Yoga Alliance International Journal

OVERCOMING FEAR THROUGH YOGA

Featured

Posted on 21/02/2021 by YAOJ

A peaceful mind is a happy mind! by Yoga Master Teacher Felice Vernillo

Member of Yoga Alliance (Italia Division) Yoga Alliance European Registry

Before dealing with fear, I believe it is necessary to clarify what emotions are and how they operate on our psychophysical condition, asking ourselves: – How do emotions develop? Are they born by themselves or by ourselves?

– HOW DO YOU GET EMOTIONAL?

Yoga says that it is necessary to understand the connection between cause and effect. An emotion could be the effect of something or the cause of something, if we know the cause of the emotions then, we will be able to know how to manage them. Until we learn to work with the breath, we will not be able to interact with our emotions. The most known and frequent emotions are: Joy – Sadness – Fear – Anger.

Anyone in their life experiences emotions and knows that they reverberate in the body: joy in the heart, sadness in the lungs, both in the chest. While the Fear in the kidneys, the Anger in the liver both in the abdomen. The respiratory function implies a “Empty” and “Fill” through the interaction between the abdomen and the torax, interaction regulated by the central nervous system.

The behaviour of the intellect and the behaviour of emotions are two distinct things; both, however, disturb three aspects of the person:

1. The muscle tone 2. The posture 3. The Mechanical balance

These three aspects, which depend on the cerebellum, govern and control the emotional brain and not the human brain. This explains the importance of the concept of Yoga Asanas (posture), which through the body, also represents a mental attitude. Let us reflect: why do we assume different postures or postural configurations? Why do we hold these postures for some time?

If we look around, we notice that some people have a “flexed attitude” (hunched forward) and, once we get in touch with them, we realize that they are depressed inside. In this state of depression, they close themselves off to emotions. Unlike, for example, competitive athletes who, on the other hand, have an “extended attitude” of someone who is ready to face anyone.

If we look around, we notice that some people have a “closed attitude” (body curved forward) and, once we communicate with them, we realise that they are depressed inside.

In this state of depression, they close themselves off to emotions. Unlike, for example, competitive athletes who, on the other hand, have an “open attitude” (body extended forward) of someone who is ready to face anyone.

So the attitudes that can be created are are: 1. close attitude (body curved forward) 2. open attitude (body extended forward)

In this moment, in which every human being, all over the world, feels threatened and besieged by an invisible enemy such as a virus, capable of endangering individual and collective life, every person, because of this, also feels invaded by another “enemy” ally of the virus, also invisible, which however strikes from the inside: “fear”.

Fear is a primordial biological response inherent in every living being, which arises from the inside as a response to messages identified by the body as a danger capable of threatening one’s own survival. So fear in itself is a resource for the living being, capable of protecting his survival and the entire human species.

Fear is therefore an integral part of human life, and manifests itself in the form of stress, causing a series of body responses regulated by the nervous system called the sympathetic. When stress remains normal to carry out its physiological function, it is scientifically called neuro stress (emotional stress), when instead it exceeds a certain level, becoming overdose, which is much higher and persistent than the objective need, it triggers a process of internal destruction that is scientifically called distress.

The pandemic is producing a great psychosis of fear, everyone is scared to death, constantly solicited by a large amount of negative news constantly spread by the mass media. Scientific studies have underlined the impact of thoughts and emotions on the human immune system. These studies have shown that stress, fear and negative emotions, through the limbic system also known as the “emotional brain”, produce an internal response that weakens the immune system.

Yoga science has already understood this psychosomatic phenomenon from time immemorial. In fact, yoga discipline, through its practices experienced for millennia, allows you to take charge of your health and well-being integrally, through a constant yoga practice you train yourself to remain cantered on your own salutogenesis (process of evolution of health status), rather than centring on pathogenesis (evolutionary process of the disease state) that worsens with fear.

Integral Yoga consisting of asana, pranayama and meditation performs the function of leading the practitioner from pathogenesis to salutogenesis. The integral yoga discipline acts on all existential planes, from the most external, the physical, to the most subtle, the mind. A journey that begins with mental hygiene, followed by physical, up to emotional with a beneficial effect on the immune system.

We believe, nowadays, we have all the necessary knowledge to consider ourselves educated and cultured people, however, this inflated balloon that all of us are, deflates when we enter into the merits of own being such as “where are we?”, ” where do we exist?”, ” how do we feel ?”. When we realize that we lack essential knowledge, this observation can immediately become a disturbing element. It was probably like this since the days of Samkya Yoga, so much so that Avidya, the lack of knowledge or ignorance (of “who I really am”) was put in the first place with respect to human suffering.

This is a lack of knowledge that, perhaps, we all have and that unites us all. If we want to achieve a state of real wellness, result of the integration of all the components of the human being, we should consider all the irritating factors that disturb the being, of which “Fear” is the strongest.

Yoga, thanks to its millenary experience, states that until we learn to control the breath, we will not be able to manage negative emotions.

Yoga science texts mention the concept of the five bodies or Kosha or layers of consciousness which follow an order that goes from the grossest to the most subtle:

1. The most evident is the physical body (Annamaya Kosha),

2. then there is the respiratory or pranic body (Pranamaya Kosha),

3. then the emotional body (Manomaya Kosha),

4. then the intellectual body (Vijnanamaya Kosha),

5. then the existential body (Anandamaya Kosha).

Before reaching the emotional body, it is necessary to act on the two previous bodies:

1. the physical body 2. the respiratory body

For this, yoga suggests the path constituted by: Yama and Nyama – Asana – Pranayama – Dhyana.

An evolutionary path towards the so-called realization of “who I am” that yoga post-poses after the removal of all the polluting factors of the entire body-mind system, through a purification process called “Kriya Yoga“.

Y.S. II- 1: “Tapah Svadhyayshvara Pranidhanani kriyayogah”

“Effort, self-study, surrender to the supreme controller is Kriya Yoga”

Y.S. -II. 3: “Avidya asmita raga dvesha abhiniveshah kleshah”

“The afflictions of the human being are: ignorance (believing that I am the body), I-ness/ego sense, attachment, aversion, clinging to life (fear of death)”

Yoga thus realizes its project of leading the human being to recognize himself, to fulfill himself, to free himself, “Moksha“, from the fear of the future and the present.

A BASIC PRACTICE FOR ALL

Ujjayi Pranayama

In this word we find the root “Ud” which means to raise, lift, carry upwards, and “Jaya” which is a form of greeting, an expression of joy and victory: “Ujjayi” can therefore be translated as “one who is victorious”.

TECHNIQUE

This practice is characterized by a slight narrowing of the passage of air in the throat, due to a partial closure of the glottis.

Sit in a cross-legged position, with the spine perfectly straight, position the head with the chin tilted towards the chest and slightly retracted. Gently place the tongue on the upper palate to cause a slight closure of the glottis until you hear the sound that the air produces as it flows down the throat (like ocean waves sounds).

Depending on the intensity of the glottal closure, Ujjayi pranayama becomes more or less intense.

Considering that the glottis physiologically closes every time we swallow something, for this practice we use the artifice of empty swallowing to produce the same contraction, once this partial contraction is produced it must be maintained in such a way as to carry out Ujjayi pranayama breathing correctly.

The function of the partial closure of the glottis is that to reduce the passage of air into the trachea to slow down the breath. The slowed flowing breath with Ujjayi pranayama is characterized not only by the slowness of the flow, but also by the sound produced by the breath.

During the slow and sonorous breathing in flow, fill the lungs up to the maximum capacity and with the same slow and sonorous breathing out flow, totally empty the lung capacity, thus continuing for the whole time of the practice.

BENEFITS

On the physical level, the practice of Ujjayi pranayama rebalances all internal functions, improves oxygenation, pressure and blood circulation, rebalances the vegetative nervous system with a consequent reduction of the so-called distress (stress overdose) up to total mental relaxation.

Online Yoga Teacher Training: Beware of Imitations

Featured

Posted on 29/09/2020 by YAOJ

www.yogaalliance.com.au www.yogaalliance.it
Article courtesy of Master Yoga Teacher Felice Vernillo
Founder and owner
www.shaktiyoga.it

Given that in an emergency condition such as the one related to COVID19 in which contact between people was not allowed, using the web it was a valid alternative.

However, once the emergency is over, the exception represented by online teaching cannot be considered a substitute for normality, i.e. teaching in presence, especially with regard to technical and practical disciplines such as yoga, which is defined as being 90% practical and 10% theoretical.

Following online trainings from own computer is definitely a comfort and a saving in terms of economic resources (travel, gasoline) and time of course. However, we understand the advantages and disadvantages of this type of training. Before considering it the solution to all problems, it is certainly wise to compare advantages and disadvantages.

Given that in an emergency condition such as the one related to COVID19 in which contact between people was not allowed, using the web it was a valid alternative.

E-learning is an on-line learning where, thanks to the use of multimedia technologies and the internet, professional training courses are carried out. Access to resources and services is simplified by digital tools and remote connection.

This is where distance learning was born. The term distance learning is often used in a generic way to identify a type of training and teaching that is implemented, precisely, at a distance or where there is no sharing of space and physical interaction between teacher and students, but everything is mediated by the use of technological means.

If there are many advantages, there are as many disadvantages or rather limits. First of all, “lecturing” through technology cancels out the dimension of teacher-student interaction and among the students themselves. Especially if the lessons are pre-recorded, this becomes even more significant because the student is alone, isolated in the learning process.

Even when the lesson is live online, important elements that animate the vis à vis lesson (face-to-face are missing: first of all human contact and direct communication, made not only of words and listening but of gestures, expressions and facets that make the difference in the learning process and in the understanding of the contents.

With the use of technology the possibility of interaction and confrontation is less direct, slower and often leads to losing some important elements of growth. Especially for beginners compared to the yoga discipline, where contact with the teacher is essential for learning from the technical point of view and personal growth.

The use of media is very complex and may not be very functional if not well used. Especially if the online lesson is pre-recorded you may have difficulties in concentration and understanding, often due to the monotone of the voice, respect for the timing of the various phases during practice.

All things that in the frontal lesson the teacher can consider and grasp from the signals he receives from the students. Another substantial disadvantage is linked to the impossibility of exploiting the ties that are created with fellow students, certainly a source of wealth and important confrontation, from which relationships and exchanges of ideas and support can arise with respect to each other’s motivations.

Teaching online has its advantages:

– No need to have a dedicated place with related management costs
– Time and cost savings for travel
– Independence from collaborations with non-owned structures
– Reaching students beyond the area of residence

However, it should be emphasized that it is impossible for the teacher to observe each student three-dimensional view, from direct experience, the teacher only sees one screen during teaching, with the consequent impossibility to make corrections to support the student’s practice during the lesson. This produces for the teacher a teaching “in the dark”, while in the student insecurity, not feeling protected by the watchful gaze and presence of the teacher

Advantages and disadvantages in online yoga lessons

–Advantage: Be able to practice when and from where you want
–Disadvantage: You do not use a place, the yoga room, created and equipped for the specific discipline

-Advantage: greater flexibility
–Disadvantage: Need for self-discipline (Only direct relationship with a specialized center and a qualified teacher can develop discipline) – Impractical mode for lazy or depressed people.

