Using the ENSO in your yoga and meditation practice

Decide on how long your practice will be (say 1 hour). Check out the time on your ENSO Pearl (say, 6:40am) and determine your end time (7:40 am in this example). I personally don’t set the timer for the end of my practice, as I use the ENSO Pearl throughout my practice, and time my relaxation (Savasana) to finish at the end time.

Meditation

The ENSO Pearl makes a perfect companion for your meditation. Set the timer for the period you require to meditate. Have the ENSO Pearl close by, in a visible position, either propped up on its stand or lying flat on the floor. Press the ENSO button and hold for 2 seconds – this removes the potentially distracting numbers on the clock face. This function enables you to gently take in visual time elapsed by viewing the brush stroke on the face of the ENSO Pearl.

Using the Interval Timer

Use your ENSO Pearl, with its Japanese chimes or Tibetan singing bowls, as a non-alarming alarm clock – the ENSO Pearl provides the most gentle awakening to start your day

Prepare for your daily yoga practice – set up your mat and blankets
Use the unique interval timer on the ENSO Pearl to schedule a sequence of poses. For example, say I am doing a series of forward bends, as follows:
Head to knee pose Janu Sirsanana 1 minute each side x 2 Sage Pose Bharadvajasana 2 minutes each side Wide Spread Angle Pose Upavistha Konasana 1 minute

The following example demonstrates use with a series of passive poses. The ENSO Pearl is particularly useful in its containment of the mellow/soft mood necessary for maximum benefit of passive poses. For example, say my sequence is as follows:

Supported Bound Angle Pose Supta Baddha Konasana 5 minutes Lying with legs up wall Viparita Karani 10 minutes Revolved Belly pose Jathara Parivartanasana 1 minute, each side Corpse Pose Savasana 10 minutes

Balancing left and right sides of body

For example, in a standing pose sequence I would set the repeat timer for 1 minute (or required period), and then follow desired sequence, moving out of the pose on the right side when the chime activates, and moving into the left side. If needed, I take 1 period of rest in a supported pose, for example, Prasaritta Padottanasana (Expanded Leg pose)
Raising the bar

With some poses I like to increase the time I spend in them, to build up my strength. For example, in preparation for Elbow stand (Pinchamayurasana), where the position is similar to Downward Dog but supporting yourself on your forearms rather than hands, I would time myself for 1 minute (x3) in this position, with 30 seconds rest in between. Over a period of weeks, however, I might gradually increase the time to 2 minutes. Using the ENSO Pearl to measure the time gives me a tangible check on my improvement.
Ending your practice

When I know that this is the last pose, I set the timer for the period I have left (preferably at least 10 minutes). Having delegated this responsibility to the ENSO Pearl, I can then completely rest and go deeper into Savasana knowing that I will be gently brought back by the soothing chimes, to continue my day.

For principles of yoga, detailed explanation of individual postures (asanas) and suggested sequences, see Donna Farhi’s book “Yoga, Mind, Body & Spirit – A Return to Wholeness”.

Use of healingsounds

Binaural beat frequencies have been incorporated into both the base and sound tracks so you receive double the benefit of this powerful technology. The biobeat frequencies used in healingsounds gradually slide from 15Hz (upper limit of Beta (alert) range) to 2.3Hz (delta – deep meditation) in the first 20 minutes and stay at Delta for the remaining 40 minutes.

The fast pace of modern life can make it difficult for us to set aside time for ourselves. Rather than putting extra pressure by recommending a strict programme of listening to healingsounds, we prefer to offer a contradiction to the “have to’s” and to support you to use healingsounds when you have time and wherever is most comfortable for you (for example, during a lunch hour, on the train/bus, in bed before sleeping at night, at the beach/park etc.). To gain maximum benefit from healingsounds, ideally you should use it for at least half an hour at any one time. That way you will benefit from reaching the Delta state effortlessly. If you can use it for the full hour, then all the better! Obviously, the more that healingsounds is used, the more benefit is gained. The benefits can be very individual to the user. Some people report deep relaxation, relief from some physical ailments (tinnitus etc.), while others use it to enhance creativity or focus in work or social projects.

healingsounds has a natural fade out at the 30 minute mark to allow you to choose to stop at that point or continue for the full 60 minutes.

