, Stretch Break gently reminds you to take periodic breaks while using your computer. You are invited to perform a series of low-impact stretches illustrated on the screen. Then Stretch Break returns you to your current Windows application.

Stretch Break is simple. With one mouse click, you begin stretching with the figure on the screen, or you can delay or cancel the stretches.

Stretch Break is flexible. You select how long to wait between stretch sessions and how many stretches per session (defaults are 30 minutes and 3 stretches). Each stretch lasts for 20 to 30 seconds, so you are back to work in one or two minutes

http://www.paratec.com/

Fitness program for 10 Minutes
http://www.sparkpeople.com/

10 Minutes Solutions
http://www.collagevideo.com/cart/default.aspx

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GokuRakuAn

Daruma Museum, Japan

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Reading your mind ?

2006-01-22T23:31:00.000-08:00

Quote from Slate
http://www.slate.com/id/2161936/

Full-Mental Nudity
The arrival of mind-reading machines.
By William Saletan

Years ago, Woody Allen used to joke that he'd been thrown out of college as a freshman for cheating on his metaphysics final. "I looked within the soul of the boy sitting next to me," he confessed.

Today, the joke is on us. Cameras follow your car, GPS tracks your cell phone, software monitors your Web surfing, X-rays explore your purse, and airport scanners see through your clothes. Now comes the final indignity: machines that look into your soul.

With the aid of functional magnetic resonance imaging, neuroscientists have been hard at work on Allen's fantasy. Under controlled conditions, they can tell from a brain scan which of two images you're looking at. They can tell whether you're thinking of a face, an animal, or a scene. They can even tell which finger you're about to move.

But those feats barely scratch the brain's surface. Any animal can perceive objects and move limbs. To plumb the soul, you need a metaphysician. John-Dylan Haynes, a brilliant researcher at Germany's Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience, is leading the way. His mission, according to the center, is to predict thoughts and behavior from fMRI scans.

Haynes, a former philosophy student, is going for the soul's jugular. He's trying to clarify the physical basis of free will. "Why do we shape intentions in this way or another way?" he wonders. "Your wishes, your desires, your goals, your plans—that's the core of your identity." The best place to look for that core is in the brain's medial prefrontal cortex, which, he points out, is "especially involved in the initiation of willed movements and their protection against interference."

To get a clear snapshot of free will, Haynes designed an experiment that would isolate it from other mental functions. No objects to interpret; no physical movements to anticipate or execute; no reasoning to perform. Participants were put in an fMRI machine and were told they would soon be shown the word "select," followed a few seconds later by two numbers. Their job was to covertly decide, when they saw the "select" cue, whether to add or subtract the unseen numbers. Then, they were to perform the chosen calculation and punch a button corresponding to the correct answer. The snapshot was taken right after the "select" cue, when they had nothing to do but choose addition or subtraction.

Until this experiment, which was reported last month in Current Biology, nobody had ever tried to take a picture of free will. One reason is that fMRI is too crude to distinguish one abstract choice from another. It can only show which parts of the brain are demanding blood oxygen. That's too coarse to distinguish the configuration of cells that signifies addition from the configuration that signifies subtraction. So, Haynes used software to help the computer recognize complex patterns in the data. To dissect human thought, the computer had to emulate it.

Each participant took the test more than 250 times, choosing independently in each trial. The computer then looked at a sample of the scans, along with the final answers that revealed what choices had actually been made. It calculated a pattern and used this pattern to predict, from each participant's remaining scans, his or her decisions in the corresponding trials. Haynes checked the predictions—add or subtract—against the participants' answers. The computer got it right 71 percent of the time.

I know what you're thinking: Why would anyone want a machine to read his mind? But imagine being paralyzed, unable to walk, type, or speak. Imagine a helmet full of electrodes, or a chip implanted in your head, that lets your brain tell your computer which key to press. Those technologies are already here. And why endure the agony of mental hunt-and-peck? Why not design computers that, like a smart secretary, can discern and execute even abstract intentions? That's what Haynes has in mind. You want to open a folder or an e-mail, and your computer does it. Your wish is its command.

But if machines can read your mind when you want them to, they can also read it when you don't. And your will isn't necessarily the one they obey. Already, scans have been used to identify brain signatures of disgust, drug cravings, unconscious racism, and suppressed sexual arousal, not to mention psychopathy and propensity to kill.

Haynes understands the objection to these scans—he calls it "mental privacy"—but he buys only half of it. He doesn't like the idea of companies scanning job applicants for loyalty or scanning customers for reactions to products (an emerging practice known as neuromarketing). But where criminal justice is at stake, as in the case of lie detection, he's for using the technology. Ruling it out, he argues, would "deny the innocent people the ability to prove their innocence" and would "only protect the people who are guilty."

I hear what he's saying. I'd love to have put Khalid Sheikh Mohammed through an fMRI before Sept. 11, 2001, instead of waiting six years for his confession. And I wish we'd scanned Mohamed Atta's brain before he boarded that flight out of Boston. But what Haynes is saying—and exposing—is almost more terrifying than terrorism. The brain is becoming just another accessible body part, searchable for threats and evidence. We can sift through your belongings, pat you down, study your nude form through your clothes, inspect your body cavities, and, if necessary, peer into your mind.

FMRI is just the first stage. Electrodes, infrared spectroscopy, and subtler magnetic imaging are next. Scanners will shrink. Image resolution and pattern-recognition software will improve.

But don't count out free will. To make human choice predictable, you first have to constrain it so that it's not really free. That's why Haynes confined his participants to arithmetic, gave them only two options, and forbade them to change their minds. They could have wrecked his experiment by defying any of those conditions. So could you, if somebody came at you with a scanner or an electrode helmet. To look into your soul and get the right answer, science, too, has to cheat. Somewhere, Woody Allen is laughing. I can feel it.

...........................................

Enough of this metaphysical nonsense from Saletan.
fMRI (and neuroscience for that matter) is a materialist enterprise. I'm getting pretty sick of Saletan coming at us again and again with the "we've found the soul, we've scanned choices, natural selection is shaped by free will.. Did I blow your mind?"

No, dooood, you did not. The reason it sounds so freaky to scan "free will" or "the soul" is because you haven't...no one can and no one will. If these things exist at all they are nonphysical, so, for the purposes of science they can safely be ignored.

What you scan in an fMRI, or an EEG, or measure with a key press are the consequences of the physical events which are thought. Cognition is a material activity. Once you get this concept through your head then you can stop with the mysticism.

For instance, "thinking about faces" is a cognitive state instantiated in matter...thus, it has a chance to show up on an fMRI. The cognitive state that we experience as "the intention to add or subtract" something is also instantiated in matter. The fact that an fMRI picks this up, too, is not a transcendental experience unless you willfully misinterpret what's going on. Who's to say a cognitive "intentional state" is uncaused, separate from the material world, or otherwise special or supernatural? Why cannot an intentional state be caused just like anything else? The answer is "it can".

There's plenty of wonder to be had in the science itself...this is very cool stuff. We don't need Saletan's injecting inappropriate, outdated shorthands and concepts from Cartesian dualism and medieval philosophy muddying the waters in order to hook us.

--Mangar

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GokuRakuAn

Daruma Museum, Japan

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Health Haven

2006-01-18T00:57:00.000-08:00

Body, Mind and Spirit Working Together

Health Haven

"In Buddhism, the wisdom taught in the scriptures is mainly aimed at realizing enlightenment. However, spiritual exercises can also help us find happiness and health in our everyday life. There are extensive discourses in Buddhism on improving our ordinary life and having a peaceful, joyous, and beneficial existence in this very world."
Tulku Thondup -- The Healing Power of Mind

Tibetan Medicine: The Wisdom of Natural Healing
Imagine a medical tradition, highly effective, offering medicines that produce no lasting negative side effects, sustainably using resources of the natural environment, and fostering basic sanity and compassion as the essential basis of health and well being. It seems that several classical Asian cultures embodied such traditions, and elements of those medical traditions, in the form of Chinese herbal medicine, Indian Ayurvedic medicine and Tibetan medicine, are now beginning to gain respect in the West.

The fundamental principle of preventive health care is that one can adopt a style of life that will support health and healing. Diet, exercise, behavior, spiritual practice -- each individual can learn how to be more healthy in all these aspects of life.
Unfortunately, in our modern world of endless change and countless alternativs, deciding exactly what changes in diet and behavior would be appropriate can be a real challenge. Many conflicting sources of advice on these matters are now widely available. The best advice we've heard is to choose a system that appeals to you and stick with it for long enough to see if it really works for you.

"If you loose your mind, come back."
-- Shambhala Buddhist Slogan
The Ancient Wisdom of Shambhala

Malnutrition Harms the Mind

A lot more is here:
http://www.dharma-haven.org/five-havens/health-haven.htm

"If one meditates on the Medicine Buddha, one will eventually attain enlightenment, but in the meantime one will experience an increase in healing powers both for oneself and others and a decrease in physical and mental illness and suffering."

"[ Healing by visualizing the Medicine Buddha ] can be applied not only to physical sickness but to mental problems as well. If you want to get rid of a particular type of anxiety or stress or depression or fear or any other kind of unpleasant mental experience, you can visualize the Medicine Buddha seated above the top of your head and think in the same way as before that luminous ambrosia or liquid light emerges from his body, filling your body and cleansing you of any problem, whatever it is.
You might think that all of this sounds a bit childish, but in fact it actually works, and you will find that out if you try it."
-- Ven. Thrangu Rinpoche

—Lama Tashi Namgyal
Teachings on The Medicine Buddha

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More in the Daruma Museum:

Medicine Buddha of Japan:
Yakushi Nyorai　薬師如来

Medicine Buddhas of Tibet

極楽庵
GokuRakuAn

だるま資料館
Daruma Museum, Japan

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Finger Counting

2006-01-16T19:36:00.000-08:00

指で数をあらわす　。。。二進法

毎日指数字を遊ぶとボケ防止になります。

片手で３１まで、両手を使えば １０２３ まで表すことができます。意外と思いませんでしたか?　「0」と「1」のニつの数字しか使わない分、ニ進法は桁数が直ぐに上がっていきますね。
しかし、そのことを逆手にとれば、10本の指で1023まで表すことができるという訳です。
ついでにニ進法の掛け算はどうなるのでしょうか？

Binary Finger Counting: 1 to 1023

The thumb represents the value 1, the index is double that, so it's 2, and the middle is double the index, so it's 4, etc. This is key to understanding and fluently counting in binary on your fingers.

Remember, a finger UP means 1, a finger DOWN means 0.

To make the number 3 for instance, you have to combine a 2 finger and a 1 finger (2+1=3).

To make the number 11 for instance, you have to combine an 8 finger, a 2 finger and a 1 finger (8+2+1=11).

To make the number 18 for instance, you have to combine a 16 and a 2 finger (16+2=18).

