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Fox news phoenix did a piece on Kundalini yoga, “The Mother of All Yogas.” They actually did a decent job on it.

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This is really interesting. The lovely and talented Jamila just forwarded this to me so I got it off an email. It’s all about how good bananas are for you. I find it HIGHLY interesting that Yogi Bhajan has said that the banana is the perfect food and the only thing it lacks is citrus (vitamin C and all the goodies that come with an orange.) Read on and see all the amazing properties of the banana.

Yogi Bhajan even described a banana fast, which is very difficult but very cleansing.
This is very interesting:

A professor at CCNY for a physiological psych class told his class about bananas. He said the expression ‘going bananas’ is from the effects of bananas on the brain. Read on:

Never, put your banana in the refrigerator!!!
This is interesting.

After reading this, you’ll never look at a banana in the same way again.

Bananas contain three natural sugars - sucrose, fructose and glucose combined with fiber. A banana gives an instant, sustained and substantial boost of energy.

Research has proven that just two bananas provide enough energy for a strenuous 90-minute workout. No wonder the banana is the number one fruit with the world’s leading athletes.

But energy isn’t the only way a banana can help us keep fit. It can also help overcome or prevent a substantial number of
illnesses and conditions, making it a must to add to our daily diet.

Depression: According to a recent survey undertaken by MIND amongst people suffering from depression, many felt much better after eating a banana. This is because bananas contain tryptophan, a type of protein that the body converts into serotonin, known to make you relax, improve your mood and generally make you feel happier.

PMS: Forget the pills - eat a banana. The vitamin B6 it contains regulates blood glucose levels, which can affect your mood.

Anemia: High in iron, bananas can stimulate the production of hemoglobin in the blood and so helps in
cases of anemia.

Blood Pressure: This unique tropical fruit is extremely high in potassium yet low in salt, making it perfect to beat blood pressure. So much so, the US Food and Drug Administration has just allowed the banana industry to make official claims for the fruit’s ability to reduce the risk of blood pressure and stroke.

Brain Power: 200 students at aTwickenham (Middlesex) school ( England ) were helped through their exams this
year by eating bananas at breakfast, break, and lunch in a bid to boost their brain power. Research has shown that the potassium-packed fruit can assist learning by making pupils more alert.

Constipation: High in fiber,
including bananas in the diet can help restore normal bowel action, helping to overcome the problem without resorting to laxatives.

Hangovers: One of the quickest ways of curing a hangover is to make a banana milkshake, sweetened with honey. The banana calms the stomach and, with the help of the honey, builds up depleted blood sugar levels, while the milk soothes and re-hydrates your system.

Heartburn: Bananas have a natural antacid effect in the body, so if you suffer from heartburn, try eating a banana for soothing relief.

Morning Sickness: Snacking on bananas between meals helps to keep blood sugar levels up and avoid morning
sickness.

Mosquito bites: Before reaching for the insect bite cream, try rubbing the affected area with the inside of a banana skin. Many people find it amazingly successful at reducing swelling and irritation.

Nerves: Bananas are high in B vitamins that help calm the nervous system.

Overweight and at work?
Studies at the Institute of Psychology in Austria found pressure at work leads to gorging on comfort food like chocolate and chips. Looking at 5,000 hospital patients, researchers found the most obese were more likely to be in high-pressure jobs. The report concluded that, to avoid panic-induced food cravings, we need to control our blood sugar levels by snacking on high
carbohydrate foods every two hours to keep levels steady.

Ulcers: The banana is used as the dietary food against intestinal disorders because of its soft texture and smoothness. It is the only raw fruit that can be eaten without distress in over-chronicler cases. It also neutralizes over-acidity and reduces irritation by coating the lining of the stomach.

Temperature control: Many other cultures see bananas as a ‘cooling’ fruit that can lower both the physical and emotional temperature of expectant mothers. In Thailand , for example, pregnant women eat bananas to ensure their baby is born with a cool temperature.

Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD): Bananas can help SAD sufferers because they contain the natural mood enhancer tryptophan.

Smoking &Tobacco Use: Bananas can also help people trying to give up smoking. The B6, B12 they contain, as well as the potassium and magnesium found in them, help the body recover from the effects of nicotine withdrawal.

Stress: Potassium is a vital mineral, which helps normalize the heartbeat, sends oxygen to the brain and regulates your body’s water balance. When we are stressed, our metabolic rate rises, thereby reducing our potassium levels. These can be rebalanced with the help of a high-potassium banana snack.

Strokes: According to research in The New England Journal of Medicine, eating bananas as part of a regular diet can cut the risk of death by strokes by as much as 40%!

