Successful Living Yoga with Norman Popovsky » Meditation

Self-Heal Your Back Pain Yoga VIDEO Pt 2

Norm — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 20:13:45 +0000

Here is Part 2 of the Back Healing Yoga Poses.

These yoga poses don’t have to be done in any particular order.

If you have very much pain, you may not be ready for every pose at first.

Experiment.

Find the yoga poses that feel the best to you.

Do those, and you will be on your way.

Eventually, you will be able to do all of these Yoga Poses.

Here is the link for Part 1: Self-Heal Your Back Pain Yoga VIDEO Pt 1

These Video Clips are taken from my Heal Your Back Now! DVD.

If you don’t want to spend the money for the DVD, stay tuned. More FREE Video Clips from the DVD will be here soon.

Thank you for giving me this opportunity to serve you.

Namasté………Norman

Self- Heal Your Back Pain Yoga VIDEO Pt 1

Norm — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 14:54:29 +0000

In my classes, on my blog, and by email several people have asked for some help with lower back and hip pain.

I have pulled this clip from my Heal Your Back Now! DVD.

This is Part 1, which means I will be posting more video clips from the DVD.

Don’t think that because this is so simple and easy that you won’t get a lot of benefit from it.

I use this method in Yoga Therapy to teach students how to

Relax
Lower Blood Pressure
Reduce Swelling and Inflammation
Heal Back and Joint Pain
Learn the Proper Attitude to Practice the Yoga Postures and Meditation

For success stories with this method, check out this post: Heal Your Back Now! and this Comment.

Feel free to leave comments below and let me know how this is working for you, and what you need.

I will be expanding the Videos and Posts on Back and Hip Healing.

Do you need more help? Move videos? More explanation?

Just let me know. Here is the link to Part 2.

Thank you for giving me this opportunity to serve you,

Namasté……..Norman

How Not to Hurt Yourself Doing Yoga

Norm — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 22:51:00 +0000

If you are experiencing pain when you practice yoga, it may be that you really don’t understand what yoga is. Let’s begin with

When Are You Not Practicing Yoga?

If you are straining, pushing, forcing or competing in your yoga practice, you are not practicing yoga.

If you end your yoga session with pulled muscles, torn tendons and ligaments, painful joints, or a sore body, you are not practicing yoga.

At the end of your yoga session, if you collapse in a pool of sweat, exhausted, you are not practicing yoga.

Why Not?

Because Yoga is about peace, calmness, and harmony.

The moment that you disturb your peace, you are no longer practicing yoga.

Yoga is about stillness. In fact the goal of all of Yoga is to culminate in stillness, as stated in Psalm 46:10.

Be still, and know that I am God

To achieve this, the ancient Rishis (God-Realized Beings) developed Yoga. In this age the most popular Yoga is Hatha Yoga, which is what they called the practice of the Asanas.

Asanas are not exercises in the modern, or Western, sense, but are postures, poses, positions.

By definition an asana should be steady, comfortable, and pleasant in a way that you can hold it for a long time.

The best way to understand Asana is to look at the Self-Realization Fellowship website, Correct Posture: Instructions on Posture for Effective Meditation, where it states,

“If the correct posture has been assumed, the body will be stable yet relaxed, so that it is easily possible to remain completely still, without moving a muscle.”

Why Look to Meditation Posture as the Key to Hatha Yoga Practice?

1-We look at meditation practice because it is the ultimate goal of all yoga practice. Raja Yoga, Meditation, is called the last Yoga, or the highest Yoga, and teaches us that our Hatha Yoga practice should contribute to, not distract from, Meditation.

2-We look to meditation practice because it will give us the wisdom to not hurt ourselves while practicing Hatha Yoga.

Here is some wisdom from Paramahansa Yogananda:

“No one should try to meditate in the lotus posture unless he is at ease in that position. To meditate in a strained posture keeps the mind on the discomfort of the body.”

This is also true in your Hatha Yoga practice. If you are in a strained posture, your mind will be on that strained place, and not come within, where it should be.