To make the number 23 for instance, you have to combine the 16 finger, the 4 finger, the 2 finger and the 1 finger (16+4+2+1=23).

To make the number 28 for instance, you have to combine the 16 finger, the 8 finger, and the 4 finger (16+8+4=28).

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So How Do We Get 1023?

Once you've used all 5 fingers on the right hand, start with the pinky of the left hand. The pinky would be double the pinky of the right hand, so it's value would be 32.

So to represent the number 449 on your fingers:

Copyright 1995 By: John Selvia
http://www.lyzrdstomp.com/binary/bin1-7.html

Finger Language, Body Language
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極楽庵
GokuRakuAn

だるま資料館
Daruma Museum, Japan

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Challenge of Change

2006-01-16T00:55:00.000-08:00

Quoted from the Ladakh Times

The Challenge of Change
by Mick Quinn

If you look closely, you will see that the suffering you experience, as well as the pain and suffering you cause others, comes mostly from your inability to accept change.

We all want to experience true joy, freedom, and peace in our lives, but few of us ever do. One of the biggest stumbling blocks to realizing such an “awakened” state of living is our inability to accept change.

We become worried and stressed when we lose our job; we’re devastated when a lover leaves us; we’re upset even when little things don’t go “our way.” But the fear and pain that we experience are not really caused by things that happen to us; they are the result of our conscious or “unconscious” resistance to change.

We often have a hard time accepting change in our lives—even good change—and feel the need to control, force, rearrange, re-invent, or reinterpret everything that happens in an effort to make our world “safe” and predictable, or to heal the inner torment we carry from experiences in the past.

We also place a high degree of importance on healing ourselves by looking for the “causes” of why we feel the way we do. But, even though psychotherapy may be beneficial for some, real joy, freedom, and peace lie not in the complexities of the past, but in the simplicity of accepting change in the present moment.

Nothing in life is more natural than change. As Buddha said, “All that is subject to arising is subject to cessation.” This means that everything that occurs—whether good, bad, or tragic—also will cease to be. Consider feelings for example. Think back to a time when you felt your absolute best, and to a time when you were completely overwhelmed. You can remember these feelings, but where exactly have they gone? As with all things that arise, they eventually cease.

It is important to remember that feelings are temporary, and are simply illusions created by our unwillingness to accept life’s most natural state: change.

It is your ability to accept the transitory nature of all internal and external occurrences that will create real freedom, joy, and peace in your life. Learning to acknowledge this natural state of change, without resistance, means never having to unnecessarily suffer again, or to be the cause of any more suffering in those around you. It is developing trust in what is that creates the conditions for awakened living in an environment that is in a constant state of flux.

Since nothing could be a more natural expression of life than the change we experience each day, it is important to realize that we have nothing to fear from the process of life. Almost all fear is the result of our resistance to this normal aspect of life. If you look closely, you will see that the suffering you experience, as well as the pain and suffering you cause others, comes mostly from your inability to accept change.

Learning to accept change is a matter of remaining “conscious” in the face of change. When you begin to feel resistance to change in your life (e.g. stress, fear, anger, doubt, frustration, impatience etc.), use the following steps:

- Acknowledge your resistance to the change you’re experiencing.

- Acknowledge that change is the most natural state in life.

- Acknowledge that everything is transitory, including your feelings and resistance to change. They will arise, and they will cease.

- Accept and be thankful for both the pleasant and unpleasant changes in your life, as they are opportunities for your awakening.

Remember, when you resist change, you are opposing the very essence of life that has been looking out for you since the day you took your first breath. Experiencing resistance, and learning to be comfortable with its temporary and sometimes intense nature, is part of learning to create the space for an awakened life filled with joy, freedom, and peace.

Real-life example:
Jennifer did not know how best to create the conditions for her awakening to authentic joy, especially in relation to her job, which she’d had for ten years. One thing she was aware of was that she had to disconnect from the mindless chatter and sometimes callous gossiping at lunchtimes and during breaks.

Jennifer brought an Eckhart Tolle book to work, and instead of joining in the chatter, she would sit by herself and read. When she declined repeated requests to rejoin the group, her co-workers started to become suspicious. She was eventually called to her boss’s office, and after many meetings about incidents unrelated to her reading, she was told that she would have to work with a “minder”—someone who would make sure she was still able to do her work well. Jennifer continued to read on a daily basis, and shortly thereafter, she resigned. The chatter, however, continues unabated.

Let nothing upset you;
Let nothing frighten you;
Everything is changing;
God alone is changeless.
Patience attains the goal.
Who has God lacks nothing:
God alone fills all our needs.

St. Teresa of Avila

Exercise - Be a Master of Change:
Make a list of the top twenty- five situations in your life. Include relationships, work, and hobbies /pastimes. Imagine who you might be if they all dissipated.
If you sense fear or uncertainty now, this is the ego.
But, if there is also a sense of openness and possibility, this is the seed of your own awakening. Twenty-five years ago such a list may have looked very different than it does today. You are a master of change, and you will always have the last word on what is, and is not, in your life.

Mick Quinn
In 2001, Mick Quinn's life was greatly transformed while sitting in meditation with world-renowned spiritual teacher, Andrew Cohen. Mick has been a delivery person, a civil servant, a founding partner in two multimillion-dollar technology companies, and an executive mentor/coach. He has now "retired" from his entrepreneurial career to write, speak, and cultivate the seed of potential and authentic joy that lies within each one of us.

http://www.ladakhtimes.com/Mickchange.html

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極楽庵
GokuRakuAn

だるま資料館
Daruma Museum, Japan

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Sun and Moon Yoga Tokyo

2006-01-15T17:57:00.000-08:00

Sun and Moon Yoga Tokyo

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

To provide an uplifting, healing space where people from all over the world can unfold themselves through the study and practice of yoga in a nurturing community.
As Donna Farhi noted, the world doesn’t really need more people who can bend their bodies into amazing positions. What it needs are kinder, more compassionate, generous people with open minds and hearts. Yoga helps us to become those kinds of people, encouraging forth the essence of who we really are. As Gandhi said, “BE the change you wish to see in the world.” We hope to offer a place where people can discover and share their gifts through the ancient practice of yoga.

Yoga comes from the Sanskrit word yuj, which means “yoke” or “union.”
Yoga unifies the body and mind through the breath, opening channels of energy that send the life force-- prana or ki--through the body. Yoga offers us a way of Being rather than Doing. It’s a powerful gateway into the soul, which is why it’s called “the science of conscious awareness.” Yoga allows us to slow down, quiet the mind, listen to and trust our own natural abilities. It affords us a tremendous opportunity to explore our potential for physical and spiritual growth.

Leza Lowitz and Shogo Oketani
Owners, Sun and Moon Yoga

Read the details here:
http://www.lezalowitz.com/sunandmoonyoga/about/sunmoonabout.html

Leza's Homepage
http://www.lezalowitz.com/

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Yoga Poems -- Lines to Unflod By
An inspiring, insightful companion to yoga practice, for home or studio

The 60 simple poems in this book are windows into the mind/body/spirit experiences that come about through yoga practice. Each poem is named for a posture or breath exercise, and is inspired by the physical properties of the pose or some aspect of breathing that led the poet to deeper understanding. Listening to these poems read aloud by a teacher, or contemplating them on one's own, will help yoga students better understand their own struggles and inspire them on the way to personal growth and transformation.
http://www.stonebridge.com/yogapoems/yogapoems.html

http://www.lezalowitz.com/writings/yogapoems/yoga.html

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© The Japan Times, Saturday, Sept. 16, 2006

Sun and Moon Yoga: 'Within my body, a city'

By ANGELA JEFFS

Trying to find the way in and out of the Sun and Moon Yoga studio in Meguro, Tokyo, is a bit like trying to negotiate an Escher drawing. Do you take the clean way, the dirty way, the back way or the other way? No worry, says owner-director Leza Lowitz, there is no right or wrong way, only the space that awaits.

This is the second time that Leza has lived in Japan. When she returned to her native California in 1994, she was burned out. As a freelance writer, editor and art critic, she had found many opportunities here. But after four years, she was exhausted and "drinking too much."

The crunch point, she says, came at an art exhibition opening, when a woman said they had met before, " 'but that time you were drinking, so you don't remember.' Shocked that I had made such an impression, I knew it was time to change course."

Back in California, Leza began a period of deep self-reflection. Together with her husband and soul mate, Shogo Oketani, she bought and renovated a 1930s bungalow as a coastal retreat, adopted an abandoned dog and began to study with French mime artist Veera Wibaux -- a woman with an energetic personality who also taught yoga. "That was my new beginning."

Many years later, in 2001, Leza found herself at a yoga retreat in Hawaii, and during a meditation asked for guidance. Back in California, she was active -- writing, doing her practice and writing poetry, but "I didn't like the direction the country was going." Much to her surprise, the answer came: Go back to Tokyo to open a yoga studio. " 'OK,' I thought, 'but not yet.' "

It was Shogo who changed her mind. Returning from a trip to Tokyo to see his father, he had decided it was time to move back. "To be honest, I was very unsure. What would I do with myself? It was a very different time economically, and I was that much older. Again I heard a voice: yoga."

But how to start a business? Though she had no road map, Leza recognized that this had never stopped her before. So she began by looking for a studio, a place that people would regard as sacred space in Tokyo: "an uplifting, healing space, where people could unfold through the study and practice of yoga."

What she found instead was a mess. It had been a pharmacy, located right at the back of an ugly concrete building. But the address was just minutes from the station, and "when I walked in, I fell in love with the fact that I could see open uninterrupted sky through the window -- the sun by day, the moon at night."

With land in Magome given to them by her father-in-law, Leza and Shogo had built a small house. "We decided to use the same architect for Sun and Moon Yoga. Even though I had no budget, Yuji (Hashimoto) said he would do it, and knowing I loved tea houses, set about designing the space and the moon-viewing window frame you see now."

The construction crew was an energetic bunch of old men who used to build "sento" bath houses, and they set to work lovingly with handsaws, using bamboo from Leza's garden. "I think you can feel their calm energy when you walk in. . . ." When she opened a month later, she had only a handful of students. But she kept faith with her vision, and eventually more drifted in: members of Foreign Executive Women. Quickly the word began to spread.

" The students who like our down-to-earth attitude are a wonderful mix. Fifty percent are Japanese, and they come, they say, because they feel they can be themselves."

To Leza's surprise, many of the students want to be taught in English. This was not planned, she says, happy enough to allow Sun and Moon Yoga to evolve naturally. "Right now we have eight teachers and some 1,000 students, and things are pretty healthy. People really need a place to relax and unwind, and find community and peace."

She thinks it unlikely that Sun and Moon will expand. "Is bigger really better? I would hate the intimacy to be lost -- and anyway, where would I find another space like this? We are about yoga in community. I love seeing people walk away with smiles on their faces. I believe in service on a spirit level, not an ego level."

