Improve Mind University

Concentration techniques

2010-02-17T03:36:00.000-08:00

Students are easily distracted in the classroom for an assortment of reasons. Students talking, the humming of the air conditioner, students outside the classroom, the clock and much more distracts the students and makes it difficult for them to concentrate in the classroom. It is best to teach your students some concentration exercises to learn how to block out the annoying noises that attract their attention.

Concentration exercises are a tool to help students to learn better in the classroom. Students waste too much time in the classroom looking out the window because they are unable to stay focused on the task at hand. Students can learn to block out Sally's toe tapping and stay focused on their work. It is best to incorporate these concentration techniques on a daily basis as they only take approximately 5-10 minutes a day. Incorporate curriculum into the concentration exercises to teach the students two things at once.
Concentration Exercises

•Have students spell words backwards and forward. Students are not allowed to write down the word.

•Have students as a class spell the word, each student does one letter in the word. Have them spell them backwards and forwards as well.

•Students count words in a paragraph without pointing to the words.

•Students count common words such as 'the' or 'and' on a page in a novel without pointing to the word.

•Students count vowels in a paragraph without pointing to the vowels.

•Place an object at the front of the class and allow the students to observe it for 3-5 minutes. Remove the object and have them describe it in detail.

• Students calculate numbers mentally. Begin with a simple calculation and all other calculations are based on the previous answer. Have students write the final answer on a piece of paper and have them all show their answer to the class at once. Interesting to see how many students have the same answer.

•Play the game; I went shopping and bought ice cream. Each student adds something new to the list but must also name all of the previous items on the list.

Yogic Kriya

2010-02-17T03:32:00.001-08:00

Yogic Kriya -

Yoga - SECRETS OF TRATAK SADHANA

2010-02-17T03:29:00.001-08:00

by Acharya Shree Dhruv
Dhotirvastistatha Netishtratkam Nowlikam Tatha Kapalbhatischetani Khastkarmani Prachate — Hathayog Pradipika

According to Hathayog Pradipika, there are six types of hathayoga: dhauti, vasti, neti, nauli, tratak and kapalbhati. These are all yogic processes (shat karma) which apart from imparting physical and mental peace also provide spiritual power. The first four, i.e., dhauti, vasti, neti and nauli are related to purification of the body, while the last two, tratak and kapalbhati, are related to spiritual achievements.

How does tratak sadhana affect us

The flow of thoughts in our brain is an on-going process. Due to this, 80 per cent of our energy is wasted and our central nerve system loses its balance. But when we attain tratak sadhana, gradually we start experiencing peace of mind, and thereafter we start getting rid of unwanted thoughts. With this process we start gaining more and more energy. And a time comes when we are able to perform an unusual feat.

But what is tratak sadhana? It is defined as focusing your attention with concentration on a point or on the flame of a lamp continuously, without blinking.

Three types of tratak sadhana

(a) Inner tratak Sadhana
(b) Middle tratak sadhana
(c) Outer tratak sadhana

Inner tratak sadhana is closing the eyes and focusing your attention on the middle of your forehead, where Lord Shiva’s third eye is located. In the beginning you may feel some pain or heat in your head but do not worry, as it will normalise gradually. Try to keep your entire attention on this point.

Benefits: With this yogic action you can hypnotise any person who is very far from you. It will also help in building your confidence, intelligence and patience. It will even take away negative thoughts and desires from your mind and will give you peace.

In Middle tratak sadhana, focus your eyes and attention on either the flame of a lamp (which is lit by the oil of black sesame) or on a crystal shivlinga. If you get a burning sensation in your eyes, close your eyes for some time and then again repeat this kriya (process). For this kriya, keep the lamp or shivlinga at a distance of 20 inches at eye level so that there is no strain or pressure on your neck.

Benefits: Improves concentration, memory and mental power. Besides, you get foresight, hypnotic and spiritual power. It also increases your working efficiency and the ability to read others' mind.

Outer tartak sadhna can be performed at anytime of the day or night, by focusing your eyes and attention on any object like the sun, moon, stars. Those who have a weak eyesight cannot perform this.

Benefits: Helps in getting rid of mental disorders and improves motivational power and foresight.

Do suksham pranayam before practising tratak because this sadhana requires mental peace. If your mind is not peaceful or comfortable, you cannot be successful. With suksham pranayama you can control your mind.

Rules of suksham pranayama:

Sit in sukhasan without any body movement and take in and release long deep breaths slowly. This has to be done for 21 days regularly for 15 minutes a day. It will be better to start trarak sadhana after this.

For tratak sadhana:

1. Sit on a blanket in sukhasna or sidhasna and keep back, neck and spine straight.

2. Keep negative thoughts and lust away from your mind.

3. Do tratak with dedication, patience and concentration.

4. Always practise in a closed room and be by yourself.

5. It is effective if practised at a fixed place and time.

6. Out of the three ways of practising tratak, choose the one with which you feel comfortable.

7. Try to spend more or equal time in this sadhana as you spend on the first day.

8. Leave all addictions.

9. Those suffering from tuberculosis, heart diseases, leprosy and eye diseases should not practise tratak.

10. While practising, do not move your body. Sit like a statue.

11. Practice after taking bath and wear loose clothes, preferably white.

12. Choose any one of three kriyas and practice it continuously for three months.

TRATAK - Meditation to improve concentration

2010-02-17T03:23:00.000-08:00

TRATAK is a meditation which when practiced increases the magnetic vibration in the practitioner. It also keeps the body in good condition. The mind also gets refreshed. The eyesight becomes very powerful and the practitioner gets a very sharp eyesight.
TRATAK is required to be practiced in two sessions a day, each session lasting for atleast 30 minutes and the practice should go on for a minimum of 60 days.It is practiced only in such time when the lunar vibrations of earth are higher ie in between 4.30 AM and 6.00 AM and 7.00 PM tp 8.00 PM.

