Saturday, June 21, 2014

San Francisco Yoga Tai Chi Qigong (Chi Kung) classes




We are finally having ongoing classes in San Francisco - Dynamic Yoga Tai Chi Qigong (Chi Kung) workouts!
San Francisco Dao Yoga  Tai Chi Qigong classes increase flexibility, strengthen and tone muscles, balance hormones,cleanse and flush all the internal systems of the body, calm the mind and reduce stress.
No yoga mat required, suitable for all levels. Beginners are welcome! 
Dao Yoga Tai Chi Qigong San Francisco represents the two sides of life – the yin and the yang, the dark and the light – and aims to bring these two sides into harmony and balance. Our classes are non competitive and focus on safely progressing from easy to more challenging exercises.

Thursday, December 13, 2012

Veganism as a lifestyle



Veganism (/ˈviːgənɪzəm/) is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal products, particularly in diet, as well as an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of sentient animals. A follower of veganism is known as avegan.
Distinctions are sometimes made between different types of vegans and veganism. Dietary vegans (or strict vegetarians) eliminate animal products from their diet (not only meat and fish, but also dairy products, eggs and often honey, as well as other animal-derived substances). The term ethical vegan is often applied to those who not only follow a vegan diet, but extend the vegan philosophy into other areas of their lives. Another term used is environmental veganism, which refers to the rejection of animal products on the premise that industrial farming of animals is environmentally damaging and unsustainable.[1]
The term vegan was coined in England in 1944 by Donald Watson, co-founder of the British Vegan Society, to mean "non-dairy vegetarian"; the society also opposed the consumption of eggs. In 1951 the society extended the definition ofveganism to mean "the doctrine that man should live without exploiting animals," and in 1960 H. Jay Dinshah started the American Vegan Society, linking veganism to the Jain concept of ahimsa, the avoidance of violence against living things.[2]
Veganism is a small but growing movement. In many countries the number of vegan restaurants is increasing, and some of the top athletes in certain endurance sports—for instance, the Ironman triathlon and the ultramarathon—practise veganism, including raw veganism.[3] Well-planned vegan diets have been found to offer protection against certain degenerative conditions, including heart disease,[4] and are regarded by the American Dietetic Association and Dietitians of Canada as appropriate for all stages of the life-cycle.[5] Vegan diets tend to be higher in dietary fibre, magnesium, folic acid, vitamin C, vitamin E, iron, and phytochemicals, and lower in calories, saturated fat, cholesterol, long-chain omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin D, calcium, zinc, and vitamin B12.[6] Because uncontaminated plant foods do not provide vitamin B12 (which is produced by microorganisms such as bacteria), researchers agree that vegans should eat foods fortified with B12 or take a daily supplement (see below).[7]
Vegetarianism is defined by the International Vegetarian Union (IVU) as "a diet of foods derived from plants, with or without eggs, dairy products, and/or honey"; the British Vegetarian Society adds that vegetarians avoid the "by-products of slaughter."[8] The word "vegetarian" seems to have come into use in the early 19th century to refer to those who avoided meat; those who also avoided fish, eggs and dairy products were known as strict or total vegetarians.[9] The Oxford English Dictionaryattributes the earliest use of the word to the English actress Fanny Kemble (1809–1893) writing in Georgia in the United States in 1839.[10] It is clear from these early references that the word was in sufficiently widespread use as to be easily understood.[11]
In 1834 Amos Bronson Alcott, the American Transcendentalist and strict vegetarian (father of Louisa May Alcott), opened the Temple School in Boston to promote his ideas, and in 1838 James Pierrepont Greaves opened Alcott House in Surrey, England, a cooperative community and boarding school that followed a strict-vegetarian diet.[12] In 1844 Alcott founded Fruitlands, a strict-vegetarian community in Harvard, Massachusetts, though it lasted only seven months.[13]
Members of Alcott House – along with the ovo-lacto vegetarian Bible Christian Church and readers of the Truth-Tester temperance journal – were involved in 1847 in forming the British Vegetarian Society. The Society held its first meeting, chaired by Salford MPJoseph Brotherton (1783–1857), in September that year at Northwood Villa in Ramsgate.[14] In 1886 the Society published the influential A Plea for Vegetarianism by the English campaigner Henry Salt (1851–1939), one of the first writers to make the paradigm shift from animal welfare to animal rights.[15] In it, Salt acknowledged that he was a vegetarian, writing that this was a "formidable admission" to make, because "a Vegetarian is still regarded, in ordinary society, as little better than a madman."[16] In 1851 an article appeared in the Vegetarian Society's magazine about alternatives to using leather for shoes, which the IVU cites as evidence of the existence in England of another group that wanted to avoid using animal products entirely.[17]
