Posts Tagged ‘bhakti yoga’

The History of Bhakti Yoga

Saturday, November 12th, 2011

yoga teacher certificationBy Kimaya Singh 

Bhakti Yoga is the practice of spiritual devotion in a variety of forms. The goal of Bhakti Yoga practices is for the Yoga practitioner to attain oneness with the divine state of the Guru or God. Truly following the path of Bhakti Yoga can lift you into the very heart of God. As your inner being becomes purified of negativity and karma, your divine vision and awareness will unfold and expand. Through the practices of Bhakti Yoga, a Yogi or Yogini has the opportunity to obtain the divine state of grace and liberation as embodied by his or her Guru or chosen deity.

One of the core aspects of Bhakti Yoga is the direct, personal experience of God. The various practices of Bhakti Yoga that are delineated in the Bhagavate Purana and the Bhagavad Gita are aimed at imbuing the divine state of vibratory grace into the very core of the devotee or Yoga practitioner. Bhakti Yoga practices became quite popular between 600-900 CE in Southern India with the elucidation of divine experiences by the Vaisnava Alvars.

Bhakti Yoga continued to spread throughout India from 900 CE through the 1800s as many poet-saints traveled throughout the countryside singing the praises of their Gurus and sacred deities. These poet-saints were enraptured by the divine bliss pulsating throughout their beings. They were deeply grateful for the ability of their own Gurus for immersing them into the inner realization of God within their own hearts. The love of a personal Guru is known in Hinduism as Svayam Bhagavan. This concept is one of the primary pillars of Bhakti Yoga practices.

Historically, one of the very first references to bhakti is found in a sutra written by Panini in 500 BCE. The Bhagavad Gita is one of the core teaching stories of Hinduism. In the Bhagavad Gita, the term “bhakti” is referred to as a particular spiritual path. Some years later, the Bhagavata Purana expanded on the general concept of bhakti and described the Bhakti Yoga path as consisting of eight distinct aspects or qualities. The Shvetashvatara Upanishad further developed the concept of Bhakti Yoga within the context of a path of awakaning guided by the great Hindu deity, Shiva. This path is known as Shiva-bhakti, and it elucidates the different qualaties of the love for one’s Guru.

In Hinduism, there are also feeling states known as bhavas. Different devotees have unique temperments and personalities that creates tendencies towards a certian connection with their Guru or chosen deity. The different aspects of bhakti or devotional love range from the love of a mother to a child, the love of a romantic partner, the love of a friend and the love of a dedicated servant for his or her master. Ultimately, these different types of devotion are all seen as spokes on the hub of a wheel that lead to the same goal, oneness with God, through the sustained and dedicated practice of Bhakti Yoga.

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Yoga Styles – Trying to Sort Through the Confusion

Thursday, December 2nd, 2010

By Amruta Kulkarni

The many different styles of Yoga can be confusing. Most Yoga teacher training programs spend a fair amount of time deciphering the differences. It takes time to realize the subtle differences between these classical styles of Yoga. The most common form of Yoga is Hatha.

Sivananda, Bikram, Iyengar, Kripalu, Restorative, Viniyoga, and Yoga therapy are branches of the Hatha Yoga tree. Even Vinyasa can be a combination of Hatha and Ashtanga Yoga. Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga is one of the physical branches of Raja. Raja is the mother of modern day Hatha and Ashtanga Vinyasa.

The main Yoga styles are: Jnana Yoga, Bhakti Yoga, Karma Yoga, Mantra Yoga, Yantra Yoga, Kundalini Yoga, Tantra Yoga, Hatha Yoga, and Raja Yoga. The Yogas and their specific path may be different, yet their techniques may be intertwined into each other in any non-specific yoga practice.

For example Jnana Yoga guides the Yogini towards seeing her true self, through meditation similar to Raja Yoga, which teaches awareness of the mind through concentration.  Bhakti Yoga teaches loving kindness towards one’s self, allowing you to combine it with Karma Yoga, not focusing on the rewards or results of kindness towards all sentient beings, expanding Bhakti (love) outward.

Your practice can deepen by utilizing the techniques of Mantra Yoga, reinforcing the “oneness” through chanting, to your self (in silence) or out loud. Creating awareness of the self, the mind, through sight, could be defined as Yantra Yoga, while performing the postures of Hatha Yoga, incorporating Laya and Kundalini Yoga and their breathing techniques.  In other words: It’s hard to be a purist and mixing Yogic techniques has been in practice for thousands of years.

