Posts Tagged ‘yoga history’

An Introduction to Yoga

Thursday, July 1st, 2010

By Rick Jackson

The Origins of Yoga

When it comes to traditional mental and physical disciplines of human practices, we come to the term called yoga. Yoga originated from India and was associated with practices in meditative religious congregations branched in their philosophy. As of today, some people take yoga exercises for physical purposes and meditation. However, some people believed that there is nothing wrong in implementing yoga art as an exercise used in daily regiment promoting healthy living.

The yoga practice is merely more than a structure of physical exercise for health. It was an ancient course to spiritual growth which originated from India it is widely practiced.

The Paradigm of Yoga

The yoga history was based in the civilization of Indus Valley; the techniques they used were practiced to initiate spiritual growth. The yogis encourages combination with the Atman (transitory self) the Brahman (eternal self). The Hindus used the term Brahman to mean “GOD” which the Yogis thought that God is a spiritual substance and impersonal that co-exists with all of reality. This yogi doctrine was so called pantheism that views everything is God.

The Pre-Classical Yoga – the creation of Bhagavad-Gita. A mutually brought aspect in human existence; Jnana (knowledge), Bhakti (devotion), and Karma (cause and effect). It was then that the Gita tried to combine these three yogi traditions sacrificing ego through self-knowledge.

Classical Yoga – also classified as the Yoga Sutra and was composed by Patañjali (known to be as the founder of Yoga. He believed that every human being is composed of Purusha (spirit) and Prakrti (matter) and to which, the goal of Yoga is to give spirit its freedom from the material world.

Asana – Physical activity

Dharana – Concentration

Dhyana - Meditation that leads to Samadhi

Niyama - Religious and personal observance of devotion, purity and study

Pratyahara - Abstraction of senses

Pranayama - Breath regulation

Samadhi – Absorption in the sublime and blissful awareness

Yama – ethical conduct or self-restraint

Post-Classical Yoga – the development of Hatha Yoga and other branches of yoga. The time where human body was considered as the temple of immortal soul.

Modern Yoga – attributed to the yoga guru Swami Vivekananda and taught the Five Yoga Principles.

Proper Breathing (Pranayama)

Proper Diet

Proper Exercise (Asanas)

Proper Relaxation (Savasana)

Positive Thinking and Meditation (Dhyana)

The Forms of Yoga

If you would like to pick up yoga, you would like to buy a good yoga mat so that you can practice it at home in your own covenience. For good and cheap yoga mats, check out http://www.bestyogamatsale.com for great bargains.

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in yoga history | No Comments »

The History Of Dynamic Yoga

Saturday, October 3rd, 2009

Boat Pose - YogaBy Keval Gajjar

THE HISTORY OF YOGA

Most of the Hatha yoga forms taught today throughout the Western world is influenced by the great yogi Tirumalai Krishnamacharya, who was born in 1888. He is considered the father of modern yoga and is responsible for pioneering the refinement of postures, specifically sequencing them and giving therapeutic value to each one.

He is also responsible for combining the postures with breath control to create a form of moving meditation. Sri K. Pattabhi Jois, who developed the Ashtanga Vinyasa method of Hatha yoga, studied with Krishnamacharya from the age of 12 and continued to teach yoga.  Inspired by his great teacher, in Mysore, India. B.K.S. Iyengar also studied with Krishnamacharya, albeit for a brief time.

He has spent his life perfecting the asanas that his first guru taught him and is the founder of the Iyengar style of yoga. He has a yoga center in Pune, India.T. Desikachar, the son of Krishnamacharya, developed the Viniyoga approach to Hatha yoga and currently has a yoga center in Chennai, India. He also teaches throughout the world.

THE EIGHT LIMBS

One of the founding principles of Hatha yoga to which dynamic yoga adheres is that of the eight limbs, which the literal translation of the Sanskrit word ashtanga is. Devised by the famous sage Patanjali in about 200 B.C, the eight limbs are described by him in the historical yoga text, the Yoga Sutras. The eight limbs can be likened to the form and nature of a tree. For, as a tree stands strong against every adversity and continues to grow, producing fruits from its labor, so do yoga students, through consistent practice and dedication, begin to reap the benefits of their labor and nourish the fruits of their love. The first five limbs are concerned with the body and the brain. They constitute the outer phase of yoga. The final three limbs are concerned with the reconditioning of the mind and constitute the inner phase of yoga.

The first limb of yoga is called Yama. Its purpose is to promote moral and ethical principles within the individual. Yama has five principles or social disciplines: ahimsa (nonviolence), satya (truth), asteya (non-stealing), brahmacharya (purity), and aparigraha (non-attachment).

The second limb is called Niyama. Its purpose is to create an inner integrity and it also has five principles: saucha (cleanliness, purity), santosha (contentment), tapas (austerity), svadhaya (self-study), and isvarapranidhana (surrender to God).

The third limb is called Asana. These are the yoga postures, which are practiced to calm the mind, enabling a deep state of meditation to occur. This is based on the principle that if the body is restless, the mind will also become restless, inhibiting the true realization of the self.

The fourth limb is Pranayama, or extension of the breath. Prana is the life-force energy, and ayama is the voluntary effort to control and direct this energy. Pranayama helps contemplation and eliminates distractions of the mind, so it becomes easier to concentrate and meditate.

The fifth limb is Pratyahara, which means mastery of the senses. Through the practice of asana and pranayama your mind’s attention is turned within; through pratyahara this internal focus is maintained.

The sixth limb is Dharana, or concentration. It is the ability to focus your full attention on one point to the exclusion of everything else. It is essential to realizing the true self.

The seventh limb is Dhyana, or meditation, which is the effortless flow of awareness toward the object of concentration. The difference between concentration and meditation is that in concentration there is a peripheral distraction or awareness of your immediate surroundings, whereas in meditation the attention is not disturbed at all; you are completely absorbed.

The eighth limb is Samadhi, which means the absorption of object with the mind. In this enlightened state there is no duality of consciousness. It is one step beyond being completely absorbed in the meditative state. When you have achieved Samadhi, the “I” becomes nonexistent. You become one with God or one with all. This is the fruit of the tree or the fruits of your labor.

MY DEAR BROTHERS AND SISTER IF YOU WANT TO KNOW MORE ABOUT THIS THEN VISIT www.indianyogaandmeditation.com

Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in About Yoga, yoga teacher training | No Comments »