It is pretty safe to say that the ultimate goal in life, for most individuals, is to achieve happiness. However, everybody has their own idea of happiness, different from the next person's. For me, happiness is forever experiencing that feeling of true awareness. It is never-ending clarity. I have felt what these authors so beautifully describe. I must admit that it is absolute bliss. But it has been many years since I have felt it. In recent years, I have had many adrenaline rushes in sports and in exciting moments, but none can compa

1. Donna Farhi, Yoga Mind, Body and Spirit, (Henry Holt and Company: New York, 2000)

4. Chungliang Al Huang, Thinking Body, Dancing Mind, (Bantam Books: New York, 1992)

This is where yoga comes in. Yoga is not the only way, but is an excellent way to focus on and develop good breathing habits. Good breathing habits will help move the fluids, which is important because, "when any fluid system is inhibited, imbalances occur. Collapse and passivity, anxious tension, a hardening of inner flow, and aggressive drive based on fear are examples of fluid imbalances." Many are accustomed to breathing with their stomach in and chest out. George Leonard calls this breathing backward, resisting the diaphragm's natural tendency to expand the abdomen with each incoming breath. This way of breathing blocks the natural flow of energy and emotions through the body and creates a state of being that is unbalanced and potentially unfeeling and aggressive. Practicing Yoga will help move the fluids through breathing and through the movements involved in our postures. Schiffman affirms that "Yoga is a way of moving into stillness in order to experience the truth o!

ecomes constricted, and the creative life force is unable to flow." The energy is always within us, it just doesn't flow. When we are participating fully, we are not inhibiting our flow of energy, and so we experience a rush of vigor, of life. That is the point where we experience ourselves in stillness. Stillness is not a lack of energy or movement, but rather life in harmony with itself. It is when we are perfectly centered.

In Yoga: The Spirit and Practice of Moving into Stillness, Erich Schiffman uses the analogy of a spinning top to explain his concept of stillness. Try to picture the image of a spinning top. When a spinning top is spun perfectly, it seems to not be moving at all. But it only appears this way because it is spinning so fast. Our lives are generally not like a perfectly spinning top, they are into more of a chaotic spin. Schiffman explains that "we know we're alive because at least we're still spinning, but we are not quite perfectly centered, and we are not spinning anywhere near full speed. We don't have as much energy as we'd like, we are not experiencing as much aliveness as we might, nor are we experiencing the peace of stillness or the joy of being." We are in a chaotic spin because we are generally not wholehearted toward what we are doing. Our attention is often spread over several thoughts, and we are not fully participating. When this happens, our "energy circulation b!

The synovial fluid is produced in the joints of the skeletal system. Its job is "to keep the joint surfaces lubricated, separated and nourished." Since the synovial fluid has no vessels, the lymphatic vessels come and take away excess protein and nutrients. Excess protein can cause swelling. The blood nourishes the synovial fluid with the nutrients and also eliminates waste.

The Lymphatic fluid system takes the excess nutrients from the cells and the excess protein from the venous capillaries. Excess protein "can be infection or can be cancer tissue." The lymphatic fluid nourishes itself with the necessary nutrients, then eliminates the excess. By eliminating the excess, it is reducing the clutter of nutrients in the intercellular fluid, allowing it to flow better. Once the fluid is 'purified', the lymph drains back into the blood, then the blood goes to the heart. The lymph vessels generally travel along the veins towards the center and towards the main reservoir, which is at the second lumbar vertebra. Since the lymph vessels usually travel against gravity, anything that puts pressure on its channels will help its flow. One such pressure is breathing. As the diaphragm expands and contracts pressure, is put on the lymph channels. The lymphatic fluid system is essential to keeping our fluids clean and flowing, and to protecting our bodies from d!

The origin of this peac

Some common words found in the essay are:
George Leonard, Compulsive Disorder, , Practicing Yoga, Erich Schiffman, Bainbridge Cohen, Heaven Finally, Donna Farhi, Ultimate Athlete, Books York, intercellular fluid, synovial fluid, lymphatic fluid, lymphatic vessels, fluid system, george leonard, excess protein, spinning top, lymphatic fluid system, moving stillness, excess nutrients, sensing feeling action, mind body spirit, help move fluids, yoga mind body,
Approximate Word count = 2961
Approximate Pages = 12 (250 words per page double spaced)