There is also the call of the written word on her precious time. Most recently her book "Yoga Poems: Lines to Unfold By" (first published in hardback in 2000 by Stone Bridge Press) came out in paperback. "The first line came to me one evening in 1995 as I was struggling in The Downward Dog: 'Within my body, there's a city.' After that, as I practiced poses, the poetry just began to flow."

Coauthored with Reema Datta, "Sacred Sanskrit Words: For Yoga, Chant and Meditation" was published in 2005, also by Stone Bridge Press. "In putting together a primer for yoga students, we experienced a deep learning of our own."

As a writer she also collaborates with Shogo. In 2003 the couple was awarded the Columbia University Japan-U.S. Friendship Community Award from the Donald Keene Center of Japanese Culture, for translation and criticism of modernist poet Nobuo Ayukawa's collection "America and Other Poems." Most recently, Leza and Shogo coauthored a book on "kanji" for Stone Bridge Press and completed an epic novel about a female ninja.

A bottomless well of energy in her own right, Leza epitomizes Simhasana (Lion Pose) in her book of unfolding poems:

Queen of the jungle,
she knows no fear.
In goes the holdingholdingholding
out goes the tongue
fingers, eyes, head, breath
everything reaching
for more space
in which to roam."

Leza Lowitz

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Yoga Poems by
© 2005, Lenore Horowitz

Arrow, Utkatasana

My hands hold the wind,
tender,
as green shoots pierce the snow
in early spring.

I arrow
towards the sky,
my bow taut with desire
to see my colors spill
in crimson, orange,
ripest, reddest pink.

Feet wet with dew,
I stand,
yet warm
with hope and dreams.

http://www.womencandoit.com/yoga-writing.html

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極楽庵
GokuRakuAn

だるま資料館
Daruma Museum, Japan

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Karooshi Overwork

2006-01-12T19:31:00.000-08:00

Hard work takes its toll
As overtime increases, so does hypertension risk. Let's hear it for the 40-hour workweek.

By Melissa Healy, Times Staff Writer

© Los Angeles Times, September 4, 2006

Ponder this as you enjoy — if you enjoy — a few extra hours of leisure this Labor Day: Workers may be a nation's lifeblood, but when too many work too much, the nation's blood pressure will rise.

Combing through a survey of Californians, researchers at UC Irvine have established a long-suspected link between work and health in America — that people who put in long hours on the job are more likely to suffer from hypertension than those who work less. Add that finding to recent studies demonstrating that employees working overtime are far more likely to get sick or injured, that their rates of sudden cardiac arrest are higher and that women who put in longer work weeks smoke more, snack more and exercise less.

All told, the findings are enough to suggest that good hard labor may be a prescription for very poor health. Now that the average American workweek has climbed to the top of the industrialized world, our devotion to work could cost us, big time.

"Americans work really long, and we know this trend hasn't been getting better, it's been getting worse," says UCLA Public Health School Dean Linda Rosenstock, who directed the Labor Department's National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health from 1994 to 2000. "It portends a bigger health burden down the line," she adds, and that will swell the nation's $2-trillion expenditure on healthcare.

The latest bad news for workaholics comes from a study, published in the October issue of the American Heart Assn.'s journal Hypertension, that looked at the survey responses of 24,205 working California adults in 2001. Compared with employees in the state who worked fewer than 40 hours a week, workers who clocked more than 51 hours on the job were 29% more likely to have diagnosed high blood pressure. Even just a few hours of overtime — between 41 and 50 hours of labor a week — increased the risk of high blood pressure by 14%.

"Each step up increased the risk of having hypertension," says Dr. Dean Baker, a study author and director of UC Irvine's Center for Occupational and Environmental Health. "It wasn't like you have to work a very high number of hours for this effect to occur."

Among working Californians, overwork is hardly rare either, he adds. About 18% of those surveyed said they worked more than 50 hours a week.

To doctors and public health officials intent on finding and treating the millions of Americans with undiagnosed high blood pressure, the study provides an important new clue. A patient's long work hours are as powerful a predictor of high blood pressure, they now know, as being male or being poor — both of which are significant and well-established risk factors.

The new study also found that clerical and unskilled workers had far higher rates of diagnosed hypertension — 23% and 50%, respectively — than did professionals, even when employees worked the same number of hours. That result, which is in line with established research, suggests that work that gives employees more control over their working conditions and greater mental challenges may have a protective effect against hypertension, say authors of the study.

These findings, Baker says, suggest that physicians should routinely ask adult patients about how much they work, and in what kinds of jobs, as a means of identifying those at higher risk for hypertension. But as the average American workweek creeps upward, the findings also should guide employers and workers in deciding when demanding more or working more becomes too costly.

"It's important for individuals, as they go through their work careers, to be aware there may be adverse effects on their health" from lengthy workweeks, Baker says. "And employers should be aware that if they establish policies that require or encourage people to work long work hours, it may result in higher medical-care costs."

In Asia, long work hours and high job stress have become so pervasive that employees have a name for the phenomenon of death from overwork. One researcher concluded that, in Japan, karoshi may claim the lives of up to 10,000 workers a year. In China, though there is no official count, the number of guolaosi victims is said to be growing as fast as the nation's economy.

A welter of studies on Asian and European workers have linked excessive work hours to increased risk of conditions such as heart disease, sudden heart attack, high blood pressure and depression, as well as habits such as smoking, poor diet and sedentary lifestyle. But in the United States, the health consequences of chronic overwork is a subject largely ignored by American researchers and employers and by workers themselves, who either have too much of a can-do mind-set to admit the problem or are too tired to care.

The workweek of American employees has crept up in the last decade. In 2003, the average U.S. employee worked roughly 2,000 hours a year versus 1,650 hours for Europeans and 1,950 hours for Japanese. Only workers in Thailand, Hong Kong and South Korea work more.

Though the Hypertension study provides evidence for a link between overwork and poor health, "it's not rocket science" for workers to figure that out on their own, says Joe Robinson, an L.A.-based work-life coach and board member of the national grass-roots movement Take Back Your Time.

Each year on Oct. 24, the coalition of activists — who support more European-style employment practices and encourage Americans to "work less, waste less" — celebrates a day of awareness for workers and employers across the United States, timed to mark the end of the average European's work year relative to that of the average American.

"Clearly there's a connection [between work and health] and it's not only a connection, it's like someone shouting with a megaphone, saying, 'Wake up America!' " Robinson says. "Because we clearly are working beyond the physical capacity of our bodies as well as our minds."

melissa.healy

ooo ooo ooo ooo ooo ooo ooo ooo ooo

Human Stress-Meter
by Nipro

Japan-based Nipro has developed a portable stress indicator. Just gather a small amount of spittle into the device, and the Cocoro Meter will measure the level of amylase that increases whenever a person is under physical or mental strain.
Results are displayed via numbers and stick figure icons that express the detected stress level.

ooo ooo ooo ooo ooo ooo ooo ooo ooo

I have been researching the effects of stress on the human body for many years at Heidelberg University, the Myocardial Infarction Center.

One of the results concerning the wisdom that stress is bad for you:
I gave up this stressful research and took home in the mountains of Japan, now leading a SLOW LIFE !

Gabi Greve, GokuRakuAn Japan

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GokuRakuAn

Daruma Museum, Japan

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Blue Zones

2006-01-11T21:07:00.000-08:00

Long Life, Blue Zones

QUOTE:

'Blue Zones' gives tips for long life
©　By Jeff Baenen, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

If you are looking for a Fountain of Youth, forget pills and diet supplements. Adventurer Dan Buettner has visited four spots on the globe where people live into their 90s and 100s and outlines how they add years of good life in his new book, "The Blue Zones."

The answer, Buettner says, includes smaller food portions, an active lifestyle and moderate drinking.

"If someone tells you they have a pill or hormone (that extends life), you're about to lose money," Buettner says.

Buettner identifies four hot spots of longevity: the mountainous Barbagia region of Sardinia, an island off the coast of Italy; the Japanese island of Okinawa; a community of Seventh-day Adventists in Loma Linda, Calif., about 60 miles east of Los Angeles; and the Nicoya Peninsula of Costa Rica, in Central America.
(The term "Blue Zones" takes its name from the blue ink Belgian demographer Michel Poulain used to circle an area of long-living Sardinians on a map.)

What Buettner found in his seven years of research and travel were common denominators among the vigorous super-elderly - close family relationships, a sense of purpose, healthy eating habits. He distills them into what he calls the Power Nine that readers can use to create their own Blue Zone.

"Picking half a dozen things off of this al a carte menu, and sticking to it, is probably worth eight to 10 (extra) years for the average American. And you'll look younger and feel younger on the way," says Buettner, a tall and lean 48-year-old who says he hopes to live until at least 100.

Buettner turned to probing the secrets of the longest-living cultures after leading three long-distance bicycle expeditions - from the tip of North America to the tip of South America; across the United States, Europe and the Soviet Union; and across Africa - in the 1980s and 1990s. He also used the Internet to take classrooms on interactive quests to solve everything from the collapse of ancient Mayan civilization to human origins in Africa.

Buettner made his first expedition to Okinawa in 2000 and eventually wrote a National Geographic cover story, "The Secrets of Long Life," in November 2005. That led to National Geographic publishing "The Blue Zones" this March. The book debuted at No. 15 on The New York Times' list of advice book bestsellers but has since dropped off.

Living long - even forever - is a human desire throughout history, says Dr. Robert Butler, president and CEO of the International Longevity Center-USA in New York. But Butler says he's skeptical of claims of places of long-living people.

"There's always been these rumours but they've always turned out to be inaccurate," said Butler, who appears in "The Blue Zones" but has not read it.

Buettner is aware of the skepticism, but says he and his team of demographers, which included Poulain, scrupulously checked birth and death records and vetted the ages of Blue Zone residents in his book.

"We have the numerical data that shows that these places (in 'The Blue Zones') are living longer. It's not just anecdotal," Buettner said.

While ranking populations by average life expectancy is nothing new, Buettner has "done a nice job putting faces to it and looking at some of the special characteristics - be it diet or happiness - that typify some of these regions," said Dr. Thomas T. Perls, director of the New England Centenarian Study and an associate professor of medicine at the Boston University School of Medicine. Perls also appears in the book.

Because of obesity and smoking, Americans are living about 10 years less than they should be, said Perls, co-author of the book "Living to 100." He said if Americans embraced the healthy habits advocated by Buettner, the impact on public health "would be huge."

Buettner found long-lived people have a sense of purpose and a strong support network. In Okinawa, women gather in social networks known as moais.

"Even at age 100, they're all getting together in their moai ... at 5 o'clock every day. They sit around, they drink a couple glasses of sake, they gossip, they talk about sex. If one doesn't show up to the afternoon gathering, the other four sort of hobble over to see if she's fallen down or if she needs help," Buettner said.

