Archive for August, 2009

Types of Yoga for Common Man

Many people actually practice yoga and adhere to its philosophies. There are many different types of yoga. The goal is to ultimately connect you with your inner self as you unite body and spirit through meditation and breathing.

Yoga is a Sanskrit word that has various meanings depending on the context of Hindu philosophy. In places outside India, it is normally associated with Hatha Yoga and its asanas or positions as sort of exercise. Someone who observes yoga practices or follows the philosophy is called a Yogi or yogist in the modern times.

As people begin to practice and maybe go to a gym for a exercise class, they will discover that the old tradition of Yoga positions was strictly practiced by ancient gurus and sages. Somehow, Yoga is more about spiritual awareness. In Hinduism, it is also associated with one of the orthodox Ästika schools of Hindu philosophy, and to the purpose toward which that school conducts its practices. Several Hindu sacred writings and tantras such as the Bhagavad Gita, Srimad Bhagavatam, Hatha Yoga Pradipika, and the Shiva Samhita discuss the significant aspects of yoga. The main stems of yoga in Hindu philosophy include the Hatha Yoga, Raja Yoga, Karma Yoga, Jnana Yoga, and Bhakti Yoga. Raja Yoga is actually anthologized in the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali and is a part of the Samkhya tradition.

The Bhagavad Gita, meaning “Song of the Lord”, uses the word yoga broadly in a lot of ways. Bhagavad Gita’s chapter six is entirely devoted to the traditional yoga exercises and practice including meditation and features three major types of yoga such as Karma Yoga, Bhakti Yoga, and Jnana Yoga. Karma Yoga is the yoga of action, Bhakti yoga is the yoga of devotion, and Jnana yoga is the yoga of knowledge.

For the bhakti schools of Vaishnavism, bhakti or service to the Svayam Bhagavan itself may be the topmost goal of the yoga position practice, where the goal is to take pleasure in an eternal relationship with the Supreme Being.

Yoga works on so many levels and incorporates intense concentration on the physical and mental part of the practice. This practice of yoga position indeed, has mental, physical, emotional and spiritual benefits all just waiting to be unleashed. It’s an ancient discipline intended at training the consciousness for a state of ideal spiritual insight and harmony that is actualized through the three yoga paths of actions, knowledge and devotion.

Focus on the mind with Raja Yoga

Raja Yoga is named the king of Yoga. Raja Yoga directly aid you mind. In this Yoga there is no struggling with Prana or physical body. There are no Hatha Yogic Kriyas. The Yogi seats at ease, watches his mind and silences the bubbling thoughts. Raja Yoga stills your mind, block out negative thoughts and enter a thoughtless state of mind or Asamprajnata Samadhi, hence the name Raja Yoga. Raja Yoga follow both the Prakriti and Purusha philosophy, it helps the student in Advaitic Realization of oneness eventually. Though there is the mention of Purusha, the goal is to achieve Purusha with the “highest” self or Brahman of Upanishads. Raja Yoga pushes the student to the highest rung of the spiritual ladder of Advaitic realization of Brahman.

Patanjali’s Yoga system is written in Sutras. A ‘Sutra’ is a terse verse. It is written in an easily memorable form. It is packed with deep and sometimes hidden meaning and significance. Rishis of yore have expressed philosophical ideas and their realization in the form of Sutras only. It is very difficult to understand the meaning of the Sutras without the help of a commentary, a gloss or a teacher who is well-versed in Yoga. Only Yogis with many years of studying the writings can explain the full meaning of the Sutras. Literally, Sutra means a thread. Just as you put together flowers with all kind of different colours to beautify, just as pearls are arranged on a string to make a beautiful necklace, so also Yogic ideas are well-arranged in Sutras. The Sutras are arranged into normal chapters.

Samadhi-pada is the first chapter. It talks about different kinds of Samadhi. It is written in total of 51 Sutras. Difficulties with meditation, five kinds of Vritti and their control, three kinds of Vairagya, nature of Ishvara, various methods to enter into Samadhi and the way to acquire peace of mind by developing virtues are described here.

