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 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 Ajnana the cause of all illusions is defined as that which is beginningless, yet positive and removable by knowledge (anadibhavarupatve sati jnananivartyatvam). Though it manifests itself in all ordinary things (veiled by it before they become objects of perception) which have a beginning in time, yet it itself has no beginning, for it is associated with the pure consciousness which is beginningless. Read more »
consciousness, dosha, illusions, imagination, imposition, negation, notion, perception, vedanta That eternal immutable existence which transcends the turiya and all other states is the unconditioned Absolute, the supreme Brahman or Para-brahman, without Prakriti (nishkala) or Her attributes (nir-guna), which, as being the inner self and knowing subject, can never be the object of cognition, and is to be apprehended only through yoga by the realization of the Self (atmajñana), which It is. For as it is said, “Spirit can alone know Spirit.” Being beyond mind, speech, and without name, the Brahman was called “Tat,” “That,” and then “Tat Sat,” “That which is.” For the sun, moon, and stars, and all visible things, what are they but a glimpse of light caught from “That” (Tat)? Read more »
ananda, brahma, chaitanya, glimpse of light, guna, human speech, kala, rupa, sarada, shakti, shiva, spirit, sun moon, supreme brahman This earth, which is the object of the physical senses and of the knowledge based thereon, is but one of fourteen worlds or regions placed “above” and “below” it, of which (as the sutra says) knowledge may be obtained by meditation on the solar “nerve” (nada) sushumna in the merudanda. Read more »
atma, celestial beings, earth to the sun, heavenly sphere, jiva, moksha, nada, nadi, nether, padma, physical senses, pole star, siddhas, terrestrial sphere, thousand petalled lotus The universe consists of a Mahabrahmanda, or grand Kosmos, and of numerous Brihatbrahmanda, or macrocosms evolved from it. Read more »
ajna, akasha, anahata, heavenly bodies, kosmos, macrocosm, meru, microcosm, nirvana, organs of generation, prana, purusha, spinal column, tantra, tapah, vayu It is said (1) that there are 3½ crores of nadis in the human body, of which some are gross and some are subtle. Nadi means a nerve or artery in the ordinary sense; but all the nadis of which the books on Yoga (2) speak are not of this physical character, but are subtle channels of energy. Read more »
ajna, caduceus, cakra, candra, earth centre, left nostril, meru, moon, mukta, nadi, nectar, physical character, triveni, yamuna Muladhara (1) is a triangular space in the midmost portion of the body, with the apex turned downwards like a young girl’s yoni. It is described as a red lotus of four petals, situate between the base of the sexual organ and the anus. “Earth” evolved from “water” is the Tattva of the cakra. On the four petals are the four golden varnas - “vam”, “śam”, “şam” and “sam”.(2) Read more »
brahma, brahman, cakra, creative desire, earth mandala, kundalini, linga, natural bliss, petals, red lotus, savitri, sexual organ, triangle, vayu Ajna-cakra is also called parama-kula and mukta, tri-veni, since it is from here that the three nadis - Ida, Pingala and Susumna - go their separate ways. It is a two petalled lotus, situated between the two eyebrows. In this cakra there is no gross Tattva, but the subtle Tattva mind is here. Hakarardha, or half the letter Ha, is also there. On its petals are the red varnas “ham” and “ksam” Read more »
ajna, cakra, gunas, hamsa, jnana, ksam, linga, mukta, nadis, om, parama, petals, rajas, sattva, siddha, visnu The Anusara Immersion program is intended to give power to yoga practice through attentive study, practice and dialogue. The Anusara Immersion is a flight into the lessons of Anusara Yoga (Asana, Pranayama, Meditation). The Anusara Immersion is perfect for those that desire to research the mystery and deep practices of Anusara yoga. Read more »
alignment, anatomy, anusara yoga, become a teacher, firm foundation, immersion program, john friend, level 1, meditation, poses, pranayama, self assurance, universal principles, yoga asana, yoga philosophy, yoga students This word, which comes from the root yaj (to worship), is commonly translated “sacrifice”. The Sanskrit word is, however, retained in the translation, since Yajna means other things also than those which come within the meaning of the word “sacrifice”, as understood by an English reader. Read more »
butter ghee, deva, homa, mantra, nadis, nyasa, offerings, om, organic creation, principles of tantra, sacrifice, spirits, vedas The object of all sadhana is the stimulation of the sattvaguna. When by such sadhana this guna largely preponderates, the sattvika sadhana suitable for men of a high type of divyabhava is adopted. In this latter sadhana the names of the pancatattva are used symbolically for operations of a purely mental and spiritual character. Read more »
akara, atma, fish, hamsa, kundalini, maithuna, mudra, pranayama, sadhana, spiritual character, wine, worshipper, yogini From pranayama (q.v.) arises laghava (lightness).
All beings say the ajapa-Gayatri, which is the expulsion of the breath by Hamkara, and its inspiration by Sahkara, 21,600 times a day. Ordinarily, the breath goes forth a distance of 12 fingers’ breadth, but in singing, eating, walking, sleeping, coition, the distances are 16, 20, 24, 30, and 36 breadths respectively. Read more »
bija, coition, exhalation, gayatri, guru, inspiration, japa, nadi, nyasa, pranayama, vital airs
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