Women in Okinawa also tend to be spiritual leaders, which imbues them with a sense of purpose, or "ikigai," Buettner said.

Regular attendance at religious services also is a factor, Buettner said. Seventh-day Adventists observe the Sabbath on Saturday, which gives them a weekly break from stress.

"There's no question but having a spiritual sense - a sense of belonging, a sense of personal value - enhances a person's ability to follow good health habits. Out of that arises the longevity," said Dr. Richard Hart, president and CEO of Loma Linda University Adventist Health Sciences Center.

Limiting food intake and eating healthy also are key, Buettner said. Elderly Okinawans follow a maxim to eat only until their stomachs are 80 per cent full, Buettner said. Centenarians in Sardinia, Okinawa and Nicoya rarely ate meat, and some Adventists stick only to a plant-based diet. Adventists frequently eat nuts while Okinawans eat tofu.

Drinking in moderation can help, Buettner said. Sardinians drink a dark red wine that's loaded with antioxidants, he said.

Exposure to sun - a source of vitamin D - also is common in Blue Zones, where the residents are tan, Buettner said.

"We shouldn't be burning ourselves, we shouldn't be frying. But 20 minutes a day, in the climates or the latitudes that have quality sunshine, it's probably a good takeaway," he said.

Buettner also advocates low-intensity physical activity. After years of biking, Buettner has switched to yoga for his main exercise. He lives on Lake of the Isles in Minneapolis, where he can skate around the lake in the summer and cross-country ski across it in the winter.

"You identify what you like to do, and you do it, because you're likely to do that over the long run," Buettner said.

Buettner also recommends "de-conveniencing" your home - getting rid of the TV remote or the power lawnmower. Buettner moved up to the third floor of his spacious home "so every time I need a shirt I walk three flights of stairs."

Modern life is threatening the Blue Zones' reputation for longevity, Buettner said. Obesity rates have soared in Sardinia, where young people are eating chips and drinking soda pop, he said.

"The phenomena of longevity is disappearing in all places, except for maybe among the Adventists, and the purpose of this book was to capture it and observe it before it disappeared, and measure it," Buettner said.

-

On the Net:
http://www.bluezones.com
http://www.nationalgeographic.com

Dan Buettner's nine tips for longer life, from his book "The Blue Zones":

1. "Move Naturally.
Be active without having to think about it."

2. "Hara Hachi Bu.
Painlessly cut calories by 20 per cent."

3. "Plant Slant.
Avoid meat and processed food."

4. "Grapes of Life.
Drink red wine (in moderation)."

5. "Purpose Now.
Take time to see the big picture."

6. "Down Shift.
Take time to relieve stress."

7. "Belong.
Participate in a spiritual community."

8. "Loved Ones First.
Make family a priority."

9. "Right Tribe.
Be surrounded by those who share Blue Zone values."

-
Source: "The Blue Zone," by Dan Buettner.

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極楽庵
GokuRakuAn

だるま資料館
Daruma Museum, Japan

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TaoZen

2006-01-10T19:25:00.000-08:00

TaoZen

"Tao" is letting things flow smoothly -- going with the Flow
"Zen" is opening oneself -- Being with Oneness.
When one opens, one flows. When one flows, one is open.

About TaoZen Life Practice

When we open ourselves to the Openness (Nothingness or Zen state), the real effortless stream (or Tao) is coming through us. This is the TaoZen Life Practice; it is a non dual healing practice to bring total health, joy, and strength.

When your body, mind, and soul harmonize ・translucent radiant Spirit can shine into your life like a powerful beam of light ・ through a clear plate of glass. We have all experienced the occasional flash of intuitive knowledge that illuminates The Way with questionless certainty. During these magical moments, your life self organizes with effortless flow ・things feel just right.

How can you develop this rare heightened state of awareness into a permanent condition, accessible at will? Join Masahiro Ouchi (Senior Instructor, Founder, and Director of Healing Tao Center of New York, Founder of the TaoZen Association.), his staff, and the TaoZen Community in extraordinary courses, workshops, and special events designed to help you develop the ever present awareness -- awareness of non dual lucidity that Masahiro calls TaoZen .

Each one of your bodies ・the physical, mental, emotional, and energetic ・is a gateway that leads to a harmonized Spirit. When any one of these bodies is unbalanced the entire Self System becomes disordered. Then Spirit can no longer manifest Intuition consciously. At those times, important decisions are made by rigid logic ・or by animal instinct. Impulsive life choices made in the absence of spiritual awareness are usually misguided and wrong headed.

Master Masahiro Ouchi

Masahiro Ouchi has been teaching Tai-chi, Qigong, and meditation for over 30 years. He is a senior instructor of Universal Tao; a faculty member of the Healing Tao University . He has been chosen as Teacher of the Year. In addition, he has taught Tao and Zen disciplines at New York University, the Open Center of New York, Queens College, Exhale Spa -- as well as in Asia, Europe, Central America, and Africa.

His spiritual journey originated with a childhood experience at a 600 year old Zen temple in Japan. Since then he has practiced Zen Meditation, Shaolin Temple Kempo, Japanese Archery, Esoteric Shintoism, Kundalini Yoga, Taoism, Qigong and Tai Chi. He is an original student of the world-renowned Tao Master Mantak Chia. He is also a student of Li Jun Feng, Wushu teacher to Jet Li. In addition, he has studied under the great Dr. and Priest Hiroshi Motoyama & Mr. Michizo Noguchi.

Masahiro Ouchi's purpose and focus is to teach his students how to bring ancient spiritual and healing practices into their modern lives ・to teach them how to live fully with joy and compassion.

http://www.taozenlife.com/about.htm

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極楽案
GokuRakuAn

だるま資料館
Daruma Museum, Japan

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Toothache Yoga

2006-01-10T17:47:00.000-08:00

Toothache and Yoga
Varun Mudra - Water Mudra

quote:

　© By cgull8m

The science of Mudras is based on the principle that "The root cause of disease is the imbalance and improper co-ordination between these elements (water, earth, heaven/ether, air and fire represented by the five fingers) and proper balance between these elements is the secret of good health." The secret of health lies in hands, fingers and Mudras, which can be performed with the help of fingers.

Human body is composed of five basic elements and the five fingers of our hands represents these five basic elements. Ancient Sages discovered the knowledge of Mudras. By touching of hands to each other or folding fingers in a particular way, we can cure any disturbances in these five elements with the help of our fingers, we can keep the five elements in proper proportion, any disturbances in them can be balanced. So that our body become healthy.

The guru said if the right tooth portions ache then one is angry with males, if the left tooth portions aches means one is angry with a female. Most of the pain and illnesses are caused by emotions, mind and body affect each other significantly.

Varun Mudra:

Little finger represents water. And only water can put out the fire. So touch tip of the thumb with tip of the little finger. Water will increase in the body and bring down the fire in the body -- I mean fever.
Is basically used for reducing fever and colds, but also to alleviate the pain. If you have fevers you can also do this one.

You can try this if your tooth aches, but also control your anger.

This Varun Mudra gives you immediate and temporary relief, but check your Dentist also, there might be a bigger problem than what it looks from the outside. Don't take it lightly and wait until the end.

This also helps in curing diseases connected with shortage or excess of water, like blood impurities, skin diseases, dry skin problems etc. This mudra brings shine to the skin and makes it smooth. It helps in (to some extent) of acne and pimples.

Advantages

Regular practice balances the water element in your body
Enhances physical beauty
Decreases dryness in skin and body

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Benefits:
By practicing this posture 5 to 30 minutes for 30 days, it helps to cure skin disease, excessive perspiration; it purifies the blood and balances its circulation, making the body flexible.

© www.jainworld.com/ Hand Postures

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God of Toothache in Nepal

More Gods of Japan to heal your toothache !
Yakushi Nyorai and Jizo for your Toothache

極楽庵
GokuRakuAn

だるま資料館
Daruma Museum, Japan

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Slow Food

2006-01-08T21:19:00.000-08:00

SLOW FOOD

Quote from
Living in Season
The official newsletter of School of the Seasons
January 22, 2007
http://www.schooloftheseasons.com/newletters/news012207.html

Copyright © Waverly Fitzgerald 2007
http://www.schooloftheseasons.com

There is a secret bond
between slowness and memory,
between speed and forgetting.
— Milan Kundera

Does it seem like time is going by faster and faster? It's not entirely an illusion. There are many signs that we are becoming accustomed to moving at a rapid pace. Gleick has written an entire book under the title Faster, describing the Western?s world?s obsession with speed.

Jay Griffiths provides many examples in the chapter on speed in her marvelous book on time, A Sideways Look at Time. She quotes two childbirth experts in Dublin who write: "Prolonged labour, in this hospital, was defined as 36 hours in 1963, reduced to 24 hours in 1968, and, finally to 12 hours in 1972." She also cites the results of a Harvard survey on Americans Use of Time. In 1965, 25% of the people polled said they felt hurried. That percentage increased to 32% in 1985 and 38% by 1992. Griffiths notes: "The percentage of the rushed has grown, and has grown faster and faster."

In response to increasing time pressure, we've developed methods of doing things even more quickly, like preparing food in the microwave and gulping down missing nutrients in the form of multi-vitamins. In his book, The Slow Down Diet, Marc David talks about the difference between the way the French eat and the way Americans eat. The French take several hours for lunch, drink wine with their meals, eat lots of cheese and high-fat foods, eat smaller portions, insist on fresh and high-quality ingredients and have their largest meal in the middle of the day. They are more likely to smoke and less likely to exercise yet they have lower rates of heart disease and lower blood cholesterol than most Americans.

Scientists observing this phenomenon decided that the polyphenols in the wine the French drank made the difference which is when we started hearing that drinking red wine was good for you. Suddenly polyphenols became available in pill form, in case you were too rushed to drink a glass of wine. Nobody noticed the context of the French meal: the leisurely time, the savoring of the experience and the ingredients, the socializing that accompanied the meal. David contends that a relaxed eater has a better chance of digesting a meal and feeling satisfied afterwards.

He offers one amusing story about an American geologist who was supervising a three-week dig in rural France. She got frustrated because her French crew disappeared into town every day for two-and-a-half hour lunch. So she told them they needed to eat lunch on site. They cheerfully agreed and the next day, a truck pulled into the parking area at lunchtime. Out of the truck came tables, tablecloths, silverware, china, flowers, a portable kitchen and plenty of food. Then the workers sat down and enjoyed a two-hour meal, complete with wine, on site.

Italian food writer, Carlo Petrini, launched the Slow Food movement in 1986 outraged by the opening of a MacDonalds besides the Spanish Steps in Rome. This movement, which has spread across the globe, champions locally grown seasonal food, artisanal production, the preservation of traditional recipes and the enjoyment of leisurely meals shared with family and friends. Carl Honoré describes the influence of the Slow Food movement and others in his book, In Praise of Slowness, which includes chapters on the design of slow cities (where walking is encouraged), the benefits of slowing down on health, the pleasures of slow sex and suggestions for raising unhurried children.

