Posts Tagged ‘Tantric Yoga’

What is Shaktipat Energy Transmission?

Sunday, April 17th, 2011

yoga teacher trainingBy Sangeetha Saran

Shaktipat is the descent of Divine Grace from master to disciple. The initiatory ritual of Shaktipat is rooted in ancient Vedic wisdom from India’s tantric Yoga traditions. According to these traditions, there is a serpent coiled three and a half times at the base of the spine. When a sincere seeker comes into contact with a realized master, the seeker’s Kundalini Shakti energy is ignited and awakened.

Over a period of time, the awakened energy then travels up from the first chakra at the base of the spine, to the seventh chakra in the crown of the head. When the seventh chakra is pierced and activated by the Kundalini Shakti, great bliss arises along with a profound knowledge of the interconnectedness of all life. When a seeker receives Shaktipat, his or her mystical journey begins in earnest.

Shaktipat can be given by a master through touch, glance, and sankalpa or intention. The awakened Kundalini has many manifestations. Some seekers feel strong emotions such as grief, fear, anger, or ecstasy. Often these emotions come in waves and are intermingled as the inner energy is being awakened.

Long lost memories and unresolved traumas may enter the consciousness of a Yoga student and demand immediate attention. There are also physical manifestations of Shaktipat. Some of these manifestations include spontaneous Yoga postures, kriyas, crying, feelings of great heat, seeing inner lights, and hearing inner sounds like that of a conch on a beach or the sound of tinkling bells.

The descent of Divine Grace or Shaktipat touches and penetrates the very depths of a Yoga student’s being. The awakened Kundalini Shakti will transform all aspects of your being as it travels through the chakra system.

According to tantric Yoga, a human being has four levels of bodies – The physical body, the subtle energy body, the causal or mental body, and the body of pure awareness. The awakened Kundalini Shakti will penetrate each one of the four bodies as well as the chakras and align them with divinity.

Shaktipat is a very sacred time in a seeker’s life. It is truly the beginning of the fruition of all spiritual practices. With the descent of Divine Grace from a realized master, a student holds the key to enter into the depths of his or her own heart.

Over time and through consistent spiritual practices, a student will merge into his or her own core of divinity. With this merging, all sense of separation will vanish and the seeker will become intimately aware of the presence of God at all times.

© Copyright 2011 – Aura Wellness Center – Publications Division

To see our selection of Online Yoga teacher training courses, please visit the following link.

http://www.aurawellnesscenter.com/store/

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Philosophy of Kundalini Yoga

Saturday, April 2nd, 2011

yoga relaxationBy Faye Martins

The practice of Kundalini Yoga began its origins, during the first century, in Kashmir. It is based on a philosophical system called Kashmir Shaivism. The philosophy is deeply rooted in tantric Yoga techniques from Kashmir and falls broadly under the spectrum of Hinduism. The tantric initiation was classically handed down, in secret, from Guru to student, only after a long period of committed service and preparation on the part of the student. After some years with the teacher, the student was often directed to return to his or her home, and continues to live, immersed in God’s love, while fulfilling all necessary familial and householder responsibilities.

For many practitioners, Kundalini Yoga is known as the mother of all Yogic disciplines. Ultimately, the goal of Yogic techniques is to unite the student with the divine energy that lies at the heart of our beings. The practical philosophy, of Kundalini Yoga, is based on a belief that there is an energy called the Kundalini Shakti, which lies coiled at the base of our spines, at approximately the fourth vertebrae. According to Kundalini Yoga philosophy, this energy can be awakened with ardent spiritual practices, such as asanas, meditation, recitation of slokas, and breathing exercises. Traditionally, this inner awakening could only be granted to a disciple, through the divine grace of an enlightened master, through shaktipat or divine initiation.

The philosophy of Kundalini Yoga is ultimately rooted in the very esoteric and mystical tantric practices, of Kashmir Shaivism. Over the centuries, this knowledge has been handed down from teacher to student in shrouded and sacred surroundings. Lord Shiva, himself, is held to be the original Guru of this lineage. One of the most beautiful aspects of Kashmir Shaivism is the concept of Aham. It is the concept of the supreme reality of the heart that is the non-dual abode of Shiva himself. The Gurukula is another wonderful philosophical tenet of Kashmir Shaivism; and hence, Kundalini Yoga. Gurukula is generally translated as a family, or group, that is interconnected by the experience of Shiva’s grace. A Yoga studio, where Kundalini Yoga practitioners gather, to do sadhana, or spiritual practices, is a modern version of a kula.

