Posts Tagged ‘peacefulness’
So much confusion with Astanga_Yoga. Nowadays so many people talks about going to Astanga_Yoga classes. Do we really now what we are talking about when we say Astanga_Yoga?
This is the Yoga of the 8 Limbs or 8 angas or also called Raja Yoga or the Royal Path.
Those 8 angas are:
5 Yamas (prescriptions about what should I do)
5 Niyamas(proscriptions about what what I should not do)
Asanas or Yoga Postures
Pranayama or control of Prana, Life Force energy
Pratyahara or withdrawal of senses to achieve a tranquil mind
Dharana or concentration which helps the mind to become one pointed
Dhyana or meditation which is the result of the practice of the above anga
Samadhi is the state of Self Realization where the mind is transcended and becomes aware of the Self and unites with it.
This state is characterized by:
SAT CHIT ANANADA
Existence, consciousness and bliss – The Ultimate Reality.
Raja Yoga leads to the Ultimate Truth, it teaches us how to be and encourages healthy discrimination leading to liberation confirming the hypothesis that mankind’s True Nature is Divine.
Is this the kind of Astanga_Yoga that you practice?
Raja Yoga help us to deal with conflicts and frustrations in our modern society. We can also realize of our full potential for creative thought and action, transcending all human limitations and realizing our True Nature.
Good readings
Namaste
Sunshine Yoga Academy
We begin a brand new session for our acclaimed Yoga Teacher’s Training on May 06/2010. There are a few spaces available. Check it out and register soon. Spaces are limited.
I hope you can join us on the Path of Self Transformaction.
Namaste
Sunshine Yoga Academy
Today, I would like to introduce you to the practice of breath meditation. It is a simple technique that will change your life.
Sit comfortably with your spine erect and the whole body relaxed. For a few moments let your awareness and breath join together traveling through your body as you observe the wave of relaxation arising with the breath.
Sit for several minutes observing the breath without trying to change or manipulate the breath. Do not control it; let it come and let it go.
Bring your attention to your torso as you establish diaphragmatic breathing. Observe the expansion and relaxation in your torso. Relax any efforts, let the breath breathe you. Observe thoughts coming and going, without an effort let go of the thoughts and bring yourself back to the breath. Continue focusing on the breath and notice how your breath and your mind become one. With practice, you will notice that the breath becomes so soft, rhythmical, even at the same time that the mind becomes more calm, centered and peaceful .
Enjoy the first steps of the practice of meditation. Practice this method for a few days and see the changes in your life.
Namaste
Sunshine Yoga Academy
My spiritual Teacher used to tell this story.
Imagine that you are lost in a deep valley, surrounded by thickly growing bushes and trees. You are able to see a short distance ahead and on the sides, because of the dense forest surrounding you. You are preoccupied with protecting yourself and satisfying your immediate needs. You are concerned with finding water, food, shelter and protections from the animals. You feel frightened and desperate, wondering how you will ever find your way out.
After a considerable struggle you finally climb to the top of the ridge surrounding the valley. There your field of awareness is extended and you can look down to where you were previously standing. From this higher point you see a winding stream and some fruit trees just a short distance off from where you had been. When you were in the valley the water and trees were unknown. For you they did not exist. The fear of suffering from thirst and hunger was very real to you then. But from a larger perspective at the top of the ridge you can see that there was no need to be concerned at all. Your problems were created by your own imagination by the narrowness of your perception.
From the ridge where you are now standing you can see even higher plateaus surrounding you, and you wonder what lies beyond them. Though your perspective is greater than it was before, it is still far from all encompassing. You are still preoccupied with finding your way out of the wilderness and seeking shelter. Though your field of vision has been enlarged and your anxieties somewhat reduced, many uncertainties remain. so you begin to make your way toward a higher vantage point. It take considerable time and effort to reach it, but when you finally climb, exhausted , to the top of a large hill, your efforts are rewarded by a still greater perspective and you are overjoyed to see in the distance a trail and beyond it, still further, the smoke of some tents of some campers.
Each time that you climb to a higher vantage point the range of your vision is enlarged and your understanding of the entire situation is altered. You see things from a more encompassing perspective which allows you to be less concerned and anxious and enables you to relate to your environment in terms of how it really is rather than in terms of how you imagined it to be from a more limited point of view.
Namaste,
Sunshine Yoga Academy