Posts Tagged ‘Raja Yoga’

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.

The Physical Benefits of Hatha Yoga

You can find a lot of flexibility and stress relief that comes with the normal yoga moves in Hatha Yoga poses and will provide a lot of released tension on your body, helping you to concentrate much better and also give you a cleansed spirit that makes you feel better overall.

Cleaning the Body

Originally from India and introduced in the fifteenth century, Swatmarama created Hatha Yoga asanas to have a more relaxed state and a more clear mind overall. His intention was to find a means by which yoga could prepare the participant to purify his or her body and by using meditation it was thought that a person could physically train his or her body to achieve those goals. The Hatha form of yoga was initially called Shatkarma, but then was changed to Hatha, which is a combination of the words “ha” which means sun and “tha” which means moon.

Both Hatha yoga and Raja yoga are often confused with each other, but each have their differences although they both concentrate on achieving total control of the mind, body and spirit through mind control.

You can enjoy a relief from all of your aches, including back and neck problems, and can be a smart way to teach you how to relax your body and understand it better. Its main intention is to enable a person to release suppressed energy which will lead to further happiness as well as better health, and it also allows you to stay in touch with your feelings and the inner self.

By learning how to do the best breathing methods, you will be able to channel your energy throughout your body and prepare to achieve higher goals in Hatha Yoga. You should become more adept at the breathing techniques which are called Pranayama and also special postures that are known as asanas and finally you must learn to meditate. In Hatha yoga, you will learn how to balance the negative and positive forces that will regulate your vital forces overall, giving your mind more clarity and a better subconscious level. Hatha yoga is therefore known as one of the most physical types of yoga available.

An Overview Of Hatha Yoga

There are many forms of yoga these days, but the predominant religious and exercise movement is known as Hatha yoga, a style that attracts roughly 30 million Americans. In the most basic sense of the term, this style focuses on posture and breathing as a way of attaining spiritual enlightenment.

Author Ymber Delecto once explained, “Yoga is invigoration in relaxation. Freedom in routine. Confidence through self control. Energy within and energy without.” Spiritually, Hatha yoga creates a spiritual environment through breathing, repetition and posture that taps into and regulates inner chakras (or energy centers). Yoga practice was initially developed in India over 5,000 years ago as a way of facilitating true understanding and meditation.

The first step is the practicing of the different asanas (poises) to help the mind and body align with one another and open the inner channels of communication. By finding the right posture, one can remain comfortable for long periods of time while meditating. Secondly, proper breathing techniques (sometimes referred to as “pranayama”) are taught. Next, some students may choose to delve more deeply into the philosophical roots. Yoga instructor David Williams (from Hawaii) once noted, “Before you’ve practiced, the theory is useless. After you’ve practiced, the theory is obvious.”

The end result of practicing this style of yoga is markedly noticed almost immediately. Suddenly you can stretch a bit further and touch those toes. You’re not huffing and puffing carrying laundry up to the top floor of the house anymore. Your bowel movements are even more regular than usual and you find that stomach aches and head aches rarely occur these days. Your abdomen, legs and gluteus are looking more defined too. When you’re at work and start to feel stressed, you take a deep breath and reconnect with the relaxation techniques you learned in class, although the anxiety rarely reaches you on a physical level anymore. Your energy levels are revitalized, your hormones are balanced and a calm sense of euphoria and appreciation for each day takes root in your soul. Life is good, thanks to Hatha yoga, a practice that goes back thousands of years to some infinite source of knowledge the West generally seemed to have overlooked.

While many of us wish we had the discipline to properly perform Hatha yoga at home with a DVD, it’s simply not feasible — in the truest sense. Attending yoga class is a bit like attending church on Sundays, in that it gives us that set-aside time to focus, meditate, appreciate and reflect. Much like a priest, the yoga instructor brings an atmosphere of supreme holiness and quietude, while helping you sense your weaknesses and align yourself correctly in tune with your core being. Yoga is not something you can do half-heartedly or skimp out on. Instead, it requires full attentiveness and studiousness. Even if your end goal is purely fitness-oriented, take the time to appreciate this ancient Indian practice and learn the right way. You just may be surprised by what you learn about yourself!