A similar methods in Yoga practice is  taking energy from the lower part of the spine all the way up to the mind and Sahasrara chakra. Ending with the same drawing of energy through the chakras as in Tantra Yoga, which gives us the awareness of the “factors” that influence our thinking, the WHY?   Tantra Yoga, as traditionally taught in Tibet is one of the paths to Brahman and the absolute (truth).


© Copyright 2010 – Amruta Kulkarni / Aura Publications

Amruta Kulkarni is a certified Yoga teacher and an exclusive author for Aura Wellness Center.

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Yoga for Children

Monday, August 23rd, 2010

By Candida Vassallo

For this essay, I will show how Yoga for Children will and can work in schools and how it can be included as part of the school curriculum, thereby giving our children opportunity for improved health and wellbeing, and a very valuable life tool. As it is an account of an actual Yoga program I designed and implemented, I have found it important to give a brief history of how the idea evolved, before implementation and design. This, I believe is relevant to the topic of Yoga for Children, and fits with several aspects of Yoga philosophy (ie Bhakti Yoga, Jnana Yoga, Karma Yoga, Hatha Yoga and some Raja Yoga). It is this preliminary thinking and preparation, I believe, which contributes to the (Yogic) essence of the completed program and its delivery.

Yoga for Children is a topic very close to my heart and as such in early 2002 I began work on designing a program for children to be used in schools.

I called this program Heart Matters. This name, to me, is most appropriate for such a thing, as having worked in a school since 1988, I have seen many children troubled and handicapped by physical, mental and emotional problems, and at the same time, saw many teachers troubled and handicapped in those three ways, but for different reasons than the children. This is on top of the usual everyday school and life stresses which trouble children and teachers and indeed all of us. There was (and is) very much a need for children (and indeed for us all) to feel better in order to be and do better. I realized from the often-times horrors that I saw (drug overdoses, attempted suicides, self-harming as in self-cutting etc., as well as extreme behavior issues stemming from mental/emotional stresses to ADHD and other problems) that no amount of rationalization on its own, was going to penetrate the hearts and minds of these children, and so no positive change could occur. My thinking was and is, that unless one feels better (as opposed to feeling bad for whatever reason) one could not be or do better. The mental aspect was not enough to push through the dark clouds of emotional/mental stress, depression and the like, hanging over these children, to make a positive difference to their behavior, their health or their learning.

I felt strongly that I was in a position to offer a way to make this difference, given my background of study with a spiritual teacher – a Yogacharya (Yogacharya Devidasan Giri, affiliation with Gitananda Ashram, Pondicherry, India) (as of present day my study with him has spanned 12 years, mostly weekly and lately fortnightly, without a break except for 4 weeks over Christmas-times); my teaching diploma and also my deep motivation and passion to pass on my knowledge and experience, particularly in an area such as this, the educative system, with which I was so familiar.

So how does one feel better? To me the answer is clear – through the heart. So I set about to design a program that would connect with the heart of both students and teachers, and be practical for both parties as they influence each other in normal everyday school life, so for this program to work, it also needed to be a tandem effort. It would create a kind of unity within the minds and hearts of students and teachers individually and would also unite them as a group. What better way than through Yoga – the ultimate union.

What then, were the key aspects needing to be taught through this Yoga program? As I said earlier, Heart Matters evolved with the main focus being “feeling better”, in order to ‘do’ and ‘be’ better. My belief is that this can be done by teaching children the necessary skills for the enhancement of calm, mental alertness, focus, physical and emotional resilience, correct posture and general wellbeing – skills that are essential not just in the classroom, but throughout life – and that was another of my aims, to equip students with some fundamental life skills – through Yoga. Unfortunately, in this part of the world, the student is still only seen as an academic/mentally based being, and not much teaching if any, goes into the other aspects of the person, as in the emotional and spiritual. Even with the physical, often this is only looked at from a surface view as in providing physical education and sports programs without considering or integrating any other influences to physical wellbeing, as in emotional and spiritual.

From there a lot of thinking time transpired as to how I would actually implement the program, before I had even thought of the aspects of Yoga I would put in the program. I realized that for me to deliver this in classrooms would be a more than full time occupation, without even thinking of the obstacles of the Education Department accepting and employing me for this project. In 2002, as indeed I believe it is still so now, although not as strongly, there was much more thought by authority powers, given to why this sort of inclusion into the school curriculum couldn’t/shouldn’t be, rather than to why it could/should. No one really wanted to touch such a thing because it was different and new (to this part of the world), it would arouse questions by certain religious groups and parent groups (which it did, to me personally) and I believe these authority powers just didn’t have the insights or expanded vision, or courage to give such a project at least some serious consideration. Although I certainly did try to get them on board.