Yogananada further states, “The proper bodily posture, one which produces calmness in body and mind, is necessary to help the yogi shift his mind from matter to spirit.”

Where There Is Strain, There Is No Yoga.

Where Strain Begins, Yoga Ends.

Once when I was at the Self-Realization Fellowship Lake Shrine Retreat in Pacific Palisades, California, I had the opportunity to talk with Brother Achalananda. “Brother, I teach asanas (Hatha Yoga Postures) at the SRF Boys Youth Program Camp, and I wonder if you could give me some advice on how to do a better job?”

“Just remember, he said, “ Where there is strain, there is no Yoga. Where strain begins, Yoga ends.”

Wow. Just what I needed to know. So simply stated and yet so important.

This can be your key also. Remind yourself of this often and you won’t hurt yourself when practicing yoga.

Namasté,…..Norm

Personal Reflections of Durga Mata, a direct Disciple of Paramahansa Yogananda

Guest — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 00:59:55 +0000

This video post is by Karen Dardick, who received many years of counseling and training by Durga Mata at Self-Realization Fellowship Mother Center, Mount Washington, Los Angeles, California.

I greatly appreciate this insight into a direct Disciple of Paramahansa Yogananda, and I hope that you will find some value here also, as I am sure many SRF members will.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Thank you, Karen Dardick and blessings of God and Gurus,

Namasté….Norm

Why Not Add a Spiritual Attitude to Your Self-Healing Yoga Practice?

Norm — Sun, 12 Jun 2011 23:20:00 +0000

Are you stuck in your self-healing progress?

Maybe it is time to examine the Spiritual Aspects of Yoga.

For example, in one of Daya Mata’s talks she quoted Paramahansa Yogananda as saying,

“Never, ever blame anyone for anything. Accept all as coming from God and Guru for your growth.”

My immediate reaction was,

This would really be freeing. Imagine not wasting time or energy on negativity, on blaming, resenting or hating anyone.

My second immediate thought was,

But I am not there yet. In fact, I don’t completely understand it.

How do you feel about this? Should you put any effort into practicing not blaming anyone or anything?

A minister of metaphysical Christianity once said,

“If you want to heal yourself, sit down and don’t get up until you find out who you have to forgive.”

Maybe you feel that your anger is justified. Can you understand that it may be crippling you? Consider this comment.

“Remember, when you hold anger, resentment or unforgiveness toward anyone, it is like you drinking poison and hoping it will hurt the other guy.”

I am sorry I am not quoting this exactly. I don’t know who gets credit for this quote. I do know that I like this very much. I remind myself of it whenever I feel resentment toward anyone.

This may not be so easy to understand. In fact, if you are like me, you may be getting glimpses of understanding the rest of your life.

What I have done is to keep meditating for understanding and then sometimes I encounter the same idea expressed differently to shed more light from a different angle.

Someone sent me an email with Mother Teresa’s Anyway Poem, which I really liked. So I researched it and came upon this version on The Prayer Foundation site, where there is other information about the origin of the poem.

The version found written on the wall in Mother Teresa’s home for children in Calcutta:

People are often unreasonable, irrational, and self-centered. Forgive them anyway.

If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives. Be kind anyway.

If you are successful, you will win some unfaithful friends and some genuine enemies. Succeed anyway.

If you are honest and sincere people may deceive you. Be honest and sincere anyway.

What you spend years creating, others could destroy overnight. Create anyway.

If you find serenity and happiness, some may be jealous. Be happy anyway.

The good you do today, will often be forgotten. Do good anyway.

Give the best you have, and it will never be enough. Give your best anyway.

In the final analysis, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway.

So this poem that Mother Teresa liked, helped me to understand a little better this quote by Saint Francis of Assisi.

“Learn to accept blame, criticism, and accusation silently, without retaliation even though untrue and unjustified.”

Try practicing this and you may find where a lot of blocks to your self-healing are.

But don’t worry if you find this difficult. I’ve been at this a long time and I am still not there yet.

However, the understanding and the practice of not blaming are getting better.