-Advantage: You can follow different styles with different teachers
–Disadvantage: Many styles end up confusing, one finds oneself practicing without a defined and structured line (Many styles, equal to no style). Mixing different modes does not bring results.

-Advantage: practicing at home
–Disadvantage: The practice at home is subject to the interference of cohabitants and does not facilitate psychological detachment from family commitments.

-Advantage: Saving money (travel and yoga lessons fees)
-Disadvantage: You spend less to get little or nothing

Attending an online course rather than a class in a yoga centre is NOT THE SAME. However, one does not exclude the other. The integration of face-to-face classes in a yoga centre, with live or recorded online classes held by your teacher, makes yoga practice more consistent, safe, stimulating and effective.

Summary the main tips for a safe approach with the yoga discipline

1-Do not start practicing yoga through an online course, learn first from a teacher in a qualified yoga centre, from a certified teacher.
2- Try different methodologies in order to then choose one and follow only that choice, only in this way will you get real and profound results.
3- Use online lessons only as a support to face-to-face lessons
4- Do not choose online courses that offer different methodologies from the one you are practicing with your usual teacher, the ideal is to follow videos produced by your own teacher.

Professional training courses for yoga teachers on-line

All the considerations and conclusions made for classroom teaching compared to online teaching are even more valid for training courses, specifically for yoga teacher training courses. In Italy and the rest of the world, among the unregulated professions is the teaching of yoga, this means that anyone can be called “yoga teacher”.

But what many people do not know is that there is no difference in title between a teacher who has trained at a school that provides years of training and study, and that of the aspiring teacher who without any practice decides to enrol in a teacher training that allows you to become a teacher in a very short time, for example a few weekends, or even completely online.

Moreover, since no governmental or para-governmental Yoga organizations exist in any country in the world today, it is important to keep in mind that they have never been established, by national laws of any country in the world and/or by international agreements, true Professional Standards for training and teaching courses in Yoga discipline.

Absence of a Global Yoga Governing Body

In the absence of a global reference legislation, between 1999 and 2013 were born the Yoga Alliance organizations including the prominent ones: Yoga Alliance (International Australia), Yoga Alliance (International/Italy), Yoga Alliance Professionals UK, the Canadian Yoga Alliance and Yoga Alliance (USA), without any constraint of exclusive representation, to enhance the skills of members and ensure compliance with ethical rules, with the aim of facilitating the choice and protection of users.

The public registry of each Yoga Alliance are useful for consumers to verify the credentials of the teachers they rely on for training courses or yoga lessons. It’s recent news of the emergence in the U.S. of a market for training courses for yoga teachers online, by unscrupulous private organizations, which to the detriment of young and not-so-young users, promise an illusory training at low cost.

For this reason it is absolutely necessary to undertake a serious work of information to protect consumers against uses and abuses in the form of real scams.

COVID19 TIME- THE POINT OF VIEW OF A YOGI

Featured

Posted on 07/05/2020 by YAOJ

NOTHING HAPPENS BY CHANCE Article 7.5.2020, by Master Yoga Teacher Felice Vernillo Owner Shakti Yoga Centre Civitanova Marche – Italy

There are moments in the life of each of us, like the one we are living now, when nothing seems to work as it should, moments that come unexpectedly and go to undermine our serenity. With the thought that becomes gloomy, pessimistic about everything. Inevitably, it is inevitable to suppose that misfortune has raged against an “innocent victim”. But the reality, the great sages of history teach us, is another, nothing happens by chance, and since every event happens for some non-random reason, the wise mind reflects on why a situation occurred and tries to take advantage of it, taking advantage of the lesson and taking an important leap towards the path of personal growth.

It is not always easy, this is obvious, but once learned this attitude of “I let events happen and trust in heaven’s will“, each situation will become lighter to bear and clearer in its manifestation, even the apparently harshest one, like the one we have all been experiencing for weeks. It is clear that, however strong and determined our will maybe, what has to happen happens anyway, in one way or another.

Often such events occur in order to make people understand that the road that is being traveled is not the best one (like the blind race to appear, a pathology of which the human being is affected at this moment in his history), blocking channels and putting obstacles along this road to stop a race destined to a certain abyss.

The experience that the human species of the whole planet is living at this moment, is the scream of nature that is calling the human being, to tell him that life is not at all predictable and safe, that anything can happen at any time. The human being is called to become aware that our health is not certain, our financial situation is not safe.

What we can and must do, as a response to this unequivocal truth, is to define our reaction, this is in our hands. We can react in a positive way, or we can simply play the part of the “innocent victim”, waiting more or less passively for someone else to come and save us.

The wisest path for ourselves and for others is that of positivity, but this path is not just to say “everything will be fine”, remaining what we were until January 2020. NO, THIS IS NOT SUFFICIENT! this world event wants to teach us that contemporary man, despite the great technological progress, is not the controller of the planet but rather the controlled. Technological progress without the evolution of human consciousness is not able to make man’s existence healthy, peaceful, and in harmony with creation.

Although we exercise our bodies, we are careful with our diet, we work hard to earn adequate income and, without a doubt, we find some relationship with the Divine to give us some sense of protection and security. All these activities more or less explicitly demonstrate that we recognize or instinctively feel the insecurity of life.

No matter how much we try to control our future, no matter how much we do from a positive or negative point of view, despite all this, we have the feeling that life is not safe after all. The more we try to control the future, the less secure we feel. If we reflect sincerely, we must recognize that the more we try to control life, our insecurity grows rather than diminishes, united by a common emotion, fear.

Perhaps we should listen to nature, integrate with its rhythms, integrate instead of trying to appropriate it with the false illusion of controlling it. If we positively revise the conception of the man-created relationship, this will make things around us take place in a more harmonious way, without harshness and with greater well-being for all. It is time to revise our vision of things because, as we know, once this experience is over, by necessity, all of us will no longer be as we were before.

Yoga also helps us in this: it prepares us physically and psychologically to face everyday life, even the hard confrontation with our most superficial part, the one linked to the search for a happiness that, even if achieved, turns out to be evanescent and not very intense.

The identity principle of yoga is “union”. It represents the end but, at the same time, also the means. In order to reach the realization of union, yoga, if practiced in its entirety, guides us first towards the integration of all our individuality, an individuality made up of body, energy, mind, intelligence and soul, then to the final realization that man, integrated in himself, is naturally in union with his fellow human beings.

The current emergency is clearly showing that individualism makes us weak and dissociated, while union is a fact, human beings are united, for better or for worse, by the laws of nature, even before human laws.

An inner confrontation that, potentially, each of us can win and whose prize is the discovery of a world, the inner world, made of communion with our own self, with others, with the universe and full of that lasting peace, so far sought in the wrong direction.

Swami Sivananda Saraswati teaches us: “This world is your body. This world is your school. This world is your silent teacher.”

Best wishes of: Peace in hearts for world peace

Felice Vernillo (Arjun yogi)

Yoga Overcomes Anxiety

Featured

Posted on 28/07/2019 by YAOJ

Anxiety disorders, which include panic disorder, are the most common class of mental disorders present in the general population. The estimated lifetime prevalence of any anxiety disorder is over 15%, while the 12-month prevalence is more than 10%. One study estimated the annual cost of anxiety disorders in the United States only to be approximately $42.3 billion in the 1990s.

Specifically, panic disorder, whose key element is an increase in anxiety level, is also a common mental disorder with significant clinical manifestations and socioeconomic impacts. Panic is characterised by the repeated occurrence of discrete panic attacks that features a variety of physical symptoms, such as rapid heartbeat, hyperventilation, perspiration, dizziness, dyspnea, trembling, and uncontrollable fear (fear of losing control and going crazy, fear of dying).

Between attacks, patients might also develop persistent apprehension or anticipatory anxiety, regarding the possibility of another attack. In addition, about one-half of these patients eventually develop agoraphobia.

The magnitude of the short-term societal costs of anxiety estimate in recent studies is surprising. Greenberg et al. estimated that the annual total societal costs of active anxiety disorders in North America alone over the decade of the 1990s exceeded $42 billion.

This estimate excludes the indirect costs of early-onset anxiety disorders through adverse life course outcomes (e.g., the documented effects of child–adolescent anxiety disorders in predicting low educational attainment and consequent long-term effects on lower-income) and through increased risk of other disorders (e.g., anxiety disorders predicting the subsequent onset of cardiovascular disorder). Therefore, it has become urgent the need for effective low-cost strategies that provide the right tools for patients to cope with anxiety themselves, in order to reduce the economic cost of mental disorder in society.

WHAT IS ANXIETY

Anxiety is an emotion that, in itself, would not be inadequate to feel because it is a necessary response to stress. Anxiety is a defensive mechanism aimed at anticipating the perception of danger even before it has clearly manifested itself, it sets in motion physiological mechanisms that lead to exploration, to identify the danger and address it in the most appropriate way.

In the course of daily life, situations that activate anxiety are frequent. In most cases, they resolve themselves positively. Overcoming these experiences, as a physiological phenomenon, represents a fundamental element in the development and maturation of the personality. If, however, we are unable to overcome positively (by deactivating the defence mechanism) a situation of real danger, that is, if the state of alarm does not correspond to a real danger to be faced, anxiety becomes an inadequate or unrealistic response, assuming the connotation of a real psychic disorder. Instead of representing an element of growth and maturation, it becomes an element of the disintegration of the personality.

Integration and adaptation to the external environment are regulated by the nervous system. The nervous system is similar to the hardware of a computer, like a computer, the nervous system analyzes data from outside and inside and then distributes information to various districts and apparatuses.

The functions of the nervous system are:

– Providing sensations about the internal and external environment

– Integrating sensory information

– Coordinate voluntary and involuntary activities

– Adjust and control peripheral structures and equipment

THE ANXIOUS PERSON

Feeling anxious is unpleasant. You feel like people different from everyone else, inadequate, strange, those who suffer from anxiety try to hide it, often you are teased by other people. The anxious person lives himself as a person different from others, represses his fears by taking refuge in his loneliness, the manifestation of this state is to restrain his breath.

The breath represents an access door, it is the connection between the inner world and the outer world. It represents a bridge between the heart and the brain, that is, between the deep, emotional part and the rational cerebral part. It is a key to access the labyrinths of the unconscious. In moments of anxiety and fear, as an act of protection, the breath becomes superficial (almost freezes), the body stiffens the muscles contract.

When the anxiety takes over, the breathing accelerates and increases the anxiety itself. There is an increase in oxygenation of the blood, too high a level of oxygen in the blood prevents the tissues from absorbing the oxygen they need. It seems a paradox, yet too high levels of oxygen in the blood, do not allow the tissues to receive the oxygen they need, while on the contrary, a higher level of carbon dioxide, would allow the oxygen to pass through the tissues.

The Study observed significant improvement in panic symptomatology following both the practice of yoga and the combination of yoga and psychotherapy.