PROCEDURES :

After taking a cold bath, sit in a secluded place, free from disturbance of any kind.
The practitioner may sit either crossed leg on flooror may even sit on a chair which surface is flat. Keep the spinal column vertical and legs at right angle. Hands should be rested on the laps, palms facing upwards.
Keep a small object in front of your eyes and fix a gaze on it. You may make a small black point on the the wall in front of your eyes and make a gaze on it. The object or the black dot should be at a distance of about 1 to 2 feet away from your eyes.
Keep on staring the object with one point concentration. Have no ideas and thoughts in mind.
Do not blink, even if tears flow out of your eyes. Maintain one pointed concentration on object all the time.
Practice gazing continously for atleast 30 minutes each time and in the evening.
Continue to practice without break for 60 days
By the end of 60 days, or sometime even before, you will experience special magnetic vibrations entering your eyes and spreading all over the body. Keep on practicing and see the difference.

Improve your attention and concentration

2010-02-17T03:20:00.001-08:00

This is a complimentary extract from the State Chapter of the Memletics Accelerated Learning Manual. Attentiveness is one part of sixteen parts of Memletic State - the best state for learning.

Attention and concentration are fundamental to learning and memorizing. If you don't pay attention when you see a new fact, it's unlikely it even makes it into your memory. If it isn't in there, you don't have much chance of recalling it.

Nearly all the other good state principles influence your attention and concentration. For example, a distracting environment affects your concentration. Not eating well or failing to follow natural body rhythms also negatively impacts concentration. You may also find it hard to concentrate if you don't believe the material you are studying contributes to your overall goals.

If you find your concentration wandering or staying attentive is difficult, scan through the state layers and see if there is an obvious problem somewhere.

You may also want to try some specific concentration techniques during study, or try some longer-term exercises to improve your overall concentration. Let's look at these two in more detail.

Concentration techniques during study

Some specific techniques can help you stay focused on your material. These include:

"Be here now." Every time you find yourself distracted, say "Be Here Now." Say it aloud if possible, otherwise just repeat it in your mind. Then bring your attention back to your task. In the beginning, you may find that you do this a lot. Over time, you gain more focus and your mind stays where you want it.
The spider approach. If you hold a vibrating tuning fork next to a spider web, the spider usually comes to see what's happening, thinking it may be an insect. Do it a few times and the spider eventually chooses to ignore the distraction. You too can train yourself to ignore distractions. The sensations from your ears and eyes are simply sensations you can choose whether to react to or not.
Paragraph marking. If you are reading a book or article, tick each paragraph as you read it. Use a pencil in case you want to re-read parts of it later.
Keep a distraction log. Every time you find yourself distracted, draw a tick or write the current time on a separate piece of paper. This is your distraction log. Initially the number of distractions may surprise you. By highlighting your distractions, you can begin to control and reduce them.
Write down distractions. If something important comes up as a distraction, simply write it down so you can deal with it later. Better yet, set a distraction time. Agree with yourself to take a break and deal with those distractions at that time.
Switch topics. Rather than spending a long time on one particular topic, switch between various unrelated topics if possible. The brain loves variety and rewards you with better concentration.
Make it interactive. If studying with others, plan some time to get together and discuss the material you are learning. Even if you are not at the same stage in the course, simply agree to spend ten minutes listening to one another talk about their current study topic.

Longer-term improvement of concentration

The previous techniques are good for keeping up concentration while you study. Some longer-term techniques can improve your overall concentration as well. These include:

Games. The old card game of "Concentration" is still effective in improving concentration. If you have not come across it, the basic idea is to lay down a set of playing cards in a grid, all face-down. You then turn over a pair of cards. If they match number and color (if using playing cards), then you take them out of the grid. If they don't match, you place them back face down and pick another pair. Better concentration, through practice, results in a shorter time to clear the grid. You can also play with a friend for competition. The one with the most pairs at the end of the game wins!
Many expensive software packages claiming to improve concentration still use this principle in many guises, often with pictures instead of playing cards. There are also free computer games, based on Concentration, available on the Internet. Using these and some notes in a spreadsheet to track progress can be just as effective as the more expensive packages.
Meditation. Meditation is an effective way of improving your concentration. See my comments in "Mental Relaxation" for more comments on meditation.
Other exercises. Many other exercises can help you increase your concentration. From simply staring at a fixed point or candle, to martial arts, these can all help improve your overall concentration.

Environment and concentration

When possible, choose a place for learning that is relatively free from external distractions. This helps attention and concentration. Let family, friends, or colleagues know that you are studying and would prefer no interruptions for a while. Use a do not disturb sign-but don't overuse it!

Be aware of unwanted noise in your environment, including noise from overhead lights or electrical equipment. Consider using light background music to mask this noise if you are unable to control it.

Also, be aware of visual distractions, even if they are only in your peripheral vision. For example, while in a library sit facing a wall in a secluded area, rather than near a passageway or door.

Even in the best-planned environment, you may still have interruptions. Train yourself to pause for a moment before responding to an interruption. During that pause make a note, mentally or on paper, of where you are. It's then easier to regain your concentration when you return. How do you train yourself? An idea is to ask someone to help you. Role-play the interruption and your action!

How to increase concentration

2010-02-17T03:19:00.001-08:00

How To Increase Concentration.!!

The issue of lack of concentration is not limited to young children only. Many adults complain about it and look for advice on how to increase concentration. During coaching sessions, I have come across many such requests and here are some tips that I found to be most effective.

