My association with yoga was a coincidence. My mother had some health issues and I began to attend yoga classes at the Satyananda Yoga Research Centre to give her company. It was a one month course, but I soon realised the virtues of yoga. It opened me to a world I had never known. That was way back in 1999 and after practising yoga for 4-5 years regularly, I did the Yoga Teachers Training Course at Satyananda and became an instructor here. Since I held a teaching job for a while, I taught yoga at the centre in the evenings.

Yoga, for me, was a life-changing experience. I had weight problems which were kept in control with yoga and strict diet. Lot of other health niggles I had reduced considerably once I started yoga. It made my body more flexible. The biggest takeaway though was what yoga did to my mind; it relaxes the mind completely. My personal yoga sessions are for an hour in the morning.

I believe there are many misconceptions about yoga among people. When they think yoga, they think acrobatic postures. Yoga is about doing in a slow, relaxed way postures your body is comfortable with. But it is important to do it regularly to bring about change. Even simple asanas can relax you tremendously.

Here I do not teach very advanced courses. If people have health problems like high blood pressure or back pain, asanas that suit them are prescribed. In yoga, the mind is given as much significance as the body. It is through the mind that one can control the body. So here I teach meditation, yoga nidra (a relaxation technique done in shavasana) and pranayam too.

Most of the students who join for the month-long course are those around 40 and more. I dont see many youngsters may be because they prefer something more active like being in a gym. Most sign in for a course when life-style related diseases have begun to raise their head. Not many are taking up yoga just to remain fit. But of course people are more fitness conscious now. In fact, people should not wait till they have some kind of illness to begin yoga. As they say, prevention is what one must be looking at. Of late, we have had many senior citizens too learning yoga. They are dedicated and they also have time on their hands. I tend to see that women are much more committed once they start out on something like this.

(A weekly column on the men and women who make Kozhikode what it is.)

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I am... Shilpa C. Yoga instructor

Yoga teacher Jaysea DeVoe, right, leads a yoga class at Bergamot Spa & Boutique.

Jaysea DeVoe joined the yoga staff at Bergamot Spa in March this year, and since then the tween has attracted a growing following of devotees both at home and from abroad.

Jaysea discovered yoga when she was just 9 and gradually became interested in the meditation, which she practices each morning for 30 minutes to an hour.

"I love how yoga makes my body feel and my soul. It's such a spiritual practise where I can meditate, turn the music on and flow through the poses," she said.

Jaysea spent 18 months in training with local yogi Lindsay Russo in order to become a registered yoga teacher with the national Yoga Alliance, 'U-T San Diego' reported.

Russo recommended her for the 200-hour certification programme at The Soul of Yoga school in Encinitas.

In March, Jaysea completed the five-month programme with her two friends, aged 13 and 15.

Russo said the three girls not only developed yoga skills but also confidence in public speaking and interaction.

"Her practise embodies the essence of yoga. She's very focused and not easily distracted and she's very enthusiastic," Russo said about Jaysea.

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At 12, She's Among World's Youngest Yoga Teachers

Jaysea DeVoe, a popular Southern California yoga instructor who leads a weekly class through the lion, monkey, upward-facing dog and other poses, has three years of experience and she's only 12 years old.

The Encinitas girl recently completed a five-month, 200-hour certification program with two girlfriends, ages 13 and 15, U-T San Diego reported Wednesday ( http://bit.ly/1hWA6ap ).

Now she has joined the staff at Bergamot Spa in her hometown, making her one of the nation's youngest certified yoga instructors.

"I love how yoga makes my body feel and my soul," said Jaysea, who discovered the practice at age 9. "It's such a spiritual practice where I can meditate, turn the music on and flow through the poses."

Lindsay Russo, a yogi who helped teach Jaysea, said the 12-year-old is focused and enthusiastic. That passion brings more than a dozen devoted students, from grade-schoolers to adults, to the girl's Tuesday class. She typically earns $100 per class at the donation-only yoga studio.

"Her classes have been completely sold, and the students come in excited and leave happy," Channing Toro, director of Bergamot Spa, told the newspaper. "All the feedback we've gotten is that there's a great energy in her classes."

Since word has gotten out about Jaysea, she has made regular appearances in media, including on the "Good Morning America" and Good Morning Britain" TV shows.

