Pranayama are breathing exercises developed by the ancient yogis for purification. Prana translates into "life force energy" and Yama translates into "control or mastery of". Thus, Pranyama is used to control, cultivate, and modify the Prana in the body. Prana is taken in through the air we breathe, and since the Pranayama exercises increase the amount of air we take in, they also increase our intake of Prana.
For all Pranayama (except Kapalabhati), the breath is slow and steady, breathed in and out of the nose and down into the belly. Always sit with a straight spine and a relaxed body. While you are practicing Pranayama, let go of any thoughts by focusing on the breathing involved with the Pranayama.
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 I am not often speechless. There are very few times in my life where in retrospect I am unable to weave words that adequately describe an experience into an entertaining and often humorous description of an event. Seriously, I even tend to do this with very somber and serious things like funerals and yoga classes. There are the rare few events, usually the latter of the two, that so move me and lift the veil of separateness that I am left with a palpable sense that something tremendous has just occurred and there is no language to clothe it. |
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Yoga is really popular, wouldn’t you agree? As with most things, along with soaring popularity comes a fair amount of skepticism and critique. A recent article in Time Magazine very briefly explored the casualties of the current yoga surge. According to the article, entitled “When Yoga Hurts,”13000 of the current 14 million practitioners are winding up with injuries directly linked to Hatha Yoga. By my calculations this is less than one percent (0.09285% to be exact), and I can’t speak for everyone, but to me this seems to be a vote in favor of the practice, its practitioners, and its teachers. Imagine if any other physical activity maintained such a low occurrence of injury. |
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In the past few months, headlines have surfaced in the UK regarding a ban on yoga for Children in the church. Now, having grown up in the mountains of Tennessee, this was not at all an uncommon occurrence. In the buckle of the Bible belt, the suggestion of bringing yoga classes into a church was likened to the proposal of teaching the main concepts of black magic. Because of yoga’s close association with Hinduism, many Christian groups believe it is dogmatic and corrupt. I was raised in a small Methodist Church in upper East Tennessee. I have only returned there a handful of times as an adult, and have come to expect the raised eyebrows and stern looks of judgment when asked “so what are you doing now?” It would possibly be more acceptable for me to respond “money laundering” instead of “yoga teacher.” At least the former sounds clean. |
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I’ve often asked myself what makes someone an addict. In my life, I have encountered, at close range, situations and experiences that are the direct result of addiction. Most often, I have chosen to deal with these times from a western analytical perspective trying to understand the familial history, the life circumstances, past traumas, and the need for escape, then finally falling back on reactions that seem only to perpetuate the problems. Driven by fear, anger, and avoidance, addicts are people with an extreme imbalance. We may have many labels for the cause, but what all addicts are seeking is the same as so many of us on the yogic path: Balance and a sense of harmony with life. |
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Ok, I know there are some pretty radical claims when it comes to yoga, take Book Three of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra’s for example. He speaks of the siddhis (states) that you can reach once you’ve obtained samyama (the convergence of concentration, focus, & transcendence) like becoming invisible, being as strong as an elephant, and levitation, but can these claims really be true? Really?? So my friend Timothy sends me this link, Man Levitates in front of White House, and suggests that I check it out. |
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Transcendental Meditation (TM) first made headlines in the 1960’s when the Indian Guru Maharishi Mahesh taught the Beatles the technique. Now half a century later, it’s back in the news and still sporting some celebrity appeal. This time the headliners are 60’s pop star Donovan and filmmaker David Lynch. The two are touring Europe promoting the use of TM in schools and planning to open TM universities across Europe. While the idea of school children using a meditation technique to reduce stress and improve learning sounds wonderful, the TM technique is probably not the best approach to achieve these goals. |
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Practitioners of Hatha yoga have long praised the ability of the practice to calm the mind and heal the body. The great teacher BKS Iyengar came to his teacher TKV Krishnamacharya to heal his ill health. Now, scientists at Emory University in Atlanta, GA have supported this observation with new evidence that the physical practice of yoga asana can greatly benefit heart failure patients. |
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I attended my first Diwali experience in the town in which I live a few weeks ago. It was an ornate, yet relaxed celebration that brought together many of the local Indian families as well as an overflow of non-Indians to celebrate the Hindu New Year. Known as the “festival of lights,” Diwali is a celebration honoring the victory of good over evil, or light over darkness. Though one of the largest Hindu festivals, Diwali isn’t exclusive to Hinduism. Sikh, Jain, and Buddhist religions also recognize the festival in varied ways. |