Scientific search results: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25538634

YOGA FOR ANXIETY

Yoga acts on both the outer and inner spheres of the human being. Yoga is able to recompose the state of dispersion and tension, integrating all the systems: the bodily, emotional and mental system. The ultimate goal of yoga is to sever the connection with what causes suffering.

The yoga practice normally taught concerns the practice of technique. Yoga applied as a resolution of anxiety, on the other hand, must be oriented towards the individual rather than the technique. When we speak of an individual we mean an indivisible being made up of:

1- a material body

2- a functional body

3- an emotional body

4 – an intellectual body

5- an existential body

We move from the material, visible, to the invisible, immaterial, thinner aspect

Yoga applied against anxiety is different from any other therapy. In conventional therapy it exists:

1- The Therapist

2 -The Technique

3- The Patient

During medical therapy, the person can be treated, consciously or unconsciously. With yoga it is we who treat ourselves: the path is individual. The yoga teacher is not a doctor who does everything for us.

The yoga teacher only acts as a guide (this explains why it is not enough to bend well to be a yoga teacher).

In yoga, each individual has to take responsibility. With yoga, we can only work with a conscious person who actively participates in their “treatment“. The essence of yoga applied as anti-anxiety is based on the use of the only function of the body that we can modify and experience with the will: breathing.

Pranayama, the yoga practice that uses breathing. But pranayama cannot be considered as a simple breathing exercise, it is a deliberately controlled breathing. It has as its purpose the control of the upper brain centres.

In the ancient yoga text Hatha-Yoga Pradhipika cap.II v.2: “When the breath is irregular the mind is unstable, but when the breath is quiet so is the mind”.

So learning to breathe properly in a deep way helps our body to function better, helps our mind to have more clarity and greater control over our emotions, especially over emotional states such as stress and fear.

To be effective, yoga must be practised in its entirety. Integral yoga consists of both external practices, on the muscles, on the joints (Asana) and on the organs (Pranayama), on the mind (Meditation) that is.

In yoga what is really important is the inner aspect, to reduce the suffering of the person is necessary an inner workable remove the cause of anxiety, not a kind of temporary sedative that soothes the symptom. The whole of the practice of Asana, Pranayama and Yoganidra is what can lead to a new consciousness, to the awareness of being but also of power, of one’s own strength, an inner force that takes us beyond fear and anxiety.

Given the relationship between breathing and mental states, for a yoga teacher it is essential to know how pranayama works in the human being, even before knowing the techniques of pranayama. Especially when dealing with anxious students, who are becoming more and more frequent today.

Practising and knowing in-depth pranayama, for the yoga teacher, today is the ingredient to make a yoga lesson truly healthy.

Om Shanti

Felice Vernillo (Arjun yogi) owner https://www.shaktiyoga.it/ Author of Books of Yoga https://www.shaktiyoga.it/shakti-yoga-books.html

Felice Vernillo-author Yoga Shakti Theory and Practice

The Guru – The Master and The Yoga Teacher

Featured

Posted on 01/06/2019 by YAOJ

by Master Yoga Teacher Felice Vernillo founder and owner Shakti Integral Yoga – Italy

The knowledge of yoga has been handed down since ancient times orally from master to disciple, a transmission chain called Guru-Parampara. This “chain” over the centuries has ensured yoga of preserving its original identity, the authenticity and the authority of the Masters or Gurus of the past, has meant that none of them derived their teachings from their own imagination, but based it his teachings on his personal experience, matured following the instructions of his master, instructions coming from the texts unanimously recognized as the only authority on the subject and for this considered “the truth”.

Given that a teacher is absolutely necessary for every aspirant involved in the yoga path, as only the teacher is able to identify and remove the defects of the student. The ancient sages affirm “the egoistic nature of the human being is such that it does not allow him to find his faults on his own, just as a man cannot see his back, so he is not able to see his mistakes, so he is necessary the guidance of a teacher to eradicate the bad qualities and the defects ”.

The aspirant who is guided by a teacher is sure not to be misled by his mind. The association with a tutor is like an armour, a fortress able to defend against all temptations and adverse forces. All the great Masters of history have had their Guru.

THE GURU

Let’s see then how the texts written by realized define a Guru: For a sincere aspirant yoga, the Guru is like the sun. It is the Guru who awakens from the sleep of ignorance. It is the Guru who, through his enlightenment banishes the darkness of ignorance, brings the right reasoning, the right perception, the right thoughts. It is the Guru who shows the way, through his instructions and his high personal life. It is the Guru who emphasizes the pitfalls and dangers along the path, warns and makes alert. Just as the sun arouses activity, in the same way the guru inspires and awakens the search for knowledge. All this and much more is done by the Guru .

The method used by tradition to transmit the teachings has always been to use real-life stories in order to make it easier to understand the principles they want to impart. In this regard there is a nice story used to describe the fundamental quality that must distinguish a Guru.

“An old lady went to Ramakrishna Paramahansa (1836-1886) one day, bringing her 10-year-old nephew with her. She prostrated herself in front of him and said: “Master! I need your help. This boy is my nephew and has been an orphan since the age of 5, and since then I have been taking care of him. Now I have a big problem. The boy eats too many sweets, so many that his health deteriorates from day to day. I have been to the doctor who severely warned him, but he does not listen to him. The boy, however, has great admiration for you, and I am sure that only you can help him!” Ramakrishna replied:” Mother, don’t worry, come with your nephew in a month, in the meantime I will think about what to do to convince him that health is very important, even more important than wealth!”. The old lady thanked him and left.

After a month, the woman came back on time with her nephew and they both greeted the master with great reverence. Ramakrishna sat the boy next to him and said, “My dear boy, remember that true wealth is health. If you do not take care of your health you will not be able to grow strong and healthy; you will not be able to do anything great in this life if you are a weak and sick man. When what we eat harms our body, we must give it up. So don’t eat sweets any more tomorrow! After a while you will be able to eat in moderation. Are you a good boy and I’m sure you will listen to what I told you, isn’t it?”, The boy nodded and promised that from that moment on he would never eat sweets again.

The old lady sent her nephew to walk and remained alone with Ramakrishna and asked him: “Master, why didn’t you give this advice to my nephew a month ago? Because you told me to come back in a month, I don’t understand!”.

Ramakrishna replied with a sweet smile: “Mother, I myself ate many sweets, how could I tell the boy to do something that I myself couldn’t do? No one has the right to preach to others if they do not practice what they say before. This is why I asked you for some time. I have not eaten sweets this month, and I have acquired the right to advise your nephew.

The woman marvelled at the rectitude with which the Master had behaved, he prostrated himself at his feet as a humble acknowledgement of his authority and then left “.

SIKSHA GURU AND DIKSHA GURU

The human being has a dual task here on earth: to preserve his life and realize his own self. To preserve his life he must work for his daily bread. To realize one’s self, one must serve, love and meditate. The Guru who teaches him the knowledge of the arts of the world is the Siksha Guru. The Guru who shows him the way to realization is the Diksha Guru. The Siksha Gurus can be many, as many as the arts they wish to learn. The Diksha Guru can be only one, the one that leads him to Moksha, or to free himself from suffering.

STAY FAITHFUL TO THE PRECECTOR

In this regard, I think the words of my venerated Guru puja Swami Chidananda maharaji (The Divine Life Society) are illuminating, and he speaks thus: “Do not dig here and there to be shallow to get water. The pits will run out soon. Dig a very deep hole in one place. Centralize all your efforts there. You will get the good water that you will need throughout the year. In the same way, try to absorb the teachings (all the more spiritual) from a single tutor. Absorb deeply by one master. Sit at his feet for a few years. It makes no sense to wander from one teacher to another just out of curiosity, thus losing confidence in a short time. Do not have the changing mind of a monkey. Follow the instructions of one master. If you go to different people and follow the instructions of many people, teachers and teachers, you will be confused.

An Indian saying says: “From a doctor, you get a recipe, from two doctors you get a consultation, from three doctors you get your own cremation”. Similarly, if you have many teachers, you will be confused. One teacher will tell you one thing while another will do something different and so on. Remain loyal to a master, obviously after pondering and choosing among many, follow his instructions. Listen to everyone, but follow one, respect everyone, but abandon yourself to one. Acquire knowledge from everyone, but adopted the teachings of a Master, only then will there be rapid physical, mental and spiritual progress “.

According to tradition the Guru has a dual function, the first fundamental function is the overcoming of the ego by the disciple, if the disciple understands this, the relationship works, otherwise it will not work. So the understanding of the Guru-disciple relationship, traditionally, is not based on a romantic or sentimental idea to be directed towards an idol.

The second function of the Guru is to ensure that we get rid of the concept of disciple. Its purpose is to introduce us to the inner guru, to ensure that we place all our trust in that invisible presence that we cannot mentally understand. This is a very delicate question, because the ego is always inside us to reaffirm that we do not really need an external Guru, and that therefore, we can look after ourselves on our own. It is a very delicate balance between knowing that in the end we must be self-sufficient and at the same time consider that until we recognize who our external Guru really is, we will never be able to recognize who the guru really is within ourselves.

Until we think that the Guru is a body and a mind, we do not really understand the Guru. The Guru is not a thing; it is not an object. The Guru is the whole; the Guru is Spirit; the Guru is a principle. This is what, according to the classical tradition, we must recognize in the external Guru, and it is what we must find within us.

The Guru ever die. The guru never dies because he lives in the disciple. He lives in the disciple through his teachings. For a disciple this is an honor, this is a privilege, this is a great fortune but, It is also a responsibility, a duty: to be what the guru taught him and to be what the guru was”. Thus the guru continues to live.

HOW TO CHOOSE THE GURU

Puja Swami Chidanandaji says: “If you feel at peace in the presence of a Mahatma (great soul), if you are inspired by his speeches, if he is able to clear your doubts, if he is free from greed, anger and lust, if it is altruistic, loving and without ego, it can be taken as Guru. He who is able to clarify doubts, he who is suited to your sadhana, he who does not disturb your convictions, but helps you from where you are, and in his presence feels spiritually inspired, he is your Guru “.

THE MASTER

The etymology of the word “Master” derives, in fact, from the Latin “magister” (from magis, more); in Hebrew the master is “Rabbi“, which means “great” and in Sanskrit “Guru”, heavy in dignity and prestige …

The master is, therefore, the one who guides, paving the way, a delicate task, characterized by the full sharing of what he teaches. Indeed, the true master is the one who first tries to improve himself and then directs his intervention to others.

The history of pedagogy teaches us that the true masters are those who know how to establish a significant relationship with the student and represent a valid reference model for him. To be masters it is, therefore, necessary to have an idea of life and, through teaching and example, to produce in the student the desire to share it. Because no master can impose, but in respect of individual freedom, he must only lead the student by the hand on the paths of life, direct and not coerce, share and impose. The teacher in addition to providing the “bread” must also provide the “recipe”, otherwise, he failed as a teacher.

The Sadhaka (one who practices a sadhana) must feel this dynamic realization in the master and reproduce it in his own nature, must not strive to imitate the external attitude of his teacher, this simple emulation makes his practice sterile, instead of producing real and spontaneous fruits.