She remains composed even serene through all the attention. She said she likes to focus her energy instead on making her class as enjoyable as possible for students. She burns incense and plays songs that reflect her own sunny outlook on life, including Pharrell Williams' "Happy" and Bobby McFerrin's "Don't Worry, Be Happy."

Jaysea hopes to make a career out of yoga instruction.

"For me, teaching yoga isn't work, it's more like having fun and bringing the community together," she said.

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California Girl, 12, Among Youngest Yogis in US

By Richard Halstead Marin Independent Journal

Marianne Williamson (Courtesy Worldwide Forgiveness Alliance)

Marin supporters of Marianne Williamson, the popular New Age, self-help guru running for Congress in California's 33rd Congressional District, want to make sure she feels the love when she comes to San Rafael Wednesday for a fundraising event.

"She is our voice. She is the voice of reason. She is such a powerful advocate against all the things that are wrong with the government today," said Yamini Redewill of Novato, a semi-retired photographer, who is organizing the fundraiser.

Williamson, a former cabaret singer who has published 10 best-selling books, first rose to prominence in 1992 as the author of "A Return to Love: Reflections on the Principles of A Course in Miracles." The book, one of the first to be endorsed by Oprah Winfrey, was Williamson's reprocessing of, "A Course in Miracles," which was written by psychologist Helen Schucman. Schucman claimed Jesus dictated the books to her.

Williamson is one of 18 candidates seeking to represent the 33rd District, which includes the cities of Beverly Hills, Malibu and Bel-Air. Williamson's politics are liberal; nevertheless she declared her candidacy prior to the decision of the incumbent, Rep. Henry Waxman, a popular liberal Democrat, to retire.

On her website, Williamson writes, "While many seekers have turned away from politics, viewing spiritual and political pursuits as mutually exclusive, I agree with Mahatma Gandhi that "Anyone who thinks religion doesn't have anything to do with politics doesn't understand religion."'

Two Marin residents Cynthia Cornell of Mill Valley, a psychotherapist and spiritual teacher and Craig Hamilton of San Rafael, founder of Integral Enlightenment have contributed the maximum amount allowable, $2,600, to Williamson's campaign. The campaign has already raised more than $1 million, including $100,000 from Williamson. Stephen Dinan of San Rafael, chief executive officer of The Shift Network, and his wife, Haley Mitchell, a seminar producer with The Shift Network, have each donated $1,000.

Mill Valley author John Gray, author of "Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus," will be the keynote speaker at Wednesday's fundraiser.

Cornell said, "I have never given much money to political candidates before. That's how much I believe in her."

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Marin supporters to stage fundraiser for New Age guru in San Rafael

In 2002, Dr. Donald Moss, then president of the Association for Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback (AAPB), decided to devote his entire annual meeting to exploring the role of spirituality in health care. Given the growing interest in the subject at that time, this seemed like a good idea just not one that was unanimously embraced. One member of the association resigned immediately following the conference.

His point of view was that the word spirit or the word religion shouldnt even be mentioned in the same sentence with science, said Moss during a recent conversation, which I think is a very archaic attitude.

Times have changed.

With more than 75 percent of all medical schools in the U.S. having integrated spirituality into their training programs up from just three schools 20 years ago its safe to say that this once marginalized subject has made it into the mainstream of modern medicine.

What remains to be seen, however, is what role spirituality might play going forward.

NOT SO NEW

Moss points out science-based investigations of the confluence between spirituality and health are not particularly new, citing the work of 19th-century scientist Francis Galton, cousin of Charles Darwin and father of modern statistical analysis who, in 1872, wrote an article probing the health effects of intercessory prayer.

Heres a man who was certainly respected by scientists, and he thought it was an interesting question, said Moss. He even said, since so much of the worlds population believes that prayer is effective, isnt that in itself some evidence?

According to Christina Puchalski, professor of medicine and health sciences at George Washington School of Medicine and director of the George Washington Institute for Spirituality and Health (GWISH), the number of people asking these kinds of questions began to drop right about the time Galton died.

