Kundalini yoga is known as one of the most powerful types of yoga. Sometimes it was called the mother of all the Styles of Yoga. This type of yoga awakens the energy at the base of our spine which is known as the Muladhara Chakra.
ajna, biological energy, creative energy, dormant energy, fundamental resource, higher self, kunda, manipura, muladhara chakra, power and energy, primal force, rajas, sadhana, sahasrara, sakti, source energy, three gunas, yoga kundalini The royal road or the knowledge of the mind.
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alchemy, ancient manuscript, concentration, concrete methods, human temperaments, meditation, mental barriers, patanjali, psychology, raja yoga It will however be wrong to suppose that these monotheistic tendencies were gradually supplanting the polytheistic sacrifices. On the other hand, the complications of ritualism were gradually growing in their elaborate details. Read more »
creation of the world, demon, devotion, dignity, eternity, fulfilment, magical results, rituals, sacrifice, vedas, virtue The passage of the Indian mind from the Brahmanic to the Upanishad thought is probably the most remarkable event in the history of philosophic thought. We know that in the later Vedic hymns some monotheistic conceptions of great excellence were developed, but these differ in their nature from the absolutism of the Upanishads as much as the Ptolemaic and the Copernican systems in astronomy. Read more »
atman, brahman, one god, principle, rig veda, upanishads, vedic hymns The fundamental idea which runs through the early Upanishads is that underlying the exterior world of change there is an unchangeable reality which is identical with that which underlies the essence in man (1). Read more »
brahman, fundamental idea, man and the universe, psychological functions, samhita, upanishads, visible objects, vital breath There is the atman not in man alone but in all objects of the universe, the sun, the moon, the world; and Brahman is this atman. There is nothing outside the atman, and therefore there is no plurality at all. As from a lump of clay all that is made of clay is known, as from an ingot of black iron all that is made of black iron is known, so when this atman the Brahman is known everything else is known. The essence in man and the essence of the universe are one and the same, and it is Brahman. Read more »
atman, brahman, phenomenal world, upanishads, vedanta, visions As might be expected the Indian systems are all agreed upon the general principles of ethical conduct which must be followed for the attainment of salvation. Read more »
attainment, bhakti, devotion, india, sadhana, unity, vaishnava, yoga system Do you want to become certified as a yoga instructor? Yoga is now offered in nearly every gym and fitness-health club. Yoga is a very old complete method of health and fitness which originated in India. It is no surprise that Yoga has become accepted as one of the best ways to achieve health, fitness and balance. Yoga is not a belief or a religion but a way to reach our greater mental and physical potential. Yoga is an advanced system that works on developing and balancing strength and flexibility, stamina, focus and endurance. Read more »
balance yoga, fitness health, practice yoga, professional training, teaching certification, yoga class, yoga instructor certification, yoga teachers, yoga training, yoga workshop Regrettable as it may be, we are immersed in a tension-filled world. It is this very tension that forms the basis for many psychosomatic disturbances. Psychiatry offers tranquillizers but Hatha Yoga offers drugless, inner relaxation through the thousands-years-old process known as ‘Shavasana’. Read more »
conscious control, corpse pose, hatha yoga, insomnia, lie still, mental tension, physical tension, psychosomatic disturbances, relaxation, relax your body, relieve stress, yoga asana, yoga nidra, yoga practice The word yoga occurs in the rig-Veda in various senses such as yoking or harnessing, achieving the unachieved, connection, and the like. Read more »
asceticism, bhagavadgita, brihadaranyaka upanishad, highest power, middle path, panini, philosophical ideas, rig veda, sanskrit literature, vow of celibacy, word yoga, yuj We have now to meet the vexed question of the probable date of this famous Yoga author Patanjali. Weber had tried to connect him with Kapya Patamchala of Shatapatha Brahmana; in Katyayana’s Varttika we get the name Patanjali which is explained by later commentators as patantah anjalayah yasmai (for whom the hands are folded as a mark of reverence), but it is indeed difficult to come to any conclusion merely from the similarity of names (1). Read more »
commentators, grammarian, panini, patanjali, western scholars, yoga sutra The conception of Yoga as we meet it in the Maitrayana Upanishad consisted of six angas or accessories, namely pranayama, pratyahara, dhyana, dharana, tarka and samadhi (1). Read more »