MAKE A TIME PLAN - Set up a schedule for the jobs to be done. The key is to balance, to allocate time appropriately to serious, difficult tasks like study, as well as to recreation... and stick to it. Avoid keeping very similar tasks together, so that your schedule has in-built variety to avoid boredom.

IDENTIFY YOUR PEAK TIMES - We all have our times of peak alertness in 24-hours cycle. However, it is not the same for all. Find out yours and use it for more difficult or less interesting tasks.

GO SLOW; BUILD UP OVER TIME - Start with sticking to your study / project for 10 to 15 minutes to start with. Build up slowly. While it is important to discipline yourself, more important is to put the time to effective use. So start small, but stick to it even if you are not able to concentrate easily.

TAKE BREAKS IN BETWEEN - On an average, the attention span for a serious task is no more than 20 minutes or so. Therefore, while studying for longer stretches, it is advisable to take a break for may be five minutes after 20-25 minutes and get back to the job.

MIND THE SURROUNDINGS - The location, direction, lighting - all make a difference to your attention span. You should be reasonably comfortable in a quiet place with proper lighting etc.

DO AWAY WITH DISTRACTIONS - While TV and radio are more obvious distractions and can easily be avoided, there are others like telephone calls, or friends and relatives dropping in to chat for a while. There are no general rules for them and you will have to devise your personal rules to take care of such issues.

MANAGE REQUIREMENTS - Make sure that you have pre-arranged all your requirements before you get set. This may include your study material, notes, pen, pencil, calculator, highlighter or whatever you might need during your study / task.

JOIN THE YOUNGER ONES - If you have young children, sit for your study along with them. It will motivate you to discipline yourself and concentrate.

PUT YOUR HEART WITH MIND - Applying your mind to the work is a prerequisite in any case; however adding curiosity and positive attitude makes the real difference. When you become inquisitive and start enjoying the study, assimilation and understanding is much faster, much better.

USE PENCIL EXTENSIVELY - Do underline frequently and use white space in the margins to make your own short notes. While writing adds to your pick-up, it helps tremendously during future references.

EXERCISE YOUR MENTAL FACULTIES - Games such as crossword puzzles, sudoku and word jumbles are good relaxation tools as well as help you improve memory and concentration. Keep some time for them.

MEDITATE - Meditation is a wonderful tool to keep your mind calm and relaxed, thus improving your concentration and memory. There are hundreds of meditation techniques. It is advisable to learn and practice one or two from an expert instead of experimenting with many and get confused.

LIVE A BALANCED LIFE - Nutritious eating habits and regular sleeping hours help you to lead a healthy life with better memory and concentration.
And, here is a destructive one!

TEAR IT APART - You have a nicely bound new book; but the size is so dreadful that you hardly touch it; so it remains new for years together. Total wastage! Remove its binding, convert it into small manageable pieces, may be 5, 10 or 15 pages. Pick up one at a time and handle it with a smile. At the end of it, even though short of a showpiece in your book shelf; you will be happy about this loss, I am sure!

Improving Your Concentration: Three Key Steps

2010-02-17T03:17:00.000-08:00

Concentration is your ability to work without letting
people, feelings or activities get in the way. There are
three steps to developing your concentration abilities:
• Establishing concentration
• Increasing concentration
• Developing the concentration habit
This fact sheet provides tips on how to
develop each of these abilities.

ESTABLISHING CONCENTRATION
Be aware of external distractions and
separate yourself from them. For example,
give yourself permission to let your answering
machine pick up calls and not to check your
email while you’re working on a task. Or, ask
your family for an hour of uninterrupted
quiet time.
Try to recognize these distractions and take care of them. Internal
distractions such as thoughts, emotions, physical feelings, hunger
and tiredness can interrupt your ability to focus. Do something
about the things that are bothering you before you start the task at
hand. For instance, if you know that you are hungry, eat before you
start a task.
Stop distracting thoughts that pop into your mind as soon as you
are aware of them. You can do this by “noticing” the thought, and
then consciously bringing your attention back to the task at hand.
Keep a reminder pad handy. If something that you have to do pops
into your head, jot it down to get it off your mind.

INCREASING CONCENTRATION
Plan to concentrate. How interested are you in what you are doing?
If the answer is “not much,” then try to come up with reasons for
developing an interest. Will the project give you a chance to learn a
new skill? Or might finishing it give you a sense of accomplishment?

Use a pencil or highlighter. Taking notes or highlighting
key points are ways to keep yourself actively involved in
a task such as reading.
Divide tasks into manageable parts. You will feel a sense
of accomplishment more often, which can help you stay
motivated and on task longer.
Plan breaks according to your concentration span. You
are not a machine. Taking a walk or a lunch break will
help clear your head.
If you find yourself losing focus, stand up. The physical
act of standing up brings your attention to the fact that you’re losing focus. It lets you
stop the process and bring your thinking back to the task at hand.
Vary your activities. Change is often as good as a taking a break.
DEVELOPING THE CONCENTRATION HABIT
Like any other skill, concentration must be learned, practiced and developed. Here are some
questions to help you get in a regular pattern of concentrating.
How long is your concentration span? Find out by recording your start time for a task
like reading, and as soon as your mind begins to drift, record this time. Try this several
times until you can gauge your average concentration span.
When is your concentration level at its best? Find a consistent time during the day when
you know that you won’t be interrupted and that your energy level meets the demands
of the particular task. Then, try to use that time slot each day to work on that task.
What are the conditions that best allow you to concentrate? Allow yourself to be
removed from distractions for set periods of time to try and accomplish work. A clearedoff
desk, good lighting, some light music in the background – figure out what works for
you. Make the atmosphere as inviting as possible for you to concentrate better.