Spirituality has been foundational in health care for centuries but became overshadowed by early 20th-century technological advances in diagnosis and treatment, wrote Puchalski in a recent article. Though these advances were dramatic and resulted in countless lives saved, the scientific focus moved the culture of medicine away from a holistic, service-oriented model

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The role of spirituality in health care

Brattleboro VT (PRWEB) April 30, 2014

ASEMC Press announces the May Day release across Amazon.com and around the world of An Upraised Chalice (with the sub-title) Adventures and Near-Death Encounters in My Search for the Brotherhood of Light - and what It Can Mean for You. New autobiography explores a mans search for the meaning of life outside of religious doctrine and dogma. The book features multiple near-death experiences and introduces the concept of a Brotherhood of Light composed of the great masters and saints of east and west in whose ranks are the principal figures of the worlds religions.

According to J. Mahon at ASEMC Press, the scientific, real-world background of the author who is, among other things, a family man and a builder as well as a flight instructor, conveys a physically grounded and practical approach to a unique spirituality that some reviewers call remarkable.

Denis Ouellette, editor of Natural Life News, which is publishing excerpts of this book, stated in his opening, Periodically a book comes along that is capable of changing peoples minds about Reality. The just-released An Upraised Chalice is one such book. It chronicles the world travels and the inner and outer experiences of the author, Gene ONeil, from Vermont. Gene includes all the stunning stories, miracles, and near-death experiences that have marked his life, told in an engaging style, filled with pictures taken along the way, and ringing with the truth of experience. With other such books, such as Proof of Heaven and Heaven Is for Real (now a movie), it seems the tide is turning for the mainstreams acceptance of life after death.

ForeWord Reviews, awarding the book its highest 5 -star rating, says, Nothing gets ones attention like ones imminent demise, writes Gene ONeil in An Upraised Chalice, a book that chronicles the remarkable travels, adventures, and near-death experiences that have marked his quest to discover the meaning of life. ONeils practical insights, born of experience, cut across religious boundaries to convey a vibrant spirituality in plain, accessible language... ONeils compelling book offers a clear road map for both what he calls the greatest and most exciting journey one can take (the journey within) and the greatest discovery one can make (our true identity as divine love).

An Upraised Chalice Adventures and Near-Death Encounters in My Search for the Brotherhood of Light and What It Can Mean for You ISBN 978-0-9912635-0-9 (print) and and 978-0-9912635-1-6 (eBook) is now available around the world from Amazon, Apple's iStore, and for bookstores and libraries, through Ingram's distribution network.

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An Upraised Chalice Recipient of Powerful Reviews Prior to May Day Launch on Amazon.com and the Ingram Network ...

What if our eyes held the answers to the secrets of life?

The trailer has been released for the intense and gripping new sci-fi drama, I Origins, which stars Boardwalk Empire's Michael Pitt alongside Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides star Astrid Bergs-Frisbey. Mike Cahill ('Another Earth') wrote and directed the film, with Fox Searchlight having bought the distribution rights.

'I Origins': A Thoughtful Science Fiction Movie For Those Who Like Their Biology With A Side Of Philosophy.

An intriguing premise sets the scene for a rather haunting and unusually subtle science fiction tale, exploring whether the lines between science and faith can be blurred. Pitt plays Ian Gray, a molecular biologist who has devoted his career to studying the evolution of the human eye.

Following a mysterious persistent occurrence of the number eleven, Ian is lead to a photograph that could lead to the spiritual truth of the universe. He tracks down the owner of the eyes, Sofi (Bergs-Frisbey), who believes that she has known Ian in a past life. The scientist is sceptical but the pair embark on a romance and soon get married.

In a cruel twist of fate, Sofi passes away and a depressed Ian receives a call from his lab colleague who tells him that a young girl in India has exactly the same irises as Sofi. Intrigued, Ian heads to find her and is forced to question what he knows and believes about human biology and spirituality.

Watch The 'I Origins' Trailer:

After its Sundance premiere, Slash Film described I Origins as "a haunting film that explores the idea of a supreme maker, the afterlife and the concept of souls through the eye of a science-grounded sceptic, delivers more successfully on that mind-bending premise" and hailed the movie as "the best science vs. faith film since 'Contact.'"

Such comparisons to greatness are rarely made unbased, meaning that the movie will be a must-see event for those looking for more philosophical solutions to scientific problems.

I Origins will be released on the 18th July.

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'I Origins': Michael Pitt Explores The Meaning Of Life In Intense New Sci-Fi [Trailer]