ahimsa, anga, asana, dhyana, karuna, niyama, patanjali, pranayama, samadhi, satya, sex control, tarka, upanishad, yoga sutras When the mind has become pure the chances of its being ruffled by external disturbances are greatly reduced. At such a stage the yogin takes a firm posture (asana) and fixes his mind on any object he chooses. It is, however, preferable that he should fix it on Ishvara, for in that case Ishvara being pleased removes many of the obstacles in his path, and it becomes easier for him to attain success. Read more »
ananda, asana, concentration, external disturbances, impressions, objective world, obstacles, purusha, remembrance, samadhi, true knowledge Of the six classes of entities or categories (padartha) we have already given some account of dravya (1). Let us now turn to the others. Of the qualities (guna) the first one called rupa (colour) is that which can be apprehended by the eye alone and not by any other sense. The colours are white, blue, yellow, red, green, brown and variegated (citra). Colours are found only in kshiti, ap and tejas. The colours of ap and tejas are permanent (nitya), but the colour of kshiti changes when heat is applied, and this, Shridhara holds, is due to the fact that heat changes the atomic structure of kshiti (earth) and thus the old constitution of the substance being destroyed, its old colour is also destroyed, and a new one is generated. Rupa is the general name for the specific individual colours. There is the genus rupatva (colourness), and the rupa guna (quality) is that on which rests this genus; rupa is not itself a genus and can be apprehended by the eye. Read more »
akasha, atomic structure, guna, katu, natural taste, nitya, rasa, rupa, tejas, vayu It is useless I think to attempt to bring out the meaning of the Vedanta thought as contained in the Brahma-sutras without making any reference to the commentary of Shankara or any other commentator. There is reason to believe that the Brahma-sutras were first commented upon by some Vaishnava writers who held some form of modified dualism. Read more »
brahma sutras, dualism, nagarjuna, philosophy, prajnaparamita, shankara, upanishads, vaishnava, vedanta Vedanta philosophy is the philosophy which claims to be the exposition of the philosophy taught in the Upanishads and summarized in the Brahma-sutras of Badarayana. The Upanishads form the last part of the Veda literature, and its philosophy is therefore also called sometimes the Uttara-Mimamsa or the Mimamsa (decision) of the later part of the Vedas as distinguished from the Mimamsa of the previous part of the Vedas and the Brahmanas as incorporated in the Purvamimamsa sutras of Jaimini. Read more »
brahmanas, brahma sutras, commentaries, hindu, ramanuja, shankara, upanishads, vedanta philosophy, vedas Yoga is more and more being used by those who are having a difficulty in adjusting the timetable and balancing their work, business activities and personal life. A stressful working environment and a chaotic life schedule have a significant impact on the personal lives of the modern day workers and managers and so they are turning to yoga to bring about a peace of their mind, a more fit body and to adopt a perfect work-life balance. Mind-body health, which derives from Indian yoga philosophies and practices, improves physical and emotional well-being, and has implications for workplace performance. Read more »
cardiac risk factors, chaotic life, exercise regimes, fit body, hormone production, indian yoga, mind body health, stress hormone, weight trainers, yoga exercises Jiva or individual means the self in association with the ego and other personal experiences, i.e. phenomenal self, which feels, suffers and is affected by world-experiences. In jiva also three stages are distinguished; thus when during deep sleep the antahkarana is submerged, the self perceives merely the ajnana and the jiva in this state is called prajna or anandamaya. In the dream-state the self is in association with a subtle body and is called taijasa. In the awakened state the self as associated with a subtle and gross body is called vishva. So also the self in its pure state is called Brahman, when associated with maya it is called Ishvara, when associated with the fine subtle element of matter as controlling them, it is called hiranyagarbha; when with the gross elements as the ruler or controller of them it is called virat purusha. Read more »
antahkarana, brahman, caitanya, deep sleep, dream self, dream states, ego, gross body, jiva, maya, personal experiences, purusha, right knowledge, subtle body, world experiences Vedanta says that when a duly qualified man takes to the study of Vedanta and is instructed by the preceptor - “Thou art that (Brahman),” he attains the emancipating knowledge, and the world-appearance becomes for him false and illusory. Read more »
attainment, karma, right knowledge, selfish desires, vedanta, vedas, worldly enjoyments ‘Raja’ means king and thus Raja Yoga is the ‘Kingly Yoga’ or the ‘Royal Way’ of Yoga. Our mind is the ‘King’ in question, the master in our lives is the mind, and the control of mind is the primary concern of Raja Yoga.