HOW TO RECOGNIZE A YOGA MASTER

No matter what the scope, there is no more appreciable quality in this world than wisdom. Many people have the knowledge, other people have a great practical experience. But a wise person is that person who combines both knowledge and experience. If a person has only the knowledge of a subject, very often it is not at all a concrete knowledge and his theoretical knowledge often badly addresses himself and others.

It is better if a person has practical experience but, even in this case, with only practical experience, without theoretical knowledge, one does not have a complete vision, this means that the benefit of their experience is limited to practice alone. Thus, whether we refer to a profession or a teacher in any field, what is appreciable is a combination of knowledge and practical experience.

This is valid for both a yoga student and a teacher. Knowledge is one thing, practical experience can be a completely different thing. Some may have a great knowledge of the scriptures and yoga philosophy, but these people are not at all different from ordinary people, as they do not make the knowledge their own, they do not carry it within themselves. They are teachers who have never really discovered what the scriptures mean. On the other hand, there are practitioners who have done years of practice (sadhana) and perhaps they have changed considerably from the physical point of view, they understand the inner workings of the mind. But even these, without the knowledge of the scriptures, their physical ability is not enough, their ability to help others is limited.

The Yoga Vasistha says: “Just as birds are able to fly by means of both their two wings, in the same way action and knowledge together lead to the supreme goal of liberation”.

The Master yoga is the one who combines both: knowledge and practical experience. These are the people that every researcher must desire and seek as a guide. They are considered authentic sages and true masters.

THE TEACHER

Teacher means to be continually called and re-called to express himself, his freedom, his knowledge and method; to be attentive and vigilant about the reality of those in front of him, because if his humanity does not take into account the other one he is facing, delivery by interaction is not possible.

Attention, interest, participation, resourcefulness, are just some of the factors of learning linked to the human being: only if one adheres to the reality of what one is proposing, it is possible to learn, the teacher as a person has put himself in the game of facing reality. The teacher is the one who teaches you how to bring yourself in front of reality, even if of an objective, like a lesson in history, and reminds you, with his, of your humanity. “Things do not become familiar only with explanations, but risking … an experience … because otherwise these things are not understood. The beginning of knowledge is an event; things are understood when they happen, living them “.

To have an experience is fundamental to know, because if I don’t “move” a part of me, if the adhesion of the person does not take place, “I don’t understand”; this is true for those who learn, but it is equally true for those who teach, if the teacher does not “explore” himself, teaching does not become experience, and therefore not even the possibility of conveying actual knowledge.

The role of the modern yoga teacher is much more than assisting the practitioner by showing him a sustainable yoga path or guiding him along this journey of personal discovery. The fact that one person does not exist the same as the other makes this task a more difficult and demanding challenge.

This is why we need physically prepared teachers, even teachers who put passion and dedication into their work, who are able to inspire, suggest, stimulate, push the student towards the search for his personal path. Teaching yoga is an act of generosity in which passion and love for what you do are decisive, a mission before a job. For this reason, it is an indispensable condition for a yoga teacher to have lived a personal practice (sadhana), that is to say, has already had the experience, before being able to transmit it. A teacher will have to express a condition of harmony and inner centring, through his way of being; through his thoughts, his words and his actions.

A yoga teacher must know, because lived, the two fundamental aspects of the yoga path, the technical aspect and the aspect of perception, the technical aspect is of an external type (Bahiranga), while the perceptual aspect is of an inner type (Antaranga). Knowing these two aspects, he is aware of what kind of yoga he is teaching, without forgetting that a serious and complete yoga practice must include both of these two aspects.

A good yoga teacher has a strong ability to observe himself and others, in order to interpret the condition and needs of the students. It teaches with the awareness of transmitting a personal experience with the heart, it is not a simple activity carried out to cultivate one’s pride, one’s fame, one’s ego. A sincere yoga teacher does not use yoga to affirm himself but, rather uses himself to affirm Yoga. The example is more powerful than teaching, but it is not just the example given by formal external acts that it matters, what will most stimulate the aspiration to “flight” in the students, will be the realization in the inner state of the teacher.

To sum up: The characteristics that a Yoga Teacher must possess in order to be able to correctly guide the development of their students are:

Human qualities – empathy, the ability to not judge, the ability to listen, compassion, a sense of responsibility, patience, perseverance, authority. Qualities that develop only by working on themselves.

Technical skills– Knowledge of human anatomy. Mastery of the techniques of Asana, Pranayama, Bandha, Mudra Kriya and Meditation. In practice, knowing how to practice Yoga in all its parts at a good level.

Deep knowledge– knowing Yoga in its philosophical, scientific, metaphysical and cultural aspects.

Teaching – Knowing how to teach. The ability to make simple what is difficult to understand or understand to a first approach, the ability to keep the students’ interest and enthusiasm alive, to know how to customize a learning path based on the specific needs of the students.

There are certainly many other aspects that make a Yoga Teacher effective in his task of guiding the student but these are certainly those that cannot be missed. It may take a long time to have them all but, the path to becoming a good yoga teacher is surrounded by light when commitment is sincere and born of the motivation to give in the absence of ego.

Swami Sivananda Maharaji summarized these principles in one sentence:” Serve, Love, Give, Purify, Meditate, Realize”.

Om Shanti Master Yoga Teacher Felice Vernillo owner Shakti Yoga Italy and book author https://www.libreriauniversitaria.it/yoga-shakti-manuale-teorico-pratico/libro/9788894108118

Asana Yoga Not Just Fitness

Featured

Posted on 30/03/2019 by YAOJ

by Master Yoga Teacher Felice Vernillo founder and owner Shakti Integral Yoga -Italy

Yoga is a patrimony, a treasure for the whole of humanity, within which is contained all that can serve to complete the path towards self-realisation, in the awareness of unity with the whole. However, in the process of the discovery of Yoga by the Western mentality, as often happens in the rational and consumerist approach, the meaning of the ancient discipline is being distorted, giving rise to a somewhat distorted and reductive use value of this powerful instrument .

Today “we do” Yoga to get better, to relax, to release tension and cope with the discomforts of an unbalanced life. There is no doubt that Yoga helps in this: ” It’s the least” that such an ancient and wise discipline can offer the fragile and disoriented contemporary human being. Most of the people who come into contact with Yoga today, profusely poured from gyms, spas, hotels, holiday villages and so on, see themselves offered a sort of pill, a symptomatic medicine to break down a fever coming from a much deeper unease.

Thus, Yoga becomes a soothing as another, like a good massage, a sauna, a morning run in a park. More over the proven effectiveness of the postures related to the practice of Yoga has meant that dozens of “new yoga” were born, with exotic and bizarre names, that have nothing to do with the sacred and ancient tradition born of passion, desire and dedication of millions of practitioners at all times. This is why I believe that Yoga should be restored to its original intent, to the spirit of those individuals, practitioners, masters who have strongly desired and wanted to forge a powerful research tool, which could give a concrete answer to man’s eternal questions. To ask questions about one’s own existence is a duty of every human being, and it is his full right to be able to make a free search to become aware of the truth of his being.

Hatha yoga is the most popular aspect of yoga, but at the same time the most misunderstood. More and more often mistakenly considered as a simple exercise of positions, not only by adventurous practitioners but, above all by little or not qualified teachers.

Asana is a term that in yoga indicates assuming a body posture. However, asanas are something more complex than a simple position. Asanas being an integral part of yoga are not just a physical exercise, but involve both physiological and psychological processes. They are connected to all the other aspects of yoga: they are rooted in the ethics of Yama – Nyama and have their purpose in spirituality (Samadhi). Yoga uses the body to exercise and control the mind; in the most advanced stages, the body and mind together harmonize with the soul.

The hatha-Yoga of which the Asanas are the base, have purification as their primary objective. Purification means the removal of what does not belong to the true reality of what we want to purify. The whole yoga path consists in keeping our being free from all kinds of impurities, physical, mental, emotional, intellectual.

The practice of Asanas, first of all teaches us to communicate with the body.

Patanjali defines Asana as a stable, comfortable and effortless position (Sthira-Sukham Asanam). Therefore Asana is a position of the body but also a mental condition, a precise attitude held during the practice.

The etymological root of “Asana” is “ASA“, ie: Where I Am Connected …

ASANA … means what helps to take a stable and comfortable yoga position; it is the third aspect of Yoga, according to the scientific scheme of Patanjali. Literally it means: Where I am … and in what state I am …

Speaking of Asanas, according to Yoga, the body is only the starting point for accessing the individual. For any type of activity, a position is required. Yoga defines the position of the body in two ways:

1. Pavitra – It is that situation in which the body takes a certain position that has to do with the outside world.

2. Asana – or Posture when we do not carry out an external activity, through the use of arms and legs but, we assume that posture to be able to start the “inner perceptions“. That is, when we do something that concerns ourselves, inside. Asana is a physical posture but can also be a mental attitude.

If the body can assume a certain position, the mind can also assume its positions and its attitudes; depending on what we have to do, the mind is stable in a certain type of attitude, in this case it is a mental asana.

The term Asana implies the concept of stability; strengthen the ability to be stable, practicing long and consistently. The guidelines have already been scientifically defined by Patanjali who represents the undisputed authority on the subject. Nothing needs to be invented in this regard.

Y.S. 2 °-46: “Sthira Sukham Asanam”

“What is stable (Sthira) and comfortable (Sukham) is Asana”

When we talk about Asanas, in relation to the body, it means that there is no effort at the cortical level but there is an action that takes place at the level of the cerebellum (lower or proprioceptive centers).

The posture thus practiced, allows the mind to be involved in something else that in yoga is the conscious experience of respiratory movements.

As long as it remains at the cortical (voluntary) level, there is involvement and attention cannot transcend into universal or perceptive states.

THE ASANA OPERATE SCIENTIFICALLY

The central nervous system uses its lower centers of integration to maintain posture and balance. These lower centers are located in the medulla oblongata (varolio bridge), in the cerebellum in the midbrain and in the ganglia. Numerous reflexes are integrated by these lower centers, which operate below the level of consciousness to maintain position. Postural reflexes occur unintentionally following the stimulation of different proprioceptors and visceroceptors, in the muscles, joints, tendons, under the soles of the feet. The rhythm of muscle tone can be regulated by the lower centers completely independently and with absolute efficiency, while the upper centers of the cortex do not interfere in the least.

Every voluntary effort on the part of the body and mind means activity on the part of the higher centers, which prevail over the lower centers of integration. This disturbs the normal activity of the lower centers with regard to postural reflexes, this is due to the fact that the motor impulses are transmitted directly to the skeletal muscles.

When the learning of the asanas is started, a little effort is required for the muscles, joints and tendons. Then gradually, the maintenance time of the asanas is increased. During this phase the will plays a dominant role on the lower centers, it is engaged in the stretching of the muscles, in their contraction, in the abdominal compression, also feeling some discomfort here and there. Many people, since they consider the asanas of simple physical exercises, practice them in the form of isometric and isotonic exercises. It is obvious that, by changing the execution method, the results will be different.