The first known vegan cookbook, No Animal Food by Rupert H. Wheldon, was published in England by C.W. Daniel in 1910.[19] Leah Leneman writes that in 1912 the editor of TVMHR, the journal of the Vegetarian Society's Manchester branch, started a debate among readers as to whether vegetarians ought to avoid eggs and dairy. He summarized the views of the 24 vegetarians who responded, writing: "The defence of the use of eggs and milk by vegetarians, so far as it has been offered here, is not satisfactory. The only true way is to live on cereals, pulse, fruit, nuts and vegetables." The journal wrote in 1923 that the "ideal position for vegetarians is abstinence from animal products," and that most of the society's members were in a transitional stage. In 1935 it wrote that the issue was becoming more pressing with every year.[19]
In 1931 Mahatma Gandhi (1869–1948) addressed a meeting in London of the Vegetarian Society—attended by Henry Salt—arguing that it ought to promote a meat-free diet as a moral issue, not as an issue of human health. Norm Phelps writes that this was a rebuke to members of the Society who had focused on the health benefits of vegetarianism. Gandhi argued that "vegetarians had a habit of talking of nothing but food and nothing but disease. I feel that this is the worst way of going about the business. ... I discovered that for remaining staunch to vegetarianism a man requires a moral basis." He became friends with other leading vegetarian campaigners, including Salt and the English physician Anna Kingsford (1846–1888), author of The Perfect Way in Diet(1881).[18] Although Gandhi continued to drink cow's milk—calling it the tragedy of his life that he could not give it up—Phelps argues that his speech was a call for the Society to align itself with Salt's views on animal rights, and a precursor to the ideas of Donald Watson in 1944.[18]
In July 1943 Leslie Cross, a member of the Leicester Vegetarian Society, expressed concern in its newsletter, The Vegetarian Messenger, that vegetarians were still eating dairy products. A year later, in August 1944, two of the society's members, Donald Watson (1910–2005) and Elsie "Sally" Shrigley (died 1978), suggested forming a subgroup of non-dairy vegetarians. When the executive committee rejected the idea, they and five others met at the Attic Club in Holborn, London, on November 1 to discuss setting up a separate organization, which they called the Vegan Society.[20]
Other suggestions for a concise term to replace "non-dairy vegetarian" included dairyban, vitan, benevore, sanivore, and beaumangeur, but Watson decided on "vegan" – pronounced "veegun" (/ˈviːɡən/), with the stress on the first syllable – the first three and last two letters of vegetarian and, as Watson put it in 2004, "the beginning and end of vegetarian."[21] The word was first independently published in the Oxford Illustrated Dictionary in 1962, defined as "a vegetarian who eats no butter, eggs, cheese or milk."[20] Fay K. Henderson published Vegan Recipes the following year; it was the first recipe book with the word "vegan" in the title.[19]
The first vegan society in the United States was founded in 1948 by Dr. Catherine Nimmo of Oceano, California, and Rubin Abramowitz of Los Angeles. Nimmo had been a vegan since 1931, and began distributing the British Vegan Society's Vegannewsletter to her mailing list within the United States.[22] In 1951 the British Vegan Society broadened its definition of veganism to "the doctrine that man should live without exploiting animals." Leslie Cross, the society's vice-president wrote that veganism is a principle, that it is "not so much about welfare [of animals] as liberation." The society pledged to "seek to end the use of animals by man for food, commodities, work, hunting, vivisection and all other uses involving exploitation of animal life by man." Members were expected to declare themselves in agreement and to live as closely to the ideal as they could.[23]
In 1957 H. Jay Dinshah (1933–2000), the son of a Parsi from Mumbai, visited a slaughterhouse and read some of Watson's literature. He gave up all animal products and, on February 8, 1960, he founded the American Vegan Society (AVS) in Malaga, New Jersey. He incorporated Nimmo's society and explicitly linked veganism to the concept of ahimsa, a Sanskrit word meaning "non-harming." The AVS called the idea "dynamic harmlessness," and named its magazine Ahimsa.[24] Two key books explained the philosophy: Dinshah's Out of the Jungle: The Way of Dynamic Harmlessness (1965), and Victoria Moran's Compassion, the Ultimate Ethic: An Exploration of Veganism (1985), the latter first published as a series of essays in Ahimsa.[25] Today the word "veganism" is still used to refer either to the plant-based diet or to a lifestyle that seeks to eliminate animal use entirely.[1] Since 1994 World Vegan Day has been held every November 1, the founding date of the British Vegan Society in 1944.[26]
