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What is Yoga? Many students of Yoga will easily answer, "Yoga means union." "Union of what?" you may say. Whether you believe yoga is the union of mind, body, and spirit, or the union of your soul (jiva) with God, yoga is a life changing method, which has improved peoples lives for thousands of years.

When seeking a yoga teacher, people are confused about the qualifications. This is understandable, but some of the top qualifications a yoga teacher should have are tolerance, integrity, and compassion. These are not physical qualities, but would you choose to spend your time learning Yoga from someone who is an unethical brute?

Many of us have heard, or read, the Parable of the Good Samaritan. If you are unfamiliar with it, you can refer to Luke 10:25-37 from the New Testament. When the man asks Jesus how to obtain eternal life, Jesus tells the Parable of the Good Samaritan.

Basically, Jesus explains that it is essential for us to help those in need who are around us. It reminds me of the saying, Cant see the forest for the trees. The path toward God is filled with challenges. Even though we may have our eyes on God, people around us need help, and helping others is the path to eternal life.

The Parable of the Good Samaritan is scripture worth reading because people often forget who their neighbors are. While we are on this earth, we are all neighbors. Tolerance, integrity, and compassion are your guides toward union.

John 15:12 quotes Jesus as saying: This is my commandment to you, to love one another as I have loved you.

Paul Jerard, E-RYT 500, has written many books on the subject of Yoga. He is a co-owner and the Director of yoga teacher training at: Aura Wellness Center, in Attleboro, MA. http://www.riyoga.com He has been a certified Master Yoga Teacher since 1995. To receive a Free Yoga e-book: "Yoga in practice," and a Free Yoga Newsletter, please visit: http://www.yoga-teacher-training.org/index.html

Copyright 2007 Paul Jerard / Aura Publications

Structural Integration may not sound like a term that relates to the human body, possibly seeming like something on the minds of home builders or architects. But, Structural Integration is all about the human body and its evolution. Its about, but not limited to, health, wellness, balance, prevention and self-awareness. It educates people about the structure of their body and how that structure determines the function of their body. Structural Integration is a process of re-inhabiting and aligning ones being to maintain it in a manner that will minimize injury and promote mind-body integration.

What is it?
The Rolf Method of Structural Integration was developed by Dr. Ida P. Rolf after she made the discovery that restricted tissue often results in opposing muscles not being able to function independently or harmoniously. Much like a person chained to a steel ball will have a hard time walking, restricted muscles have limited movement, and limited abilities. When this occurs, the muscles, as well as the connective tissues, and the organs, dont work correctly.

Dr. Rolf discovered that she could organize the fibers of these muscles through manipulation of the connective tissue matrix called fascia. This organization aids the body physically, freeing up the habitual holding patterns so the muscles can work in a harmonious relationship with each other supporting freedom of movement throughout the skeletal system. Often people hold their stress in their tissues, leaving them to tense up and cause an internal road block of their natural system. Freeing up the unnecessary tension in the connective tissue matrix allows the body to self-regulate and release an accumulation of chronic mental, emotional, and physical stress.

Why its needed?
Most people are structurally challenged: fighting to be upright in gravity. Is it difficult to stand on your own two feet without some sort of ache or pain telling you to sit down? When you sit down is it too much effort to sit up straight so you slouch? Does movement seem to take more effort than necessary, and are you feeling rigid and less resilient as you get older? Fighting with gravity supports poor alignment and will result in poor health. Structural Integration is a process that helps rid the body of this poor alignment by bringing it into balance in the gravitational field, ridding it of poor health in the process. It restores the structure to function, placing the ability to heal at its disposal.

When a person undergoes Structural Integration, gravity becomes their bodys advocate. It nurtures and supports the skeletal system, allowing organs to have the space they need to function properly. This results in the lungs, kidneys, heart, and every other organ working more efficiently, doing its part to sustain life. As a result of all this, a person feels more complete, more balanced, and healthier than they ever thought they could.

What are the benefits?
Structural Integration releases physical, mental and emotional stress and tension. This release unlocks the bodys ability to function at its optimal level. It releases energy that, previously used to harbor stress, finds more noble work in the form of fighting infection and injury. The process of Structural Integration brings the whole being at ease within itself and in relation to the environment in which it functions. It also facilitates empowerment, giving a person the experience that their body is integrated with their mind and together a powerful vehicle in the evolutionary movement of consciousness.