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aphorisms of yoga, concentration, dhyana meditation, eight limbs yoga, hatha yoga, patanjali, raja yoga, states of ecstasy, yoga sutras Sukhasana literally means ‘easy’ or pleasant ‘pose’. Sukha means “easy,“ “joy,” and this pose should feel so good that it fills you with joy! Sukhasana is an optimal yoga pose for practicing Pranayama, the pose calms the mind, and stills the body. Sukhasana is one of a number of meditative poses. Like all meditative poses it shares certain common characteristics. Read more »
asanas, crossed legs, deep breathing, pranayama, yoga mat, yoga pose Yoga in its definition of the structure of the world has many things in common with Sankhya, but it differs indeed from Sankhya in admitting the existence of God. Of course the God’s concept in Yoga, as happened in Nyaya, has passed through different stages: from the primitive one, indifferent presence, God has become, under the influence of theistic tides, an active assistant of liberation. The assimilation with Shiva of the popular religion confers him little by little all the ownerships of Ishvara, the Supreme almighty Being. Read more »
asceticism, existence of god, liberation, moral discipline, right knowledge, sacred texts, sankhya, yoga It is useless to seek the origins of Yoga, which are submerged in that magical history in which primitive people live and which the evolving of culture doesn’t succeed to disregard. Certain analogies with the doctrines of ancient schools of China as emerged in Taoism, make a great deal probable that existed to a large extent in southern and south-oriental Asia certain routines, based above all on the control of breath and on auto hypnotic processes, from which slowly and with degrees derived both Yoga and the mentioned Taoist currents. Read more »
buddhists, cross legged, magical history, mohenjodaro, psychological investigations, rudra, upanishads, yoga teachers Bikram’s beginning yoga class is a book that Bikram Choudhury published in 2000 with the intention of making more affordable his version of hatha yoga in the west. Birkam yoga is practiced at 105 degrees temperature with more than 50% humidity. Birkam yoga involves controlling blood flow in the body through a variety of postures, which in turn have an effect on the muscles, organs, and immune system. Many years after its initial publication, Bikram’s beginning yoga class still provides a comprehensible introduction to the basics of yoga poses and yoga breathing. Read more »
asana, beginning yoga, bikram choudhury, birkam yoga, chronic diseases, hatha yoga asanas, immune system, increase energy, medical benefits, yoga breathing, yoga class, yoga exercises, yoga poses, yoga practice ‘Hatha’ is perhaps the best known aspect of Yoga among Westerners. To most yoga students it is simply a difficult system of physical control involving the use of various yoga poses (Asanas) and the learning of specialized breathing techniques (Pranayama). Read more »
asanas, breathing techniques, chronic anxiety, feminine symbol, hatha yoga, mental stability, pranayama, psychosomatic disease, yoga poses, yoga students The corrective asanas prepare various muscles, articulations, tendons and many reflex mechanisms, in a way to make the body and mind fit for higher yoga practices. Read more »
autonomous nervous system, cardiac rhythm, maximum effectiveness, maximum energy, mental peace, muscular activity, muscular tone, necessary effort, relaxation, slow movements, tendons, yoga pose, yoga practices A constant process of meditation requires that the annoyance of the external environment is reduced to the minimum or is annulled entirely. This means that the yoga practitioner will be able to concentrate his own mind and to meditate only in absence of nervous impulses from the receptors. Read more »