Surveys in the United States suggest that between 0.5 and three percent there are vegan. In 1997 three percent said they had not used animals for any purpose in the previous two years.[27] In 2006 a poll by Harris Interactive suggested that 1.4 percent were dietary vegans, a 2008 survey for the Vegetarian Resource Group reported 0.5 percent, or one million, and a July 2012 Gallup poll found 2 percent report being vegan, 91 percent "not vegan," and 7 percent reported "no opinion."[28] In the UK The Times estimated in 2005 that there were 250,000 vegans there, in 2006 The Independent estimated 600,000, and in a 2007 British government survey two percent identified as vegan.[29] The Netherlands Association for Veganism estimated there were 16,000 vegans in the Netherlands as of 2007, around 0.1 percent of the population.[30]
Ethical vegans entirely reject the commodification of animals. The Vegan Society in the UK will only certify a product as vegan if it is free of animal involvement as far as possible and practical.[31]
An animal product is any material derived from animals, including meat, poultry, seafood, eggs, dairy products, honey, fur, leather, wool, and silk. Other commonly used, but perhaps less well known, animal products are beeswaxbone charbone chinacarminecaseincochinealgelatinisinglasslanolinlardrennetshellactallowwhey, and yellow grease. Many of these may not be identified in the list of ingredients in the finished product.[32] The detailed reasons vegans may not use a specific animal product are varied. In the case of wool for example, Merino sheep have been bred to have unusually wrinkly skin, which can lead to heat exhaustion in summer and the practice of mulesing to counter flystrike.[33]
Ethical vegans will not use animal products for clothing, toiletries, or any other reason, and will try to avoid ingredients that have been tested on animals. They will not buy fur coats, cars with leather in them, leather shoes, belts, bags, wallets, woollen jumpers, silk scarves, camera film, and certain vaccines, etc. Depending on their economic circumstances, they may donate such items to charity when they become vegan, or use them until they wear out. Clothing made without animal products is widely available in stores and online. Alternatives to wool include cotton, hemp, rayon, and polyester. Some vegan clothes, in particular shoes, are made of petroleum-based products, which has triggered criticism because of the environmental damage associated with production.[34]
One of the main differences between a vegan and a typical vegetarian diet is the avoidance of eggs and dairy products such as milk, cheese, butter and yogurt. Ethical vegans state that the production of eggs and dairy causes animal suffering and/or premature death. In battery cage and free-range egg production, unwanted male chicks are culled or discarded at birth during the process of securing a further generation of egg-laying hens.[35] To produce milk from dairy cattle female calves are separated from their mothers soon after birth and fed milk replacer, so that the cow's milk is retained for human consumption. Vegans say that this breaks the natural mother-calf bond. Unwanted male calves are either slaughtered at birth or sent for veal production. To prolong lactation, dairy cows are kept almost permanently pregnant through artificial insemination.[36] After about five years, once the cow's milk production has dropped, they are considered "spent" and sent to slaughter for hamburger meat and their hides. A dairy cow's natural life expectancy is about twenty years.[37]
There is disagreement among vegan groups about the extent to which products from insects must be avoided. Some vegans view the consumption of honey as cruel and exploitative with modern beekeeping a form of enslavement.[38] Once the honey is harvested, it is common practice to substitute the bees natural food store (honey) with sugar or corn syrup to maintain the colony over winter. Neither the Vegan Society nor the American Vegan Society considers the use of honey, silk, or other insect products to be suitable for vegans, while Vegan Action and Vegan Outreach regard it as a matter of personal choice.[39]
Any plant-based dish may be vegan. Common vegan dishes prepared without animal ingredients include ratatouillefalafelhummus, veggie burritosrice and beans, veggie stir-fry, and pasta primavera. Ingredients such as tofutempeh, and seitanare widely used in vegan cuisine. Plant cream and plant milk—such as almond milkgrain milk, or soy milk—are used instead of cows' or goats' milk. Vegan recipes use apple sauce, ground flax seeds, mashed potatoes, soft or silken tofu, or commercial starch-based egg-substitute products, instead of chickens' eggs.[40]
Meat analogues, or "mock meats," made of soy or gluten—including vegetarian sausage, vegetarian mince, and veggie burgers—are widely available, and are often vegan. Cheese analogues made from soy, nuts and tapioca are commonly used. Vegan cheeses like ChreeseDaiya, Teese and Tofutti can replace the taste and meltability of dairy cheese in various dishes.[41] Joanne Stepaniak writes that cheese substitutes can be made at home, using recipes from Vegan Vittles, The Nutritional Yeast Cookbook, and The Uncheese Cookbook.[42]