Kundalini Yoga is said to be the mother of all Yogic disciplines because the practices ignite and nourish the Kundalini Shakti herself. Truly, it is a Yoga of conscious grace-filled awakening. A regular practice of Kundalini Yoga enhances well-being, not only physically, but mentally and spiritually, as well. This ancient set of practices is deeply rooted in the tantric branch of Hinduism, known as Kashmir Shaivism. Ardent, and uninterrupted Kundalini Yoga practices, will help to unleash the primordial creative potential that lies at the heart of every human being.

© Copyright 2011 – Aura Wellness Center – Publications Division

To see our selection of Online Yoga teacher training courses, please visit the following link.

http://www.aurawellnesscenter.com/store/

FREE Yoga Report. FREE Yoga Newsletter. FREE Yoga Videos. Free Podcasts. Bonus: Free Yoga e-Book, “Yoga in Practice.”

FREE CONTENT: If you are a Yoga Teacher, Yoga studio, blogger, e-zine, or website publisher, and are in need of quality content, please feel free to use my blog entries (articles). Please be sure to reprint each article, as is, including the resource box above. Namaste!

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The Main Indian Yogas

Tuesday, February 2nd, 2010

By Clyde Granger

The Yogas other than Hatha are mainly meditative and more directly aimed at Yoga as end-goal and union.

Jnana Yoga: Union by knowledge; this is the path of spiritual wisdom and knowledge, in which the intellect penetrates the veils of ignorance that prevent man from seeing his True Self (Atman). The disciplines of this path are those of study and meditation.  To some degree Vedanta Yoga and Jnana are one in the same.

Bhakti Yoga: Union by love and devotion; the favorite Yoga of Indian masses. This is Yoga of strongly-focused love, devotion and worship, at its finest in love of the One. Its disciplines are those of rites and the singing of songs of praise.

Karma Yoga: Union by action and service; this is the path of selfless action and service, without of the fruits of action.

Mantra Yoga: Union by voice and sound; the practice of Mantra Yoga influences consciousness through repeating certain syllables, words or phrases. A form of Mantra Yoga is the Transcendental Meditation, which is widely practiced in the West. Rhytmic repetition of mantras is called japa. The most highly-regarded mantras are ‘OM’ and ‘OM MANE PADME HUM’.

Yantra Yoga: Union by vision and form; Yantra Yoga employs sight and form. The visualization may be with the inner eye. A yantra is a design with power to influence consciousness; it can be an objective picture, an inner visualization, or the design of a temple.

Laya and Kundalini Yoga: Union by arousal of latent psychic nerve-force. These combine many of the techniques of Hatha Yoga, especially prolonged breath suspension and a stable posture, with intense meditative concentration, so as to awaken the psychic nerve-force latent in the body, symbolized as serpent power (Kundalini), which is coiled below the base of the spine. The force is taken up the spine, passing through several power centers (chakras), until it reaches a chakra in the crown of the head, when intuitive enlightenment (Samadhi) is triggered. The disciplines are severe, best practiced with a teacher.

Tantric Yoga: Union by harnessing sexual energy; ‘tantric’ is applied to distinguish physiological systems. The control of the sexual energies has a prominent part, and the union of male and female has a ritualistic role. Tantric Yoga of all the yogas guards its teachings and techniques most closely.

Hatha Yoga: Union by bodily mastery (principally of breath); central to all Hatha Yoga disciplines is the regulation of breath, the harmonizing of its positive (sun) and negative (moon) or male and female currents. Hatha Yoga is the most widely practiced in the West, and its best-known feature is posturing. Hatha has practical benefits to the health of the nervous system, glands, and vital organs. It’s a purifying preparation for Raja Yoga, which is work upon consciousness itself. Hatha Yoga is the most practical of yogas, works upon the body, purifying it, and through the body upon the mind. It’s the Yoga of physical well-being.

Raja Yoga: Union by mental mastery; Raja Yoga is considered royal because the Yogi who practices this yoga thereby becomes ruler over his mind. Raja Yoga works upon the mind, refining and perfecting it, and through the mind upon the body. It’s the Yoga of consciousness, the highest form of Yoga.

© Copyright 2010 – Clyde Granger / Aura Publications

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