Sunday, November 20, 2011

Yoga Love?

Yoga love. What is Yoga?
Yoga Practice and Philosophy includes many things.

"Yoga is ideal for connecting the body mind though a process and practice that gradually benefits our ability to concentrate and become independent. We improve our health, our relationships, and everything we do." (page 13 Heart of Yoga)

Yoga practice consists of three elements tapas, svadyaya and isvarapranidhana.
Tapas is to "heat" or "cleanse" , a way to keep ourselves healthy and to cleanse ourselves inwardly. This is the practice of Asana and Pranayama, that is physical and breathing exercises of Yoga. Asana literally means pose or place.

Svadyaya
literally translates "self", "study" or "investigation". This is the study of ourselves, who we are, what we are and what is our relationship to the world.

Isvarapranidhana is a "love of god" and a certain quality of action!
While these are general definitions these terms are discussed in the Yoga Sutra of Pantanjali and can be contemplated in many ways.

Together these terms are known as Kriya Yoga, which is one branch of Yoga that can lead to a change for the better in all aspects of our lives!

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Now our practice begins...


Yoga is a practice of a focused mind built by the conscious actions of philosophical practice.
The foundation of Yoga in India is based on the writings of Pantanjali, who
during India's Mauryan Period (50 BCE) was attributed to compiling "The Yoga Sutras of Pantanjali", the Indian scripture and foundational text of yoga.
Yoga and Raja Yoga are 2 of the 6 orthodox philosophical schools.

These are the backbone of Yoga Philosophy and Practice.
There is debate over when, where and who exactly wrote the work but somewhere between 2nd century BCE and 500 BCE.

The practice of Yoga allows for openness in the mind and body and it is a ritual of physical and mental purification.
Each Pose called an asana is a physical prayer and each has significant anatomical benefits.
For each person Yoga is different. This allows for individual growth.

-Enjoy your practice!