The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine recommends what they call the "Four New Food Groups." They suggest that vegans and vegetarians eat at least three servings of vegetables a day, including dark-green, leafy vegetables such as broccoli, and dark-yellow and orange such as carrots, five servings of whole grains (bread, rice, pasta), three servings of fruit, and two of legumes (beans, peas, lentils).[43]
There is a growing scientific consensus that a plant-based diet reduces the risk of a number of degenerative diseases, particularly coronary artery disease and diabetes.[44] Winston Craig, chair of the department of nutrition atAndrews University, writes that vegan diets tend to be higher in dietary fibremagnesiumfolic acidvitamin Cvitamin Eiron, and phytochemicals, and lower in caloriessaturated fatcholesterol, long-chain omega-3 fatty acids,vitamin Dcalciumzinc, and vitamin B12. He writes that vegans tend to be thinner, with lower serum cholesterol and lower blood pressure. He adds that eliminating all animal products increases the risk of nutritional deficiencies; of particular concern are vitamins B12 and D, calcium, and long-chain n–3 (omega-3) fatty acids. He advises vegans to eat foods fortified with these nutrients or to take supplements, and writes that iron and zinc may also be problematic because of limited bioavailability.[6]
According to the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, a report issued by the US Departments of Health and Human Services and Agriculture, a vegetarian diet is associated with lower levels of obesity and reduced risk of cardiovascular disease.[45] The American Dietetic Association and Dietitians of Canada said in 2003 that properly planned vegan diets were nutritionally adequate for all stages of life, including pregnancy and lactation, and provided health benefits in the treatment and prevention of certain diseases.[5] People avoiding meat are reported to have lower body mass index; from this follows lower death rates from ischemic heart disease, lower blood cholesterol levels, lower blood pressure, and fewer incidences of type 2 diabetes, prostate and colon cancers.[46] The Swiss Federal Nutrition Commission and the German Society for Nutrition do not recommend a vegan diet, and caution against it for children, the pregnant and the elderly.[47
A group of prominent physicians in the United States – John A. McDougallCaldwell EsselstynNeal D. BarnardDean Ornish, and Michael Greger – together with nutritional biochemist T. Colin Campbell, have argued that diets based on animal fat and animal protein, such as the standard American diet, are detrimental to health, and that a low-fat vegan diet can not only prevent, but may also reverse, certain diseases.[4] A 2006 study by Barnard found that in people with type 2 diabetes, a low-fat vegan diet reduced weight, total cholesterol, and LDL cholesterol, and did so to a greater extent than the diet prescribed by the American Diabetes Association.[48]
The Oxford Vegetarian Study recruited 11,000 subjects between 1980 and 1984 (6000 vegetarians and a control group of 5000 non-vegetarians) and followed up after 12 years. The study indicated that vegans had lower total- and LDL-cholesterol concentrations than meat-eaters. Death rates were lower in non-meat eaters. The authors wrote that mortality from ischemic heart disease was positively associated with higher dietary cholesterol levels and the consumption of animal fat. They also wrote that non-meat-eaters had half the risk of meat eaters of requiring an emergency appendectomy, and that vegans in the UK may be prone to iodine deficiency.[49]
A 1999 meta-analysis of five studies comparing mortality rates in Western countries found that mortality from ischemic heart disease was 26 percent lower in vegans than in regular meat-eaters. This was compared to 20 percent lower in occasional meat eaters, 34 percent lower in pescetarians (those who ate fish but no other meat), and 34 percent lower in ovo-lacto vegetarians (those who ate no meat, but did consume animal milk and eggs). The lower rate of protection for vegans compared to pescetarians or ovo-lacto vegetarians is believed to be linked to higher levels of homocysteine, caused by insufficient vitamin B12; it is believed that vegans who consume sufficient B12 should show even lower risk of ischemic heart disease than lacto-ovo vegetarians. No significant difference in mortality was found from other causes.[50] A 15-year survey that investigated the association between diet and age-related cataract risk in the UK found a progressive decrease in cataracts in high meat eaters to low meat eaters, fish eaters, vegetarians, and vegans; vegans had a 40 percent lower risk than the biggest meat eaters.[51]
The American Dietetic Association indicated in 2003 that vegetarian diets may be more common among adolescents with eating disorders, but that the evidence suggests the adoption of a vegetarian diet may serve to camouflage an existing disorder, rather than causing one.[46] Other studies support this conclusion.[52]