The Second Chapter is Sadhana-pada. It contains 55 Sutras. It treats of Kriya Yoga, Tapas, study and self-surrender to God.

History of Yoga and Its Archaeological Evidence

The history of yoga is based during the epoch of the Indus Valley civilization. The yoga exercises and philosophies are practiced by the Indus to instigate spiritual growth and awareness. The yogis promote inner unification with the finite jiva or transitory self and with the infinite Brahman or eternal self. Yoga views man’s problem and suffering in terms of ignorance. Human beings simply bound themselves to materialistic things and forgetting to serve God, the source of all things. That’s why humans need enlightenment or an experience of union with God.

Earliest archaeological evidence indicated Yoga’s existence and can be found in engraved stone seals which illustrate figures of yoga positions. The stone seals depict yoga’s existence dating around 3000 B.C. However, archaeologists and scholars, have reasons to suppose that yoga existed long before that and traced its origins in Stone Age Shamanism. Both shamanism and yoga have comparable characteristics predominantly in their efforts to polish the human condition at that time. Both methods aspire to treat community members and the practitioners act as chief religious mediators or gurus.

A number of steatite seals were unearthed at Indus Valley Civilization sites describing figures in a certain yoga position. These meditation-like postures are forms of ritual discipline, signifying an originator of yoga. There are particular figures that were discovered in the core of Mature Harappan relics that indicate Harappan devotion to ritual discipline and focus and that the yoga poses may have been used by both humans and their deities. Some type of link between the Indus Valley seals and later yoga and meditation practices is backed by many other researchers.

These archeological discoveries allow people to cogitate with some good reason that an ample range of yoga activities was already accepted by the pre-Aryan India people. A seal recently revealed in the Cholistan desert evidently depicts a “yogi”. The puzzling Indus Valley seal images display figures in a position known in hatha yoga as Mulabhandasana. The genesis of the 200-scriptured Upanishads describes the inner vision of reality ensuing from Brahman devotion. Yoga also shares some attributes not only with Hinduism but also with Buddhism as well. Siddhartha Gautama, the founder of Buddhism, studied yoga and obtained enlightenment at the age of 35.

The Yoga Sutra, composed of 195 aphorisms or sutras, was written by Patanjali around the second century attempting to classify and even out yoga at that time. During the 1960’s, Hindu gurus gave further details about the system of yoga positions and its philosophies.

The Different Yoga Positions

Yoga is mostly viewed as a beneficial way to stay healthy while achieving spiritual actualization. Although practicing a traditional yoga positions can be complex and requires great focus, a person doesn’t necessarily have to sweat it all out. There are many poses of yoga that are easy to learn and provide significant health benefits.

The things you need

One needs comfortable clothing, yoga mats, and enough floor space to spread the arms and legs and perform handstands. Delving into yoga can be fun and one doesn’t need to worry about slipping, falling down or making odd sounds.

The different positions of yoga

Some of the yoga positions include Sukhasana or comfortable seat, downward dog, Uttanasana or standing forward and bend positions, tree pose, cat position, child’s pose, and Savasana or corpse pose.

Sitting comfortably in a cross-legged position on the yoga mat is a Sukhasana pose. It entails grounding down your bottom, making solid contact to the floor. Lift your head straight, rest palms on your thighs, close eyes, and deeply draw in your breath. Place one hand firmly on your belly. Feel your abdomen enlarge as you inhale and compress as you exhale. Give a couple of seconds to become accustomed to the meditation and then open your eyes.

For the downward dog yoga position, line up your hands parallel to the mat and push into the tips of your fingers to take the load off the wrists. Tuck your toes and slowly curve your knees, lifting your hips upward. As you flatten your legs and draw your heels toward the floor, ease your shoulder blades down your back, baring your soul to the floor. Continue pressing your fingers as you breathe.

From the downward dog pose, saunter your feet to the front of the mat to begin the Uttanasana yoga position. Keep your upper body bowed over your legs, and grasp onto your opposite elbows. This allows your weight to spread from your hips. Then release your hands and move up to stand, letting your head come up last.