I wish you the best. Namasté…….Norm

Sri Daya Mata: A Neighbor’s Reflection by B J Gallagher

Norm — Wed, 29 Dec 2010 22:57:56 +0000

This was emailed to me by Daisy, a friend and fellow devotee, from Chicago and Hawaii, with the title Sri Daya Mata: A Neighbor’s Reflection by B J Gallagher. It reminds me a lot of the comments made about Paramahansa Yogananda by his Mount Washington neighbors in the video, Glimpses of a Life Divine. Below is how it appeared in B J Gallagher’s blog on The Huffington Post.

Sri Daya Mata: A Remembrance

by

BJ Gallagher

Los Angeles sociologist, speaker, international bestselling author

“When your work speaks for itself, don’t interrupt,” someone wise once said. It seems an apt description of the life of Sri Daya Mata, who led the Self Realization Fellowship for the past 55 years. I never saw her pontificating on TV or quoted in news stories, as is often the case with other religious leaders. I never heard tell of any scolding or finger-wagging on the part of this spiritual woman. As far as I can tell, she lived in the spirit of Gandhi’s famous words: “My life is my message.”

Before moving to the woodsy, hillside Los Angeles community of Mt. Washington twenty-three years ago, I had never heard of the Self Realization Fellowship (SRF), nor had I heard of its leader, Sri Daya Mata. This despite having spent three years studying for a Ph.D. in Social Ethics at USC’s School of Religion. But I had been interested only in Western religion and theology, so I never took any classes in Eastern religions like Buddhism, Hinduism, Sufism, Shinto or modern-day hybrid religions like the Self Realization Fellowship.

I don’t remember exactly how I learned of SRF’s presence on Mt. Washington — probably through a neighbor telling me what that big campus was on top of the hill. It seemed to me that those who lived there kept a low profile but were always pleasant whenever our paths crossed while jogging or walking.

It was some years before I learned that their hilltop campus is a cloistered monastery, which explains why the monks and nuns keep to themselves most of the time. Their job is to do their spiritual work on behalf of the world, but not actively engage with the world, as one of the monks explained to me when I invited several of them to come over for dinner. Silly me. Cloistered religious devotees do not do dinner with the neighbors.

I was curious about my unique neighbors, but I would have to content myself with reading some of their literature, listening to audiotapes (my favorite was actor and SRF member Dennis Weaver on “How to Spiritualize Business”) and visiting their other facilities in Pasadena, Encinitas, Hollywood and Pacific Palisades. After learning more about their theology, I appreciated them in my neighborhood even more. After all, I figured, having monks and nuns meditating, chanting and pursuing their spiritual work in our midst must surely generate some good karma. And heaven knows, the world — and our community — needs all the good karma it can get!

I never thought much about who the leader of the SRF was, I simply appreciated what her church’s presence added to Mt. Washington. They’re quiet and respectful of their neighbors. They keep their grounds immaculate. I love the fact that they open their gardens to the rest of us for meditation or simply a walk to enjoy the incredible view and the gorgeous grounds.

I appreciate the public events they have hosted over the years: the Halloween fantasy land for our kids and the concerts they used to hold on their tennis courts. And during Christmas week, I love the fact that they ring recorded church bells in the evening. I try to make sure I’m outdoors at the right time so I can hear the Christmas carols ring out in the crisp winter air. It never fails to make me smile and enhance my holiday spirit.

Sometimes on Sunday mornings when I’m walking my dog in front of the SRF grounds, I hear the monks chanting their prayers. I think, Say a prayer for me while you’re at it, guys. I always feel a tad more spiritual as I eavesdrop on their Sunday morning ritual.

And what of the woman who led this spiritual community for 55 years? I didn’t learn the facts of her life until I read them in the LA Times after she died at the end of November. But I didn’t have to know the details of her life to get a sense of who she was. I already knew her by her work.