Structural Integration allows chronic worry and anxiety to subside. Most people are probably not even aware of the amount of worry and anxiety that they internalize. When Structural Integration is performed, pent up stress rises to the surface, escaping like steam from a pot of uncovered boiling water. Just like people are often surprised at the amount of steam that can result from a seemingly small pot of water, people are often amazed at how much stress and tension they actually hold, and can potentially release.

When combined with Osteopathic medicine, the benefits of Structural Integration are greatly enhanced. Like Structural Integration, Osteopathic medicine aims to free the body of its unnatural restrictions, producing a being in which wellness can prosper. Both Osteopathy and Structural Integration aim to help the body restore optimal function. Structure determines function so when a body finds its balance it can self regulate and prevent disease.

TWISTED is a medical yoga studio at the Center for Osteopathic Medicine in Boulder, colorado. Twisted integrates osteopathic medicine, hatha yoga and mindfulness practices to teach optimal balance between physical, mental, and emotional health. It aims to educate and help people to live a healthy life from the inside out. Rehabilitation programs offer a comprehensive treatment regime for the whole being, empowering each person one breath at a time to stimulate the bodys natural healing potential.

jennifer Jordan is senior editor of for http://www.yogatwisted.com. Specializing in articles that not only teach yoga techniques, but also teach techniques on fulfillment and enrichment, she aims to educate students proudly enrolled in the school of life.

I visited a good friend, Keiko, in Fukuoka recently. It was my first long vacation since I started working.

Tenjin Station Upon arriving at Fukuoka City, we placed my luggage in a locker at Tenjin train station, and headed to a traditional garden called Yusentei. There, we had the view of the Japanese garden to ourselves while enjoying matcha (green tea). The path in the garden led you right up to the edge of the water, and was ornamented with a small waterfall. The name of the vila is indeed apt: friendship-fountain-restplace.

Yusentei Japanese Villa

After Yusentei, we walked to the city's popular public park with a big lake. There was another park that Keiko wanted to show me, but we could not find the place. So we decided to have lunch and stumbled into a street with a character that reminded me of my place in Barcelona's Sierra district: safe, upper class and good food.

Lunch at El Bacharro

As if in reminiscence of my memory, we settled for a restaurant that serves food from Valencia called El Bacharro. I had vegetable with cheese and anchovies 'fondue', a popular dish of the house. The place was small but everything was carefully placed. We were particularly intrigued by the carefully camouflaged toilet entrance, which was no more than a flat wooden plank that ran across the concrete wall.

Western food in Japan

According to Keiko, western cuisine is expensive in Japan, as Japanese food would be in most other cities. So during my stay, I was "treated" to western delicacies a la Japanese style a few times, e.g. the cheesecake that Keiko's parents bought from their weekend trip to an onsen (hot spring), and citrus muffins at a flower garden.

Court house

After lunch, we visited the courthouse, where Keiko frequented when she was still an working as a legal assistant. She tried hard to find a hearing that I would attend, but there was none that was not already in session or has ended. Still, it was interesting to see how open the courthouse is to the public. Anyone could walk in and sit into a hearing and the place resembled more of a hospital than a courthouse.

Cultural District

From the courthouse, we headed to a cultural district lined with museums, shops and temples. It was interesting to see the traditional sweets that Keiko gave me as a gift when she visited my home last summer.

We played with the traditional toys. There was one called Pabo, or something that mimicked the sound it made. It was a magical wooden book that clapped continuously once you set it in motion. The toy still rings vividly as I think about it now. Perhaps I should have bought one like Keiko said. But then we agreed that she would buy it for my first-born.

The porcelain artiste was in the musuem today. He was affable and chatty. We asked him to recommend a place to visit. He checked the time and replied that there was a Buddhist temple nearby that was still open for another hour. There, we could go through a test to see if we would go to heaven.

Buddhist Temple

The test was a journey into a dark passage way behind the alter of a big Buddha carved out of cypress. If you groped along the walls and touched a metal ring, then you are going to heaven. Silly as it may sound, I felt a real sense of cleansing after the test. For in the pitch blackness, ironically, it was as if someone shone a bright light into my soul. There was no way I could hide from my deepest conscience. (Of course, if you are wondering, Keiko and I are going to heaven.)

Canal City

We headed next to the glittering material world of Canal City, a popular mall with canals not unlike the Venice wannabes in las vegas. Watching the sunset unfold on the panoramic window of the cafe, "Sweet Museum", we knew it was time to go home.

The author is an avid traveller and amateur photographer. To view the above article with accompanying photographs and to see more photo-journals, please visit http://viewmesomefreejournals.blogspot.com