At the time I was working my own health business on a part-time basis and a part of that was teaching relaxation, meditation, stress management and Yoga to staff members of schools (and was also being asked to run the odd one-off 6-week program and single sessions for students). As well I was being asked to do the same for various other workplaces, from a wellbeing and occupational health perspective. So I realized that people generally were interested and open to participating in this sort of thing in this way – as they would not be held accountable in any way – only I, as the private facilitator/presenter would be. So it became clear to me that if I could offer Heart Matters out of school hours, and as part of my personal business, train teachers to present it to their students, which meant that teachers paid me and they could claim the cost and the hours as Professional Learning, that this would be my and the program’s best chance. From this perspective I would not need to get the whole of the Education Department on board, just my local school Principal and the teachers, and from there other schools would come on board – and this proved not to be too difficult, as I had been in the school system for many years, was known and thankfully trusted. So emerged Heart Matters, for which I am very grateful to the people who trusted me.

I set about designing a program of Yoga for teachers to present to students. This program would need to fit into the school curriculum both for content and duration (so as not to take up set curriculum time during the day, as this would make it unworkable for teachers to include in their day). Whilst teachers were permitted and willing to present the program, they still were not given the time for it, within the curriculum – they had to fit it in – so this narrowed the coverage down a bit as not all teachers were willing to make this effort.

The content of Heart Matters would focus on mental, emotional and physical resilience, physical strength and wellbeing.

My teacher alerted me to an excellent text, which I very gratefully used as a reference, entitled Yoga Education for Children, by Swami Satyananda Saraswati (founder of the Bihar School of Yoga). This book is written as “a guideline for teachers of Yoga to children and based on a considerable number of years of experience and takes into account requirements of children of different ages, abilities and disabilities, as well as some of the constraints imposed by the teaching environments”. It is excellent in many ways, not the least of which is that Swami had been a teacher of English in France, and used Yoga extensively in his classroom. So for me to train teachers and to be able to say my references were from a teacher, who understood classroom demands and accountability, made my job so much easier, in terms of credibility. This was a very important aspect, because if the teachers didn’t believe (and feel for themselves) what I was teaching, then they could not effectively teach it to their students. Also, most if not all schools in South Australia, have a Special Education program catering for children with physical and mental disabilities. My school had the largest of these programs in the state, and I was very keen to make Heart Matters available to both the teachers and students of this program, as Swami Satyananda wrote a special section for children with disabilities, and likewise, when I designed Heart Matters, I devoted a special section, a whole term, to Yoga for the disabled.

Yoga for disabled children (and adults) works very well as it connects them to their heart, their inner self, which is not disabled and is most often the place from where these children shine. It becomes something they look forward to and it brings them joy. Also because they can be like all the other children in the class and not seen to be different. This assimilation of course, occurs for children who are not severely physically or mentally disabled. For those who are, it still works as I have said above, except that I would work with them as a group separately from the mainstream.

As I said earlier, my focus was for children to feel better in order to be better, and I knew that Yoga would do this even if it was in a seemingly small way (although I knew there would be nothing small about it). As well, my aim was to visibly engage the whole person, that is body, mind and spirit (which naturally occurs with Yoga practice but perhaps is not so visible to the novice teacher and student). In order to facilitate this, I knew that firstly, at least improved breathing needed to occur, then the physical body needed to be strengthened, and for mental calm and clarity, relaxation in the form guided imagery needed to also occur – the integration of these three aspects would then engage the spirit to some degree at least.

To that end, Heart Matters Yoga program is specifically for teachers to present to students for the purpose of teaching skills to enhance calm, mental alertness, focus, physical and emotional resilience, correct posture, and wellbeing. The three aspects I speak of above (which comprise the whole Heart Matters session) I broke down for the information of teachers, students and parents as follows:

• Yoga poses for physical wellbeing, flexibility, resilience, posture and balance

• Breath awareness for wellbeing, mental alertness, focus, concentration and clarity

• Relaxation – guided imagery – to enhance calm, clarity and wellbeing

These three segments work together to give the student the above skills and allow the reconnection with the Heart – so that the Heart and Mind can work together.