I knew her spirit in the happy, friendly faces of the monks and nuns who greeted me on my morning walks. I knew her in the beautiful books and calendars the SRF publishes. I knew her in my strolls across the SRF grounds to take in the view and the times my dog and I would play on their lovely lawns. I knew her in my quiet moments of meditation in the SRF garden, when I acknowledged her unseen presence with a simple prayer of thanks.

Sri Daya Mata, the neighbors of Mt. Washington hardly knew you. But yet we did. We knew you through the peaceful, serene spirit of your community and the special energy we feel when we’re around your followers and in your gardens. Thank you for being our neighbor; thank you for making Mt. Washington your home; thank you for your contribution to the world. Your work speaks for itself.

BJ Gallagher is a Mt. Washington writer and co-author of ‘What Would Buddha Do at Work?’ (Berrett-Koehler; 2001)

Follow BJ Gallagher on Twitter: www.twitter.com/BJ_Gallagher

Mark DuBois vs the MRI Machine: A Different Point of View

Norm — Mon, 20 Dec 2010 21:42:00 +0000

Norm,

Just a comment relating to your latest newsletter post regarding the MRI experience your 81 year old student had.

Do you remember when you were a teenager and “making out” with your girlfriend was still an unknown experience?

So one evening you have the opportunity to sit next to her on the couch and watch TV and after awhile you get up the nerve to put your arm around her shoulder…but then, after some time passes, you find that you don’t have the nerve to go any further and you are stuck with your arm around her?

What to do?

You sit there as the pain begins to creep in on your shoulder. Pretty soon it’s becoming acute. You’re totally distracted from what’s on the TV and worst of all…your girlfriend!

The pain increases in intensity but you can’t take your arm away because you may never get another opportunity with this lovely young lady, but the pain is so intense that you can’t concentrate or even think clearly! The pain in your shoulder becomes so intense that it is the ONLY thing you are thinking about!

You begin to squirm in your seat…at first just a little, but you must not let your girlfriend know what’s going through your mind. There cannot be so much as a hint that your mind is on anything but her and her alone! But the pain is becoming so great that tears are welling up in your eyes and finally you start thinking up some excuse to move…sanctuary in the bathroom!

Relief comes at last, but the pain subsides slowly…very slowly!

I could continue this short story, but doing so would overshadow the point…being…the excruciating pain teenage boys sometimes experience in their shoulders.

I’ve had several MRI’s in my day, the last one on my right wrist about 13 years ago.

The MRI technician told me before I started that this procedure would require me to lie down on my right side on the table and put my right arm straight out above my head…for 45 minutes! He explained that if I moved my arm at all the scan would be of no use so I had to remain absolutely still for the entire 45 minutes! He added that I should let him know if I needed to come out because very few people are ever able to complete this particular scan due to the extreme pain it creates. Most people come out within 15 minutes or less! He said this was THE worst MRI to complete because it involves intense pain, whereas most others involve only the claustrophobia and sound aspects.

Of course being a yogi, I thought this would be a challenge!…and a challenge it was!

I have never…before or since…had to endure such pain for so long a time. My practice of meditation techniques of concentration for decades was the only thing that saved me from screaming out loud “STOP…GET ME OUT OF HERE”! The thing is…you have no way of knowing how much longer you will have to remain in the “tube”…so, it’s like an eternity of pain continually increasing and stretching out in front of you…forever!

Somehow, by withdrawing my mind from my shoulder as best I could, I was able to make it to the end of the scan.

The only problem is…I did permanent damage to my shoulder!

I don’t know what the damage is but even to this day, it still hurts when I raise it over my head…or put my arm around my girl frie……uh…I mean, my wife!

So, the lesson I learned is that being a yogi is not necessarily an advantage in some instances. Had I known that I would permanently damage my shoulder, I would have yelled “uncle” and gotten out of there…and to hell with their scan!

Perhaps they were, or are not, aware of the potential damage this scan can cause. But I showed myself that I could endure some pretty intense pain…sort of like the hiker in “127 Hours”!

Gotta run…

IDF

Marco

Bisbee, Arizona

Mark DuBois is a practitioner of Kriya Yoga Meditation as taught by Paramahansa Yogananda through his organization, Self-Realization Fellowship.