Improving Concentration and Focus

2010-02-17T03:15:00.000-08:00

The ability to concentrate is key to an athlete striving to reach peak performance. If two athletes have equal skill and ability, it is almost certain that the one who is able to best focus on the task at hand will be the one who prevails. Concentration means focusing attention on what you are doing regardless of external, and sometimes internal, distractions. Athletes who are skilled at concentrating have the ability to focus intensely on some things while blocking other things out.

Both external and internal distractions are an inevitable part of being an athlete. Examples of external distractions might be bad line calls, disrespectful opponents, bad weather, or loud crowds. Examples of internal distractions might be negative thoughts and chatter, dwelling on a mistake, or over thinking strategy.

The best athletes learn how to control their thoughts and focus their attention. They are able to concentrate on the present. There are several ways that athletes can learn to focus and concentrate:

Practice. If an athlete tends to lose focus when he is fatigued, he should arrange his practices so that he is fatigued. Then he must practice concentrating while being fatigued. If an athlete does not like being watched, he should practice while people watch. Most of all, athletes should approach practice as if it were the real thing. The game face should not be reserved for game day only. Every time an athlete goes out onto the court, field, or ice she should go out there focused and ready to perform.
Use pre-performance routines. These can be very subtle or extremely elaborate. Routines help increase concentration and focus because they help block out both internal and external distractions. The consistency a routine provides also helps the athlete perform consistently.
Relax. It is almost impossible to focus and concentrate if you are not relaxed. Stressed athletes have a hard time controlling their thoughts, which is imperative to concentration. Relaxation techniques will differ depending upon the athlete, but some ways of relaxing before a match or game include meditation, listening to music, or the above-mentioned pre-game rituals.
Use visualization and imagery. Athletes who use visualization and imagery feel more in control of their situations, and are therefore able to concentrate and focus. Imagine that you are in a distracting situation, then visualize yourself acting in a way that leads to a positive outcome. When faced with the situation it will feel familiar and you will be more confident that you can deal with it. This will help the athlete focus on the task at hand instead of being distracted by possible bad outcomes.
Use cues and triggers. These are effective tools in improving the ability to concentrate. Cues that are task-related help the athlete focus on exactly what they are doing and keep them in the present. For example, a tennis player having trouble with her forehand might use the cue "follow through" to get back on track.

Improving Concentration for Class 1

2010-02-17T03:03:00.000-08:00

Improve Concentration For Class 1 - Seriously Can’t Focus?
Uploaded by faststudyskills. - Discover more college videos.

3 Natural Ways to Improve Memory and Concentration3 Natural Ways to Improve Memory and Concentration

2010-02-17T02:55:00.000-08:00

In today's busy world, more and more people are finding themselves having difficulty in concentrating and remembering all the things that they need to. We are in an age where we have more numbers to remember than ever before yet we are having more problems with memory than any other time in history. improve memory and concentration

A large part of the issue is that we are trying so hard to cram 25 hours worth of activities into the 24 hours we are allotted each day and we neglect to take care of ourselves properly. Exercise and nutrition are still the most crucial tools in keeping our memory sharp and our concentration levels high.

Studies have shown that those who exercise daily have longer memory spans than those who do not exercise daily. Any exercise is good for you but certain exercise techniques have even higher benefits for memory and concentration.

One of the best methods of exercise for both physical and mental benefits is the practice of yoga. The various techniques used in yoga not only improve muscle tone and flexibility but they also have been proven to stimulate the brain and nervous system in ways that can improve memory and concentration.

Some of the best yoga techniques for improving memory and concentration are the asana, pranayama, dharana and meditation. Asana includes using a gazing point (drishti) while performing balancing postures, spine lengthening exercises and inverted postures (like the headstand).

Using the drishti improvesconcentration while the exercises stimulate the nervous system. Pranayama focuses on breathing exercises. These not only help with concentration but also help more oxygen reach the brain.yoga improves memory and concentration

Dharana techniques are specifically for the mind. These work on focusing concentration and attention rather than letting the mind wander. This kind of focused attention is a form of mind training as it becomes easier to concentrate and remember the more you practice.

Meditation takes dharana even further as it calls for intense mental focus and concentration. During meditation you empty your mind completely of all extraneous thoughts, basically giving your mind some much needed rest.

Nutrition is very important to brain function, hence also to memory and concentration abilities. Poor diets will result in a lack of the proper nutrients to feed your body and your brain. This lack will show itself in your mental state before it does in your physical health.

Research has shown multiple benefits for cognitive function from getting the proper amounts of certain nutrients. High fiber diets has been instrumental in the slowing of age-related memory loss as has diets rich in antioxidants. Antioxidants are found particularly in fruits and vegetables and have been shown to offer protection from free radicals and other toxins in the blood.

Certain herbal supplements have been shown to have a positive affect on memory and concentration. One, ginkgo biloba, has been extensively studied and found that it actually increases blood flow in the brain. Not only does it improve memory and concentration through better blood flow, ginkgo biloba has also been shown to be a good source of antioxidants.

These three natural methods to improve memory and concentration also improve your physical health and reduce depression. Yoga, a good diet and a daily supplement of ginkgo biloba are three easy ways to improve brain function.

