Second Limb of Yoga - The Second Niyama - Santosha

Santosha, the second observance, is contentment or happiness. What is the largest obstacle to contentment? Why is happiness so illusive for so many people? Lets look closely at this very important Niyama.

To some people, happiness is a fantasy. This type of thinking is what makes contentment so hard for some of us to find. You must first see the illusion of life: Everything that brings true contentment is right in front of us. Our family, friends, spouse, health, skills, and knowledge, are all close at hand.

Yet, we want glitz, material, shallow relationships, power, riches, and fame. In life, true contentment or gratification, must have a purpose. When we find our true, and noble, purpose (Dharma) in life, we are filled with gratification.

Our true purpose, in life, can be felt from within our heart. Natural or God given skills will often open doors to our true destiny. Skills and practical application are a powerful combination.

All the riches, in the world, have no purpose, if we do not put them to good use by helping others. If we constantly spend money on toys, we will still be unhappy, until the next new toy is invented. The temporary feeling of contentment evaporates again, because this is just superficial happiness.

This is the continuing cycle of unhappiness we can easily observe in some of the rich and famous. The more material a person acquires, the more frustrated he or she becomes with life. Complete contentment is free for anyone to choose, but you cannot buy it.

Money and power are not evil. Both can be used to fuel worthy causes, feed the hungry, cure disease, stop violence, and save the planet. Worthy causes breed true contentment.

Copyright 2007 Paul Jerard / Aura Publications

Paul Jerard, E-RYT 500, has written many books on the subject of Yoga. He is a co-owner and the Director of Yoga Teacher Training at: Aura Wellness Center, in Attleboro, MA.
http://www.riyoga.com

He has been a certified Master Yoga Teacher since 1995. To receive a Free Yoga e-Book:
"Yoga in Practice," and a Free Yoga Newsletter, please visit:
http://www.yoga-teacher-training.org/index.html

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The History of Pilates

In order to understand the basics of Pilates and why it can work for you, you first need to understand where Pilates came from. Pilates was originally formed in Germany by a man of the same name.

Pilates was designed by a man that had many health afflictions as a child. The boy wanted to overcome the hardships he faced. He hoped exercise would not only boost his morale, but also his bodys defense against his illnesses.

The year was 1880 when Joseph Pilates was born. During his youthful years, he tried a number of things to try to strengthen his body. After several failed attempts to create the perfect program for his frail form he came up with the series of movements we now know as Pilates. However, it wasnt until the 1920s that the movements Pilates created were truly perfected.

One of the things that make Pilates so great is that the movements and exercises you do seek to give you strength and flexibility, but not to build any serious amount of bulk to your frame. Pilates is not about building muscle, it is about working with your body and not against it. You need to be able to take what you have been given and make that work for you before attempting anything else and that is the philosophy that Pilates was founded on.

As you learn more about Pilates you will find that it is designed for each persons body. Pilates will align your bones through a series of movements and this will allow your body to work with less strain thanks to the activity of exercise you are achieving.

Pilates appeals to a number of people. It doesnt matter what type of person you are or what level of training your body is at. Pilates can help you improve your bodys natural functioning as well as help boost confidence and your mental well being.

The most wonderful thing you will discover about Pilates is that you dont have to suffer through the movements to feel better. You are training your body with intelligent design and therefore you will not need to work twice as hard, as you may have to do with other work out programs.

Pilates was set up to create balance within your body. This will help you to realign your bones and can also help to improve your posture. Another positive feature is the lean muscles that you will form thanks to your work outs.

Pilates is excellent exercise for everyone no matter their shape or size. In fact, many videos and exercise clubs have created classes for people with disabilities, arthritis, general strength or weight loss issues, different strength issues, and even for pregnant or birthing mothers.

In the following articles we will explain how Pilates can each help these people and what the different levels mean for people taking the classes and working on gaining strength. As you will come to see Pilates is an easy and secure exercise for everyone and once you try it you will be thankful you did.

PilatesPowerSystem.com with Shannon Beaty. All rights reserved. You may freely distribute this article. The copyright and this resource box must be included. http://www.PilatesPowerSystem.com

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