Let us consider the isometric and isotonic elements that are introduced in the practice of asanas, then later we will deal with the mode of execution envisaged by the fathers of the classical yoga tradition.

Voluntary efforts are made to reach the final stage of an asana. The muscles and joints are activated and kept in position for a certain time, in fact the maintenance of the asanas constitutes the final stage. This prolonged contraction of the muscles is nothing more than an isometric exercise. An active stretching of the muscles produces an active contraction, as a result of the stretch reflex. The tension increases and this increase is felt by the joints, tendons and muscles, if it exceeds a certain limit, it causes discomfort and pain. All of this produces muscle fatigue and even tremors. This isometric activity increases the commitment of circulation and breathing, as the muscles’ need for oxygen is increased. Such an execution acts above all on the superficial muscles, rather than on the deep ones and on their nerves. Internal pressure changes and proprioceptive mechanisms (lower centers) hardly have time to affect the nervous system.

Sometimes asanas are deliberately practiced as isotonic exercises. In this type of execution the dynamic phase predominates, and leaves no room for maintaining posture. This type of exercise causes heating and profuse sweating, and excites the activity of the Sympathetic Nervous System, produces cardiovascular exertion, waste of energy with consequent fatigue of the whole body. It is easily understandable that such a practice for an individual suffering from a permanent state of severe stress or anxiety (a very common condition in contemporary society) not only does not help but actually fuels these forms of disorders. However, if a subject is in a state of hypotonicity and depression, active stretching and prolonged contractions will develop tone and muscle strength, producing energy, activity and enthusiasm in the person, thanks to the action on the Sympathetic Nervous System.

What happens instead when the asanas are practiced in the right condition of muscle relaxation, or with voluntary reduction of effort and absence of tension in the joints, muscles and tendons?

Attention is directed to the breath, with a detached observer attitude (Sakshin), this attitude allows to relax the body further, releasing the tension of voluntary efforts. The mind is emptied of thoughts, in the absence of mental activity and voluntary efforts there is no cortical activity (higher centers) for the whole time of maintaining the position. The lower centers that regulate posture and balance are free to act effectively, without interference, however, the type of postural reflexes that are determined with the related stimuli depend on the particular postural model, or on the specific asana performed.

We have seen that muscle tone is the basis of posture and can be influenced by emotional states or the person’s mental condition. When muscle tone is reduced, due to the passive stretching of joints and muscles, a sedative and calming effect on the nerves results. Emotions cannot manifest themselves in a pronounced way: in this way it is possible to face one’s own emotional load, reducing emotional tensions and relaxing more and more deeply. There is therefore the absence of internal disorders (vikshepa) or conflicts (dvandva) and it is therefore possible to eliminate states of physical or mental instability. In a relaxed and stable posture, internal awareness not only calms the mind, but also conditions it through the functional connection of the cerebellum-hypothalamus postural reflex. Sympathetic activity is suspended while parasympathetic activity restores stability to various levels. Now the body begins to “speak” to the mind through various sensations that are perceived by proprioceptors and integrated involuntarily by the lower centers. This explains why, in the long run, we see the effect of such an execution on the postural model of the subject.

According to the principles of yoga, the most profound changes occur when the forces that hinder change diminish. In the case of intrinsic balance, a deep level of internal support is needed, this support exists and takes shape when any extraneous muscular effort ceases to hinder it. The unconscious muscular effort we make to constantly counteract the force of gravity requires a lot of energy. Consequently, when this effort ceases, the experience is that of an energy that is released, because of this we can define the intrinsic balance as a source of energy, precisely because of the profound sensation of vitality that distinguishes it. This explains why yoga asanas help to release the potential energy of the axial skeleton by identifying and loosening the foreign muscular effort that hinders the innermost and deeper forces.

Patanjali clearly indicates how the practice of an asana should be conducted:

Y.S. 2nd – 47: “Prayatna Shaitilya Ananta Samapattibhyam”

“The absence of effort (Prayatna Shaithilya) leads the mind to orient itself (Samapatti) towards (Bhyam) the infinite (Ananta)”.

In asana there is the concept of being able to put oneself in “contact with the infinite” but, if the being remains tied to the physical experience, if it remains within the limits of the body, it will never be able to transcend the state of awareness limited. The “Knowledge” comes when one comes out of the dual game of “effort” and “tension”, the mental state becomes more open and the thought more global; with the absence of effort, the mind enters a state of emptiness.

Patanjali: Y.S. 2nd – 48: “Tato Dvandva Anabhighatah”

“Then (Tato) the tension (Dvandva) disappears (Anabhighatah).”

Speaking of Asanas, in relation to the body, muscular tensions can be released only if one has the capacity to abandon oneself and transcend.

Y.S. 2nd – 49: “Tasmin Sati Svasa Prasvasa Yor Gati Vicchedah Pranayamah”

“Asana is reached, in a stable and comfortable way (Tasmin Sati, comfortable for the body and for the individual), one becomes aware of the movements of one’s breath (Svasa and Prasvasa), of the energy (Prana) that produces the movement (Gati) and how this energy acts within us.

H. P. 1 ° -17: “Sthairyamarogyam Cangalaghavam”

“Asana is a factor that contributes to achieving stability, health and lightness of the body”

The result of the state of “Asana”, when we transcend it, is to be able to enter the “awareness of the breath”

Y.S. II-49: “Tasmin – sati svasa – prasvasa – yor – gati – vicchedah pranayamah”

“You can proceed only if you have the ability to experience” Svasa “and” Prasvasa

a) Svasa: the conscious experience of the movements that follow the inspiration.

b) Prasvasa: the conscious experience of the movements that follow the expiration.

As long as it remains at the cortical (voluntary) level, there is involvement and attention cannot transcend into universal or perceptive states.

During a physical exercise, the mind is concentrated on something that happens outside while in “Asana”, the mind must move inward.

It is essential for a yogi to know “how” the mind must move inward, during a particular Asana.

For example: I could also put myself in perfect Padmasana position and continue to chat happily: while the body is in Asana, the mind is out of practice.

The concept of “asana” is linked to that of “posture” which is completely different from the concept of “physical exercise”. Maintaining a “posture” is the way that allows us to analyze ourselves and remove from ourselves what disturbs us and does not allow us to remain in balance.

This is why Patanjali tells us that there are two ways of practicing Yoga:

1. Bahiranga Yoga: Literally means external Yoga

2. Antaranga Yoga: Internalization of our faculties, Yoga facing inward

Given the person’s two abilities, both to turn outwards: “Bahiranga”, and to return to himself and remain in himself: “Antaranga”, it is fundamental for Yogis to know that they must set their practice on these two aspects.

Working with the individual, as Yoga asks of us, means “working with his conscience”, not only with the “physical structure”.

For yoga the greatest victory is the victory over oneself, over one’s weaknesses, over one’s fears, over one’s afflictions

To find out more about Master Yoga Teacher Felice Vernillo (Arjun Yogi)
please visit his website: www.shaktiyoga.it/

A Yogi’s Brief Guide to Moving Through Loss by Way of the Chakras by Denise Payne

Featured

Posted on 24/03/2019 by YAOJ

Yoga Alliance (Australia/International) Master Yoga Teacher Denise Payne (Ubud-Bali)

Two years ago, I was in Indonesia preparing to lead a yoga teacher training beginning in 72 hours. My phone rang. On the other end, I was told my sister had just died from a heroin overdose. Speechless and gutted, I pulled my arms in front of my chest. I dropped my head into my hands and felt paralysed.

From my previous experience with loss, I knew these actions were causing a “shaking in” of the trauma. The best thing to do in this situation is to run around, move the limbs and yell— “shake out” the trauma. However, we’ve been conditioned to intellectualise the sadness first. This makes navigating and unravelling the inner workings of our feelings difficult, yet an understanding of the Chakras can help. This knowledge was integral in helping me deal with the loss of my sister. I hope it can serve you in your own unique grieving process.

Grieving Through the Chakras

The energetic system of the chakras defines how we move. Grief affects each chakra individually and the system as a whole. Each chakra (energy center) has its own purpose and receives energy or information from the outside world. Chakras assimilate and integrate this energy, combine it with their particular states and expresses this combination back into the world.

1^st chakra, Muldhara – stability and survival: Healing from loss and grief here comes through grounding practices. Silence and slow and methodical movements nurture it. Sink into the support of gravity.

Pro tip: garden, get your hands in the dirt.

2^nd chakra, Svadisthana – fluidity and emotions:This chakra likes flow of all kinds. Nurture it by experiencing pleasure through all of the senses. Eat delicious and nourishing foods. Look at the beautiful blue sky. Flow in your yoga practice—combining breath and movement supports the relationship between the first and second chakras.

Pro tip: dance.

3^rd chakra, Manipura – power and self-discipline: Nurture this chakra by caring for your first two chakras daily. Consistently roll out your yoga mat and move. This ignites the fire this chakra needs to thrive.

Pro tip: care for your first two chakras, even when you don’t feel like it.

4^th chakra, Anahata – breath: Grief affects this chakra by making the breath shallow or causing it to be held. Heal here through deep breathing—especially through the mouth in the early stages of grief. Notice how the body moves with each inhale and each exhale. Let the space between the two begin to lengthen naturally.

Pro tip: match the rhythm of the breath with the rhythm of your heartbeat.

5^th chakra, Vishuddha – creativity, speech, and listening: When grieving, listen to others share their stories of loss and heartache. Meet with people who can relate to your experience without judgement or sympathy, heard by people that understand that it’s your journey, your own healing timeline.

Pro tip: sing.

6^th chakra, Ajna – perception of ourselves and others:We can easily allow the perception of a loss to define us. Who are we once someone is gone? Do we feel guilty moving on? Through experience, I know that the sixth chakra will feel supported, if the time has been taken to care for the lower five properly.

Pro tip: sit quietly with the eyes closed. Bring the gaze up to the space between the eyebrows and connect to your inner wisdom.

7^th chakra, Svadisthana – connection and attachment:The healing journey encompasses the attachment to our perceptions and the stories we tell ourselves. Who are we if we are no longer that thing which defined us? Do your grounding practice. Give the first chakra what it needs to build a foundation, then slowly work your way up through the chakra system, to find answers.

Pro tip: practice stillness. Commit to one minute at a time, then slowly increase the time.

After my sister died, I found safety in my anger and brokenness. It served me until one day it didn’t. If I had rushed the healing process to suit someone else’s timeline, I wouldn’t feel as whole as I am beginning to feel right now. When grieving, take your time. Go through the process of nurturing your chakras, and the healing will find its way.

Denise Payne Teacher Training School in Bali One Song Yoga has been serving the yoga community as a registered school since 2009. Our guiding principles are steeped in yoga tradition and philosophy and offer bespoke teacher training to fit the growing needs of the expanding yoga community. www.denisepayneyoga.com

Praise of Yoga Gymnastic

Featured

Posted on 15/03/2019 by YAOJ

**Source: doorofperception.com-michael_oneill-yoga-book-taschen-cover2**

Praise of Yoga Gymnastic article by Paolo Proietti Tantra Yoga Teacher, books author-Rome, Italy

Yoga “gymnastics” will be the new tag from now on, to introduce all my classes, courses and seminaries.