Yoga to improve Concentration Video

2010-02-17T02:54:00.000-08:00

Do Wai Lana Yoga to Improve Your Concentration and Buttocks! - The best home videos are here

Yoga to improve Concentration Video

2010-02-17T02:51:00.000-08:00

Yoga to improve concentration video

How to Stay Focused and Improve Your Memory How to Stay Focused and Improve Your Memory

2010-02-17T02:50:00.000-08:00

Stress, too much coffee or energy drinks, boredom, and even lack of exercise can cause poor memory and lack of concentration. Even if you are absorbed in a project, external disturbances can interrupt your train of thought. You may try to get back to your task, but find that the intrusion threw you off balance, making it difficult to concentrate.

Relaxation and Stress Reduction

Staying focused is often difficult when under a great deal of stress. Learning to improve your concentration and memory may be as easy as getting into the habit of bringing your mind back to your current project instead of allowing it to wander. Techniques like meditation or yoga can help quiet a restless mind, and improve memory and concentration. Relaxing can be as simple as sitting quietly for a few moments each day or listening to soothing music while letting your thoughts flow wherever they wish. This may sound counter-productive since you’d like to improve memory and concentration, but this method can work since you’re giving your mind permission to drift and daydream for awhile. Taking time out to de-stress may be all it takes to help you concentrate better.

Exercise and Deep Breathing

A quick and easy way to calm a racing mind and improve concentration is to practice deep breathing exercises. Whenever you feel unfocused, stop whatever you’re doing, close your eyes, inhale deeply through your nose for a count of five, hold for a count of five, then release your breath slowly through your mouth as you count to ten. (Imagine blowing on a spoonful of hot soup as you blow out.) Repeat this exercise three to ten times until you feel more relaxed and focused. Also, exercising for just 20 minutes a day, whether a walk around the block or time spent on a bike or treadmill, releases endorphins—chemicals in the brain that can boost your mood and clear your mind.

Caffeine and Anxiety

Drinking too many caffeine-laden coffee or energy drinks may be the reason behind poor concentration in some people. If you reach for a double shot of espresso every time your energy wanes, your mind will soon protest by refusing to focus. Caffeine has many side effects such as causing fuzzy thinking, anxiety, adrenal exhaustion, and even fatigue once the coffee or energy drink wears off. Try to limit yourself to two cups of coffee per day. Better yet, replace caffeine drinks with herbal teas or water.

Yoga for memory

2010-02-17T02:49:00.000-08:00

Memories are not just important for our daily lives, but they are what define us and make us who we are. Without memories we would be nothing and would have nothing to look forward to or reminiscence over. Memory is the ability to retain information about things from the past, and our plans for the future. It’s therefore important that we know how memories work, and how the process changes and is affected over time. Deterioration and weakened memory is a problem as we age, but the process can be delayed or accelerated by the lifestyles we lead. Temporary memory losses may also occur as result of injuries or ailments, most of which are treatable. As memory loss and deterioration is a natural part of the aging process it is important that we prepare for this eventuality and look for ways to strengthen and enhance our memory. Yoga and memory strengthening are almost synonymous as it is one of the most effective disciplines for improving mental health and the cognitive abilities.

Yoga for memory is not a new concept but is in fact almost as old as civilization. This ancient discipline offers a wealth of health benefits not just limited to the physical. Many of the health benefits that it offers are inter-related just as the functioning of our various organs is inter dependent. A physically healthy individual is less likely to be mentally disturbed as compared to an unhealthy individual. Yoga in itself though is a great mind strengthener. It is an extremely relaxing discipline that trains the mind, restores peace and improves attention, concentration, and memory as well.

Meditation and yoga are two words that are very often used interchangeably and for good reason. No other health regimen gives so much importance to meditation. Yoga is a wholesome discipline that focuses on bodily, emotional and spiritual health equally. It also recognizes the importance of balance and harmony between the three and strives to achieve this balance through the practice of physical poses, breath techniques and meditation. One of the reasons why yoga practitioners are less susceptible to degenerative diseases that cause memory loss is because of the improved circulation within our bodies. In addition to this yoga also stimulates and enhances the functioning of the various internal organs, boosting your overall health.

While you can use yoga to improve memory, yoga alone will not suffice if you lead an unhealthy lifestyle. A fast paced and unhealthy lifestyle with smoking or drug abuse severely damages brain cells and its ability to retain memories. In addition just as with any other organ or muscle group, memories will start to deteriorate with age if not used. This means that you also need to keep your mind stimulated and active.

Yoga for concentration

2010-02-17T02:48:00.000-08:00

Memory and concentration are critical to our lives. They are actually essential, and not just important to our lives, as without them can not get through a normal day. Our memories are basically retained information that has been gathered from the past, and this body of knowledge helps us to gauge situations. Concentration is so vital an aspect of yoga because of the three sided focus of the yoga. Yoga being a holistic discipline it strives towards, physical, mental or emotional and spiritual enlightenment.

Most of us are plagued with stress and various worries and pressures because of the fast paced and highly competitive lives we lead. As a result of this we are never completely relaxed and therefore we can not function to our fullest potential. The effects of stress are particularly inhibiting on our powers of concentration, with a weakened attention span and poor focus being the common fallouts. For this reason yoga and concentration are so relevant today.

Concentration is essential for any degree of advancement or growth in a yoga practice. Yoga as you must be aware, comprises of sets of asanas or poses, and pranayam, or breath techniques. Concentration is not only essential for the practice of meditation, but is also cultivated and developed through the process. Meditation is in fact one of the most fundamental concepts of yoga, and no yoga session or learning exercise can be complete without it. Through your regular practice of yoga you will find the various techniques of yoga to improve concentration.

There are also various asanas or poses that are used as concentration techniques. Improving concentration through the use of yoga is not a new concept and this has been in fact done for quite a while now. Quite logically poses like the Lotus Pose or Easy Pose, which are suited for meditation, are also ideal for concentration. Yoga for concentration purposes would therefore not differ much from a yoga routine for meditation.