Source : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vegan_diet










Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Fox



Fox is a common name for many species of omnivorous mammals belonging to the Canidae family. Foxes are small to medium-sized canids (slightly smaller than a medium-sized domestic dog), characterized by possessing a long narrow snout, and a bushy tail (or brush).
Members of about 37 species are referred to as foxes, of which only 12 species actually belong to the Vulpes genus of "true foxes". By far the most common and widespread species of fox is the red fox (Vulpes vulpes), although various species are found on almost every continent. The presence of fox-like carnivores all over the globe, together with their widespread reputation for cunning, has contributed to their appearance in popular culture and folklore in many societies around the world (see alsoFoxes in culture). The hunting of foxes with packs of hounds, long an established pursuit in Europe, especially the British Isles, was exported by European settlers to various parts of the New World.

The Modern English word "fox" is Old English, and comes from the Proto-Germanic word fukh – compare German Fuchs, Gothic fauho, Old Norse foa and Dutch vos. It corresponds to the Proto-Indo-European word puk- meaning "tail of it" (compareSanskrit puccha, also "tail"). The bushy tail is also the source of the word for fox in Welsh: llwynog, from llwyn, "bush, and grove".[1] Portugueseraposa, from rabo, "tail"[2] and Ojibwa: waagosh, from waa, which refers to the up and down "bounce" or flickering of an animal or its tail.[3] Male foxes are known as dogs or reynards, females as vixens, and young as kits, pups or cubs. A group of foxes is a "skulk", "leash", "troop" or "earth".

In the wild, foxes can live for up to 10 years, but most foxes only live for 2 to 3 years due to hunting, road accidents and diseases. Foxes are generally smaller than other members of the family Canidae such as wolvesjackals, and domestic dogs. Male foxes are called Reynards, and weigh, on average, around 5.9 kilograms (13 lb) while female foxes, called vixens, weigh less, at around 5.2 kilograms (11.5 lb).[4] Fox-like features typically include a distinctive muzzle (a "fox face") and bushy tail. Other physical characteristics vary according to habitat. For example, the fennec fox (and other species of fox adapted to life in the desert, such as the kit fox) has large ears and short fur, whereas the Arctic fox has tiny ears and thick, insulating fur. Another example is the red fox which has a typical auburn pelt, the tail normally ending with white marking. Litter sizes can vary greatly according to species and environment – the Arctic fox, for example, has an average litter of four to five, with eleven as maximum.[5]
Unlike many canids, foxes are not always pack animals. Typically, they live in small family groups, and are opportunistic feeders that hunt live prey (especially rodents). Using a pouncing technique practiced from an early age, they are usually able to kill their prey quickly. Foxes also gather a wide variety of other foods ranging from grasshoppers to fruit and berries. The gray fox is one of only two canine species known to climb trees; the other is the raccoon dog.
Foxes are normally extremely wary of humans and are not usually kept as indoor pets; however, the silver fox was successfully domesticated in Russia after a 45-year selective breeding program. This selective breeding also resulted in physical and behavioral traits appearing that are frequently seen in domestic cats, dogs, and other animals, such as pigmentation changes, floppy ears, and curly tails.[6]

Canids commonly known as foxes include members of the following genera:
  • Alopex: Arctic fox, although the definitive mammal taxonomy list as well as genetic evidence places it in Vulpes, and not as a genus unto itself.
  • Canis: The Ethiopian Wolf, also called, variously, Semien fox or Semien jackal (though recently renamed to reflect its biological affinity with the gray wolf).
  • Cerdocyon: Crab-eating fox.
  • Dusicyon: Falkland Islands fox.
  • Lycalopex: Six South American species.
  • Otocyon: Bat-eared fox.
  • UrocyonGray foxisland fox and Cozumel fox.
  • Vulpes: Including 12 species of true foxes, including the red fox, V. vulpes, Tibetan Sand Fox, Vulpes ferrilata and their closest kin.

Foxes are omnivores.[7][8] The diet of foxes is largely made up of invertebrates and small mammalsreptiles (such as snakes), amphibiansscorpionsgrassesberriesfruitfishbirdseggsdung beetlesinsects and all other kinds of small animals. Many species are generalist predators, but some (such as the crab-eating fox) are more specialist. Most species of fox generally consume around 1 kg of food every day. Foxes cache excess food, burying it for later consumption, usually under leaves, snow, or soil.