In everyday busy-ness it is easy to lose connection with the Heart and to operate solely from the Mind. There has been a lot of positive feedback from teachers and students about Heart Matters, as the program has resulted in many benefits for all involved.

Heart Matters is presented each day for 15-20 minutes, usually at the start of the day, but not necessarily or exclusively. It comprises the 3 segments above (Yoga Asanas, Pranayama and Guided Imagery/Relaxation), which work beautifully together, with each session fitting into no more than half an hour – ideally it can fit into 20 minutes (10 minutes for each segment) but of course, it also takes a few minutes to organise a class.

There are 4 levels to Heart Matters, one for each term of the year, and each level is sequential and progressive, so it is a program for the whole of the school year. With this, students have enough time to notice and also feel their improvement and skill growing, and teachers have the year to make assessments of their students, themselves and their teaching. Importantly, the aim is also to see these improvements in life outside the classroom, i.e., in the home, the playground, within their social circles etc., and this is re-enforced throughout the practise of the program. So Yoga becomes a living science for students and teachers, which they can live and use forever if they so wish. I also designed an assessment sheet for each term where teachers could map the improvements in their students and overall class, also their own teaching performance.

Within each term there are six separate sessions, one per week, for six weeks. So the same session is done every day for a week, then teachers move on to the next session for the following week, and so it goes. Whilst the school term is usually at least 10 weeks, I made the levels of six weeks duration, so as to make it easier for teachers to fit it in as at the beginning and end of each term, there are usually other extras they need to fit in and also so that Heart Matters could fit into school life and not take on a stress factor.

Heart Matters greatly benefits teachers as well, by the calm and focus it generates by merely presenting the program. This enhances teaching and learning with focused attention, and provides a calmer and therefore more receptive classroom and a calmer and healthier teacher. In feedback I have received over the years, particular benefits are experienced in relation to physical wellness, to study and exams and the program has specifically shown benefits in subjects including English, story writing, maths, art and physical education. Older students have reported improvements in their sleeping, as in getting to sleep and sleeping better

Teachers attend professional learning sessions (from me) for 6 weeks every term (4 terms) for one hour per week, to learn and feel confident with presenting the weekly sessions to their students. The program is progressive and spans for the whole of the school year. Each week builds on the previous week’s sessions and the program can then be presented to subsequent classes the teacher may have, year after year.

Below are some testimonials from teachers

“Students are calmer, more appreciative and aware of others; keen to discuss the sessions”

“More productive overall”

“A great opportunity for relaxation all round and hence provides improved output”

“Sensed a ‘greater calm’, more focus”

“Calmer, smoother transition into a task”

“Is an important part of anyone’s life; creates balance but needs to be practiced”

“Students much quieter, more focused”

Students ask when doing Heart Matters again, don’t like it when I say ‘not today’ “

“Of benefit to the curriculum”

“I have learned valuable skills which can be used as an extra teaching tool”

“Has helped to develop students’ physical wellbeing”

“Helps me to bring my class to order when unruly or excited by an unexpected event”

“I can use parts of it, particularly the breathing, many times during the day to refocus the class and myself”

“The calm atmosphere is almost tangible when the students are doing Heart Matters, particularly during the breathing and relaxation”

“More orderly and calmer thinking”

This last comment related to a particular incident in when a reception child brought the teacher’s attention to the ‘caterpillar’ at the door. It was regarding how children left their shoes before entering the room for Heart Matters. At first they would throw off their shoes and they would all be in a pile. After a while, the shoes were (without any prompting from the teacher) lined up, two by two in order at the door – looking like a ‘caterpillar’. This to me is Living Yoga!

I believe that my account of this program and how Yoga for Children can be implemented is a living example of what is possible for our children and indeed our future through the practice of Yoga. It is also an example of how our established and entrenched western educative system can hold us all back. I think of Paramhansa Yogananda with his Ranchi School in India, and his close disciple Swami Kriyananda with his Ananda Schools in the United States. Both amazingly dynamic and gigantic human beings and incarnated souls, who worked tirelessly for the educative system and its evolution, and I am saddened to say that it seems to me that the people who need to be listening (those with authority and power) seem not to be. However, I passionately believe it will come about, in time….. the inclusion of skills for living, at least in part, with Yoga being accepted and indeed considered necessary, in our educative systems throughout the world.