All we recommend is that you find a comfortable position, plug in to healingsounds using stereo headphones and enjoy! It can be used anyplace, anytime, anywhere bar when driving or using machinery as the effects can be quite powerful.

Enjoy!

Menopause

Are you going through the change?? Longing for an unbroken night’s sleep?

If you’re having hot flushes you’ll know the drill: throw back the quilt, cool down…… wake up again cold, pull on the quilt again……lack of sleep, wet sheets. Here are some ideas to help you manage your sleep….

• Get to bed before 10pm – the best/deepest sleep is to be had between 10pm and 4am – give yourself a chance!
• Having trouble getting to sleep, try lying on your stomach, turning your head to one side. You may need to support your body by lying with a pillow under your stomach or chest, for comfort. This position activates the parasympathetic nervous system – which turns on the relaxing key. As soon as you notice your body/mind starting to relax, turn to your usual sleep position – so that you can continue to relax into a deep sleep.
• If you wake and can’t get back to sleep within 15 minutes, get up for a short time to break the pattern.
• If you have trouble getting back to sleep, listen to healingsounds through headphones  to relax deeply and benefit from the meditative state. Even if you don’t sleep you will rest.
• Look at what you eat. Experiment with reducing/eliminating coffee, alcohol, sugar and meat. Notice the positive changes.
• Exercise during the day so that you are physically tired as well as mentally.
• Stay positive, remember that “nothing stays the same”. The menopause does not go on forever.
• Create opportunities to laugh – meet with friends, have fun, watch or listen to your favourite comedies. Laughing is good for your soul.

Venture Beyond offer healingsounds meditation CD and ENSO – the essential Zen clock, to help you through this often difficult phase of life.

“What a relief it was for me to find the ENSO Pearl clock. It has been a friend to me during the unpredictable changes in my body, while going through menopause. The ease with which the raised ENSO button can be found, in the middle of the night is a godsend. When I wake with a hot flush, I can gently see the time, without the brightness of having to put on the main light (which really wakes me up). And in the morning, when I need to get up and my body is not ready to wake, what better way than waking to the subtle chimes of the ENSO Pearl.  A gift from heaven!”

“Regular use of healingsounds has, without a doubt, improved my sleep patterns. So easy to use, at any time of the day –I use it in the middle of the night if I wake and cannot get back to sleep; I use it on the train going to work if I have not slept well as it clears my mind and refreshes me for the day; I use it for a midday rest when I can make the time. It is the one thing I could not do without especially when I travel”

ENSO Pearl supports A Course in Miracles lessons

Gloria Oelman of South Australia wrote to tell us that she uses her ENSO to support her practice of A Course in Miracles lessons…. “I’ve had a variety of timers over the years and this is by far the best. I use the ENSO for meditation. I also study A Course in Miracles and that has a workbook with affirmations that often require frequent periodic repetitions, so I use it for that too…”

While A Course in Miracles doesn’t suggest daily meditation in the traditional sense of the word, the journey through the 365 daily lessons essentially is a journey into meditation and mindfulness.
As with any other meditation practice, Course students will recognise that while the approach called for in the daily lessons is not of itself complicated, it is a daily challenge to find the dedication needed to undertake the lessons as prescribed. The Course explains that this is our ego in action. It would rather keep us focused in the dramas of our daily lives, rather than support us to ‘return Home’ to ourselves and find true peace.

This is where the ENSO Pearl comes in very handy. It has 3 sets of programmable timers, including a repeat function. So one timer setting could be used for timing the longer practice periods (usually morning and night) while the repeat timer could be set at regular intervals to call us back to the present to contemplate the lesson’s theme for that day. The ENSO is also the most soothing alarm and meditation timer, so you’ll be already in the right ‘mood’ for your lesson after waking to its gentle Tibetan/Japanese chime.
The ENSO Pearl is a wonderful support for our journey with the Course. We can’t be too hard on ourselves if we still forget to do the lessons. The key is to remember that the original problem was the guilt in our minds, so rather than doing a ‘double whammy’ on ourselves by feeling guilty about not doing the lessons, we just forgive ourselves and say that this is all part of the journey and why we are doing the Course in the first place. The ego wants to keep us stuck here in our world of fear, depression, anxiety, trials and dramas. The Course lessons are gently leading us to a more peaceful experience of the world.