Warts: Those keen on natural alternatives swear that if you want to kill off a wart, take a piece of banana skin and place it on the wart, with the yellow side out. Carefully hold the skin in place with a plaster or surgical tape!

So, a banana really is a natural remedy for many ills. When you compare it to an apple, it has four times the protein, twice the carbohydrate, three times the phosphorus, five times the vitamin A and iron, and twice the other vitamins and minerals. It is also rich in potassium and is one of the best value foods around So maybe its time to change that well-known phrase so that we say, ‘A banana a day keeps the doctor away!’

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My teacher Harijiwan often says, “At this level of incarnation, nothing is wasted.” What he means is that all your experiences up to this moment right now were given to you to serve you in a positive way, even if they didn’t feel that way on the way up.

This is yet another great philosophy from a great mind. What happens when you accept every moment of your life, good and bad, is that you can get on with things that matter.  Joseph Campbell says that “Regrets are illuminations come too late.” We all have moments when we see things clearly in hindsight that we couldn’t see when we were deep in the fray. To regret things just slows you down. Getting in the habit of acceptance frees you. Accepting that nothing in your life was wasted allows you to use all of your talents from all of your experiences to your advantage.

I used to look back on my life and wonder if I hadn’t made some big mistakes. I realize now that each experience served me… from being a West Point Cadet, to an Army Officer, to a Comedian and Actor, filmmaker, Post Production Coordinator, DVD mastering supervisor, Marketing Director to Kundalini Yoga Teacher. Every moment served me and nothing was wasted. My life experiences, by virtue of being quite varied, allow me to illustrate things to my students in ways that wouldn’t be possible had I not done the things I’ve done. The varied experiences allow me to put a real face on the teachings.

Moreover, my experiences afford me great success in the businesses I now engage in. As a marketing consultant for a real estate firm I have no fear of engaging clients or speaking to big groups-having been on stage and in front of a camera makes my business easier and more profitable. You get the point. Don’t bemoan your life experiences. Use them to profit and enrich your life so that you can be happy and healthy and then give some of it away.

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We just got back from Summer Solstice in New Mexico and as always it was spectacular. It was a quick trip this year as my girlfriend Jamila and I both had pretty tight schedules. We moved into the new loft on Spring Street in Downtown Los Angeles the day after driving about 14 hours coming straight home.

Besides the three days of White Tantric Yoga– which is always amazing, we each did a couple of workshops. Over dinner at Nyala the other night we took out our little notebooks (that Jamila makes with her company 11:11) and compared notes.

Here’s a summary of some things… they’re quite like Koans, some of them. Spiritual riddles to ponder.

From Guru Dev Singh’s Sat Nam Rasayan workshop:

Everything has the right to exist.
This is interesting because in a dual world we want to discern and classify with the ego– good vs. bad. If you can wrap your mind around the idea that everything in existence has a right to exist, then this might just lead you to the insight that all are one– coming and going from one source. In this way if you can say yes to both the good and the bad in your life, breathe a little deeper and keep focused on your life’s intention, you’ll get a little closer each day. Another aspect of this concept is acceptance which as we’ve mentioned before is the key to just about everything. Pain comes from wanting things to be other than they are in the moment. However when you accept everything exactly as it is in the moment, you’re free to go and do whatever you desire. You’re not caught up on the impossible mind block of wanting things to change that you can’t change. In this way, when you’ve come across something dark or negative in your life, just accept that it too has it’s right to exist, then it becomes a part of the oneness of your entire projection. This isn’t surrender, it’s acceptance and it frees you up to focus on your life’s intention.

Sat Nam Rasayan is healing with the Shuniya or Zero state:

This is a mouthful and it’s always going to be a stretch for those who don’t meditate. You have to have an experience of this state to know it. Other than that, it’s a perfect example of the unspeakable nature of these things. As Nanak has said, “talking about it is like eating nails.” That said, I learned that the healing technique of sat nam rasayan is a way of creating a state of shuniya or the meditative zero state where you intend to stop as much of the mind stuff as you can so that the ultimate source of you can come through. We know that every time we meditate, particularly on the breath, that our auric field expands. In this way, if you practice this meditative healing technique of Sat Nam Rasayan and build your ability to become neutral, you can create a very healing field for the person you’re working on. Now, going back to this business of everything has a right to exist– when you’re performing SNR, your mind and body will give you sensations and thoughts and the idea is that this is all a part of the technique. If you don’t resist it, but rather use it, then it becomes an asset and can give insight as to what the person needs. Essentially it is healing as an extension of yourself.

Now more than ever individually we need to improve ourselves and become our best. Each person who elevates themselves, elevates the collective consciousness. In these tumultuous and dark times, there’s no question that each individual must be their all.

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