Om Tat Sat

Tathaastu: So Be It

Candida Vassallo is a Yoga teacher from South Australia.

Candida Vassallo
Isis Holistic LifeCare Development

www.ntpages.com.au/therapist/15944

http://www.massage-therapy-clovelly-park.websyte.com.au/

http://www.oneworldretreats.com/ubud_bali_yoga_retreat_candida.php

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Yoga is Like Music

Sunday, February 28th, 2010

By Katalin Zsiros-Szabo

Yoga is like music: The rhythm of the body, the melody of the mind and the harmony of the soul create the symphony of life.

I would like to start my essay with a few words about myself. I was born in 1974.  I am practicing bhakti yoga since 1991 and I am an initiated member of the Hare Krishna movement since 1996. My spiritual name is Kalindi devi dasi. I am vegetarian since then as well. I lived in the brahmacarini ashram for 12 years and practiced the Hare Krishna mantra meditation and devotional service every day. I am now in the grihasta ashrama and still practicing bhakti yoga with my husband. I have been practicing hatha yoga since May 2007 and in the future I would like to open my own yoga studio when we move back to Hungary.

In the first part of my essay I would like to share my experience with my first yoga teacher. I have enrolled to an 8 weeks yoga course in 2008.

I work irregular hours. Sometimes I work from 10 am to 10 pm sometimes only from10 am to 6 pm but we have to fill shops in when someone calls sick so I never know which part of the city I am going to end up working. I was very delighted when I learned that a yoga course started in a college close to my apartment. I was already practicing yoga at home using books and DVDs and YouTube but I wanted to meet people who are also practicing yoga and I wanted to get help from a teacher with my postures. It turned out to be a big disappointment. I was completely dissatisfied with my teacher. She was a nice young Canadian lady who has been practicing yoga for 12 years but was always very distant and “cold”. It felt strange because in my experience those on the spiritual way generally more open and friendlier.

I think it is very important that you have a friendly relationship with your students. We had a small group only 8 students and sometimes only 4 or 5 of us turned up for the class only. Actually I was the only one who never missed a class. Still my teacher couldn’t manage to remember our names when the 8 weeks course was finished. It felt very impersonal and cold. I feel that the yoga teacher should fill you up with warm and loving feelings and show that you are welcome in the class.

At the first class she asked us to introduce ourselves and if we practiced yoga before. Half of the group has never practiced yoga before. Our teacher should have explained the basic principles of practicing yoga for example that one should not eat before the class (three hours for a meal two hours for a snack). There were only women in my course and she should have made us aware that it is not recommended to perform any inverted postures during the menstrual period and try to have the bowels and bladder empty if possible etc. I think that she should have made us aware that there are certain postures which are not recommended to people with heart condition, spinal weakness or high blood pressure. She never mentioned any of these principles.

The second point which I feel is very important that the teacher must leave time for questions after the class. It is nice if the students can come together at the end of the session and have a little chat, share some thoughts about the class or just have a cup of tea (nice organic green tea or herb tea) together. In our case we were rushed with our relaxation at the end of the class and we had to grab our staff dress up quickly because the college was closing up.

Thirdly the yoga teacher should be sensitive enough to see if someone is more advanced than the other students and instruct them differently. Tell the student how to improve that posture guide them through and offer more advanced options and assistance. She never ever assisted with any posture to anyone. She was just sitting in front of us and watching us.

I was surprised that all of us were doing all the postures perfectly.

Another point is that the teacher should seek feedback from the students about the class. Ask the students how they feel about the class anything they would like to add or if they are satisfied with the session.

There was a class when our teacher asked us if we had any special requests or some postures we wanted to practise with her. There were a good few requests but she decided to practise only one of those. I felt we should have practised all those requested postures as we had sufficient time for more then one.

My last point is that she would go through her notes between postures and sometimes we had to wait a good few minutes until she told us what to do. That was very upsetting and very surprising.

I feel that was a very good experience how someone should not teach yoga.

The important points for us teachers to remember:

- be personal make the students feel welcome in our ashram / yoga studio

- be open minded listen to the students and ask for feedback

- leave time for discussion after the class or just for a little chat or set up a specific

time when the students can come forward and ask questions

- give different variations for someone who is ready to take it further

- ask the students if they need help with the postures and give assistance

- be aware of any possible health conditions of your students and instruct them

accordingly

- the most important point is that we must love what we are doing

You might ask yourself then why I didn’t leave the class. Because I really hoped that I will learn more in a next class and I was kind of waiting for something to happen at the next time. I hoped that I can make friends with my classmates and we can practice together outside of the class also. The main reason was that actually I couldn’t find any other classes which fit with my work schedule / circumstances.