The ENSO Pearl is a delightful way to support yourself in reaching that place of deep peace within.

Over an Hour of Meditation Reduces Pain – source : Deccan Herald
 
A little over an hour of meditation produces powerful pain-relieving effects in the brain, a new study shows.

“This is the first study to show that only a little over an hour of meditation training can dramatically reduce both the experience of pain and pain-related brain activation,” said Fadel Zeidan, who led the study.

“We found a big effect – about a 40 percent reduction in pain intensity and a 57 percent reduction in pain unpleasantness,” added Zeidan, post-doctoral research fellow at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Centre.

“Meditation produced a greater reduction in pain than even morphine or other pain-relieving drugs, which typically reduce pain ratings by about 25 percent,” said Zeidan, reports the Journal of Neuroscience.

For the study, a group of healthy volunteers who had never meditated attended four, 20-minute classes to learn a meditation technique known as focused attention, according to a Wake Forest statement.

Focused attention is a form of mindfulness meditation where people are taught to attend to the breath and let go of distracting thoughts and emotions. Both before and after meditation training, participants’ brain activity was examined using a special type of imaging — arterial spin labelling magnetic resonance imaging (ASL MRI) — that captures longer duration brain processes, such as meditation, better than a standard MRI scan of brain function.

During these scans, a pain-inducing heat device was placed on the participants’ right legs. This device heated a small area of their skin to 120 degrees Fahrenheit, a temperature that most people find painful, over a five-minute period.

The scans taken after meditation training showed that every participant’s pain ratings were reduced, with decreases ranging from 11 to 93 percent, Zeidan said.

Mobile Phone & Sleep

Source : The EM Academy / IoS Research

It seems there is very little a mobile phone can’t do – the days of using phones for just telling the time are long gone. But the question remains – are mobile phones good for us or are they a curse in disguise?

Mobile phones have become, in many cases, another appendage to our body. We can’t go anywhere without them. Teenagers in particular tend to keep their phones with them wherever they go, including to bed. They often leave them under their pillow on ‘vibrate’ in case they miss a call or text from a friend. This has led
to some very concerning studies
around the safety of mobile phones at bedtime. Telephone makers’ own scientists have discovered that bedtime use of mobile phones can lead to headaches, confusion and depression.

A massive study, following 1,656 Belgian teenagers for a year, found most of them used their phones after going to bed. It concluded that those who did this once a week were more than three times – and those who used them more often, more than five times – as likely to be “very tired”.

Even more concerning is that the use of a mobile phone handset before bed causes delays in reaching the deeper states of sleep which we rely on for our rejuvenation and replenishment. Not only that, it causes us to spend less time in these rejuvenating states, thereby interfering with our bodies’ ability to repair damage suffered during the day. Failure to get enough deep sleep can lead to mood and personality changes, ADHD-like symptoms, lack of concentration and poor academic performance.

The study – carried out by scientists from the blue-chip Karolinska Institute and Uppsala University in Sweden and from Wayne State University in Michigan, USA – is thought to be the most comprehensive of its kind.
Published by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Progress in Electromagnetics Research Symposium and funded by the Mobile Manufacturers Forum (representing the main handset companies), it has caused serious concern among top sleep experts, one of whom said that there was now “more than sufficient evidence” to show that the radiation “affects deep sleep”.

The scientists studied 35 men and 36 women aged between 18 and 45. Some were exposed to radiation that exactly mimicked what is received when using mobile phones; others were placed in the same conditions, but given only “sham” exposure, receiving no radiation at all.

Those who had received the radiation took longer to enter the first of the deeper stages of sleep, and spent less time in the deepest one. The scientists concluded: “The study indicates that during laboratory exposure to 884 MHz wireless signals, components of sleep believed to be important for recovery from daily wear and tear are adversely affected.”

The embarrassed Mobile Manufacturers Forum played down the results, insisting – at apparent variance with this published conclusion – that its “results were inconclusive” and that “the researchers did not claim that exposure caused sleep disturbance”.

But Professor Bengt Arnetz, who led the study, says: “We did find an effect from mobile phones from exposure scenarios that were realistic. This suggests that they have measurable effects on the brain.”

He believes that the radiation may activate the brain’s stress system, “making people more alert and more focused, and decreasing their ability to wind down and fall asleep”.