This definition has the merit of being simple and honest; nowadays there are hundreds of different Yoga in the “spiritual market” and most of the time they run into contradiction. That’s why I think it’s therefore right and proper to get back to clarity and simplicity.

Yoga is the Art of Human Being; it’s the practical application of Sanatana Dharma teachings’ (the perpetual Indian Philosophy) and it has been turned into a desinence or a suffix that aims at attracting new potential consumers inside the lucrative market of spirituality.

The same happened in the ‘70s with the word Zen:
everybody thought to do Zen meditation and they applied it to all sort of activities, from motorcycling to tennis, from theatre to writing.
Today it’s Yoga turn.

This fact itself it’s not right or wrong; it’s just a fact, a social phenomenon that we can’t disregard. The consumer who embraces spiritual and holistic arts from the East will look for a particular Yoga, so the market will adapt itself to meet specific demands.

Ashtanga, Power or Acro Yoga will be chosen by someone who has a physical approach, otherwise somebody interested in Western gymnastics with low-impact exercises will find Yin Yoga, Mindful Yoga, Yoga Pilates (or Yogiaates) and Postural Yoga.

Somebody else, with a strong passion for philosophic issues, will be fascinated by Advaita Vedanta (more often in the reinvented version of American psychologists), they could also enjoy the Tibetan Yoga and other courses that introduce the word Meditation in their package, another magic word from the Holistic business.

Then we have the Shamanic Yoga, the Yoga related to symbols, the Five Tibetans’ Yoga rites, the Laughter Yoga, and so on. A Yoga for everyone!!

As I already said before, I personally prefer the definition of “Yoga Gymnastics” (or Gymnosophy) because it’s clear, simple and honest.

During my lessons, we practice a series of physical exercises (gymnastics), positions, sequences, gestures and breathing techniques. We work on perception and the use of Subtle Energies. We study philosophical texts.

It’s the combination of these three components of our work that must or should lead to a series of physical, psychic and mental transformations.Therefore, Yoga Gym.

Then we can discuss between us, in private, about the singularity of Yoga, and we could also talk about the risks of this “spiritual market” and its adhesion. Yes, we speak of risks, because it may happen that many people practice (or even teach) Yoga without ever having read a Yoga Upanisad or an Agama.

They could pass off a simple psycho-physical exercise as an ancient traditional technique; an exercise that might be good for health and state of mind, but at the same time it’s similar to Yoga as the pin-pong is to hunting. This is the risk of inventing new disciplines with techniques and concepts mixed together to meet the taste of the public.

Look at the picture below:

The hippie man in his underwear it’s me in the 70s. It’s supposed to be in Capraia (a gorgeous Italian little Island) looking at the shape of those rocks. I was there during one of the “voluntary Yoga retreats” organised by a very large group, with manifold practitioners. There were some Babaji’s disciples, some “Orange”, a few Hare Krishna, some Sri Aurobindo followers and a group of people just returned from India.

We met periodically in the island, where we spent one or two weeks doing “gymnastics exercises”, meditation and mental visualisations. We also talked at night about the teachings of some masters, in front of the bonfire. The most knowledgeable showed us some readings written in English, that they brought from India, and we talked for hours about Sanatana Dharma, Vedas, Gods, demons and heroes.

Beliefs and opinions were different, but I remember that everybody knew and practiced the basic asanas, we all had precise ideas on chakras and we could sit for hours meditating in the lotus pose. We named it just Yoga and none of us would ever think to ask someone else “What kind of Yoga do you practice?”. Because Yoga is (or maybe it was) only one. Yoga is one of the six orthodox schools of Hindu philosophical traditions

Source: doorofperception.com-michael_oneill-yoga-book-taschen

Let’s talk about Yoga Upanisad.

Honestly, have you ever heard of them? And if the answer is yes, have you ever studied one of them?

Traditional Upanisad are 108 and they are divided into 4 groups:

1) main upaniṣad

2) upaniṣad of renunciation (or surrender upanisad)

3) Yoga upaniṣad

4) upaniṣad on universal principles.

There are also other groups of religious nature in addition to them, but now we’re going to analyse the third group about Yoga Upanisad.

There are 20 upanisad (or 17 according to some commentators) and they describe the yogic path to Realisation. A very accurate and clear path, with gymnastics exercises, breathing techniques, mental visualisations and meditation.

These are always and every single time the same and they are described with a simple language, details apart.

This language is not absolutely suitable for metaphorical or theological interpretations. Let me give you an example: Parama-Karuna-Devi is an Hindu master of Italian origin and she made a translation of the 108 upanisad from which I’m going to transcribe some passages.

I really suggest my colleagues and the practitioners of thousands different styles of Yoga to read them. (The author does not use the transliteration of IAST, so for instance upanisad is UPANISHAD, Siva will be SHIVA and so on..)

Here you can read two verses from the Varaha Upanisad (composed between the 13th and 16th centuries CE) :

The (fundamental asanas are 11: Chakra, Padma, Kurma, Mayura, Kukkuta, Vira, Svastika, Bhadra, Simha, Mukta and Gomukha.
(5.15 to 16)

It seems to be clear enough, isn’t it?

According to the varāha upaniṣad, which forms an integral part of Yajurveda, the practitioner must know how to do at least 11 asanas, in order to undertake the path to realisation. They include the following poses:

Cakrasana — CHAKRASANA Source: doorofperception.com-michael_oneill-yoga-book-taschen-

padamasana — PADAMASANA Source: doorofperception.com-michael_oneill-yoga-book-taschen

kumasana — KUMASANA Source: doorofperception.com-michael_oneill-yoga-book-taschen

mayurasana — MAYURASANA Source: https://paoloproiettiyoga.blogspot.com

kukkutasana — Source: https://paoloproiettiyoga.blogspot.com

These are gymnastics exercises, Yoga gymnastics, which are fundamental for a Yogin, according to a traditional Indian text.

It must be said that upaniṣad are not manuals made for buskers or for exhibitions of gymnasts, but they are clear instructions to achieve the yogic path to Realisation.

Do you think varāha upaniṣad is an isolated case?

As if, difficult poses as it’s considered the Peacock one (Mayurāsana) are believed to be basic in almost all Yoga upanisad.

It explains that what it was called to be Yoga, was a discipline made of fundamental poses, without a doubt. Among these essential poses, there were (and there still are) some movements quite complex, but they are part of gymnastics exercises.

Like for basketball or the boxe; have you ever heard of a basketball player who does not know how to dribble? Or a boxer who does not know how to throw punches? No, and the same is for Yoga.

As far as I could see and read, nowadays there aren’t a lot of people who know how to perform the bridge on their arms, the head stand or the Peacock pose. In many of these thousands types of Yoga, we could even hear that it is not necessary to learn how to do Padmāsana (the lotus pose), because it could be dangerous for the knees. Moreover, the Head Stand (the king of asanas) has become an optional, good only for performances.

So, the new tag “Yoga Gymnastics” is welcomed, considering that essential asanas poses of the upanisad are left to gymnasts.

But let’s read another passage from the Varāha Upaniṣad:

“Pranayama must be practiced repeatedly in the following order: inhale, hold the breath and exhale. The main work of pranayama concerns nadis, the channels through which the energies flow”. (5,18)

“The body of every human being is 96 fingers long. In the middle of the body, two fingers above the anus and two fingers under the genital organ, we can find the center of the body called Muladhara”. (5,19)

“Nine fingers above the genitals there is the core of nadis that takes the shape of an oval; it is made of four fingers on each side, surrounded by fat, meat, bones and blood. There is a nadi chakra in it with 10 rays, it supports the body and it’s where Kundali resides.

Kundali’s face covers up Brahmarandhra (the “opening of Brahma”) on the channel called Sushumna. At the sides of the Sushumna there are the nadis called Alambusa and Kuhu”. (5,20-23)

“The next two rays are Varuna and Yasasvini. On the southern ray of Sushumna there is Pingala.

On the following two rays there are Pusha and Payasvini, while on the west side of Sushumna there is the nadi called Sarasvati”. (5,24-26)

“The following ray is Hastijihva, finally there is Visvodara.

In these rays of the wheel, 10 nadis move 10 vayu in a clockwise direction from left to right, and they are intersected in various points like filaments of a fabric. They also have different colors (5,27-28) “

I think the message of the Yoga Upanisad, the practical handbooks of Yoga, is very clear: a yogin, to be a yogin, must be a gymnast and an inner alchemy expert at the same time. This doesn’t mean that psychic and mental well-being cannot be reached in another way; because one’s self could be realise in many manners.

But what it was used to be called Yoga included the following activities: gymnastics, inner alchemy, meditation and knowledge of traditional texts.

Today I’d like to to call it Gymnosophy, or Yoga gymnastics. I’d really appreciate that my colleagues and friends who teach Yoga and practitioners of disciplines with the suffix (or “prefix”) Yoga will read the Yoga upanisad too, when they have enough time.

In order to know what it was meant to be the word Yoga, since ten years ago. When it was considered to be necessary for meditation to tie the legs in the lotus pose while holding the back straight. As well as the head stand was not considered to be the evolution of an exhibitionist, but it was a technique to stimulate precise energy channels, to transform the perception of one’s body and of evident reality.

Greetings Paolo Proietti -Rome,Italy

Paolo Proietti is a Tantra Yoga teacher and books author. Paolo he has been practising yoga and oriental martial arts since 1974. Instructor of ASI / DOS (Discipline Holistic Health – Holistic Arts and Oriental). Member World M.Y.A. (World Movement for Yoga and Ayurveda), World MIFA (World Movement for Indian Fine Arts), E.Y.F. European Yoga Federation.

https://www.facebook.com/PAOLOPROIETTIyogaealtrestranezze

http://paoloproiettiyoga.blogspot.com/

Yoga a Noble Tradition

Featured

Posted on 21/01/2019 by YAOJ

Yoga – a Noble Tradition by Sadhviji Bhagawati Saraswati

The Divine Sadhvi Bhagawati Saraswatiji Spiritual Leader, PhD, books author, director International Yoga Festival Rishikesh and much more….

The noble traditions of Yoga, Meditation and Pranayama have, over the last three decades, become a catalyst for transformative and positive changes to the mind, body and spirit. As an example, in the United States, yoga practice increased from 9.5% of the population in 2012 to 14.3% in 2017 according to a 2017 National Health Interview Survey. Involvement by children doubled during the same period. As part of this increased participation, people are coming to realize that Yoga is more than asanas and meditation.

Yoga, as taught by Patanjali, is an eight-fold path with each limb flowing gracefully and naturally, one into the other, yet flexible enough the limbs may be experienced ordered in a multitude of variations. The first two limbs of Yoga are the Yamas and Niyamas, or the ethical rules for living and interacting within community. This, by extension, can encompass the world at large. The third limb refers to the practice of asanas for keeping the body healthy and supple. Asanas are also critical for preparing the mind for the more subtle practices that come next. The fourth limb is Pranayama, or control of the breath – the vital energy permeating the body. It is said that the number of breaths we are allowed to take on this earth was written at the time of our birth. Yoga teaches that longevity depends on the rate at which we breathe. As we lower the rate of breathing, we can increase the length of our lives. Pranayama has an effect on both body and mind, and is a means of attaining higher states of awareness and consciousness.