I would like to share my very recent experience. On my day off I felt that I really wanted to go and practice yoga with a teacher and to see how others teach yoga. I looked up two studios in our neighbourhood. Both are about 30-40 minutes walking distance from our place. I love to walk anyway and it would take more than an hour to reach any of those yoga studios by bus. It was required that anyone who is interested to drop in the classes had to call them first to make sure that the class is not already full. I called the teacher four times and left a message. My calls were never returned.

I was very disappointed. It was mentioned on the website that the teacher has studied yoga for over ten years under Sri K. Pattabhi Jois, Richard Freeman and Shiva Rea among others. I was really looking forward to meet her.

As she never called me back I called the second studio. I was able to speak with the teacher. He mentioned that the classes are held only if there are four students at least in the class. There was no way to know if there will be four people present on the class or not until the last minute therefore I decided that I will practice at home by myself.

This experience made me think about the importance of being reliable. We should be eager to return phone calls reply to emails because we can loose potential students.

I would teach yoga even if only one student would show up at my class. If someone makes the effort to come to my studio I would never let them down. I think it would be a nice opportunity to learn more about my student.

Now I would like to talk about some common mistakes the student can make.

As students we should not fall into the trap of trying too hard when performing asanas. A practice that is too rajasic applies too much effort will detract from your creative expression. We shouldn’t try to force our body into a posture that is not yet capable of achieving or that causes discomfort or pain. Instead a student should try to let go of any attachment to the result of postures. Be it as a flat stomach or the desire to achieve the “final pose”. By removing expectations and assumptions the students open themselves to new ways of connecting different parts of the body and fresh ways of thinking. It becomes a heartfelt playful practice. It is also a good model for how to approach life in general: living fully in each moment. Progressing along the yoga path at our own pace will be much more rewarding than racing to the end.

Yoga is not a competition. This point is very important. When the student begins yoga classes and displays competitive tendencies that may suppress his or her creativity. The yogic way is to be inspired not by those around you but by your own body and mind as they are today which will be different from any other day and from any other yogi.

About beginner’s mind: avoid anxieties about “being good at” asanas and treat every yoga class as your first. This allows yoga to remain creative rather then being another pressure in your life. If you practice asanas without worrying about trying to achieve perfection you may glimpse the blissful awareness of the present moments that awaits all Yogis.

Too much repetition of the same physical exercise can isolate and stress the muscles and joints rather then liberating them or allowing them to work in harmony. While it is important to find an approach to yoga that you find inspiring and that benefits you as much as possible it is also key not to get too stuck in any one groove-variety is the spice of life and of Yoga.

Points to remember when practicing Yoga.

IF THE PRACTICE OF TODAY DAMAGES THE PRACTICE OF TOMORROW,

IT IS NOT THE CORRECT PRACTICE.

Practicing yoga should be a pleasure and not a duty.

As you undergo the postures try to make them exercises and concentration at the same time. Tune into your body, what you are feeling where you are stuck, where you move easily. Try not to allow your mind to wonder. Of course it will but become aware that this is happening and bring yourself back into a full involvement with what you are doing.

Don’t neglect warm up exercises too loosen joints and muscles. Warming up prepares the nervous system, heightens mental awareness and alertness, and loosens up joints and muscles to make them less prone to injuries. Warm ups jump start the fluid located in the joints, minimizing the risk for wear and tear of the muscles. It gives the heart a suitable period to adjust and pump up blood and nutrients into muscles.

It is very important to learn the basics correctly. It is like a good foundation when you build a house. If you are confident in the basic poses you will get more benefit than attempting some poses which are beyond your body’s current capacity which could cause also injuries. Always remember yoga is a pathway of discovery about both your body and mind.

At the end of yoga practice you should feel refreshed and re-energized. Don’t practice until you feel exhausted drained fatigued. Don’t skip svavasana at the end. Some students tend to skip the relaxing part but it is very important for your body to relax after your practice.

Make sure you have balance in everything. So always counter a forward bend with a backward bend and similarly if you do stretches or twists to the right it should be followed by the same movement to the left for the same length of time.