Yoga is so effective for concentration for a variety of reasons. The fact that it is a holistic discipline that enhances every aspect of your health, whether physical, mental or spiritual is encouraging. A healthy individual is much more alert and attentive than someone who is unhealthy. The various yoga poses also promote relaxation and are therefore extremely effective as a stress relief mechanism. Practice of the various asanas or poses also improves blood flow and circulation to the various parts of the body, including the brain. This again enhances the functioning of the brain and helps to improve concentration.

How To Improve Your Child's Concentration

2010-02-17T02:44:00.001-08:00

Lack of concentration these days looms large as a hindrance in the performance of most of the children today. Not only are the studies adversely affected, but also a great amount of time is wasted just in an attempt to concentrate on the subject.

You can keep some things in mind while your child is studying to help him concentrate better.

See to it that he has all the things that he needs while studying before he starts to keep him away from getting distracted again and again.

Set a target to achieve within a particular time frame and keep inquiring where has he reached.

If it is a dull topic, then add interesting facts from your side and ask questions.

Make it an interesting session by changing the method from monotonous mugging to games like quizzes on the topic or rapid fire rounds.

Also see to it that he is neither hungry nor sleepy while studying.

Give him the value of ownership of the work. Let him feel that he is studying for himself and not performing any duty or chore for his parents.

Also tell him not to study just with the purpose of avoiding shame or humiliation if not done well. Ask him to study for his own benefit.

You can also team him up with a better performer in class. Ask your child to pick up good studying habits and methods from such a student and set goals to slowly reach his level and then beat him. Healthy competition is an excellent motivator.

Tell him the story of the spider which kept climbing the wall each time it fell till he conquered it. It would motivate him not to get discouraged if initially he is not succeeding and to keep trying.

Patience should be the key factor.

Invest your confidence in him. Even if he is not succeeding, keep telling him that you have absolute faith in his abilities and he will do well if he tries.

Do not ever humiliate or put down your child. It will be a great loss on his self esteem.

Inculcate positive thinking in your child. Help him to think better about himself.

The best motivator is recognition. Do not miss to praise him even for a single time when your child does well.

Also teach him to applaud for himself. This would do wonders for his self esteem and would motivate him to do better.

Make him learn relaxation and meditation. If his mind gets too crowded, ask him to take a mental break. Tell him to stop thinking about everything and meditate. If not that then he could simply think of a calmer scene and relax his mind.

If sincere and honest attempts are made on both your sides then it would not be difficult for your child to master concentration and soon become an excellent performer.

Improving Concentration

2010-02-17T02:42:00.001-08:00

Good concentration is essential for efficient study. How you use your time when studying is as important as how much time you spend. Here are some strategies to help you improve your concentration and get the most out of your study time.

Increase concentration with active study strategies

Set time limits when you study. Divide big assignments or tasks into smaller units and set time goals for each. q Plan breaks. Find out your optimal period of concentration and don't exceed it. Most people need a break after 45-55 minutes of study reading or after 2 hours of doing problems. But if your concentration span is not that long, plan to work within your comfort limits.
Keep active mentally. Carry on an inner conversation with yourself or, better still, talk out loud! Summarize the main points in a section of the textbook that you just read, summarize the steps in the problem you just solved, test yourself on the notes that you just reviewed, etc.
Be active physically. Use body movements to increase your concentration. Move your finger or pencil down the margin as you read, draw diagrams or sketches of key ideas in the margin or on a pad, walk around as you rehearse ideas, wave your arms to emphasize important points.
Vary your study activity and subject focus. Read for a while, then go over some notes, and then brainstorm some ideas for a paper or assignment. When you feel your concentration is beginning to lag, take a break and then switch to another subject. Concentration is highest at the beginning of every new activity.
Monitor your concentration. Record a checkmark every time you find your mind wandering. This will give you a way to check whether your attention span is improving.
Set up a way to test what you have learned at the end of each study session. Try to summarize main ideas or do problems without looking at your notes. Make yourself accountable for learning and remembering.

Improve concentration by increasing commitment.

Plan to concentrate. Set a specific goal to get a certain amount of work done within a specific time.
Get interested in what you are studying. Concentrating is much easier when you genuinely want to know something. Increase your interest and motivation by previewing before you read, relating information to your own experience, making up your own examples, asking questions and looking for answers.
Find a study partner or join a study group. Sharing ideas about the course will help you learn the material and at the same time motivate you to keep up with your work. You can also divide up heavy workloads so that each person does a part (solves several problems or reads several articles) and then teaches the others what he/she learned.

Eliminate external distractions

Avoid external distractions by selecting a place to study where you will not be interrupted, where you are relatively free of distractions around you, and where the level of background noise enables you to work.
Ignore distracting sights and sounds. Refuse to look up or give them any attention.
Arrange uninterrupted time. Notify family or friends of the times that you will be free to devote to them and the times when you do not wish to be disturbed from your study.

Eliminate internal distractions

Eat, sleep and exercise adequately.
Deal with nagging worries. If you can solve the problem by taking a few minutes away from your studying, do it and then come back. If the problem cannot be dealt with easily and immediately, jot down the essence of the problem, even possible solutions, and set a time later on when you plan to deal with it, physically or mentally.
Keep a notepad nearby. If you suddenly think of something important that is unrelated to your study, make a note of it, then put it out of your mind and come back to it later.