The final four limbs help to refine and discipline the mind. They are Pratyahara or control of the senses, Dharana or concentration, Dhyana or meditation and contemplation, and Samadhi or enlightenment. One very powerful Dharana is envisioning the world completely devoid of our presence. This reminds us that we are not this body and nothing material is of substantial importance. Samadhi is the final state of enlightenment and oneness with the Supreme Consciousness.

Yoga is primarily a spiritual process designed to help the practitioner attain self -knowledge and Samadhi. It is rooted in Sanatan Dharma. Millions of people around the world are involved in the practice and spread of Yoga. From its origins as Ashtanga, many asana variations have been developed. Examples include Vinyasa, Iyengar, and Bikram. The essence of the original practices, however, remains intact because no new asanas have been developed.

Yoga is also a science that has been verified using scientific methods. Tests have been conducted for decades on the effect of Yoga on the body and mind. Studies show asanas, pranayama and meditation in combination with allopathic medicine can be an alternative treatment for many health issues. Research is now being undertaken to determine whether Yoga can cure and prevent cancer. Initial findings are encouraging, and show that yoga improves the physiological and physical symptoms of cancer patients and reduces stress, thereby improving quality of life. Yoga is also being studied to determine its effectiveness in treating issues such as autism, PTSD, trauma, anxiety disorders and issues related to the mind. On the individual level, yoga is an experiential process because the practitioner can directly observe changes in their body and mind as a result of a sustained practice

A whole world of possibilities is available through Yoga, and new opportunities are being discovered every day. Yoga can be considered one of the most important tools in the twenty-first century for health and well-being – physical, mental and spiritual. We humbly request that all teachers and practitioners treat Yoga as their most precious jewel and protect it in the same manner.

Biography

Sadhvi Bhagawati Saraswati, Ph.D, was raised in an American family in Hollywood, California and graduated from Stanford University. She was completing her Ph.D. when she left America in 1996 to live at Parmarth Niketan in Rishikesh, India. She has been living there for 22 years, engaged in spiritual practice and service.

She was officially initiated into the order of Sanyas (monastic renunciation) in the year 2000, by His Holiness Swami Chidanand Saraswatiji, one of the most revered spiritual leaders in India and the President of Parmarth Niketan.

Sadhviji serves as:

Secretary-General of the Global Interfaith WASH Alliance, an international interfaith organization dedicated to clean water, sanitation & hygiene (WASH).
President of Divine Shakti Foundation, a foundation which runs free schools, vocational training programs and empowerment programs.
Director of the world-famous International Yoga Festival at Parmarth which has been covered in Time Magazine, CNN, New York Times and other prestigious publications.

Meet Sadhviji at the IYF 1- 7 March 2019 Rishikesh – Parmarth Niketan Ashram

Yoga Alliance (International/Australia Proud Media Partner International Yoga Festival 2018/2019

Yoga Alliance (Italia/International) -Media partner International Yoga Festival 2018/2019

Yoga Alliance (Italia/International) proud Media Partner of the International Yoga Festival 2018/2019

Largest Yoga Championship in the World Beijing 2018

Featured

Posted on 29/11/2018 by YAOJ

The largest ever World Championship of Yoga Sports to kick off Saturday December 1st 2018 in Beijing

The Swiss based International Yoga Sports Federation is organising the largest ever World Championship of Yoga in Beijing, China. This is the first time that the competition is organised in Asia after running in London in 2014 and Italy in 2016 (Pordenone Yogah School).

135 athletes from 32 nations and 5 continents will be participating in this exceptional event, the biggest ever from the foundation of IYSF in 2013, raising interest for Yoga Sports all over the world. Each competitor will be evaluated by 10 international judges on a series of 6 asanas, 1 forward compression, 1 backward, 1 stretching, 1 spine twist, and 2 optional postures. This year the whole event will be placed under the high patronage of Rajashree Choudhoury, who has decided to handover her position of Executive President of IYSF at the end of the competition.

Two Italians are the youngest competitors in the Youth category. One is the 2016 World Champion who will defend “Like a Champion” the well deserved title!

Let’s see what their Yoga Alliance (Italia/International) ERYT -1500 yoga teachers Nicola De Simone a Bikram qualified teacher and his wife Gabriella Buzzacchi owners of Yogah school in Pordenone with over 40 years teaching experience between them have to say about their young students:

We are glad to bring our champions Davide Toneguzzi and Riccardo Basso, students of the Yogah School since they were five years old, at World Yoga Championships, scheduled in Beijing. Davide Toneguzzi, 15, a student of the “Torricelli” sports school in Maniago, is the current world champion in the Youth category and on December 2nd (at 3 pm local time) in the Chinese capital, he will defend the title won in 2016.

Thanks to the Yogah school and its young athletes, Pordenone has received unexpected planetary visibility. The city and the territory have now repaid the boys of the Yogah School supporting them in this new, exciting sporting adventure. “Pordenone responded with great warmth to our appeal – explains Nicola De Simone, who with Gabriella Buzzacchi directs the Yogah School and is the Master of the two athletes – really a choral participation, almost moving.”

Along with Davide Toneguzzi there will also be a club and contemporary partner, Riccardo Basso. Student of the “Grigoletti” scientific high school, he is twice world and European champion of the Youth category. In short, Pordenone holds world leadership among young yogis.

Youngest World Yoga Champions from Italy Yogah School- Pordenone and their Master Yoga Teacher Nicola De Simone

Rajashree Choudhoury President International Yoga Sports Federation

For more info, please check:
International Yoga Sports Federation webpage: www.iysf.org
China Yoga Sports Federation webpage : www.cysf.com.cn/?en
Teaser videos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-1Kn7T7nYY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQ-jxB1Dogk
Facebook live stream: https://www.facebook.com/1592501274391801/posts/1913066002335325/

Influential Spiritual Leaders: H.H. Pujya Swami Chidanand Saraswatiji

Featured

Posted on 27/11/2018 by YAOJ

The life and time of on the most influential Spiritual Leader: H.H. Pujya Swami Chidanand Saraswatiji President of the International Yoga Festival Rishikesh

H.H. Pujya Swami Chidanand Saraswatiji invites you to join him at the IYF 1-7 March 2019. Register Now: https://www.internationalyogafestival.org/register/

“Welcome Home!” – this greeting is offered to every guest and visitor to Parmarth Niketan Ashram, a true spiritual haven, lying on the holy banks of Mother Ganga in the lap of the lush Himalayas. “Parmarth Niketan” literally means “Dedicated to the Welfare of All.” A friendly welcome and this simple mission statement expand into a vast array of programs and services that are led by or inspired by or driven by, or a combination of the three, the ashram. The ashram runs schools, hospitals, ecological programs and disaster-relief projects with no discrimination on the basis of caste, color, creed, gender or nationality.

I first came to Parmarth Niketan in 2013 on a spiritual adventure, attending the International Yoga Festival. I was hooked – Home! One of the aspects of Parmarth most attractive to me is the charity work. Pujya Swamiji says, “it’s culture, nature, and future” – a culture of love and togetherness, focused on our common nature and this one planet we share, to create the future we desire. This vision is further unfolded in the programs and efforts of the ashram or that are associated with Parmarth. This year I made the personal decision to move to India, to live at the ashram as a sevak, in service to the vision and mission of Pujya Swamiji and the ashram’s various programs.

His Holiness, Pujya Swami Chidanand Saraswatiji serves as President and Spiritual Head of Parmarth Niketan Ashram. Pujya Swamiji selflessly and tirelessly uses every moment as an opportunity to give and to teach others the gift and value of giving. Every day you will find him participating in a multi-variety of activities: Meeting with government officials, faith leaders, and devotees; leading spiritual ceremonies and community programs; offering darshan and inspiring words; and chanting at the inspiring Ganga Aarti celebration held each evening on the banks of the sacred Ganga River in Rishikesh. From His example, countless others are inspired to action in their own communities in the areas of healthcare, education, the environment, and social justice.

The purpose of this story is share with you some of the charitable work of the ashram, seeking to inspire you to make a difference, and perhaps sparking a fire in you to serve in some way or even to come visit us at Parmarth in Rishikesh, India. I have aligned the work with Swamiji’s theme of “culture, nature, and future”.

From a cultural perspective, Pujya Swamiji is part of a global effort to bring faith leaders together for a more peaceful, healthy and sustainable world – a cultural approach for change that is all about nature – the Interfaith Humanitarian Effort. In addition to faith leaders, the ashram brings together Entertainers for Peace, where the stars are inspired to shine for a more peaceful world.

Entertainers have a unique position and opportunity to influence peace and Swamiji challenges them to rise to the occasion. Efforts to bridge business leaders and political leaders are also a piece of the cultural change efforts – all in the name of peace. Lastly, Pujya Swamiji led a labour of love and intellect to create the Encylopedia of Hinduism, sharing one of the most beloved and lasting gifts of the Indian people to the world. The encyclopedia is 11 volumes of more than 7000 entries from over 1000 scholars, bringing together hindu history, scholarship, and contributions to the development of the world. We are One culture, One world – a world that is about Love and Togetherness – if we choose it to be.

Nature is fascinating, complex, ever-changing, and an endless opportunity to see ourselves in relationship to the world around us. Since coming to the ashram, I have learned of some drastic predictions coming from the United Nations around water, global warming, and the impact of food choices on the health of people and our earth. The ashram’s goal is to awaken us all to the difference we make and the changes required. The ashram’s efforts begin at home here in India, where Pujya Swamiji inspires India’s leaders for a clean and green India and a more peaceful world. The ashram’s specific programs include the Global Interfaith WASH Alliance (GIWA.org), the world’s first initiative to engage the planet’s many faiths as allies in efforts to create a world where every human being has access to safe drinking water, improved sanitation and proper hygiene.

Nothing short of a behavior change revolution is require to insure health, sustainable WASH for nearly half of India’s population. One of my favorite signs here at the ashram is for the World Toilet College, providing classroom and outreach trainings that cover the entire range of sanitation projects. Plus, there’s WASH on Wheels which brings dedicated social workers, volunteers and performers to all areas of India; the WaterSchool used to train and motivate teachers and students to learn the principles of sustainable water, sanitation and hygiene in order to be agents of social change; and Women for WASH which seeks to develop women entrepreneurs against pollution, hardship and disease right in their own neighborhoods and villages.

I am much more aware today of the significant role women can and do play in making change for the health of communities and our planet – and nature and culture balance and support one another. The Divine Shakti Foundation (DSF) is dedicated to the holistic well being of women, their children, and orphaned/abandoned children, and to all of Mother Nature and Mother Earth. Again, to make is personal, Menstrual Hygience Management was not on my radar screen before getting involved with Parmarth – it is now and the solutions are so simple – but they require me to think differently and to act differently. Creating a clean, green, and serene world means everyone is supported and barriers to health and wellness are removed. The Ashram’s efforts in these areas includes Gurukuls (schools) and Orphanages, education, and a Rural Development Program. There are programs such as Project Give-Back: The Heart of Healing, a health care program with annual free health care camps in Rishikesh.

