Helping You Focus on the Present Moment
One of the most powerful stress management tools Rena uses in her practice with her live and distance clients is the yogic breathing technique called pranayama; in Sanskrit prana means life force and yama means control. Controlling the breath results in positive lifestyle changes like increased energy, relaxation, reduced anger & anxiety and detoxification. Pranayama (yoga breathing techniques) is the 4th limb of the yogic 8 limb path (a way of life) which includes: yamas (rules of moral code), niyamas (rules of personal behavior), asana (yoga postures to ready the body for meditation), pratyahara (withdrawal of the senses), dharana (concentration), dhyana (practice of meditation), and samadhi (merging with the divine).
Another integral lifestyle practice Rena teaches is meditation (dhyana), a neutral practice that can be performed by anyone regardless of their religious or spiritual beliefs in order to promote emotional balance and relaxation. It involves looking inward and focusing one’s attention on the breath while observing the mind quietly. Instead of allowing the mind to run wild, the practitioner tames their thoughts by compassionately labeling them as thinking and returning their awareness to the breath and in turn the present moment.
In addition to being a great stress reliever, meditation has been linked with happiness; the benefits are beautifully outlined in Deepak Chopra’s book, “The Ultimate Happiness Prescription” as follows on pp. 16-17:
“Researchers had to work against the Western assumption that meditation was mystical or at best a kind of religious practice. Now we realize that it activates the prefrontal cortex- the seat of higher thinking- and stimulates the release of neurotransmitters, including dopamine, serotonin, oxytocin, and brain opiates. Each of these naturally occurring brain chemicals has been linked to different aspects of happiness. Dopamine is an antidepressant; serotonin is associated with increased self-esteem; oxytocin is now believed to be the pleasure hormone (its levels also elevate during sexual arousal); opiates are the body’s painkillers, which also provide the exhilaration associated with runner’s high. It should be obvious, then, that meditation, by creating higher levels of these neurotransmitters, is a more effective way of changing the brain’s set point for happiness. No single drug can simultaneously choreograph the coordinated release of all these chemicals.”
Another integral lifestyle practice Rena teaches is meditation (dhyana), a neutral practice that can be performed by anyone regardless of their religious or spiritual beliefs in order to promote emotional balance and relaxation. It involves looking inward and focusing one’s attention on the breath while observing the mind quietly. Instead of allowing the mind to run wild, the practitioner tames their thoughts by compassionately labeling them as thinking and returning their awareness to the breath and in turn the present moment.
In addition to being a great stress reliever, meditation has been linked with happiness; the benefits are beautifully outlined in Deepak Chopra’s book, “The Ultimate Happiness Prescription” as follows on pp. 16-17:
“Researchers had to work against the Western assumption that meditation was mystical or at best a kind of religious practice. Now we realize that it activates the prefrontal cortex- the seat of higher thinking- and stimulates the release of neurotransmitters, including dopamine, serotonin, oxytocin, and brain opiates. Each of these naturally occurring brain chemicals has been linked to different aspects of happiness. Dopamine is an antidepressant; serotonin is associated with increased self-esteem; oxytocin is now believed to be the pleasure hormone (its levels also elevate during sexual arousal); opiates are the body’s painkillers, which also provide the exhilaration associated with runner’s high. It should be obvious, then, that meditation, by creating higher levels of these neurotransmitters, is a more effective way of changing the brain’s set point for happiness. No single drug can simultaneously choreograph the coordinated release of all these chemicals.”