Ralph Keyes in his book, Timelock, offers some suggestions for slowing down:

Take time outs during the day
Nap
Choose the slowest route, not the fastest: Walk instead of drive. Take the stairs instead of the elevator. Grate your own cheese rather than buying grated cheese.
Distinguish between necessary haste (late for an appointment) and impatience (one-hour photo developing)
Listen to your body
Take a bath instead of a shower
What ways can you find to slow down?

References:
David, Marc, The Slow Down Diet, Healing Arts Press 2005
Gleick, James, Faster: The Acceleration of Just About Everything, Vintage 2000
Griffiths, Jay, A Sideways Look at Time, Tarcher/Penguin 2004
Honoré, Carl, In Praise of Slowness: How a Worldwide Movement is Challenging the Cult of Speed, Harper San Francisco 2004
Keyes, Ralph, Timelock: How Life Got So Hectic and What You Can Do About It

Slow Food www.slowfood.com

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Slow Life at the Paradise Hermitage
極楽庵のスローライフ

GokuRakuAn

Daruma Museum, Japan

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The Tao of Health

2006-01-08T20:33:00.000-08:00

The Tao of Health　BLOG

Green tea is supposed to be a very healthy drink.
Just look at all these posts for an idea of how healthy.

As healthy as green tea may be, just think about how cheap it is. You can get organic green tea bags for ten cents each. That means you can have four cups per day for less than fifty cents. I think that is incredible! Where else can you find such a value?

I love to blog; I love to write; and I love to help others.
Ed Bremson
Raleigh, N.C., USA

http://taoofhealth.blogspot.com/

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極楽庵
GokuRakuAn

だるま資料館
Daruma Museum, Japan

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The Work of Byron Katie

2006-01-08T18:51:00.000-08:00

The Work of Byron Katie

Four Questions

1. Is it true?
2. Can you absolutely know that it's true?
3. How do you react when you believe that thought?
4. Who would you be without the thought?

And remember to turn it around.

Katie's first book, Loving What Is, introduced us to The Work.

Quote from Katie

If you want something to be different than it is, you might as well teach a cat to bark. You can try and try, and in the end the cat will look up at you and say, "Meow." Wanting something to be different than it is is hopeless.

We buy a home for our children, for our bodies; we get a garage for our car; we have dog houses for our dogs; but we won't give the mind a home. And we treat it like an outcast. We shame it and blame it and shame it again.
But if you let the mind ask its questions, then the heart will rise with the answer. And "rising" is just a metaphor. The heart will reveal the answer, and the mind can finally rest at home in the heart and come to see that it and the heart are one. That's what these four questions are about.

'How can I smile at the nagging thoughts that seem to take me from presence?'
Read the story.

Quote from the Q and A section

Does The Work work for depression or anxiety?

Before a feeling comes, there is always a thought: "I'm worthless." "I'm wasting my life." "Something terrible could happen." Our depression comes from believing these thoughts.
If you knew deeply inside yourself that these thoughts weren't true, would you still feel depressed? The four questions help you see what's really true for you. Many people around the world find that The Work is the fast way out of suffering. It can complement any other approach you choose.

We don't have to wait for the world to be free before we are free.

The Main Page
http://www.thework.com/index.asp

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極楽庵
GokuRakuAn

だるま資料館
Daruma Museum, Japan

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Cardiac Wellness

2006-01-06T18:12:00.000-08:00

Cardiac Wellness Programs, USA

Endorsing a lifestyle

By Hilary E. MacGregor, June 12, 2006

© Los Angeles Times

LIFESTYLE changes can boost the health and well-being of heart patients, proponents of such programs have long said. Now Medicare has acknowledged that as well.

The federal insurance program will now pay for the intensive cardiac rehabilitation plans created by preventive health guru Dr. Dean Ornish and mind-body medicine pioneer Dr. Herbert Benson — the first time the federal government has agreed to reimburse consumers for specific lifestyle intervention programs.

"This exciting breakthrough could change the face of medical care," said Ornish in a statement.

He and Benson have been working for years to obtain Medicare reimbursement for their cardiac wellness programs because it's seen as a critical first step to making their programs more widely available — and getting other insurance providers to pay for them as well.

Both have conducted clinical research demonstrating that comprehensive lifestyle changes — including support groups; good nutrition and low-fat diets; exercise; and stress management, such as yoga, meditation or deep breathing — may begin to reverse even severe coronary heart disease without drugs or surgery.

Ornish's Program for Reversing Heart Disease is offered at eight sites in Pennsylvania and at five medical centers in West Virginia. At least one private insurer in each state already has agreed to cover the programs in those states.

Cardiac wellness programs by Benson, who more than 25 years ago wrote the groundbreaking "Relaxation Response," are offered in Indiana, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Washington and Virginia.

Considered by many to be the father of meditation in this country, Benson has shown that 10 minutes of meditative technique a day can increase concentration and counteract the harmful effects of stress, such as high blood pressure and strokes.

His Cardiac Wellness Program combines these stress reduction techniques with nutrition, cognitive restructuring and exercise to lower cholesterol and blood pressure. Patients report fewer symptoms of chest pain.

Medicare, however, will not cover enrollment in the programs for as long as both centers frequently recommend. Instead, it will guarantee coverage for 36 sessions within an 18-week period, with a possible extension to 72 sessions for 36 weeks. The final details of how much will be covered are still under negotiation, Ornish said.

Although Medicare already pays for some cardiac rehabilitation programs, officials hailed the inclusion of both programs as an important shift toward preventive rather than rehabilitative medicine.

As of March, the definition of who can take advantage of the cardiac rehab benefit under Medicare has been expanded from conditions such as acute myocardial infarction (heart attack) and coronary artery bypass graft to include patients with less severe heart conditions, such as valve replacement.

"The programs of Dr. Ornish and Dr. Benson focus on a prevention model," said a spokesperson with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. "Now we are going to take even individuals with mild cardiovascular disease and show them how to ameliorate it or reverse it to avoid more serious disease."

Although the details of coverage have not been finalized, doctors who run similar lifestyle intervention programs to treat and prevent heart disease supported the move.

"It is just phenomenal that Medicare has decided to cover these programs since Medicare sets the precedent for all of the other insurance companies," said Dr. Mimi Guarneri, a cardiologist who co-founded and runs the Scripps Center for Integrative Medicine in La Jolla.

"What's really important is this is truly shifting the paradigm of healthcare from focusing on chronic disease to
focusing on prevention."

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極楽庵
GokuRakuAn

だるま資料館
Daruma Museum, Japan

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Forest Therapy

2006-01-05T19:32:00.000-08:00

Forest Therapy 　- 樹林セラピー
Forest Quigong、Jurin Kikoo 樹林気功

Something we do frequently at GokuRakuAn.

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©　Japan Times, May 2, 2008

'Forest therapy' taking root
Researchers find that a simple stroll among trees has real benefits

By AKEMI NAKAMURA

For stressed-out workers, this may someday be a doctor's prescription: Walk around in the woods.

Scientists in Japan have been learning a lot in recent years about the relaxing effects of forests and trees on mental and physical health. Based on their findings, some local governments are promoting "forest therapy."

Experience shows that the scents of trees, the sounds of brooks and the feel of sunshine through forest leaves can have a calming effect, and the conventional wisdom is right, said Yoshifumi Miyazaki, director of the Center for Environment Health and Field Sciences at Chiba University.

Japan's leading scholar on forest medicine has been conducting physiological experiments to examine whether forests can make people feel at ease.

One study he conducted on 260 people at 24 sites in 2005 and 2006 found that the average concentration of salivary cortisol, a stress hormone, in people who gazed on forest scenery for 20 minutes was 13.4 percent lower than that of people in urban settings, Miyazaki said.

This means that forests can lower stress and make people feel at ease, he said, noting that findings in other physiological experiments, including fluctuations in heart beats and blood pressure, support this conclusion.

"Humans had lived in nature for 5 million years. We were made to fit a natural environment. So we feel stress in an urban area," Miyazaki said. "When we are exposed to nature, our bodies go back to how they should be."

Taking a walk in a forest, or "forest bathing" as it is sometimes called, can strengthen the immune system, according to Li Qing, a senior assistant professor of forest medicine at Nippon Medical School in Tokyo.
Li conducted experiments to see whether spending time in a forest increases the activity of people's natural killer (NK) cells, a component of the immune system that fights cancer.

In one, 12 men took a two-night trip to a forest in Nagano Prefecture in 2006, during which they went on three leisurely strolls and stayed in a hotel in the woods. Thirteen female nurses made a similar trip to another forest in the prefecture in 2007.

NK activity was boosted in the subjects in both groups, and the increase was observed as long as 30 days later, Li said.

"When NK activity increases, immune strength is enhanced, which boosts resistance against stress," Li said, adding that forest therapy for immune-compromised patients may be developed within a few years.
Li said the increase in NK activity can be attributed partly to inhaling air containing phytoncide, or essential wood oils given off by plants.

Miyazaki of Chiba University said forests gratify the five senses by providing the sounds of birds, cool air, green leaves, the touch of trees, wild plants and grasses.

"The atmosphere of forests makes people calm," he said.

Based on studies on the effects of forests, the public and private sectors are now promoting forest therapy.

The Forest Therapy Executive Committee, a group of researchers, other intellectuals and the government-affiliated National Land Afforestation Promotion Organization, started officially recognizing certain forests by granting the designations of Forest Therapy Base and Forest Therapy Road in 2006. The titles are given to forests that have been found by researchers through scientific evidence to have relaxing effects.

Officials from the Forest Agency and the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry participate in the group as observers.
A forest therapy base comprises a forest and walking paths typically managed by local governments.

So far, 31 bases and four roads nationwide have gained such recognition.

Visitors to some of the therapy bases and roads have the option of taking part in various health programs, including medical checkups, breathing and aromatherapy classes, and guided walks with experts on forests and health care.

At the Akazawa Natural Recreation Forest in Agematsu, Nagano Prefecture, which was recognized as a forest therapy base in 2006, visitors can get free medical checkups among Japanese cypress trees on Thursdays. The forest is known as the Japanese birthplace of the concept of forest bathing in 1982.

Some companies have come to use forest therapy for their employees' health care.

The Shinano Municipal Government in Nagano Prefecture, which manages the Iyashi no Mori (Healing Forests) forest therapy base, has contracts with four companies, a town official said.

Visitors to the forest therapy base can take part in various programs, including dietary management, hydrotherapy and aromatherapy.
The formal designations have drawn more people to such towns.

The Oguni Municipal Government in Yamagata Prefecture said 1,280 people visited the Nukumidaira beech forest there in fiscal 2007, including some 100 people who took part in forest walking tours with "matagi" traditional hunters.