——————————————————————————————-

Dan Cooper vs the MRI Machine

Norm — Thu, 16 Dec 2010 18:00:39 +0000

Dan Cooper, a lawyer from Los Gatos, California, spent several weeks here in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, this past November. He attended my Hatha Yoga group classes and had some private therapy sessions with me. Recently he wrote me:

Sent: Wed, November 24, 2010 5:09:30 PM

Hi Norman: are you familiar with MRI tunnel machine? Claustrophobic in the extreme…rolled into a tunnel with no room to move anything and no vision out for 35 minutes. Sounds from HELL…150 db, pounding, screaming noises. I did a meditation during experience, thanking all the inventors who had produced this life saving device….deep breathing….excellent meditation.

I got dizzy and had had two falls the day we left. Seem ok now. Taking your Easy Yoga to Mom’s tomorrow .

You are the best…Dan

Dan is 81 years old, his mother is 104. If she uses my Easy Yoga for Home, Office & Studio DVD, she will be the oldest student I have ever had!

Hi Dan,

I am happy to hear that you handled the MRI so well. I remember my father-in-law saying that he would rather die before he would ever have that experience again. A very strong man said it was the worst torture he ever endured.

Dan, I was wondering if you would mind if I printed your comment about this experience on my blog, so that it might be an inspiration to others? I could put your name and Los Gatos, CA, or just your name, or just your initials, DC.

Please don’t feel any obligation to do this if you do not want to, or if you want to keep private. On the other hand if you would like me to publish this and if you have the desire to expand it, or say more about how yoga has helped you, I would be happy to include it.

My main interest is in how relating experiences is able to to inspire and help others.

Thank you,
Norm

Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Me, Dan? An inspiration? Sure….go ahead..print.any way you wish….

MRI INDICATED LOSS OF BRAIN CELLS AT A PRETTY GOOD RATE…no surprise….no tumor….good news.

I won’t bother to correct typing….

Neck fine….like your man who wouldn’t stop the exercise…..

Arm? some rotator cuff stuff….MD (she is good) prescribed same exercise you gave me….shoulder blades together….all in all it is no longer serious problem….my daughter in Tucson….a PT….suggested I had cane too long which could have caused the problem.

So, except for mother nature in aging, I return better than before. I have been usingEasy Yoga.

Thank you Norman…Dan

I found two conditions here that I thought would be of interest to others:

1. Is there anything you can do to prepare yourself for frightening, unwanted experiences?

2. How can you prevent the loss of brain cells? There is now great advice from the scientific community as well as the ancient science of Yoga.

I will be covering these two points in future posts.

——————————————————————————————-

HEAL YOUR BACK NOW!

Norm — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 15:07:05 +0000

“Yoga exercises, the postures or asanas of Hatha Yoga, are an excellent means of adjusting the spinal vertebrae to release the pressure on the spinal nerves and bring about the normal flow of life force in the nervous system, promoting healing of many diseases.” – Paramahansa Yogananda, Page 417 in The Second Coming of Christ: The Resurrection of the Christ Within You

One of the most satisfying aspects of Yoga Therapy for me is to teach people how to heal themselves of chronic and/or severe back pain. Often they have been suffering for many years and have not found a solution.

A few days ago I received this email with the subject:

Healing Story

Dear Mr. Popovsky,

I am writing to you to inform you of another success story that merged from your DVD “Heal Your Back Now!”.

I have an acquaintance in the building where I work, I saw him a week or so ago, looking at him I felt something was definitely wrong so I ask him, he said ” Trevor, my back is killing me, has been killing me for a long time and it is getting worse and worse, the doctors don’t understand what is wrong, but they say surgery “might” help”.

Needless to say, I told him about your DVD, but I said there is only one catch, by just getting the DVD won’t help, you have to do it and you have to practice according Mr. Popovsky instructions on the tape.

He said “Please when can I have it”. It was Friday the 10th when we had this conversation.

Two days later, on Monday, I gave him the DVD… and very next day in the afternoon I saw him. He was walking with confidence, so I ask him how he felt.

