Yoga breathing

The third pramana, which is admitted by Nyaya and not by Vaisheshika, is upamana, and consists in associating a thing unknown before with its name by virtue of its similarity with some other known thing. Thus a man of the city who has never seen a wild ox (gavaya) goes to the forest, asks a forester - “what is gavaya?” and the forester replies - “oh, you do not know it, it is just like a cow”; after hearing this from the forester he travels on, and on seeing a gavaya and finding it to be similar to a cow he forms the opinion that this is a gavaya. This knowing an hitherto unknown thing by virtue of its similarity to a known thing is called upamana. Read more »

cow, inference, observation, perception, realists, right knowledge, testimony, validity, vedas, virtue, visual sense

It is probable that the Nyaya philosophy arose in an atmosphere of continued disputes and debates; as a consequence of this we find here many terms related to debates which we do not notice in any other system of Indian philosophy. These are tarka, nirnaya, vada, jalpa, vitanda, hetvabhasa, chala, jati and nigrahasthana. Read more »

atman, destructive criticism, indian philosophy, intangible, jalpa, real nature, tarka, tautology, vada

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 »

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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

Do you desire success in life? Will you take the means that infallibly secure it? Will you choose, and say to yourself: “I will have wealth; I will have fame; I will have virtue; I will have power’. ? Let your imagination play upon the thought, and watch the dim clouds of hope shape themselves into heavenly possibilities. Give wings to your fancy, for fairer than any picture that you can paint with thought is the future that you can claim with will. Once you have imagined, once you have chosen, say: “I will”. And there is nothing on earth that can hinder you for long; for you are immortal and the future is obedient to you. Read more »

imagination, knowledge, littleness of man, success in life

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

Many people do not realize that it is the nature of man to modify his environment, not to submit to it except in so far as his own judgment advises him to do so. He has the combinative and constructive power of mind which, acting through his hands, alters and adapts old forms and makes new ones by rearranging and combining them. Read more »

acting, constructive power, happiness, nature of man, proper attention, senses, state of consciousness, true state

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

MEDITATION is a complete flow of thought about an object which you have successfully concentrated upon. It is not a flow past, like a procession in the street, but a flow into, a filling-up. It is like a thread of thoughts closely wound into a ball, such that every part of the thread is intimate with every other part. In meditation you enfold yourself in a cocoon of your thoughts; you go in a grub and come out a butterfly. Read more »

butterfly, emotions, gentle manner, inspiration, intuition, meditation

What have I here? A pebble from a beach in Cyprus, now used as a paperweight. Let me meditate on this. First I shall observe it very carefully, noting its size, shape, color, texture, heaviness, markings, etc. Next I shall close my eyes and concentrate upon it. Now I will use the Four Roads of Thought again, with a new motive — to realize as fully as possible the object in whole and parts, its qualities and its actions. Read more »

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Under the Law of Karma every action, yea, every thought as well, has its Karmic effect upon the future incarnations of the soul. And, not exactly in the nature of punishment or rewards, in the general acceptation of the term, but as the invariable operation of the Law of Cause and Effect. The thoughts of a person are like seeds which seek to press forward into growth, bud, blossom and fruit. Read more »

blossom, cause and effect, desires, first principle, future lives, incarnations, karmic, nature of desire, seed thoughts, spiritual wisdom, vitality, yogis

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 »

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The sense of Reality of the “I” that is apparent to You in the moments of your clearest mental vision, is really the reflection of the sense of Reality underlying the Whole–it is the consciousness of the Whole, manifesting through your point or Centre of Consciousness. The advanced student or Initiate finds his consciousness gradually enlarging until it realizes its identity with the Whole. Read more »

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