"Before we got the recognition (in 2006), there were not so many visitors to the woods. Now we can see some people in the forest even on weekdays," said Juro Watanabe, a town official in charge of forest therapy.

Recognition as a forest therapy base can be a big help, said Shigetaka Harashima, manager of the forest therapy project for the Okutama Municipal Government in Tokyo.
The town received official recognition in April 2008 and is now cooperating with experts to draw up therapy programs that will be available next year.

Chiba University's Miyazaki said he hopes the number of forest therapy bases and roads will reach 100 nationwide over the next decade so people will have plenty of choices when they look for different types of forests.

"Some people like broadleaf forests and others prefer forests of conifer trees like hinoki cypress that give off a strong aroma," Miyazaki said. "I hope people try to find a forest that suits their tastes and visit them from time to time."

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Forest Therapy / Further Reference

樹林気功 / Japanese Reference

森林セラピー

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©　森林セラピー Japan

©　森林セラピー岡山県真庭郡新庄村

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極楽庵
GokuRakuAn

だるま資料館
Daruma Museum, Japan

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Seishindo

2006-01-04T21:35:00.000-08:00

Somatic Wisdom

From "Pure Heart, Simple Mind"® vol. 4, no.8, May 3, 2006
Official Newsletter of Seishindo™ 精心道

Please be sure to read this newsletter at a leisurely pace, while maintaining a soothing breathing pattern and a relaxed physiology. This is the same basic instruction we give over and over again during our workshops.

Start out by taking several deep breaths... Adjusting your posture... And tightening and then releasing various muscles throughout your head, neck, and body... When you tighten your muscles hold your breath... When you release your muscles breathe freely and deeply... When you feel "ready", breathe consciously and begin reading.
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Your body plays an important role in maintaining your health and emotional well being.
The language of your body is

- sophisticated
- systematic
- complete

In a literal sense, the grammar of your body language determines the grammar of your spoken language.
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Use your body in a more graceful, efficient manner, and you will find you become more emotionally balanced and solution oriented.

You will find that you slip in and out of understanding the meaning of your life. This is just the way things are meant to be.

Please read the rest of the instructions here .

... ... ... Newsletter Archives

In Seishindo we support you in honoring the feelings and intuitive wisdom emanating from your body, heart, and soul. It is through the ups and downs of life that you discover your own unique path and actively live the life you desire and deserve.
When you discover and honor your unique connection to life, how you think and feel winds up matching your true heart's desire.
Seishindo.org

日本語版もあります。

[著者紹介] チャーリー・バーデンホップ〈Charlie Badenhop〉

another link in the Genkijuju:

. Body language .

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だるま資料館
Daruma Museum, Japan

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Hanya Shingyo Sutra

2006-01-04T20:29:00.000-08:00

[ . BACK to DARUMA　MUSEUM　TOP . ]
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Hanya Shingyo ：　The Heart Sutra

..... ..... ..... 般若心経

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source :　ocnk.net

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Each letter of the Hanya Sutra is a Buddha in itself.
When you copy a sutra, you should pray three times, write one letter, pray three times, write the next one letter, pray three times and so on till the end of the sutra.

The sutra tells us not to cling to meanings and regulations, not to worry about a thing ... not to fret about things we can not change anyway, and to try improve things we can, like our own way of seeing things.
It also tells us to take things "yuttari", with leisure and pleasure.
And in the end, it tells us to be greatful to the Buddha for teaching us his wisdom thus.

gyate gyate, I understand now! Oh, I understand now ! Finally I understand the mind of the Buddha. Thank you, thank you for your teaching !

Gyate gyate haragyate harasougyate boji sowaka.
Wakatta, wakatta. Hotoke no kokoro, yatto wakatta! Arigatoo!

See the world with the eyes and judgement of Buddha!

KAN JI ZAI BO SA GYO JIN HAN NYA HA RA MI TA JI
SHO KEN GO UN KAI KU DO IS SAI KU YAKU
SHA RI SHI SHIKI FU I KU KU FU I SHIKI

SHIKI SOKU ZE KU
KU SOKU ZE SHIKI

JU SO GYO SHIKI YAKU BU NYO ZE
SHA RI SHI ZE SHO HO KU SO

FU SHO FU METSU /FU KU FU JO / FU ZO FU GEN /ZE KO KU CHU

MU SHIKI MU JU SO GYO SHIKI MU GEN NI BI ZETS SHIN NI MU SHIKI SHO KO MI SOKU HO MU GEN KAI
NAI SHI MU I SHIKI KAI / MU MU MYO YAKU / MU MU MYO JIN

NAI SHI MU RO SHI YAKU MO RO SHI JIN MU KU SHU METSU DO
MU CHI YAKU / MU TOKU I / MU SHO TOK KO

BO DAI SAT TA E HAN NYA HA RA MI TA KO
SHIN MU KE GE / MU KE GE KO / MU U KU FU / ON RI IS SAI TEN DO MU SO KU GYO NE HAN SAN ZE SHO BUTSU

E HAN NYA HA RA MI TA KO TOKU A NOKU TA RA SAN MYAKU SAN BO DAI KO CHI HAN NYA HA RA MI TA

ZE DAI SHIN SHU / ZE DAI MYO SHU / ZE MU JO SHU / ZE MU TO DO SHU

NO JO IS SAI KU
SHIN JITSU FU KO KO SETSU HAN NYA HA RA MI TA SHU
SOKU SETSU SHU WA TSU

GYA TE GYA TE HA RA GYA TE HARA SO GYA TE

BO DHI SOWA KA
HAN NYA SHIN GYO

ENGLISH TRANSLATION
Heart Sutra Tr. by George Boeree

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source :　jiritsu/record

ほっとする　般若心経
空｣「色」の同時進行
野田大燈

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quote

Copyright (C) 1998-2006 黒羽山大雄寺 Kurobane San, Daioo-Ji
All rights reserved.

Read the Japanese version ONLINE
http://www.daiouji.or.jp/sutra_hannyasingyou.html

SHAKYO 写経
http://www.daiouji.or.jp/sutra.html

黒羽山大雄寺（くろばねさんだいおうじ）
324-0233　栃木県大田原市黒羽田町450番地
TEL：0287-54-0332
Copyright (C)1998-2006 黒羽山大雄寺

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Copying Buddhist Images ... shabutsu 写仏

Copyright (C)2002-2007 金剛院 Kongoo-In
all rights reserved.

More External LINKS

Shakyoo-Ya : Goods you need for Copying Japanese Sutras

WIKIPEDIA : The Heart Sutra

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There are many reasons people practice shakyo. Some do it simply as a means of improving calligraphic skill; for others it is primarily a means of developing focus and concentration; for yet others still, it is a meditative practice - calming the mind and bringing a state of inner peace after the ups-and-downs of a hectic day.

At a yet deeper level, the practice of shakyo is considered highly important as a 'Meritous activity' - that is, the practice of shakyo is a means by which one can accrue Merit - the Spiritual Blessings or Grace of a Buddha - for oneself - or on behalf of others.

Hannya Shingo written in bonji, Sanskrit letters

SHAKYO - THE COPYING OF KYO (SUTRAS)
Copyright © James Deacon

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Copying the Lotus Sutra, One Letter at a Time
Ninzan Kyosho Valorie Beer

Copying the Arya Sanghata Sutra

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Modern Japanese translation/interpretation by Hiro Sachiya

般若心経　現代語訳
　この訳は、ひろさちや氏によるものです。

　観自在菩薩がかつてほとけの智慧の完成を実践されたとき、
肉体も精神もすべてが空であることを照見され、あらゆる苦悩を克服されました。

　舎利子よ。存在は空にほかならず、空が存在にほかなりません。
存在がすなわち空で、空がすなわち存在です。感じたり、知ったり、
意欲したり、判断したりする精神のはたらきも、これまた空です。

　舎利子よ。このように存在と精神のすべてが空でありますから、
生じたり滅したりすることなく、きれいも汚いもなく、増えもせず減りもしません。

　そして、小乗仏教においては、現象世界を五蘊（ごうん）・十二処・十八界
といったふうに、あれこれ分析的に捉えていますが、すべては空なのですから、
そんなものはいっさいありません。また、小乗仏教は、十二縁起や四諦といった
煩雑な教理を説きますが、すべては空ですから、そんなものはありません。
そしてまた、分別もなければ悟りもありません。大乗仏教では、悟りを開いても、
その悟りにこだわらないからです。

　大乗仏教の菩薩は、ほとけの智慧を完成していますから、その心にはこだわりが
なく、こだわりがないので恐怖におびえることなく、事物をさかさに捉えることなく、
妄想に悩まされることなく、心は徹底して平安であります。また、三世の諸仏は、
ほとけの智慧を完成することによって、この上ない正しい完全な悟りを開かれました。

　それ故、ほとけの智慧の完成はすばらしい霊力のある真言であり、すぐれた
真言であり、無上の真言であり、無比の真言であることが知られます。
それはあらゆる苦しみを取り除いてくれます。真実にして虚妄ならざるものです。

　そこで、ほとけの智慧の完成の真言を説きます。

　すなわち、これが真言です。

Gyate Gyayte ...

「わかった、わかった、ほとけのこころ。
　すっかりわかった、ほとけのこころ。
　ほとけさま、ありがとう。」

http://structure.cande.iwate-u.ac.jp/religion/hirohannya.htm

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source :　www.art-tokyo.net

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hannya shinkyoo hannya shinkyo

Daruma Museum, Japan

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Yoga, Art of Living

2006-01-03T21:10:00.000-08:00

Yoga at work : The Art of Living

One of the most wonderful aspects of yoga is that it can be practiced anywhere – whether in a studio, a gym, on the beach, on a mountain top, or even in our office or workplace.

Many people develop poor posture when sitting at a desk all day, resulting in neck and back pain. Further, with insufficient or no exercise, circulation slows down and very little blood flows through to the muscles. With oxygen flow inhibited, the muscles begin to contract to conserve oxygen. Tension builds in the neck, the shoulders and the back.

There are some simple and gentle yoga stretches and techniques that may be performed even when sitting at a desk or computer. Stretching oxygenates the blood, improves blood flow to the muscles and relieves tension. It also increases blood flow to the brain, which improves concentration and clarity of thought. It helps to alleviate the number one work – related problem, stress.

These stretches may be done periodically throughout the day, and may be complemented with a quick brisk walk around the office. Those who sit at a computer all day may use these techniques to relieve the resultant cramps and aches of the chest, shoulders, arms, hands and fingers.

Taking just a few minutes a day can make us more productive and benefit our overall physical and mental health.

Wrist and elbow Rotation

Sit with your back straight in your chair and rotate both wrists, slowly, ten times in the clockwise and ten times in the anti-clockwise direction. Rotate your arm at the elbow, ten times in each direction. This exercise may be repeated two or three times in a day.