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I don’t know about you, but the holidays are often stressful times around my house. With family spread out over three states, and two little girls with lists as long as they are tall, the holiday season is more like work than enjoyment. So as I was pursuing the news headlines, I was intrigued by a style of yoga that is unfamiliar to me, and one that claims to reduce stress, increase your immunity, and make you feel good. I had to find out more. |
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A few years ago, I spent my Tuesday afternoons schlepping to an elementary school with my bag full of yoga mats. I would enter the school cafeteria/gymnasium/auditorium full of chattering children and wait while the group dispersed, leaving only ten or twelve of the Kindergarten through fifth graders. These children were selected by three of the school staff members as those who “needed” stress relief the most. The kids were a mixed bag, boys and girls from five to ten of all colors and backgrounds. , I cannot begin to imagine what life was like for most of the children that gathered with me on those Tuesday afternoons, but for the 45 minutes they spent with me on those afternoons, they were joyous, playful, and insightful. And they loved yoga. |
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The practice of Hatha yoga is widely known to have the benefits of initiating great mental and physical change. Yoga can bring a sense of calm and peace to our hectic lives and help to heal our bodies, and for those who suffer from extreme trauma as a result of combat, this practice can assist in dealing with the memories and effects of war.
Recent images of the war in Iraq are awaking traumatic memories in Veterans of all ages across the country. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a condition characterized by severe and recurrent emotional reactions to extreme psychological trauma, and close to one in every three soldiers returning home from Iraq are being diagnosed with some form of it. Fortunately, some groups of these Veterans are finding solace in the practice of Hatha Yoga. |
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New Year’s Eve is always a time for reflection, introspection and celebration. As I look back on this last year I am so grateful for all that I have accomplished and I humbly bow to the lotus feet of all of you who have supported me and my work at YogaBasics.com and JapaMalaBeads.com. I look forward to both businesses growing and expanding in 2008, and for this work to continue to inspire consciousness, open-heartedness and peace throughout the world.
May your New Year’s celebrations be happy, safe and peaceful. I wish the best for you in 2008 and hope all of your prayers, intentions and manifestations are fulfilled. |
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It’s not a big stretch to imagine that Yoga and Meditation classes are booming this time of year. At the close of each year, many of us find time to reflect upon our time and determine how we can “do better”, get fit, reduce stress, be happy. Yoga is one activity that allows us to work toward all of these goals in one practice, one commitment. |
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Saturday January 26, 2008 is set for Yoga Day USA, an annual nationwide celebration designed to raise awareness about the physical benefits of yoga by offering free or reduced cost classes and workshops in communities across the country. In its ninth year, Yoga Day USA is sponsored by the Yoga Alliance, the organization that outlines standards for yoga teachers and yoga schools and maintains registries of all teachers and schools that meet these standards. |
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It’s still January, the season of the yoga rage. New explorers from all walks of life are trying out classes, and trying the dedicated practitioners’ patience. An article out of the UK sites incidences of “yoga rage” are on the rise, as new students arrive unaware of the etiquette of yoga class and turn the sacred space of practice into a practice of distraction.
For those of us who have been practicing for a while, this occurrence is not uncommon during those peak times of the year. Naïve new students bring cell phones into class, walk into the space with soiled shoes, enter late and leave early, and are just generally unaware of their surroundings and their place in it. But what does it say about our practice as students of yoga that we would allow the actions of the others affect our own practice, much less turn to “rage.” Sure the space gets crowded, and we might get a foot or hand in the face, but we’re practicing yoga after all. Patience, compassion, and generosity are what it is all about. |
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A festival has just begun in New York City exploring how art, music, and meditation affect the brain. The event, called BRAINWAVE, is an interesting fusion of sacred and modern study as seen through the eyes of scientists, artists, musicians, and practitioners.
The event was kicked off by Iceman, 48 year old Dutch man Wim Hof, who stood immersed in a clear container filled with ice for one hour and twelve minutes breaking his previous world record of 78 minutes from 2004. Hof uses the Tibetan Tantric practice of Tummo to control his body temperature. This has been practiced by Yogi Monks in Tibet, but Hof is the only non-Tibetan to achieve this state. |
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