How To Increase Concentration Power Through Yoga Practice

2010-02-17T02:39:00.000-08:00

Trataka Dhyana Or Meditation Improve Concentration As Well As Vision

increase your concentration power you can safely practice Dhyana or meditation and pranayama or the breathing exercises. To get the best results you should ideally wake up early in the morning when the environment is fresh and peaceful. Then play some good music that is specially created for meditation or if you can go to a park or practice Dhyana or meditation by the sea. You can also practice the Trataka Dhyana or meditation that involves steady gazing at a candle flame. This is a very powerful form of meditation that helps to improve your concentration as well as your vision. Next you can move on to the pranayama or the different breathing exercises such as:

* Bhastrika or the Bellows – In this you take deep breaths and then breathe out fully. This is ideally done for 4 to 5 minutes and is beneficial for boosting the functions of your brain, heart related problems, migraine, depression and neural system.

* Anulom Vilom or Alternate Nostril Breathing – As the name suggests it involves breathing alternatively through each nostril deeply into your lungs and not your stomach. You breathe in through your left nostril while you cover your right nostril with the thumb of your right hand. Then cover your left nostril with the middle and ring fingers and breathe out through your right nostril. Breathe in through your right nostril, cover it with your thumb and then breathe out through your left nostril. Repeat this for 5 to 10 minutes. This is beneficial for improving the functions of your brain and also keeping it healthy.

* Kapalbhati or the Breath of Fire – Kapal translates to the skull and bhati means shine, thus Kapalbhati is an exercise that gives a shine to your face and is considered extremely beneficial for the brain and neurological system. It concentrates more on breathing out forcefully then breathing in. You empty your lungs completely every time you breathe out and your stomach muscles contract when you do this. This is to be done for around 5 to 10 minutes and is beneficial for improving concentration, treating obesity, constipation, acidity, gastric problems, snoring, asthma, diabetes, etc.

* Bahya Pranayama or Retaining the Air Outside the Body - It involves staying without breathing for a few moments.

* Udgeeth or the Chanting of Om – You breathe in deeply and then chant Om for as long as you can in the same breath. This is to be done for 10 to 15 minutes. It is considered excellent for improving concentration and boosting your memory.

How to Improve Concentration in Kids

2010-02-17T02:23:00.000-08:00

Does your child have trouble concentrating on his home work? Do you find your child with a dreamy expression on his face when he is supposed to be studying? Children are beginning to explore the world around them. They are learning to think and analyze the cause and effect. Things that may seem mundane to the adult eye are new and wonderful for children. Therefore, they tend to be distracted by the things and happenings around them. However, there are many things you can do to help your child to attain a better concentration levels.

• Set a routine. Set aside a specific time for waking up, having breakfast, and going to school, playtime, study time and dinner. Once your child establishes a routine, he will find it easier to concentrate on his work because he knows that this is the time you have allotted for work and nothing else.

• Make sure that the room in which your child sits down to study and do his homework, is one where there is no distraction. Let him read aloud if he feels it will help him from becoming distracted.

• Don’t let younger siblings, especially infants play near the room where your school going child studies. Their cries and infant babble may be a big distraction for your child.

• Look up the topic which your child is working on and capture his interest by sharing interesting and informative facts with him.

• Make dull topics interesting by playing quizzes and memory games.

• If your child feels sleepy or hungry, he may not be able to concentrate well so make sure he is not hungry or tired.

• Sometimes children tend to lose interest in a particular subject when they fail at it. Encourage your child to persevere. For this, you must show him that you have full confidence in his abilities and that you will help him in any way you can.

• If your child needs extra help, offer to help him out or arrange for tuition. Once he begins to understand and master the subject, he will begin to concentrate on his work.

• It is a good idea to let your child study along with his peers who are good academic performers. By doing this, your child can pick up tips and ideas from his friends.

• Be patient when you deal with your child. Yelling at him or scolding him when your find him distracted will only serve to make him frustrated.

• Let your child take short breaks while studying. This will help your child to refresh his mind and memory. Let him take a 10 minute break after 1 or 2 hours of studying.

There are several activities which can help to improve your child’s concentration. Here are a few:

• Board games and card games demand concentration, and engaging in them will improve your child’s concentration levels.

• Read a story to your child and ask him questions related to it. This will help sharpen his memory too.

• Ask your child about his day. This way, he will make an attempt to recall the events and actions of his day and this in turn will help improve his memory and concentration.

• Count numbers or their multiples and skip one or two in between. Ask your child to find the missing number.

• Strange as it sounds, tongue twisters also help improve concentration. Your child has to listen with great attention to decipher the tongue twister you say. This will teach him to concentrate.

Lack of concentration is not a problem that is impossible to solve. These few tips should help you assist your child to overcome the problem of low concentration levels and sharpen his memory and learning skills.

Mind Power Techniques - Tips For Improving Mental Focus To Achieve Goals

2010-02-16T09:31:00.001-08:00

Are you stuck in the warm bath of familiarity? I'm sure you know what I mean? Most people go around expecting bad things to happen. And you know what happens? They continue to have all sorts of bad stuff show up. They struggle financially, they hate their job, they're unhappy with their spouse, their kids drive them crazy and they spend much of their time complaining about all the unhappy, undesirable conditions of their life. Well, the truth is, it's not your fault but it is your responsibility; and there is a way to change it!

"What we ponder and what we think about sets the course of our life. Any day we wish; we can discipline ourselves to change it all. Any day we wish, we can open the book that will open our mind to new knowledge. Any day we wish, we can start a new activity. Any day we wish, we can start the process of life change. We can do it immediately, or next week, or next month or next year.

"We can also do nothing. We can pretend rather than perform. And if the idea of having to change ourselves makes us uncomfortable, we can remain as we are. The choices are ours to make. But while we curse the effect, we continue to nourish the cause. As Shakespeare uniquely observed, "The fault is not in the stars, but in ourselves."

mind power techniquesWe created our circumstances by our past choices. We have both the ability and the responsibility to make better choices beginning today." With the discovery of proven scientific principles there are now many tools and much how-to information available for ordinary people to deliberately create their everyday worlds.