Relaxing the Neck and Shoulders

Start by lowering your head forward towards your chest. Close your eyes and hold this position for a few moments, while concentrating on relaxing the muscles in the back of your neck. After a few moments, slowly roll your head from side to side. Be careful to go only to the sided and not roll your head to the back, as you want to relax your muscles, not overextend your neck.

Next, concentrate on your shoulders. Let your head relax in an upright but natural position. Begin by rolling your shoulders forward. Hold this position, allowing time for the muscles along the upper part of your back to relax. Then slowly roll your shoulders forward and back, up and down, increasing circulation to the neck and upper back area.

Relaxing your Chest

Clasp your hands in front of you, palms facing outwards. Round the back and stretch forward, allowing the upper and mid back to stretch. Again, hold for a few moments. You may close your eyes if you wish and breath slowly and deeply. Then, keeping your hands clasped, stretch your arms up over head and gently stretch back, opening the chest. Again, breathe deeply and just take a moment to relax.

Seated Katti Chakrasana

Keeping your back straight, lift both arms in front, palms still facing each other, slowly twist your body at the waist, first to the right, and then to the left.

Ankle rotation

Rotate your ankles, one at a time, ten times in the clockwise and ten times in anti clockwise direction.

Pushing the wall

Stand with your legs two to three feet apart, with the right foot facing out and the left leg turned inward slightly. Lift arms to shoulder level, lean towards the right at the waist, and with the base of your right palm, push an imaginary wall. Push as hard as you can, do not exert. Feel the stretch along your right arm, and hold this position for a few moments. Smile, relax and enjoy the stretch. Repeat on the other side, with the left foot facing out and the right leg turned inward slightly.

All Right Reserved (C) 2006-2007, The Art of Living Foundation
http://www.artofliving.org/

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GokuRakuAn

Daruma Museum, Japan

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Spring Meditation

2006-01-02T22:37:00.000-08:00

March 21, First Day of Spring:
12 Ways to Inaugurate the Season

© By Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
http://www.spiritualityandpractice.com/days/features.php?id=10961

"Just as there are seasons in the world around us, so there are in our interior life," Teresa of Avila wisely observed. "We cannot expect it to be otherwise."

Spring is a season of renewal and rebirth. It's a time when buds become leaves and flowers, when healing rain washes city streets and falls like grace on parched country fields, when the hard ground beneath us softens to allow shoots of new life to emerge.

As outside, so inside. Spring is a time for cleaning out and making way for fresh possibilities and new commitments. It's a time to revive our senses and expand our horizons. It's a time to begin again.

With all that in mind, we have designed some spiritual exercises for your celebrations of the start of spring this week. Hopefully, they will help hasten an interior rejuvenation to match all the marvels going on around us.

1. Start Your Days with Rejuvenating Imagery

In the morning before breakfast, do this imagery exercise for rejuvenation, overall health, healing, and energy. Called "Tree of Life," it was given to us by Fran Greenfield.

Close your eyes and breathe out slowly three times.
See yourself walking along a path where ahead of you is a strong, tall tree.

Go to this tree and embrace it, knowing this is the tree of life.
Now stand beside the tree, leaning up against it.
As you stand here, feel yourself becoming as one with the tree.

Feel your toes curling down into the earth, drawing in its nutrients and strength.
Feel your torso becoming as the trunk,
and your arms reaching up through the branches.

As you and the tree merge together completely, see and feel its sap rising and circulating throughout, imbuing you with strength, peace, and the power to heal. Know and feel how the tree's chlorophyll is giving you energy.

Feel how it is to be the roots, the trunk, the branches, and the leaves of the tree.
As the golden sun warms you and the fresh breeze stirs you, imagine yourself in full bloom.
Feel and know how it is to be ageless — strong and full of life.

See how you are connected above and below,
to heaven and earth, to all that is, was, and that ever will be . . .

Breathe out one time, and slowly return now,
feeling rejuvenated, awake, aware, and entirely yourself.
Thank the tree for this experience. Then slowly open your eyes.

2. Clear Your View

Wash the windows of your house or apartment. Then spend some time in meditation clearing away the dirt that clouds your vision. Let go of any hurts, grudges, and resentments you may be holding. If there is anyone you need to forgive, including yourself, do so. Then create a ritual to signify that you are cleaning and polishing the windows of your heart.

3. Find a Friend

Find a stone companion that you can carry in your pocket. Look for a small pebble in a park, in a creek or river bed, at the seashore, in your backyard, or at a store that specializes in minerals. Pick one that speaks to you. According to James Wanless, author of Little Stone, this "friend for life" can be a conveyer of wisdom, a protector, an example of self-creation, a metaphor for peace, and a model of simplicity.

4. Clean Your Assistants

Gather together all the tools that have served you well during the past year and give them a good spring cleaning, getting rid of rust and grime, oiling parts, blowing out any dust that has collected inside them. Wipe off television and computer screens and telephone handsets. As you work, tell the tools how grateful you are to them for their assistance.

5. Practice Unity

Try the following Zen practice. As you are drinking a cup of green tea, say, "In my hands I hold a bowl of tea. I see all of nature represented in its green color. Closing my eyes I find green mountains and pure water within my own heart. Silently drinking, I feel these become part of me."

6. Do a Walking Meditation

Thich Nhat Hanh, the Vietnamese monk, has written: "Touching the earth is a deep practice that can restore our peace and joy. One of the best ways to touch the earth is by practicing walking meditation." On this spring day, go outside and walk slowly, in a relaxed way, keeping a light smile on your lips. Be truly present with each step you take, being mindful of your walking. For more instructions and commentary on this practice, see Thich Nhat Hanh's little book The Long Road Turns to Joy: A Guide to Walking Meditation.

7. Spend Quality Time with Your House Plants

Give your houseplants the experience of spring renewal. Repot any that need it. Take them to the shower and give them a good misting. As you put them back in place, praise their beauty and resilience.

8. Do an Energy Fast

To participate more directly in Earth's rhythm of light and dark, use no electric lights for 24 hours. To get back in touch with the smells and textures of your food, use no appliances while cooking for a day. To experience the true sounds of your world, don't turn on the television, radio, or music system today.

9. Savor the Wonders

Read some haiku poems to focus your mind and senses on the wonders of spring; then try writing your own poems. Clark Strand's Seeds from a Birch Tree: Writing Haiku and the Spiritual Journey is an excellent primer.
Here's one example by Saryu to get your started:

"Without a brush
The willow paints the wind."

10. Get to Know Your Neighbors

Obtain field guides to the plants, trees, birds, and small animals indigenous to your area. Read up on their distinguishing marks, behavior patterns, territory, diet, and other qualities. Go for a walk and greet your neighbors by their names.

11. Cherish Beauty Afresh

Watch the video movie Enchanted April about four Englishwomen who rent a medieval castle in Italy for a month. This paradisiacal place tutors them in the spiritual arts of letting go, luxuriating in the senses, and loving. They discover that a vacation can be a soulmaking experience when it emphasizes the path of the heart, reverie, wonder, counting one痴 blessings, and living in the present moment. Ponder the ways in which the change of seasons enhances the feeling textures of your life.

12. End Your Days with Prayer

The Earth is always a good teacher — and especially in spring. End your days this season with this prayer from the Native American tradition.

Earth teach me stillness
as the grasses are stilled with light.

Earth teach me suffering
as old stones suffer with memory.

Earth teach me humility
as blossoms are humble with beginning.

Earth teach me caring
as the mother who secures her young.

Earth teach me courage
as the tree which stands all alone.

Earth teach me limitation
as the ant which crawls on the ground.

Earth teach me freedom
as the eagle which soars in the sky.

Earth teach me resignation
as the leaves which die in the fall.

Earth teach me regeneration
as the seed which rises in the spring.

Earth teach me to forget myself
as melted snow forgets its life.

Earth teach me to remember kindness
as dry fields weep with rain.

— Ute prayer

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極楽庵
GokuRakuAn

だるま資料館
Daruma Museum, Japan

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Soul Food

2006-01-02T01:57:00.000-08:00

A Teaching Story

There was once a rabbi who was revered by the people as a man of God. Not a day went by when a crowd of people wasn't standing at his door seeking advice or healing or the holy man's blessing. And each time the rabbi spoke, the people would hang on his lips, drinking in his every word.

There was, however, in the audience a disagreeable fellow who never missed a chance to contradict the master. He would observe the rabbi's weaknesses and make fun of his defects to the dismay of the disciples, who began to look on him as the devil incarnate.

Well, one day the "devil" took ill and died. Everyone heaved a sigh of relief. Outwardly they looked appropriately solemn but in their hearts they were glad for no longer would the master's inspiring talks be interrupted or his behavior criticized by this disrespectful heretic.

So the people were surprised to see the master plunged in genuine grief at the funeral. When asked by a disciple later if he was mourning over the eternal fate of the dead man, he said, "No, no. Why should I mourn over our friend who is now in heaven? It was for myself I was grieving. That man was the only friend I had. Here I am surrounded by people who revere me. He was the only one who challenged me. I fear that with him gone, I shall stop growing." And as he said these words, the master burst into tears.

-- Anthony de Mello in The Heart of the Enlightened

© http://www.spiritualityandpractice.com/

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極楽庵
GokuRakuAn

だるま資料館
Daruma Museum, Japan

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Noguchi

2006-01-02T01:32:00.000-08:00

The Way to a Whole Life
by Noguchi Haruchika

The great thing is to live in such a way that you feel the fascination of being awake rather than asleep.

Asleep or awake, continue to breathe comfortably in the way to a whole life.

Only for those who live life vigorously is there sound sleep.
Only for those whose life has been fulfilled is there a peaceful death.

Life and death are natural.
Since there is life, there is death;
since there is death, there is life.
Life and death are not separable.
Life and death naturally attend on each other.

This is the essence of a whole life.

Life is suffering
Death is ease.

For those who live in a vital way, there are many sufferings; if only ease exists, they fall asleep.

Only those who live in a vital way do not take sufferings as sufferings, but find within themselves the enjoyment that inheres in their situation.

Within people there are demands for self-preservation and a demand for the continuance of the species. These demands solidify, and a person is born, grows and lives.

Without knowing why we are born, why we live or why we die, we simply act in accordance with these inner demands.

Nature lives through human beings.
Living and dying exist within life.
Being in accord with nature -
this is the naturalness of life !

Katsugen Undo by Noguchi Sensei

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極楽庵
GokuRakuAn

だるま資料館
Daruma Museum, Japan

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Heart of Buddhism

2006-01-01T22:43:00.000-08:00

Discovering the Heart of Buddhism
(C) Lama Shenpen Hookham 2006

http://www.buddhism-connect.org/

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23 May 2006

How we can galvanise our practice when our motivation is low?

A student writes:
"Motivation can be a problem for someone like me, who hasn't had close links with teacher and Sangha. Although I feel I do often get adhistana from such things as considering the Truth of my experience, sometimes it all just feels like words to me - words that create no emotion and have no effect on my volition.
This is strange as recently I have consistently thought that all this is the most important thing I could ever do with my life - it just doesn't always touch my heart for some reason."

