Obedience, dedication and spiritual contact are all interlinked. Only if you dedicate yourself wholeheartedly to the cause will you be able to establish the inner contact. Otherwise you may remain here for a number of year and work like a bull; but you will not derive much spiritual benefit. The method of controlling the mind also has been beautifully given by all the sages and saints. They said serve, love give, purify, meditate, realize be good, do good, be kind and compassionate enquire about the nature of your true self. This is the essence of the teachings of all sages, prophets and saviors of the world. Follow them and attain self realization this every moment. What is lacking in these people is the spirit of dedication. If you sincerely and whole-heartedly dedicate yourself to the divine cause, such situations as this one will never arise. It is this half hearted seva that fives ample room for the old vicious samskaras to assume great proportions and lead you astray. You may work day and night but unless this spirit of dedication is fully aroused in your heart, you will still be wavering in your faith, in your adherence to divine life, and pit falls will crowd your path.
During the first few weeks of yoga practice you may find it hard to become aware of your breathing and abdominal movement. It may therefore be helpful to practice Preparation 1 with the help of your arms lie down. Place both hands over your abdomen and spread your finger wide so that you can cover the large abdominal area between your first rib and the pelvis. Slowly breathe in through your nose for two to three seconds and exhale for two to three seconds. Each time you inhale feel your abdomen rising against your hands and each time you exhale feel your abdomen descending. Continue this for one minute. Place a weight for example book on your abdomen and release your arms onto the floor in corpse pose. Continue breathing rhythmically and notice how your abdomen pushes the weight upwards during inhalation and relaxes downwards during exhalation. The other kind of preparation is keeping the weight on your abdomen cross your arms tightly over your chest and try to reach your shoulder blades. This pressure on your ribcage will automatically shift your attention to abdominal breathing. Then let your abdomen come down as you exhale. Continue this for one minute.
The sage lovers of the truth, armed with infinity of their disbelief, were furious with the truth which stood before them. Their curses had no sting. Their power hung on the opponent as a garment their craftiness adorned him as a necklace. They decided to admit half of what they did not believe, in order to avoid believing in the other half. From out of the dim, occult region of their misinformed faith they called forth a supernatural demon. Siva was absorbed in the rapture of his own expression. He danced once swept up and captivated by its inward throb, the rhythms and the mood began to soar. His body glistened and then glowed with dazzling splendor as he danced. Siva danced a new world and a new age into being, and had himself a day of lovely sport and playful joy. When he brought the world very near to where we stand, the dance closed quietly and he slipped back to the cosmic fellowship. After all it matters not to a god dance a world out or in or whether wise men will believe n him or not he danced. As Siva moved with stately grace and gay abandon as only a Siva could do mist began to form in the outer reaches of the universe.
Even when ten thousand heretic sages agreed to refuse to believe in the gods, the gods were undisturbed. Still, since a god has all there is with which to play he can afford to take a moment to render clear to obstinate and clouded minds his real presence and his power. A god does not have to be professed in order to be a god. That one can exist in supreme indifference to the honor which men would like to confer by their belief. Siva was received with the violent reactions of men who face a fact that doesn’t fit their orthodoxies. They discovered, however, that neither disbelief nor disbelief in a louder voice augmented by curse could dislodge a simple fact. The only god who would be frightened by a tiger would be just the kind of god these sages could imagine and reject. It was no such puny god, nor god for puny men, who stood before them. Calmly and deftly Siva stripped the tiger of its skin and slipped the tiger skin around his waist, a gesture of propriety toward men. With their power countered and graciously transformed to modesty, as gently as their curses had echoed back from the real presence the faithful champions of skepticism released their next defense, a strategy of craftiness.
Purification and body clealiness also give us clear mind. Whatever substance we absorb in the body also affects our thinking. We have started the process of yoga practice we no longer want to eat meat and fish or drink alcohol. The body of a yoga practitioner changes. The skin, eyes and hair will shine. These aspects of body cleanliness become part of the quality of life, which then affects clarity of mind. There is a natural cheerfulness. The mind is also made up of matter,it also starts to smell. With an impure body and an impure mind the sense of taste also becomes impure. The sense of smell will also change with the practice of yoga. We are no longer able to enjoy artifical perfumes. But a pure scent of a flower this is true purity. It is in this way that the body the senses and the mind purify. Our denstiny is in our thought. This is not religious teaching but the cosmic law of cause and effect. If we accept this cosmic law with love, patience and purity, our life will be filled with Divine Grace. The destruction of things is from your point of view only. There is no destruction; there is only change.
Conscious control of the breath is the key to realizing all the benefits of any asana. The harmonious coordination of inhalation and exhalation creates a wave like motion of effort and release in the nervous system, which leaves you feeling more relaxed and energetic both in body and mind after just a few minutes. There are three main types of breathing abdominal, clavicular breathing and chest. We are concerned principally with abdominal breathing, which is essential to ventilate the major part of the lungs. On each inhalation, the diaphragm contracts and moves down against the abdominal organs, pushing the stomach out and drawing air down to the bottom of the lungs; and on each exhalation, the abdomen moves back in as the diaphragm relaxes, gently pushing against the base of the lungs and squeezing the air out. Most people practice only chest and clavicular breathing in daily life. Even medical doctors and professional athletes are practice regularly. The main reason for stress is control centre for the nervous system, becomes tense as do the abdominal muscles, which then prevents the natural movement of the diaphragm. The other kind of reasons are body position in which the chest is expanded and the abdomen tight.