Why isnt meditation and yoga that important in American society and culture?
826676
All beneficial techniques are suppressed by the powers that be as a part of their population control program.\nthey don't want healthy confident people, because they are far less easy to manipulate
274814
yes but Hypnosis is expensive and can only make one do what they want to do, your better off using meditation its self inflicted so is more effective and its free (bar the price of a book)
1145199
Yoga is very healthy, however the combination of yoga and meditation is spiritually beneficial.
37556
Many countries in Western Europe, Asia, and the Americas are our allies.  We spread democracy and freedom around the planet, so we benefit by defeating terrorism and encouraging the freedom of capitalism in developing countries.  We also share our cultural values with countries who need to be guided towards more advanced thinking with regard to economic, social, and cultural development.  In other words, we are not only a superpower, but we are the center of civilization and culture, and therefore, serve as a model to third world countries who lack culture and the basics of civilization.  An example would be Afghanistan.  Without us, women there would have remained enslaved by the Taliban.  Our troops liberated the women there, as we liberated the Iraqis from oppression.
1005525
Yoga means union, or linking oneself to the surpreme.  if you want the whole story we need to sit down and talk as it took me six years of intense study, and i'm sorry, but i'm not prepared to sit here and type it all out at the moment.\n\non the other hand your question is the first step.  and now i will give you the second step.\n\ngo here:  http://www.theosociety.org/pasadena/patanjal/patanyog.htm\n\nnamaste
211488
yes, i am an indian and i have visited some of the ayurveda and yoga centres in southern part of india. Kerela which is one of the southern states of india is a front runner in yoga science and has immensely conributed in the development of yoga. One can immensely benefit from them but a caution of advive, not everyone present there are as knowledgeble as they should be. But if you do your home-work properly, the visit can definetly be fruitful.
471501
Yoga is incredible, great for the body and the soul. It improves circulation, flexibility, breathing and muscular tone. Its low impact so its great for joints too!
1126583
Scientists aren't exactly sure why yoga has physiological benefits, but at least some of its success can be attributed to stress reduction, the relaxation response and "exercise" element with benefits that parallel traditional exercise.
340697
I'm not sure exactly what you're looking for, but I'll try to help.  I'm in high school still, and I think a major part of our culture, unfortunately, is based on commercialism and materialism.  American youth now days is concerned more about looking good than about feeling good.  Our opinions on issues that matter (like illegal substance use and relations before marriage) are much more casual than previous generations, and we don't take a stand for what we believe in.  However, American teens seem to be very ambitious.  They/we have goals that we set for ourselves, and want to reach them.  Most of us realize that education is the way to go.  In my opinion, what our generation needs most, is more awareness.  We need to know what's going on in the world, not just in school.  I think a sense of responsibility and concern would come with more knowledge, and that could lead to more people helping others, and eventually, a better world.
102534
At least in part.  Movies are an exaggeration.  Compared to most other countries, American culture is decadent.  We waste resources and tend to be arrogant.  Those who lean to the left want to rush into a future untested.  Those who are the most conservative want to go back 20 or more years and pretend nothing has happened.  America is very diverse.  Even people who have lived here all of their lives have no idea of what the country is all about because they might have spent their entire life in one small area.  You would have to see us to believe us.
536047
American culture thinks EVERYTHING is a disease...I say live and let live...it takes all kinds and if we were all extroverts our lives would be miserable...
632271
Yoga is nothing of that kind. Often associated with Hinduism, yoga actually is older. It is the oldest physical discipline in existence. The exact origins of yoga are unknown, but it is thought to be at least five thousand years old. The earliest evidence of yoga practice can be traced back to about 3000 B.C. The original purpose of the postures and breathing exercises was to bring stability and relaxation so practitioners could prepare for the rigors of meditation, sitting still and alert for long periods of time. \nSo dont degrade it as 'mental masturbation' please. Its part of our culture and religion.
643230
Americans have many cultures mixed into one and demonstrates the progress of living together with our different beliefs yet have one unified goal for the peaceful survival of our human race and protection and management of our environment. Every culture around the world must be involved in the later, the environmental protection and it's economical management along with the hope for world peace between cultures has evolved into world wide communication and the belief that one voice counts.