If the radiation from mobile phones is interfering with us in such a profound way, is it a good idea to rely on these devices for our meditation practice and to assist our sleep?

Certainly, you can buy downloadable ‘apps’ for everything nowadays, including meditation, but if the purpose of meditation is to help us rejuvenate and revitalise, then maybe using a phone to assist your meditation may not be a wise move.

Mobile phones do offer certain benefits – they are portable and their applications are cheap to download if you have the right phone. However, they do come with some worrying side effects and one would have to wonder if the real cost to our health is not being overlooked.

ENSO and healingsounds offer no such side effects. Like a mobile phone, these are extremely portable, easy-to-use tools that can greatly assist reclaiming your inner balance as you go through your busy day. It has been said that to go to sleep to the soothing sounds of healingsounds and wake up to the non-alarming alarm clock of the ENSO may well be the perfect ways to start and end your day!

Enjoy.

Biofeedback can not only help a child use brain waves they don’t usually employ, but it may also help increase blood flow to specific parts of the brain involved with ADHD,” says Lubar. “Used with behavior therapies that incorporate classroom and homework skills, neurofeedback can help these children become less dependent on stimulants like Ritalin.”

More than 700 groups nationwide are using EEG biofeedback for ADD/ADHD, according to the Association for Applied Psychotherapy and Biofeedback, an organization of biofeedback practitioners. The ADHD therapists have reported that patients experienced a 60 to 80 percent significant improvement in symptoms and much less need for medicine.

Dr. J. Alan Cook, a psychiatrist in Mt. Vernon, Washington, uses it for 25 to 35 percent of his patients, treating such problems as depression, addiction, bipolar disorder and ADHD. “Once the training has been completed, patients seem to retain the benefits long term,” he says.

As scientists understand better how the brain works — or fails to work — they are finding more and more ways it can heal itself.

• Use your ENSO Pearl, with its Japanese chimes or Tibetan singing bowls, as a non-alarming alarm clock – the ENSO Pearl provides the most gentle awakening to start your day
• Prepare for your daily yoga practice – set up your mat and blankets
• Decide on how long your practice will be (say 1 hour). Check out the time on your ENSO Pearl (say, 6:40am) and determine your end time (7:40 am in this example).  I personally don’t set the timer for the end of my practice, as I use the ENSO Pearl throughout my practice, and time my relaxation (Savasana) to finish at the end time.

Meditation

• The ENSO Pearl makes a perfect companion for your meditation. Set the timer for the period you require to meditate. Have the ENSO Pearl close by, in a visible position, either propped up on its stand or lying flat on the floor.  Press the ENSO button and hold for 2 seconds – this removes the potentially distracting numbers on the clock face. This function enables you to gently take in visual time elapsed by viewing the brush stroke on the face of the ENSO Pearl .

Using the Interval Timer

• Use the unique interval timer on the ENSO Pearl to schedule a sequence of poses. For example, say I am doing a series of forward bends, as follows:

Head to knee pose                   Janu Sirsanana                           1 minute each side x 2

Sage Pose                              Bharadvajasana                        2 minutes each side

Wide Spread Angle Pose         Upavistha Konasana               1 minute

• The following example demonstrates use with a series of passive poses. The ENSO Pearl is particularly useful in its containment of the mellow/soft mood necessary for maximum benefit of passive poses.  For example, say my sequence is as follows:

Supported Bound Angle Pose  Supta Baddha Konasana             5 minutes

Lying with legs up wall              Viparita Karani                              10 minutes

Revolved Belly pose                  Jathara Parivartanasana             1 minute, each side

Corpse Pose                            Savasana                                    10 minutes

Balancing the Left and Right Sides of the Body

• During active poses, use your ENSO Pearl to ensure balance between left and right sides. We can unknowingly favour one side of our body (and hence poses can be easier on one side compared to the other). In this case, when practicing without timing, we might unknowingly tend to spend longer on one side than the other, thereby exacerbating the problem.

As a body balancing tool, the  ENSO Pearl ensures equal focus on the left and right sides and brings benefit to your posture and your organs as well as balanced flexibility in your joints and stretching of your muscles.