immobility, meditative yoga, mental calm, nervous impulses, peristaltic movements, respiratory activity, siddha, spiritual practices, straight spine, vertical position, yoga pose, yoga practitioner, yoga student Shakti is both maya, that by which the Brahman creating the universe is able to make Itself appear to be different from what It really is, and mula-prakriti, or the unmanifested (avyakta) state of that which, when manifest, is the universe of name and form. It is the primary so called “material cause,” consisting of the equipoise of the triad of guna or “qualities” which are sattva (that which manifests) rajas (that which acts), tamas (that which veils and produces inertia). The three gunas represent Nature as the revelation of spirit, Nature as the passage of descent from spirit to matter, or of ascent from matter to spirit, and Nature as the dense veil of spirit. The Devi is thus guna-nidhi (”treasure-house of guna” ). Read more »
brahman, coiled serpent, guna, kundalini, material cause, maya, mula, prana, shakti, spirit and nature, three and a half, triad, universe, womb But, whatever you choose, one thing you will need in all things and at all times — concentration of purpose, of thought, of feeling, of action; so that this, like a powerful-magnet, will polarize everything with which you deal. In all the aims of life it is needed for success. Read more »
aims, concentration, desires, human progress, magnet, science and philosophy, virtue One of the higher efforts and achievements of concentration of mind has been well described by Dr. Annie Besant in her book The Ancient Wisdom, in the following words: Read more »
abstract subject, ancient wisdom, concentration, devotion, distractions, higher consciousness, indifference, line of thought, physical brain, practice compassion, quiet and still, senses, serene, single point, temperance We may now turn to the first exercise: Read more »
concentration, four roads, mental health, recall Be it folly or wisdom, I must concentrate on some part of this world. Few men have the inclination and power to ignore it altogether. I must decide to pay attention to this thing or idea rather than that. For this purpose it is the little fish of attention that I have to control. Read more »
concentrate, concentration, folly, inclination, little fish, pay attention, wisdom CONCENTRATION is not an end in itself, but a means to develop the will so that it may make the entire life purposeful. Polarize your entire life — all your actions, your feelings, your thinking — by establishing a permanent mood towards success in some line of human endeavor. It may be the mood of an artist, a scientist, a poet, a philosopher, a philanthropist; it may concern art, religion, science, interpretation, philosophy, thoughts and deeds of affection and kindness, or works of commerce or government; it may aim at skill in action, or intense and expanded feeling, or a clear and deep understanding of life; it may seek self-government, or, the mastery of environment and success in outward things. That is for you to choose; but choose something definite and polarize your whole life to that. Read more »
dignity and security, freedom and power, outward things, position, Power, slave to the base emotion It is said in an old Indian book that there are four great enemies to human success: (I) a sleepy heart, (2) human passions, (3) a confused mind, and (4) attachment to anything but Brahman. [Each student has to attach his own meaning to this word, keeping it always flexible, so that it may expand and become illumined. Literally: the Evolutioner, Grower or Expander, not creator] Read more »
appetites, brahman, confused mind, emotions, enhancement, exercise, heart, human passions, ordered life, physical culture, pleasure and pain, suppression, vigor, vigorous life I HAVE already spoken of relaxation and muscle balance, and their relation to the practices of concentration and meditation. These are necessary so that (I) the body may not be injured by the mental efforts and (2) the mental work may not be spoiled by bodily discomfort. Thirdly, we have to remember that bodily attitudes are associated with states of feeling, such as lying down with sleep, and kneeling with prayer. That has to be taken into consideration when you are selecting a posture, but there is no objection to your lying down to concentrate or meditate, so long as you find that it does not conduce to sleepiness. Read more »
attitudes, concentration and meditation, lying down, mental efforts, muscle balance, posture, relaxation, sensations 1. The Standing Exercise.