Lama Shenpen:
That is normal really, that is why it’s so difficult for us to reach enlightenment. Somehow we are just so asleep that even though we hear the alarm clock ringing we still don’t wake up. Even if someone shakes us we still find it hard to wake up - so we need all the help we can get.

Student:
"Anyway, what I wanted to ask was how do I practise with low motivation? If I just can't inspire myself to have my heart in the practice."

Lama Shenpen:
We all have to try to help each other - now you are part of a local group that is a good way to start helping others and being helped yourself. We all have to keep working on it, just keep on reflecting again and again on why we need to practise and gradually the penny drops and we start to feel really galvanised and eager to practise all the time.

Student:
"I realise ideally I would just always rest in the nature of my experience whatever it is."

Lama Shenpen:
It is good to make lots of pranidhanas to galvanise oneself and to think a lot about death and impermanence - that we don’t know how much time we have left to practice anyway. That helps a lot.
Death is good to reflect on because if you really think about it you realise you know nothing about death except that all that we are familiar with now won’t be there. And if you think about impermanence you realise it’s all gone already and what is to come will be gone as soon as it’s been.
So life and death are the same and there is absolutely nothing to hold on to - and that is the space that is us. That is our awareness - that great space - and if we are remembering that then we are remembering the Dharma. That is our practice - that is it!
http://www.buddhism-connect.org/default.asp?action=article&ID=1500

--- By Lama Shenpen Hookham

List of more teachings by Lama Shenpen

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極楽庵
GokuRakuAn

だるま資料館
Daruma Museum, Japan

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Tai Chi Chuan

2006-01-01T13:01:00.000-08:00

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© Original from the Japan Times Dec. 7, 2006

Taijiquan getting an all new workout

By RYOJU TOKAI
Kyodo News

The Chinese martial art Taijiquan, or Tai Chi, characterized by its slow movements and practiced as a method of exercise, is enjoying a second boom in Japan.

A special event called the Shibuya Taikyokuken (Taijiquan) Festival was held in Tokyo last month to mark the 50th anniversary of the creation of the "24-style simplified Taijiquan," which was derived from China's traditional martial arts for people interested in strengthening body and mind by practicing its slow routines and deep inhalation.

Taijiquan originated in China during the Ming and Qing dynasties in the 17th century based on the philosophy of positive and negative principles.

In 1956, martial arts expert Li Tianji devised the simplified form that subsequently became popular in China as a means of exercise.

The Tokyo festival included a Taijiquan practice by 1,000 people and a demonstration performance by Li Deyin, a professor at People's University of China and a chief referee at international Taijiquan contests.

He demonstrated gentle but powerful motions, his feet and the ground in perfect balance. Using fans and swords, teachers taught participants various forms of exercise, and some enthusiastically asked questions about how to improve their equilibrium and style.

"Taijiquan is physical exercise using the mind. Use your entire mind and move your body," Li said.

"There are not many sports that the elderly can play, but thanks to Taijiquan I am now strong in my legs and lower back," said Michiko Kodama, 69, who took up the art three years ago. "I don't trip up. I concentrate on it, but I am happy because I can relax."

The festival was sponsored by the Taijiquan Friendship Association in Japan, the Chinese government, the Beijing People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries and other entities. The society is one of the largest groups of its kind in Japan. Membership has nearly doubled in the last five years to about 1,800.

"The number of middle-aged and older women in particular is growing," Association President Yoshinori Koike said. "Taijiquan is rather difficult (to master). Many people are hooked by its depth. Since it is suited to an individual's physical strength, three generations -- a grandmother, mother and granddaughter -- can enjoy it together."

Taijiquan found its way to Japan in 1959 and a group of young people, including Koike who received training from Li Tianji, practiced it. Its first boom here occurred in the late 1970s after TV stations broadcast commercials showing some Beijing citizens doing exercises in slow and relaxed movements.

It is believed about 1 million Japanese currently practice Taijiquan. Classes and group activities are spreading across the country, and the municipal government in Kitakata, Fukushima Prefecture, has declared the city "Taijiquan town."

Taijiquan gatherings have been held every August since 2003 at the Roppongi Hills complex in Tokyo, gaining the attention of businesspeople and salaried men and women.

The sport tends to be regarded as an exercise for health but is actually a full-scale martial art -- a form of "wushu," which consists of "taolu" (forms) and "sanda" (sparring). Taolu is similar to gymnastics and involves martial arts maneuvers and defensive moves.

Professor Li said the essence of Taijiquan represents the unity of nature and human beings in Chinese philosophy, adding he hopes those who have obtained an understanding of the basic moves will explore the spiritual side. The supreme feeling attained from it, he said, is calmness and tranquillity.

The Japan Times (C) All rights reserved

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INDEX OF ARTICLES FROM SYL WUSHU NEWSLETTER
http://www.shouyuliang.com/newsletter/index.shtml

極楽庵
GokuRakuAn

だるま資料館
Daruma Museum, Japan

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LOHAS

2006-01-01T05:48:00.000-08:00

Gentle Ecological Products Enrapture Japan

Read the Original here:
© YURI KAGEYAMA 2006 The Associated Press
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/fn/3922185.html

TOKYO — June 2, 2006
A U.S. lifestyle concept that combines consumerism with a bit of ecological conscience is proving a hit in shopping-crazy Japan, where workaholic "salarymen" are looking for quick fixes for stress and thinking green is becoming fashionable.

LOHAS, which stands for Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability, an approach to purchasing and investment that originated in the United States about a decade ago, encompasses a wide range of products pushing social and environmental responsibility _ organic soap, recycled paper, hybrid cars, solar heating and herbal tea.

The trend is just beginning to catch on here, but it's estimated to represent a $540 billion global market.

Internet shopping sites are peddling LOHAS goods. A Tokyo department store has a section for LOHAS goods. Magazines are singing the praises of the LOHAS lifestyle, including yoga, organic wine, aroma therapy and the option of bringing your own grocery bag.

"We have to learn to make do with what we have," said Junko Shinohara, a 53-year-old housewife, after examining ecologically made towels at an exhibition of LOHAS goods opening Friday in downtown Tokyo.

The concept is appealing, partly because it isn't too demanding.

It doesn't require a stoic, idealistic way of life _ just some adjustment here and there. Instead of saying: "Don't ever drive a car," it merely says: "Buy a fuel-efficient car."

The idea is going mainstream in a much bigger way in Japan than in the U.S., with automakers, food manufacturers, homebuilders, even banks, showing interest in LOHAS marketing, says Peter D. Pedersen, president of Japanese consulting company E-square Inc.

"Even if you live a hectic lifestyle of a salaryman, there are things you can do," he said. "Why don't you do the things you can do and start from there? That's the idea."

Japan may be receptive to LOHAS because the nation's traditional culture embraces a nature-loving view on life with hot springs and seasonal gourmet, according to Pedersen.

The timing was also right. Japanese, who had felt lost after the speculative "bubble" burst in the 1990s, were looking for an alternative that went beyond the power of money, he said.

The idea of LOHAS is linked with "cultural creatives" proposed by American sociologist Paul Ray, who said people are starting to value health, social issues and other aspects of life that aren't directly linked with past patterns of materialistic consumption.

The idea originated as an open trademark, requiring no payment for usage, and so almost anything can claim to be LOHAS.

A restaurant serving everyday but healthy dishes such as brown rice and vegetable curry can claim to be LOHAS. Not littering is LOHAS. Composting household garbage is even more so. The values touch something as cheap as a hammock to something more expensive as Louis Vuitton luggage.

The recent Tokyo exhibition included an ergonomic chair, non-allergenic detergent, water bottles and Crocs Inc. sandals. A glass fishbowl by Italian designer Andrea Branzi had a glass birdcage inside so that goldfish swim around parakeets, making for what organizers said was a statement on coexistence.

Also on display were designs for "furoshiki," Japan's traditional answer to the reusable bag, a piece of fabric for carrying things by simply wrapping them. One with bright pictures of flowers and birds was designed by Environment Minister Yuriko Koike.

What's appealing about LOHAS is that it proposes everyday changes in personal life, proponents say.

"There's been a lot of talk about slow food and slow life," said Mari Takamatsu, spokeswoman for Mitsukoshi department store, which has a corner devoted to LOHAS cooking this week. "LOHAS puts a lifestyle into one word that consumers understand."

By YURI KAGEYAMA AP Business Writer
© 2006 The Associated Press

極楽庵のスローライフ/ローハス　
Slow Life, LOHAS at GokuRakuAn

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極楽庵
GokuRakuAn

だるま資料館
Daruma Museum, Japan

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Bird Flu

2005-12-01T16:57:00.000-08:00

鳥インフレンザ　　Bird　Flu

QUOTE:　
http://www.med-owl.com/herbal-antivirals/tiki-index.php?page=Star+Anise

There has been increasing interest in Star Anise recently, as this herb is a raw material for manufacturing the antiviral medicine Tamiflu; Shikimic acid is extracted from anise, which undergoes a 17 step chemical process to transform it into Tamiflu (generic name: Oseltamivir).

In traditional Chinese Medicine, star anise is used for clearing mucus congestion from the respiratory tract, as a digestive aid to relieves gas and bloating, improve appetite, and assist with digestion. The oil has antispasmodic properties, and is used to stabilize and improve mood. (ITM online page on anise (cache)) It is not widely used for influenza in Chinese Medicine, but is used for flu in traditional Tibetan medicine. (article in China Daily (cache))

In 2003, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a warning on the use of anise teas after approximately 40 reports of adverse effects. According to the advisory, Chinese Star Anise was believed to be contaminated with Japanese Star Anise. The Japanese variety is visually identical, but can cause neurotoxicity. FDA Advisory on Star Anise (cache).

Although star anise could have some direct antiviral effects, these have not been proven. One cannot assume that because Tamiflu is made from star anise, that star anise has the same properties as Tamiflu - it does not. At this time, I would put star anise on the 'interesting' list, but don't have evidence that it would be effective in treating H5N1 avian flu or any other serious disease.

The Latin name for star anise is Illicium verum HOOK. f. (sometime referred to by the older name Anisum setellatum.) The spice is popular in the cuisine of China, Vietnam, and other Asian countries, and it is a dominant flavor in the famous Five Spice powder. For a good overview of the culinary aspects of star anise, follow this link to Gernot Katzer's Spice Pages (cache).

H5N1 Avian Flu Disclaimer Copyright

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Apitherapy and the Bird Flu

Put an extract of this Anise in propolis extract for better protection.
Propolis and honey as inhalation for the upper respiratory tract.
Take much more fluids than usual with your meals and inbetween.

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極楽庵
GokuRakuAn

だるま資料館
Daruma Museum, Japan

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