• For example, in a standing pose sequence I would set the repeat timer for 1 minute (or required period), and then follow desired sequence, moving out of the pose on the right side when the chime activates, and moving into the left side. If needed, I take 1 period of rest in a supported pose, for example, Prasaritta Padottanasana (Expanded Leg pose)

Raising the Bar

• With some poses I like to increase the time I spend in them, to build up my strength.  For example, in preparation for Elbow stand (Pinchamayurasana), where the position is similar to Downward Dog but supporting yourself on your forearms rather than hands, I would time myself for 1 minute (x3) in this position, with 30 seconds rest in between. Over a period of weeks, however, I might gradually increase the time to 2 minutes. Using the ENSO Pearl to measure the time gives me a tangible check on my improvement.

Ending Your Practice

• What better way to end your practice than setting the ENSO Pearl’s soothing chimes for marking completion of Savasana.
• When I know that this is the last pose, I set the timer for the period I have left (preferably at least 10 minutes). Having delegated this responsibility to the ENSO Pearl, I can then completely rest and go deeper into Savasana knowing that I will be gently brought back by the soothing chimes, to continue my day.

For principles of yoga, detailed explanation of individual postures (asanas) and suggested sequences, see Donna Farhi’s book “Yoga, Mind, Body & Spirit – A Return to Wholeness”.

The benefits of doing our own practice are only revealed when you “get on your mat”. The simple act of contemplating this can often reveal key pieces to help self understanding. This naturally leads to a deeper connection with yourself, the world and other people.  Connection is what it is all about really.  Connection with yourself is where it all starts.

In this article, I present some ideas that may help you to “get on your mat”.

When to practice

This is an individual choice.  It depends on your daily schedule.  Early morning provides a good opportunity to set you up for a connected start for the rest of the day.   However, having said that, if you do shift work that requires you to start early in the morning, you may prefer to schedule in your practice at the end of your work.  Probably best to experiment with this and find the time that suits you most.

Length of Practice

Decide on the time that you have available and the time that you want to commit to your practice. If it is daunting, choose a short time, for example, 5 or 10 minutes a day.  If you are practicing in the morning, this simply requires you to get out of bed 5 to 10 minutes earlier!  Check out your ENSO Pearl clock to see the time you start, and decide that you will not get off your mat until 5/10 minutes (or however long your have decided) have elapsed.

What do I do on my mat?

• Apart from the basic principles of alignment and ease, there is no right or wrong way to doing yoga.  Your yoga might look like a dance; you might be completely at rest throughout your practice;  you might follow your body to lead you through a series of traditional yoga poses or you may choose a sitting meditation.
• The important thing is to “get on your mat”.
• You do not need to have an idea of what you are going to do in your practice before you get on your mat.  You may remember one or more poses from your yoga class or a yoga book.  Choose one, two or three poses that you particularly enjoy.  This is a good way to start your practice.
• You may have noticed that certain poses/movements that you have done in your yoga class, are challenging or tricky.  This is another indication of what you can do in your practice that might be useful.
• Stand in Tadasana (Mountain Pose).  Complete Spinal curls (see Donna Farhi’s book  below for detail) -  Consider how you feel at the time.  Are you feeling energized or tired?  Adapt your yoga practice to suit you – as you are at the time.  Our daily lives are often very busy and frantic.  One way to deal with this is to  use your yoga practice to rest and restore your energy reserves.    There are many great restorative poses including lying with your legs up the wall, childs pose. If you are still not sure what to do, then one great pose to do is Cat pose.  As well as the traditional cat pose, where you arch and dip your back in rhythm with your breath, there are many variations to Cat pose.  It is as simple as being on all fours and moving your body as you feel..  This includes sideways movements, movements of the leg, shifting your weight from limb to limb).  The list is endless and only limited by your imagination!
• If this is where you stop, then wonderful!  Congratulate yourself on having “got on your mat”… and enjoy moving into your day knowing that you have moved your body, in particular your spine, which can only benefit your health and well being today.
• If you have more time, then follow your body.  Keep asking yourself “How do I feel now? What does my body/mind want/need to support itself?

Review and notice

• Take the time to notice how you feel after you have practiced yoga.   Notice how your day goes, your physical comfort and experiment with increasing the length of time you spend on your mat.

For principles of yoga, detailed explanation of individual postures (asanas) and suggested sequences, see Donna Farhi’s book “Yoga, Mind, Body & Spirit – A Return to Wholeness”.