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Sunday, November 12, 2006 by
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The Hatha Yoga Pradipika
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What is commonly considered Yoga in the West is in actuality just one of the many paths of Yoga, and is technically called Hatha Yoga. The oldest and most widely used ancient text on the physical practices of Hatha Yoga is the Hatha Yoga Pradipika. This book was composed in 15th century CE by Swami Swatamarama and is derived from older Sanskrit texts, the teachings from well-known teachers and from Swatamarama's own yogic experiences. The main goal of this text is to illuminate the physical disciplines and practices of Hatha Yoga and integrate these with the higher spiritual goals of Raja Yoga (meditation). |
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Sankhya philosophy, one of the oldest and most influential of the six systems (darshans) of Indian thought, has had a profound impact on the beliefs, values and concepts used in the practice of yoga. At the time of the Buddha, Sankhya philosophy revealed a detailed map of the universe to serve as a guide towards realizing the unitive state, the ultimate goal of yoga. Sankhya philosophy divides the universe into 25 distinct yet related principles called tattvas. The tattvas are guideposts to orient ourselves within the map and to see what we experience as separate concepts are truly part of a larger whole. Acknowledging and understanding these tattvas refines our discrimination, affirms our consciousness and brings us towards self-realization. Patanjali drew heavily upon Sankhya philosophy in the development of his Yoga Sutras, and many of the practical methods and techniques of yoga rest on Sankhya’s philosophical foundations. |
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Thursday, June 15, 2006 by
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The Bhagavad Gita
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The Bhagavad Gita is the most treasured and famous of India’s spiritual texts. Composed of 700 verses, the Bhagavad Gita was written in the third or fourth century BCE as part of the epic text the Mahabharata. The Gita, as it’s commonly called, is a dialogue between Prince Arjuna and Sri Krishna, Arjuna’s charioteer, friend and council. The story opens to the scene of a battlefield just prior to the start of a colossal war with Arjuna asking Krishna for guidance. |
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Friday, January 13, 2006 by
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The Vedas
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The Vedas are considered the most sacred and treasured texts of India. The Vedas are a collection of hymns that were received by the ancient rishis (sages) as shruti, divine revelation. As hymns and mantras, these works were actively recited out loud to both praise and invoke the powers of the spiritual realms, and had been verbally passed on for many generations before written down on delicate palm leaves. These Vedic mantras were utilized in yagas and yajnas (ritual sacrifices and ceremonies) for promoting the well being of individuals, society and the world. |
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Sunday, December 12, 2004 by
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Moksha and Maya
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Liberation is not a place; it does not exist in the heavens, the earth or the spirit-world. Freedom has no space, no time, no location; it can only exist in the now, in the present moment. Moksha (liberation, freedom) is the state of non-ego, where the “me” vanishes and one stands free from all desires, actions and consequences in a total state of oneness. |
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Tuesday, September 14, 2004 by
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The 3 Gunas of Nature
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In the philosophy of Yoga, all matter in the universe arises from the fundamental substrate called Prakriti. From this ethereal Prakriti the three primary gunas (qualities) emerge creating the essential aspects of all nature—energy, matter and consciousness. These three gunas are tamas (darkness), rajas (activity), and sattva (beingness). |
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The ancient yogis have drawn a map to explore the deepest levels of our being and to facilitate the inward journey of yoga. The concept of having five selves (atma) within our body appeared in the earliest yogic texts, the Upanishads . Fifteen hundred years later Advaita Vedanta refined these five selves into the koshas, the five sheaths or coverings that veil the light of our True Self (Atman). The koshas are imagined as layers of an onion and form a barrier from realizing our true nature of bliss and oneness with the universe. Yoga is the tool to peel back these layers to bring our awareness deeper and deeper into our bodies, eventually reaching the innermost core, our True Self. When we can clearly see through the layers of the koshas we then attain a state of yoga, oneness with the universe. |
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Tuesday, May 11, 2004 by
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The Law of Karma