Foxes are readily found in cities and cultivated areas and (depending upon species) seem to adapt reasonably well to human presence.
Red foxes have been introduced into Australia which lacks similar carnivores other than the dingo, and the introduced foxes prey on native wildlife, some to the point of extinction.
Other fox species do not reproduce as readily as the red fox, and are endangered in their native environments. Key among these are the crab-eating fox (Cerdocyon thous) and the African bat-eared fox. Other foxes such as fennec foxes are not endangered.
Foxes have been successfully employed to control pests on fruit farms while leaving the fruit intact.[9]

Fox attacks on humans are not common but have been reported. In November 2008, an incident in the United States was reported in which a jogger was attacked and bitten on the foot and arm by a rabid fox in Arizona.[10] In July 2002, a 14-week-old baby was attacked in a house in Dartford, Kent, United Kingdom.[11] In June 2010, 9-month-old twin girls were bitten on the arms and face when a fox entered their upstairs room in east London.[12]
Fox hunting is an activity that originated in the United Kingdom in the 16th century. Hunting with dogs is now banned in the United Kingdom,[13][14][15][16] though hunting without dogs is still permitted. It is practiced as recreation in several other countries including Australia, Canada, France, Ireland, Italy, Russia and the United States.
There are many records of domesticated red foxes and others, but rarely of sustained domestication. A recent and notable case is the Russian silver fox, or domesticated silver fox, since it resulted in visible and behavioral changes, and is a case study of an animal population modeling according to human domestication needs. The current group of domesticated silver foxes are the result of nearly fifty years of experiments in the Soviet Union and Russia to domesticate the silver morph of the red fox. Notably, the new foxes became more tame, allowing themselves to be petted, whimpering to get attention and sniffing and licking their caretakers.[17] They also became more dog-like as well: they lost their distinctive musky "fox smell", became more friendly with humans, put their ears down (like dogs), wagged their tails when happy and began to vocalize and bark like domesticated dogs. They also began to exhibit other traits seen in some dog breeds, such as color pattern, curled tails, floppy ears, and shorter legs and tails.[17] They are also more likely to have piebald coats, and will almost always have a white spot on the chest or face. The breeding project was set up by the Soviet scientist Dmitri K. Belyaev.
In many cultures, the fox appears in folklore as a symbol of cunning and trickery, or as a familiar animal possessed of magic powers.
In some countries, foxes are major predators of rabbits and hens. Population oscillations of these two species were the first nonlinear oscillation studied, and led to the now-famous Lotka-Volterra equation.

  1. ^ Jones, D.M. (1953). "Etymological Notes". Transactions of the Philological Society 52: 43–51. doi:10.1111/j.1467-968X.1953.tb00269.x.
  2. ^ "Fox". The Online Etymology Dictionary. Retrieved 2009-04-03.
  3. ^ "Introduction to Ojibwe Language". Real-dream-catchers.com. Retrieved 2011-05-15.
  4. ^ Walker, Matt; Davies, Ella (7 March 2012). "Are red foxes getting bigger?" BBC News Online. Retrieved 2012-03-07.
  5. ^ Hildebrand, Milton (1952). "The Integument in Canidae". Journal of Mammalogy 33 (4): 419–428. doi:10.2307/1376014.JSTOR 1376014.
  6. ^ Trut, Lyudmila N. (1999). "Early Canid Domestication: The Fox Farm Experiment". American Scientist 87.
  7. ^ Fedriani, J.M.; T. K. Fuller, R. M. Sauvajot, E. C. York (2000-07-05)."Competition and intraguild predation among three sympatric carnivores". Oecologia 125 (2): 258–270.doi:10.1007/s004420000448.
  8. ^ Fox, David L. (2007). "Vulpes vulpes (red fox)". Animal Diversity Web. University of Michigan Museum of Zoology.
  9. ^ McCandless, Linda Foxes are Beneficial on Fruit Farms. nysaes.cornell.edu (1997-04-24)
  10. ^ "Attacked jogger takes fox for run"BBC News. 2008-11-06.
  11. ^ "Baby 'attacked by fox'"BBC News. 2002-07-01.
  12. ^ "Twin girls injured in suspected fox attack"BBC News. 2010-06-06.
  13. ^ "Hunt campaigners lose legal bid". BBC News Online. 2006-06-23.
  14. ^ Singh, Anita (2009-09-18). "David Cameron 'to vote against fox hunting ban'". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 2010-05-02.
  15. ^ Fox Hunting. North West League Against Cruel Sports Support Group. nwlacs.co.uk
  16. ^ "Fox Hunting: For and Against".
  17. a b Kenneth Mason, Jonathan Losos, Susan Singer, Peter Raven, George Johnson(2011)Biology Ninth Edition, p. 423. McGraw-Hill, New York.ISBN 978-0-07-353222-6.









Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Kundalini Yoga




Kundalini is described as a sleeping, dormant potential force in the human organism.[5] It is one of the components of an esoteric description of the 'subtle body', which consists of nadis (energy channels), chakras (psychic centres), prana (subtle energy), and bindu (drops of essence).
Kundalini is described as being coiled up at the base of the spine. The description of the location can vary slightly, from the rectum to the navel.[6] According to Sahaja Yoga, the kundalini resides in the triangular shaped sacrum bone in three and a half coils.[7]
The kundalini has been described as a residual power of pure desire by Nirmala Srivastava.[7]
The image given is that of a serpent coiled three and a half times around a smokey grey lingam. Each coil is said to represent one of the three gunas, with the half coil signifying transcendence.

File:Om.svg


According to well-known teacher and translator Eknath Easwaran, kundalini means "the coiled power," a force which ordinarily rests at the base of the spine, described as being coiled there like a serpent.[8] The concept can be found under different names. For example the eighth century Tantrasadbhava Tantra uses the term kundali ('she who is ring-shaped').[9]

Through meditation, and various esoteric practices, such as Kundalini YogaSahaja Yoga, and Kriya Yoga, the kundalini is awakened, and can rise up from the muladhara chakra through the central nadi, called sushumna, inside or alongside the spine and reaches the top of the head. The progress of kundalini through the different chakras leads to different levels of awakening and mystical experience, until the kundalini finally reaches the top of the head, Sahasrara or crown chakra, producing an extremely profound mystical experience.
A number of descriptions exist that attempt to describe exactly what the kundalini experience is:
Sri Ramana Maharshi mentioned that the kundalini energy is nothing but the natural energy of the Self, where Self is the universal consciousness (Paramatma) present in every being, and that the individual mind of thoughts cloaks this natural energy from unadulterated expression. Advaitateaches that Self-realizationenlightenment, God-consciousness, nirvana. But, initial kundalini awakening is just the beginning of actual spiritual experience. Self-inquiry meditation is considered a very natural and simple means of reaching this goal.[10]
Swami Vivekananda described kundalini briefly in London during his lectures on Raja Yoga as follows:[11]

According to the Yogis, there are two nerve currents in the spinal column, called Pingalâ and Idâ, and a hollow canal called Sushumnâ running through the spinal cord. At the lower end of the hollow canal is what the Yogis call the "Lotus of the Kundalini". They describe it as triangular in form in which, in the symbolical language of the Yogis, there is a power called the Kundalini, coiled up. When that Kundalini awakes, it tries to force a passage through this hollow canal, and as it rises step by step, as it were, layer after layer of the mind becomes open and all the different visions and wonderful powers come to the Yogi. When it reaches the brain, the Yogi is perfectly detached from the body and mind; the soul finds itself free. We know that the spinal cord is composed in a peculiar manner. If we take the figure eight horizontally (∞) there are two parts which are connected in the middle. Suppose you add eight after eight, piled one on top of the other, that will represent the spinal cord. The left is the Ida, the right Pingala, and that hollow canal which runs through the centre of the spinal cord is the Sushumna. Where the spinal cord ends in some of the lumbar vertebrae, a fine fibre issues downwards, and the canal runs up even within that fibre, only much finer. The canal is closed at the lower end, which is situated near what is called the sacral plexus, which, according to modern physiology, is triangular in form. The different plexuses that have their centres in the spinal canal can very well stand for the different "lotuses" of the Yogi.

When kundalini Shakti is conceived as a goddess, then, when it rises to the head, it unites itself with the Supreme Being (Lord Shiva). Then the aspirant becomes engrossed in deep meditation and infinite bliss.[12][13]
In his article on Kundalini in the Yoga Journal, David Eastman narrates two personal experiences. One man said he felt an activity at the base of his spine starting to flow so he relaxed and allowed it to happen. A feeling of surging energy began traveling up his back, at each chakra he felt an orgasmic electric feeling like every nerve trunk on his spine beginning to fire. A second man describes a similar experience but accompanied by a wave of euphoria and happiness softly permeating his being. He described the surging energy as being like electricity but hot, traveling from the base of his spine to the top of his head. He said the more he analyzed the experience, the less it occurred.[14]
Shiv R. Jhawar describes his Kundalini awakening experience in the physical presence of Swami Muktananda. [15]
The arousing of kundalini is said by some to be the one and only way of attaining Divine Wisdom. Self-Realization is said to be equivalent to Divine Wisdom or Gnosis or what amounts to the same thing: self-knowledge.[16] The awakening of the kundalini shows itself as "awakening of inner knowledge" and brings with itself "pure joy, pure knowledge and pure love."