He said “It is unreal, I feel great! there is no more pain, I even took the braces off (I didn’t know he was wearing braces) and I am getting ready to play tennis again”.

Asked him “how long did you practice” he answered “Three hours non stop”.

When I saw him again few days later, he said “I did play tennis with someone who always beats me. This time I was able to beat him”.

Now this guy is not a praying type, but his last words were “I been praying for you guys every day”.

I thought you would be interested in hearing this story.

IDF,

Trevor Pilibosian

Because I am well aware of how valuable success stories such as this can be to inspire others to practice and succeed in healing themselves with yoga, I asked Mr. Pilibosian if he would be comfortable allowing me to publish his email on this blog and in emails that I send out. Here is his response.

By all means, I am very comfortable with the idea of you using my letter in any way you may wish. Because I am convinced that with your DVDs you are doing much good and helping many people that couldn’t be helped otherwise. Especially what you have done with “Heal Your Back Now!“ DVD only good results can come from it. IT is so thoughtful and so well planned with such keen common sense and deep knowhow and intuitive feelings that whoever applies it will benefit from it, providing they do the exercises correctly according to the instructions.

I know this first hand. I didn’t have any serious back problem but I did have light lower and upper back pain that made me uncomfortable. When I did the exercises as instructed on your DVD the results were immediate. not only my pains were gone but my whole body was relaxed and felt good. Because of this every time I see someone suffering with this type of pain I highly recommend your DVD and whoever have used it the results have been immediate.

One such case was my niece. She was suffering from a back pain, she has been going to massage therapist and chiropractors on and off for a long time, they all have helped but few days later she was in pain again.

Finally I was able to convince her to apply the exercises that are on “Heal Your Back Now!“ DVD.

The very next day she comes in smiling and dancing, she was feeling so good she couldn’t contain herself, and the best part was she didn’t have to go anywhere to get the therapy, she could do it right in her own house… anytime.

In Master’s Love and divine friendship,

Trevor Pilibosian www.anidiamonddesigns.com

Mr. Pilibosian is a member of Self-Realization Fellowship and a group leader in Paramahansa Yogananda’s How-to-Live Program at the SRF Boys Youth Program Camp. He owns Ani Diamond Designs, in San Francisco CA.

Patience & A Big Note

The two people that Mr. Pilibosian gave the dvd to, as well as he himself, achieved pain-free results the first day. However, please note that the man Mr. Pilibosian talked about did “Three hours non stop”.

While I do tell people that they can expect a reduction in pain soon, usually in the first session, I do not say that the pain will be completely gone in the first session. If there is one thing I try to help all of my students to learn, it is patience.

As Bob Mullen, founder of Mullen Advertising in Phoeniz, Arizona once said to me, “You understand what you are in for when you try to teach patience to Americans, don’t you?”

“What do you mean?”

“Americans are people who believe that instant gratification takes too long.”

So along with, and as a part of, self-healing, I try to teach all my students Patience, without which there is no real progress in Yoga.

In fact, there is a saying in Yoga that goes, “The fastest progress in Yoga comes slowly.” But the good news is that it tends to be permanent.

Heal Your Neck Now! VIDEO

Norm — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 01:34:37 +0000

Whether you have been suffering from chronic pain for years, or whether you just want to loosen up your neck some, these simple movements can help you.

In my yoga classes over the years, I have helped hundreds of students improve flexibility, increase range of motion, reduce pain, and heal their necks with this technique.

Note: If you have a lot of pain, move very slowly and gently in a way that increases your range of motion without aggravating the condition.

This video was shot in a my studio in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico so you may hear some church bells along with traffic noises in the background and maybe a cat or dog, all of which are very indicative of what it is like to be in downtown San Miguel.

This video clip is taken from my DVD, Easy Yoga for Home, Office & Studio, which also includes similar movements designed to improve circulation, reduce pain, and promote healing for the eyes and all of the joints.

Feel free to comment below and please let me know what other topics you would like covered on this blog.