For the tree poses of yoga, begin by shifting your weight onto the left heel. Lift your toes and set that foot into the ground. Draw your right knee upward your chest and lay the sole of your right foot on the left inner thigh. Draw your tailbone down to keep the middle of your abdomen occupied. Then, clasp your hands into Anjali Mudra, or prayer position at your heart, and concentrate the eyes on one point.

Curve your spine in a continuous motion as you exhale, envisioning a gap between your vertebrae as you drop your head. Then tuck your tailbone and heave your navel in toward your spine to perform the cat position. This position also warms up the spine so try to inhale then heave your eyes upward.

Meanwhile, the child’s pose involves sitting on your knees with your legs tucked underneath. Spread your knees wide and have your toes touching. Ease your arms down your back and set your hands by your heels. Bend forward to rest your forehead on the floor.

In doing a Savasana yoga positions, just place a blanket below your knees. Then slowly lie down and open your hands and raise them up. Allow your legs to just slump down at the sides. Remain lying down for five minutes and roll over to your side to return in a seated position. Bow down to the floor to cap off the yoga exercise.

Great Yoga Position For Disease less Living

The yoga system is deemed as a healing practice. Coupled with breathing yoga exercises, meditation, and physical postures, yoga has been practiced and observed for more than 5,000 years. It is particularly valuable form of exercise for people with certain health conditions, including heart disease and hypertension, back and muscle problems, and asthma. It has been proven that the practice of yoga positions can counter ill effects that stress the physical, emotional, and mental states.

While yoga positions developed as a spiritual practice in various Hindu religions, a part of yoga, known as asana, has been all the rage in Western cultures as a pure form of physical exercise. Western cultures have adapted forms of yoga but have little or nothing to do with Hinduism or spirituality. Yoga is seen simply as a way to stay healthy and fit.

Swami Vivekananda introduced yoga in American society during the late 19th century. He is the founder of the Vedanta Society and alleged that India has a profusion of spiritual well-being and that yoga is a means that can help those who were too busy being tied by the materialistic views of capitalism to attain self-realization.

The introduction of yoga spawned an argument stating that it is drafting in an ancient spiritual philosophy in modernized cultures. Because yoga position mirrors the ideals of health, harmony, and balance, it suits well in meeting the challenges of contemporary times. The adjustment of cultures in Europe and America in connection to yoga can be seen as a responsive celebration of multi-cultural reception. Yoga seeping through the Westernized stream promotes more tolerant and more open-minded cultural dispositions.

For lots of people, yoga is regarded as a sacred practice that calms the nerves and balances the body, mind, and spirit. It is thought by its practitioners to foil certain diseases and ailment troubles by maintaining the energy crests open and life energy prolific. Yoga is typically practiced in classes that go on for hours. Yoga positions also helps in lowering blood pressure, reduces stress, and enhances coordination, digestion, concentration, flexibility, and sleep. Assigning yourself to do a yoga exercise actually helps in supplementing therapeutic remedies for serious conditions such as cancer, asthma, diabetes, AIDS, and even ailments like urinary tract infections.

Yoga benefits are seen as an alternative medicine, helps relieve the upshots of chronic stress in a variety of ways. With the use of a supportive, serene atmosphere, the tranquil setting calls for total relaxation. Each yoga positions sequence is intended to stir the spine in all directions. An inverse yoga position counters the effects of gravity. Because people sit and stand all day, blood and lymph fluid mount up in the lower extremities. By changing the rapport of the legs to gravity, fluids are transported to the upper body and heart function is improved.

Yoga positions ultimately stimulate and pacify the organs. With this motion of blood comes the improved switching of oxygen and waste products across the cell membrane. Finally, yoga teaches that the body has different illuminated energies. The masculine energy called Prana, dwells above the diaphragm, moves upward, and handles respiration and heart rate control. The feminine energy Apana, inhabits under the diaphragm, moves downward, and manages the function of the abdominal organs. Yoga balances these two elements of energy so that the practitioner is neither over stimulated nor worn-out.