Be aware of your mental attitude to the practice whether you try to hard whether you give up too soon whether you are put into negative frame of mind because of the difficulties whether you see them as challenging or overwhelming. The challenge of yoga is to go beyond our limitations-within reason.

Don’t rush yourself into postures because of lack of time. It is much better to practice a fewer asanas correctly than to practice many more but quickly or hastily. You are looking for injuries if you rush.

Each practice will be different. Your body could be sluggish or responsive and your mind fresh or burdened. Simply be aware of all this without judging it. You must do the asana with your soul. Many people try to think their way into an asana but you must instead feel your way into it through love and devotion.

Physically the exercise should certainly provide you with a stretch but do stop at any sign of strain.

The more you can relax into the posture pushing just so much but not enough to create new stresses the better your practice will become. Yoga is always about finding balance. So don’t try to force your body into a posture that is not yet capable of achieving or that causes discomfort or pain. Progress along the yoga path at your own pace.

The time you spend holding a posture will vary according to your own fitness and needs. If you are a complete beginner and not very fit hold each posture for just one breath. As you become stronger and more adept increase the number of breaths you take.

In the last part of my essay I would like to highlight of the benefits of practicing yoga.

Benefits of practicing yoga:

It stretches the muscles

Yoga postures involve deep stretching movements-even muscles we didn’t know we had are involved. But unlike other forms of exercise the muscles are given a gentle controlled stretch without any strain and once your muscles gain flexibility they become stronger and better toned.

It delays the aging process and prevents illness.

Regular practice delays the aging process by keeping the muscles and ligaments moving. Although someone may experience muscular aches and pains after yoga these will soon wear off leaving that person refreshed. Yoga should never leave anyone feeling jumpy or exhausted.

It loosens and strengthens the spine.

As the muscles loosen and stretch so do the ligaments which hold the spine in place. Instead of being held rigidly the bones become free to move back into a more natural alignment. This is especially true of the spinal vertebrae as many of the yoga postures work directly on the spinal column. The postures are also preventive and help guard against slipped discs.

It improves circulation.

The circulatory system improves through regular deep breathing. With practicing yoga we become more aware of our breath and will start to use more of our lungs. Oxygenated blood is pumped more effectively to all organs revitalizing them and carrying away toxins. The inverted postures help blood circulation reversing the blood flow and also improve lymph drainage.

It helps digestion.

The digestive system is helped by the internal massaging action which some of the postures perform on the organs. Twisting postures and those which involve the back bending forwards and backwards will help stimulate the digestive organs. The improved circulatory process allows cleansing blood supply to reach the stomach and intestines.

It calms the nerves relax and rejuvenate the mind.

The nervous and endocrine systems are also affected. Yoga’s concentration on the spine through which the major nerve pathways flow helps to control the nervous energy. Regular yoga practice is well-known for reducing anxiety and panic states.

It balances hormones and emotions.

It helps to prevent menstrual cramps. It is my personal experience that since I am practicing yoga I don’t have any premenstrual cramps or cramps under my period. I am extremely happy because I had suffered a lot of painful periods and now it has stopped. Hyperactivity and lethargy can be overcome and emotions become more stable through doing yoga.

Somebody who is practicing yoga for a while will also find changes which are taking places on a quite subtle level. The person will begin to notice improvements in his/her health energy and mental state, feeling calmer and more detached from the worries of the everyday life. They feel clearer more directed and more purposeful.

Yoga helps to give up bad habits.

Yoga helps to develop a growing awareness and sensitivity. When the inner harmony starts to grow it is much easier to give up bad habits like smoking. When you are more in touch with your inner self it is easier to see that smoking, drinking or drugs are bad for you and you won’t be craving for it.

Yoga also helps to develop disciplines patience and intelligence. Yoga helps your body use oxygen and nutrients more efficiently.

Your vision will become clear when you look into your heart.

“Who looks outside, dreams. Who looks inside, awakens” (Carl Jung)

“Learn to let go. This is the key to happiness” (The Buddha)

“Life is a bridge. Cross over it, but build no house on it” Indian proverb

Namaste

Katalin

References:

BKS Iyengar: Light on Yoga

BKS Iyengar: Light on Pranayama

BKS Iyengar: Light on the Yoga sutras of Patanjali.

BKS Iyengar: Light on Life

Stephanie Pappas: Yoga posture adjustments and assisting

Nicolai Bachman: The language of Yoga

Michael Alter: Sport stretch

Michael Alter: The science of flexibility

Dr. David Frawley: Yoga and Ayurveda

Dr. David Frawley: Ayurveda and the Mind

Rodney Yee with Nina Zolotow: Moving towards balance.