274354
Most Americans don't give a shit about issues affecting them and the other members of society but damn it if you took away our Internet, movies, television, and other media then we would raise some serious Hell.\n\nYou can make fun of Jesus and God (see South Park), you can allow a innocent poor people to go to prison for shit they didn't do. We can allow many people (mostly children) that cannot afford health care to die. We can let an asshole run the White House and the US Ecomony into the ground but...don'take away our iPods! \n\nIt's a shame that we can only consume and not give back to the world we live in. It sad that the most powerful nation on the planet allows its own children to go starve and the poor and powerless to suffer. \n\nMaybe if info-tainment was pushed like it is then America would be a better place and we could have real world peace and not a WAR (prentending) to make peace!\n\nPlease see my newest question...thanks
712664
your question seems a bit confusing. u seem to be confused about yoga. its good physically & philosophically too. it definitely does not make a person moody & slow. it adds to the charging of the mind. it makes a person very positive in his own thinking, where he/she can take on any stress related issues. ask anyone who practices yoga.
1069878
Meditation is Simple\n\nAs meditation became popular in the West, beginning in the late 1960s and 1970s, and many different meditation approaches were introduced to the West, a lot of misinformation was spread. At Centerpointe, we talk to a lot of people everyday interested in meditation -- some of whom have been meditating off and on for years (unfortunately, a lot of times with little to show for it). The mish-mash of beliefs about meditation, what it is, how it works, and how to identify when you are doing it properly is amazing. Hopefully this article will clear up some of the misconceptions and simplify something that has been overly complicated over the last 30 years.\n\nMeditation is a tool used to gain self-awareness, to help get the mind out of the way so you can more clearly see who you really are. Those who have succeeded in this quest tell us the resulting peace, happiness, and connection to (God, the One, your Self, the Infinite -- pick one) is immeasurably better than the stressed-out and often hopeless existence many people are experiencing.\n\nFrom research done in the 1970s, we learned that all forms of meditation involve the slowing of the electrical brain wave patterns from the normal, everyday beta brain wave pattern to the slower alpha rhythms. Very experienced meditators enjoy short excursions,  lasting a few moments at a time, into the even slower trance-like theta brain wave pattern.\n\nThis slowing of the electrical brain wave patterns in every case is accomplished -- in traditional meditation -- by some kind of focusing, the most popular points of focus being the breath, or a mantra or prayer. Any kind of focusing causes the brain wave patterns to slow.\n\n[Now I know this "brain wave pattern" approach to understanding doesn't sound as romantic as some of the more metaphorical Eastern explanations, but I believe it is more useful (and I don't think it negates the Eastern explanations, either).]\n\nSo what does slowing the brain wave patterns accomplish? Several things. First, it creates an altered state. You become more relaxed. The brain makes endorphins, DHEA (a hormone related to health and well-being and a buffer against stress), human growth hormone, serotonin, and a number of other hormones and neurochemicals related to relaxation, stress release, and well-being. While in this altered state, you may partially or even totally lose contact with the outside world for moments at a time.\n\nSecond, the slower brain wave patterns create electrical fluctuations the brain cannot handle -- the way it is currently structured. To deal with this, the brain creates a new structure that can handle these fluctuations. The two sides of the brain begin to communicate more, leading to whole brain functioning, which includes greater mental abilities, and greater self awareness, resolution of emotional problems, greater balance in the brain, and what most people describe as a greater feeling of connect to everything around them.\n\nNow, you may have meditated, even meditated quite a lot, and had very little of this happen to you. Why is that? It's because it isn't that easy to create the focus required to slow the brain wave patterns and then to hold them at the point where the brain must create the required changes. Most people require several years of practice to get the technique down -- and most people are too impatient to really work at it long enough to do so. Then, it requires practicing this focus for a few hours a day to really create deep changes. So, at best, people experience some relaxation (which is good) but little real transformation.\n\nThen there is the issue of what many people call the "monkey mind." As you focus on your breath or your mantra, you periodically realize you're thinking about something else: what happened before, what will happen later, the noise you just heard, the pain in your leg -- anything but what you intended to focus on. Your mind fig
1128128
if u want to lose weight and be healthy and get in touch with ur spiritual side then it is sensible to go to an actual class. because if not done properly, yoga could cause injury!!!!!!!!!!