The question arises: how is this awakening triggered? There are two broad approaches to kundalini awakening: active and passive. The active approach involves systematic physical exercises and techniques of concentration, visualization, pranayama and meditation under the guidance of a competent teacher. These techniques come from any of the four main branches of yoga but for this purpose could be termed kundalini yoga. The passive approach is instead a path of surrender where one lets go of all the impediments to the awakening rather than trying to actively awaken the kundalini. A chief part of the passive approach is shaktipat where one person's kundalini is awakened by another who already has the experience. Shaktipat only raises the kundalini temporarily but gives the student an experience to use as a basis.[17]

The tantras of Vajrayana manage a system which is very similar to the Indian systems of kundalini yoga, in that they too manage a series of subtle channels, subtle winds, wheels and subtle drops, and they refer to a force known as kandali which must be raised up the central channel. However, there are a number of differences. Firstly, the descriptions are mostly about 'red bodhicitta', that resides in the lower chakras, and 'white bodhicitta', that resides in the crown. The 'inner fire' is ignited, through practices such as Tummo, which causes all the winds in the body to enter and rise up the central channel. When the fire reaches the crown of the head, the white bodhicitta melts and flows down to the lower chakras, producing profound spiritual experiences of bliss and emptiness.[26]
This practice of 'inner fire' is seen as a preliminary yoga to a further set of practices; obtaining the 'Illusory body', and obtaining the 'Clear Light', as well as practices such as dream yoga, and consciousness projection.

Kundalini is considered an interaction of the subtle body along with chakra energy centers and nadis channels. Each chakra is said to contain special characteristics [27] and with proper training, moving kundalini energy 'through' these chakras can help express or open these characteristics.
Sir John Woodroffe (pen name Arthur Avalon) was one of the first to bring the notion of kundalini to the West. As High Court Judge in Calcutta, he became interested in Shaktism and Hindu Tantra. His translation of and commentary on two key texts was published as The Serpent Power. Woodroffe rendered kundalini as "Serpent Power" for lack of a better term in the English language but "kundala" in Sanskrit means "coiled".[28]
Western awareness of the idea of kundalini was strengthened by the Theosophical Society and the interest of the psychoanalyst Carl Jung (1875–1961).[29] "Jung's seminar on kundalini yoga, presented to the Psychological Club in Zurich in 1932, has been widely regarded as a milestone in the psychological understanding of Eastern thought. Kundalini yoga presented Jung with a model for the development of higher consciousness, and he interpreted its symbols in terms of the process of individuation".[30]
The founder of the Aetherius Society George King describes the concept of Kundalini throughout works and claimed to have experienced this energy many times throughout his life while in a 'positive samadhic yogic trance state'.[31] According to King, It should always be remembered that despite appearances to the contrary, the complete control of Kundalini through the spinal column is man's only reason for being on Earth, for when this is accomplished, the lessons in this classroom and the mystical examination is passed.[32] In his lecture entitled The Psychic Centers - Their Significance and Development he describes the theory behind the raising of Kundalini and how this might be done safely in the context of a balanced life devoted to selfless service.[33]
Sri Aurobindo was the other great authority scholar on Kundalini parallel to Sir John Woodroffe, with a somewhat different viewpoint, according to Mary Scott (who is herself a later day scholar on Kundalini and its physical basis) and was a member of the Theosophical Society.[34]
Another populariser of the concept of kundalini among Western readers was Gopi Krishna. His autobiography is entitled Kundalini: The Evolutionary Energy in Man.[35] According to one writer his writings influenced Western interest in kundalini yoga.[36]
In the early 1930s two Italian scholars, Tommaso Palamidessi and Julius Evola, published several books with the intent of re-interpreting alchemy with reference to yoga.[37] Those works had an impact on modern interpretations of Alchemy as a mystical science. In those works, kundalini is called an Igneous Power or Serpentine Fire.
Other well-known spiritual teachers who have made use of the idea of kundalini include Swami Rudrananda (Rudi)Yogi BhajanOshoGeorge GurdjieffParamahansa YoganandaSwami Sivananda Radha who produced an English language guide of Kundalini Yoga methods, Swami MuktanandaBhagawan NityanandaNirmala Srivastava (Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi),and Samael Aun Weor.
source:    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kundalini