With your watch in sight try to stand perfectly still (except for breathing and blinking) in front of a mirror for three to five minutes. Make no response to any twitching, tickling, itching, creeping, aching or creaking feelings that may arise. Think “stillness”, not “not-moving-ness”. Read more »
continence, exercise, feelings, hands and feet, intuition, muscles, practise, sensations At the end of a month of practice of the kind of physical exercises given in this chapter, though you can sit quietly, and the body has become lighter and brighter, so that you can get up like a cat in the morning, you may still find yourself troubled by outside things during concentration or meditation. Noises, for example, may divert you. In that case spare fifteen minutes a day for a month for practice on the following lines. Read more »
hearth, light waves, nostrils, physical exercises, seclusion, senses, sense organs, unexpected change WHEN the student is well practised in concentration, so that he can put on the mood of it like a garment, let him or her proceed to meditation and contemplation. Read more »
attentively, concentration, contemplation, great happiness, meditation, unite The following diagram is intended to give a rough idea of the changes which occur in man in the course of his development. The first figure indicates the condition of an undeveloped man, in whom the physical nature is dominant and the will is weak, the second that of one very advanced in whom the balance is reversed, other people lie between the two. Read more »
desire nature, emotions, fulfilment, intellect, meditation, physical nature The Yogi Philosophy may be divided into several great branches, or fields. What is known as “Hatha Yoga” deals with the physical body and its control; its welfare; its health; its preservation; its laws, etc. What is known as “Raja Yoga” deals with the Mind; its control; its development; its unfoldment, etc. What is known as “Bhakti Yoga” deals with the Love of the Absolute–God. What is known as “Gnani Yoga” deals with the scientific and intellectual knowing of the great questions regarding Life and what lies back of Life–the Riddle of the Universe. Read more »
absolute god, bhakti yoga, fundamental principles, gnani yoga, hatha yoga, higher self, inner senses, knowing, latent powers, mental faculties, raja yoga, riddle of the universe, yogi On all sides of us we may see this constant and steady urge and pressure behind living forces, and inorganic forms as well–always a manifestation of Energy and Power. And all this Power is in the Will–and the Will is but the manifestation of the All-Power–the Absolute. Remember this. Read more »
Creative Will, Energy and Power, mental energy, Psychic Phenomena At this point we may be confronted with the objection of the student of material science, who will ask why we begin our consideration of Cosmic Evolution at a point in which matter has reached the limit of its lowest vibrations, manifesting in the grossest possible form of matter. These students may point to the fact that Science begins its consideration of evolution with the nebulae, or faint cloudlike, vaporous matter, from which the planets were formed. But there is only an apparent contradiction here. The nebulae were part of the Process of Involution, and Science is right when it holds that the gross forms were produced from the finer. But the process of change from finer to grosser was Involution, not Evolution. Do you see the difference? Evolution begins at the point when the stage of Unfoldment commenced. When the gross forms begin to yield to the new upward urge, and unfold into finer forms–then begins Evolution. Read more »
Cosmic Evolution, material part, Process of Involution, Science, single cell, Temple of the Soul, Yogi Teachings This, then, is the brief outline of the Story of Man’s Physical Evolution, as stated by Western Science, and compared with the Yogi Teachings. The student should compare the two ideas, that he may harmonize and reconcile them. It must be remembered, however, that Darwin did not teach that Man descended from the monkeys, or apes, as we know them now. Read more »
ancestor, apes, brain structure, chimpanzee, civilized man, convolutions, darwin, domesticated animal, hindu, hottentot, human reason, physical evolution, savage, western science The Yogi traditions hold that just prior to the great cataclysm which destroyed the races of the Second Cycle, there was a body of the Chosen Ones which migrated from Lemuria to certain islands of the sea which are now part of the main land of India. These people formed the nucleus of the Occult Teachings of the Lemurians, and developed into the Fount of Truth which has been flowing ever since throughout the successive periods and cycles. Read more »
atlantis, attainment, cataclysm, chosen ones, civilization, continent, lemuria, yogi According to the temperament of the sadhaka, so is the form of worship and sadhana. In fact, the specific worship and sadhana of the other classes is strictly prohibited by the Tantra to the pasu. Read more »
acara, animal creation, asrama, divya, kali age, kali yuga, observances, pasu, rajas, sadhana, vedas THE Guru is the religious teacher and spiritual guide to whose direction orthodox Hindus of all divisions of worshippers submit themselves. There is in reality but one Guru. The ordinary human Guru is but the manifestation on the phenomenal plane of the Adinatha Maha-kala, the Supreme Guru abiding in Kailasa. (1) Read more »
disciple, divine birth, gurus, guru mantra, initiation, kailasa, natural birth, necessary qualifications, orthodox hindus, religious teacher, sacred knowledge, spiritual guide, supreme guru, tantra