Of course we all want to achieve specific goals and want to enjoy tremendous success. But unless we combine the right information in the right order with the strategies and techniques specific to our circumstances and desired outcome, our dreams will remain nothing more than a dream. Part of accomplishing the task of gaining access and control of the mechanisms responsible for our results is to retrain your brain for the success you want to experience in any area of your life.

The average person loses focus every 6 to 10 seconds? But that's your conscious mind. Guess how often the non-conscious brain loses focus? Never. Not once. Not ever. If you could aim that power straight at your goals what do you think might happen?

Within this non-conscious realm are the internal processes that drive the behaviors resulting in how we think, act, and experience our lives. Not only is this realm vital to our overall success and ability to sustain the discipline required to change what we don't like about our lives, but it is a great place to objectively access what's going on inside the subconscious software producing our external results. It's real, tangible, powerful and predictable.

Now you can stumble onto an idea like visualizing and use it. And it will improve your ability to attract what you want into your life. But when you know how and why it works, that's when you turn up the volume. That's when the effectiveness of your efforts is multiplied many fold. That's when your hopes and dreams become a predictable reality.

However, in order to effectively manage these elements and produce consistent, predictable and desirable outcomes, you must understand the "Secret" that governs the underlying operation of this system. This secret is about how to align yourself with the principles that cause this fundamental mechanism to produce the life you really want to experience.

mind power techniquesOf course, the simplicity of this concept poses a major threat to the conscious portion of the human psyche. It is designed to function a little differently than the unconscious and serves a unique purpose in our daily attempts to interface with the rest of our waking world. But it also presents a major obstacle for our attempts to change.

While the conscious mind plays a vital role in making the automatic interactions with day-to-day life a little easier, it can also present major obstacles to intentional change. The conscious mind seeks answers to why, but is linear thinking. It thinks in terms of cause-effect.

It is also in charge of your intellectual thinking, can voluntarily move parts of your body
, and is responsible for your self-talk. Your conscious mind uses the intellect to come up with logical solutions for problems that you encounter every day.

However, good as this is, it isn't enough - especially if there's some area of your life that you're less than happy with and want to change. Why? Because your conscious mind has limited focus and is specifically designed to keep things just the way they are and maintain the status quo.

But, the good news is that there is another aspect of the mind which is more than receptive to new experiences, but requires specific instructions in order to act on the information we provide to it and initiate the changes. Your unconscious mind can access internal and external resources, linking them all together - creating a resourceful state.

There's a boatload of science and "technical speak" to explain how all this works, but the bottom line is this; the science of successful change is first about identifying what you really, really want and systematically developing new patterns of behavior that will then become your new operating system for achieving, accomplishing, and experiencing what you want.

In the process you will be altering any behavior, limiting belief, habit, or attitude that may have been an obstacle for changing less than desirable experiences in the past. You'll then begin to uncover the hidden processes, relationships and operating systems that have kept you from a rewarding and fulfilling life. As a result you'll acquire the skills and techniques for changing them.

Creating the specific thoughts associated with your intended outcome and maintaining sustained focus on that outcome until it becomes a part of your physical reality is the simple technique behind the science of change. Since this mechanism is fundamental to causing what you are experiencing now, it only serves to reason that by altering the input you can change the outcome.

When you start examining the limiting beliefs and attitudes that are keeping you stuck where you are, the barriers begin to crumble. When you break through to a new level of understanding the outer limits of your potential expand to encompass a whole new realm of possibilities and capabilities in every area of your life.

mind power techniquesRecognizing how fears and negative beliefs can keep us chained within the narrow circumference of our comfort zones to maintain the status quo of experiences we create with our thoughts, words, actions, and beliefs is a by-product of the effort in change. True liberation is created when you break free and step into an expanded vision of yourself and what you're capable of.

There is actually a three step progression governing the nine quantifiable steps in the process of creation. When you take these steps they bring on a very specific "state" in your brain. When you're in this state, two very important things happen.

First, your brain can begin to create new neurological networks to pave the way for new information and experiences. The second thing is, when you're in this state your subconscious mind becomes most accessible and is much more receptive to new ideas and possibilities.

This is how you can bring about rapid changes. You can easily erase the old negative beliefs that are holding you back from what you want and replace them with new, empowering ones. But, this is just the tip of the iceberg as to what's ahead.

During the weeks and months that follow you will literally be able to totally change the beliefs held in your subconscious mind and finally break-free using a unique process that will harness the power of your non-conscious and break the "auto-pilot" of the old habits that keep you sabotaging your own success. These are the exact steps, in the correct order that will imprint the habits of your own desired success on your brain- making it inevitable, unstoppable!

One of the most powerful tools for effortlessly activating this process in your own personal reality is meditation. Meditation calms the mind and offers a number of health benefits even before enlightenment. Regular mediation will help reduce stress and anxiety. It will also lower your blood pressure and it will decrease your risk of a heart attack. It can improve concentration, clarity of thought, and release your creative side.

With some practice, mediation with yoga will increase the matter of the brain's cortex, and it will help with cognitive, emotional, and processing sensory data in the brain. Meditation may also slow natural shrinkage of the frontal cortex due to aging.

Meditation is very simple but not necessarily easy. Clearing the mind of extraneous thought can be difficult and all thought even more so. Learning how to meditate will take some time and practice, but it's well worth the effort. For more information about meditation techniques and their benefits please refer to my article entitled, "The power of meditation".