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Central to the philosophy of yoga is the universal spiritual concept of reaping what you sow: the law of Karma. Karma is the future consequences of one's current intentions, thoughts, behaviors and actions. While the Karma you currently create is the seeds that present future life experiences, your Karma is not your fate. You have the ability to consciously choose how you respond and react to Karmic generated events, thus reducing the current impact of your Karma and reducing or eliminating future Karma. This is both a psychological and physical practice, with the mental attitude much more powerful than the physical deed. |
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The Buddha says life is suffering; both the ancient yogis and the Buddhists point to the kleshas as the causes of our suffering. These "afflictions" distort our mind and our perceptions effecting how we think, act and feel. The five main kleshas vary in intensity on our psyche, from being inconsequential in their effect to utter blindness. The kleshas not only create suffering, but are said to bind us to the endless cycle of birth and rebirth, and thus preventing us from achieving enlightenment. |
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Monday, November 26, 2007 by Timothy Burgin
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Hatha Yoga: The Physical Path
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What we commonly call yoga in the West is technically Hatha Yoga. Hatha Yoga (ha="sun" tha="moon") attains the union of mind-body-spirit though a practice of asanas (yoga postures), pranayama (yoga breathing), mudra (body gestures) and shatkarma (internal cleansing). These body centered practices are used to purify the body and cultivate prana and activate kundalini, the subtle energies of the body. Modern Hatha Yoga does not emphasize many of these esoteric practices and focuses primarily on the physical yoga postures. |
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Monday, November 26, 2007 by Timothy Burgin
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History of Yoga
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Yoga's history has many places of obscurity and uncertainty due to its oral transmission of sacred texts and the secretive nature of its teachings. The early writings on yoga were transcribed on fragile palm leaves that were easily damaged, destroyed or lost. The development of yoga can be traced back to over 5,000 years ago, but some researchers think that yoga may be up to 10,000 years old old. Yoga's long rich history can be divided into four main periods of innovation, practice and development. |
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Wednesday, July 11, 2007 by Timothy Burgin
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The Four Ashramas of Yoga
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The traditional Indian culture promoted four Ashramas, or stages of spiritual life, that provided a simple framework of life planning for the spiritual aspirant. Each Ashrama defined a level of spiritual practice based on the duties and responsibilities required at each stage of life. The four Ashramas allowed the Indian culture to participate in and actively support a rich spiritual life, as well as gave the individual comfort and clarity to progress along the path of Self-realization. |
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Jnana (wisdom or knowledge) is considered the most difficult of the four main paths of Yoga, requiring great strength of will and intellect. In Jnana yoga, the mind is used to inquire into its own nature and to transcend the mind’s identification with its thoughts and ego. The fundamental goal of Jnana yoga is to become liberated from the illusionary world of maya (thoughts and perceptions) and to achieve union of the inner Self (Atman) with the oneness of all life (Brahman). This is achieved by steadfastly practicing the mental techniques of self-questioning, reflection and conscious illumination that are defined in the Four Pillars of Knowledge. |
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Bhakti Yoga is one of the four main yogic paths to enlightenment. Bhakti means “devotion” or “love” and this path contains various practices to unite the bhakta (Bhakti Yoga practitioner) with the Divine. |
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Wednesday, February 16, 2005 by
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The 13 Obstacles of Yoga
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The path of yoga can be long and hard, filled with obstacles, pitfalls, and detours. Luckily, yogic philosophy provides a roadside assistance program to aid you when you become stuck. The yogis who have traveled the path before us have left us a troubleshooting guide called the 13 obstacles of yoga. |
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Monday, July 14, 2003 by
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Tantra Yoga Demystified
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Tantra Yoga is a relatively modern revamping of the ancient vedic and yogic spiritual practices. The Tantrics developed innovative yet unorthodox techniques for allowing one to experience the reality of the true Self, the oneness of the entire cosmos. The Tantra Yogis emphasis on personal experimentation and experience led to radical techniques to cleanse the body and mind to break the knots that bind us to our physical existence. The famous “Left Hand” schools of Tantra used unlawful practices of consuming sex, alcohol and meat as powerful tools for transformation. Tantra Yoga encompasses a huge range of techniques, yet its underlying focus is on using the body as a temple to worship the all-encompassing oneness of life as sacred. |
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