The human body- an essential guide how the human body works

Liz Lark: 1001 Pearls of Yoga wisdom

Marylin Barnett: Hot Yoga

Mukunda Stiles: Ayurvedic Yoga Therapy

Thich Nhat Hanh: The miracle of mindfulness

Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada: Bhagavad Gita as it is

Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada: Srimad Bhagavatam I-XII

Sri Caitanya Caritamrta

Sri Isopanishad

Yogananda Paramahansa: Autobiography of a Yogi

Navin Chawla: Mother Theresa

DVDs

Desi Bartlett Yoga for beginners

A.M. and P.M yoga with Rodney Yee and Patricia Walden

My favourite youtube teachers:

Sadie Nardini

Esther Ekhart

My favourite sites:

Aurawellnesscenter.com

Thesecretofyoga.com

Abc-of-yoga.com

Yogajournal.com

Yogatic.com

Other inspirational books which I have read:

Dale Carnegie: How to stop worrying and start living

How to win friends and influence people

How to enjoy life and your job

Norman Vincent Pale: The power of positive thinking

The positive principle today

Enthusiasm makes the difference

Napoleon Hill: Success

Think and grow rich

Anthony Robbins: Awaken the giant within

Unlimited Power

Richard Carlson: Don’t sweat the small stuff…and it is all small stuff

Daniel Coleman: Emotional intelligence

Deepak Chopra: Grow younger live longer

Quantum healing

Perfect health

Ageless body timeless mind

Life after death

How to know God

Brian Tracy: Maximum achievement

Self-made millionare

Stephen Covey: 7 Habits of highly effective people

Rhonda Byrne: Secret

Wayne W. Dyer: Change your thoughts, change your life

Susan Jefferson: Feel the fear and do it anyway

Health related books:

T. Colin Campbell: China Study

Dr. David Frawley: Ayurvedic Healing

Ayurveda’s Nature Medicine

Dr. Vasant Lad: Ayurvedic Home remedies

Dr. Frawley and Dr. Lad: Yoga of Herbs

Laura Normann: The reflexology handbook

Katalin Zsiros-Szabo is a certified Yoga teacher. She teaches Yoga classes in Dublin, Republic of Ireland.

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Discover and Compare the First Three of Nine Main Forms of Yoga

Tuesday, June 9th, 2009

YogaBy Paul Jerard, E-RYT 500

Iyengar, Bikram, and Sivananda may be common styles where you live, but they are sub-styles of Hatha Yoga. Hatha may be the most popular form of Yoga outside of India, but within India are many jewels. Now, let’s take a closer look at the first three of the nine main styles from the birthplace of Yoga.

Bhakti Yoga: Union through love and devotion. This is one of the four main branches of Yoga. Bhakti is the spiritual path of love, devotion, and worship. All of this devotion and love focuses on God, a specific deity, or one’s guru. The most popular form of Yoga, in India, is Bhakti Yoga, which uses mantra, japa, prayer, and songs of praise.

Hatha Yoga: The word “Hatha” originates from two root words, “ha,” which means sun, and “tha,” which means moon. Hatha Yoga can easily be seen as balancing opposing energies, such as male and female or yin and yang. Hatha makes use of Pranayama, asana, kriyas, meditation, and more.

All Hatha techniques work toward the complete health of mind, muscles, vital organs, skeleton, and nervous system. The body benefits with focus on asana and pranayama. The mind receives calming and increased concentration from the practice of meditation and relaxation techniques.

Hatha is often viewed as beginner’s preparation for Raja (royal) Yoga. There are many aspects of Hatha, such as yama, niyama, mantra, bandhas, Yoga nidra, mudras, doshas, and koshas, but many Hatha teachers focus only on physical mastery, because it is popular and it fills classrooms.

Jnana Yoga: Sometimes, this is referred to as the Yoga of Wisdom. Jnana is one of the four main branches of Yoga. Jnana is an ancient discipline of self-knowledge that can trace its roots back to the Vedas.

This Yogic discipline requires the use of intelligence, knowledge, self-study, and meditation, to find one’s true nature.  This Yogic path is suited to intellectual temperaments, because it focuses on spiritual knowledge, wisdom, meditation, and the quest for truth.

© Copyright 2009 – Paul Jerard / Aura Publications

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