Nature is a key element to understanding ourselves and I am convinced that any personal spiritual journey requires me to consider nature. What I understand today is that my relationships to people, to Mother Nature, to communities, is beyond borders and boundaries, and beliefs and ideals. It’s a matter of the heart – and about sameness and connection. Hope is our hands, and programs like Ganga Action Parivar (GAP) raise awareness about the need for collective and holistic, solution-based action to address the crucial issues facing the holy river Ganga. And Ganga broadens beyond this sacred river in India to encompass all rivers, all sources of water, all peoples. Briefly, Pujya Swamiji speaks of environmental preservation and 6 T’s: Toilets, Trash, Taps, Tigers, Trains, Trees – you can visit the ashram website to learn more how each of these has an impact on nature, and is influenced by culture and affects our future.

The final call in Pujya Swamiji’s vision is for the future. I think this is where the personal call most comes in – what future do I want? Knowing what I know now, how do my choices change? Choices around water, food, material possessions, care for my body, community, world – and those around me. It’s an interesting path – one that I find support along the way from the community here at Parmarth, through yoga and meditation, and through meeting amazing people from around the world who are involved in the change. So my last thought is – who do I surround myself with? How do I use my senses – what do I watch? what do I listen to? how do I touch? what do I allow my mind to gravitate towards? Ask yourself these questions – and perhaps our paths will cross as walk the path of “culture, nature, and future”.

I feel a sense of pride and I draw inspiration from these programs and initiatives, being called to make a difference in the world. Change really does depend upon each of us – it is a matter of the heart – the heart of me, the heart of you, the collective Heart of one earth! And for me, through the Heart of the One – the Divine – “any name, any form, no name, no form” – together we can. “Welcome Home!”

You can learn more about the ashram’s charitable mission and projects by visiting www.parmarth.org

Article by Ed Fink a sevak at Parmarth Niketan Ashram, Rishikesh (Himalayas), India.

Pujya Swamiji receives prestigious Ahimsa award

Featured

Posted on 17/11/2018 by YAOJ

H.H Pujya Swami Chidanand Saraswatiji &
Sadhvi Bhagawati Saraswatiji’s historic participation in the Parliament of World’s Religions 2018

Pujya Swamiji receives prestigious Ahimsa award by Parliament of World Religions TORONTO: Today was a moment of historic pride for India when Pujya Swami Chidanand Saraswatiji was awarded the special Ahimsa award by the Parliament of World Religions in Toronto. This evening, Dr. Robert P. Sellers, Chair of Parliament of World Religions, Dr Kirit Daftary, Trustee and representative of the Jain religion, Parliament of World Religions, honoured HH Pujya Swami Chidanand Saraswatiji – Muniji for his exceptional contributions that enhance and strengthen the interfaith community through non-violence, his unparalleled service to humanity, his great example of peace and compassion in action. The award has been sponsored by Jain communities around the world. H.H. Swami Chidanand Saraswatiji, one of India’s most renowned leaders, is President of Parmarth Niketan, one of India’s largest interfaith spiritual institutions and co-founder of Global Interfaith WASH Alliance, the first alliance of religious leaders working for water, sanitation and hygiene, launched by UNICEF at their World Headquarters in New York City during the time of the General Assembly of the United Nations,. He also is founder of Ganga Action Parivar, supporting and dedicated to the Clean Ganga Movement, Divine Shakti Foundation, educating and empowering women and girls, and India Heritage Research Foundation, which conceived and published the historic Encyclopedia of Hinduism and built three historic ashrams in the sacred land of Kailash Mansarovar . The Parliament of Religions, founded in 1893 when Swami Vivekananda came and delivered his historic address has gathered approximately 10,000 people from 50 different religious lineages and from 80 regions of the world at the Toronto Metro Convention center for their 7th Parliament. Sadhvi Bhagawati Saraswati, President of Divine Shakti Foundation and Secretary-General of Global Interfaith WASH Alliance, disciple of Pujya Swamiji’s spoke about Pujya Swamiji as an embodiment of Ahimsa. She said, “Ahimsa is not simply an absence of violence. It is a fullness of peace, a fullness of embracing and acting from the truth of our highest united humanity. Pujya Swamiji sees not only bombs, guns and armed conflict as violence. He also sees starving children, homeless orphans, women without access to clean water or toilets, death by diarrhea, polluted rivers and felled trees as violence. His life has been dedicated to eradicating all forms of violence, not only armed conflict, but also universal access to safe and sufficient water, access to health care and education. Wherever Pujya Swamiji goes He embodies ahimsa, whether picking up trash on the banks of a river or picking up people’s spirits, whether building schools, women’s centers, hospitals and sewage treatment plants or building bridges between people in conflict.

Yoga Alliance Australia and Italia Introduced New Standards

Featured

Posted on 30/08/2018 by YAOJ

Yoga Alliance® – Australia and Yoga Alliance® Italia Yoga Industry leaders Introduced New Standards for Yoga Training

As the popularity of yoga in the world grows each year, so does the need for more rigorous yoga teacher training programs. That is why Yoga Alliance® International/Australia and Yoga Alliance®-Italia/International (sister organisations) believe that yoga teachers and training providers deserve a better support system in comparison to what they have had in the past. Let’s see how…

In 1987 the International Yoga Federation (IYF), the largest yoga organisation in the world, under the honorary Presidency of Indra Devi (a.k.a.The First Lady of Yoga) created standards to celebrate yoga teachings of all traditions and the diversity, harmony and integrity of yoga practices all over the world

The IYF implemented three yoga teacher training systems:

1) The Indian Traditional Gurukula System.
2) The American System or Standards by hours.
3) The European System by Programme and years.

Since 2000, the most significant independent world’s renowned Yoga Alliance organisations (Australia/Italy/International/Canada/UK-Professionals/USA) the yoga community’s primary advocacy organisations and Register of certified yoga schools and teachers, have adopted standards for teacher training by hours. The most commonly used and widely accepted 200-hour YTT international standard was created in 2001 to set forth the minimum hours required to become a yoga teacher anywhere in the world.

In January 2017, the Yoga Alliance® International/Australia and its sister organisation Yoga Alliance® International/Italia’s Educational Standards Committee (ESC) assembled a diverse range of experts within the yoga industry for a comprehensive review of the existing yoga teaching standards (most standards are voluntary in the sense that they are offered for adoption by people or industry without being mandated in law) supported by both organisations. The decision was based on the proliferation of low quality yoga teacher training, inadequately trained yoga teachers and unscrupulous providers who deliver substandard training,

The two organisations felt that their existing standards were out of date and restrictive in their breakdown of course content and hours. Rather than requiring a specified narrow curriculum, the ESC decided that keeping the bar high for training programs content, structure, the number of contact hours a program should incorporate, the experience of the teaching faculty, the course entry prerequisites and online learning, within a reasonable period of time would increase acceptance and integration of yoga teachers within the industry.

After exploring a variety of existing credentialing models, the ESC proposed to improve the foundation of the existing credentialing system by raising the Standards of Practice and level of professionalism of credentialed yoga teachers and yoga schools and thus provide consumers with independent assurance that yoga professionals who hold Yoga Alliance Credential possess the knowledge, skill, or ability to practice their occupation competently.

Meaningful Standards for Yoga Teaching from Australia to Europe to China

In April 2017, after receiving input from member schools, world renowned yoga experts and experienced yoga teachers, Yoga Alliance® International/Australia added to its existing credentialing system the 250-PLUS and 500-PLUS hours standards both designed to elevate the profession of yoga teachers a title that has no legal force as there are no legal requirements for yoga teachers and there is no statutory legislation specifically governing the teaching of yoga anywhere in the world.

While the 200-hour widely adhered-to standard is a relatively new concept,Yoga Alliance®-International/Australia and Yoga Alliance®-Italia/International believes that 200 hours is just not enough to teach yoga. Besides, it has become a point of contention within and outside the yoga community.

Although some experts may agree that the 200-hour model is more accessible for aspiring yogis, more studios and experienced teachers welcome the 250 PLUS and the advanced 500 PLUS hour standards instead. The “PLUS” standard enables training providers to incorporate more hours of study, practice and teaching methodologies into their programs so aspiring teachers can go more in depth into the study and teaching of yoga to prepare themselves to teach beginning and intermediate yoga classes.

On September 1st 2017, Yoga Alliance® ItaIia/International signed a “Partnership Agreement” with the C.S.E.N (Italy’s largest National Educational Sport Organisation) and its sister organisation Benessere C.S.E.N to implement the “PLUS” standards in Italy. The C.S.E.N is recognised by the Italian National Olympic Committee C.O.N.I and by the Italian Paralympic Committee C.I.P.

The C.SE.N aims to promote and disseminate sporting activities with high social value, to establish favourable conditions for a wider development of physical education, sports and health as well as cooperating with autonomous organisations from other countries.

In 2015 as part of the organisation restructure, the C.S.E.N established the National Holistic Sector Benessere C.S.E.N www.benesserecsen.it a body engaged in the drafting of national guidelines and reference standards for the training of holistic operators and yoga teachers, defining training courses curriculum and minimum hours. With yoga been practised by more than two million people in Italy, the Benessere C.S.E.N has become Italy’s largest Register of Yoga Teacher and schools.

The agreement between the C.S.E.N and Yoga Alliance® ItaIia/International has given rise to a series of initiatives aimed at improving many aspects in the international and national Yoga industry. Among the first actions taken was the need of the C.S.E.N to equalise the training standards of the Yoga sector in Italy to the international ones.

Following the important decision by both organisations to raise the minimum training standards from the basic 200 to 250 and 500 PLUS hours,as of September 1st 2017, Italy is the first European country and the second in the world after Australia to have implemented new standards for yoga training courses. Upcoming projects and ongoing initiatives see the two organisations acting in constant and harmonious symbiosis.

The New Standards can be used freely by other Yoga Organisations

Although Yoga Alliance®-International/Australia and Yoga Alliance® ItaIia/International Standards might be a great reference point for other organisations, they are not legally binding. In fact, both organisations permits its standards to be used freely by other organisations if they see fit.

Following the review of the standards scheme from Yoga Alliance®-International/Australia and Yoga Alliance® ItaIia/International, miles away from Italy and Australia, a U.S-based organisation by the name of Yoga Alliance on September 1st 2017 (the same exact date Yoga Alliance® ItaIia/International implemented the new standards scheme) announced on their website: “The New Standards Review Project”.

Yoga Industry Innovators

Yoga Alliance®-International/Australia and Yoga Alliance®-Italia/International were the first Alliance organisations to understand the importance and need for innovation. Bringing innovation meant being open to new ideas and being able to adapt to change.

Offering new credentials such as: RYS 250 PLUS/350 and 500 PLUS hours and new meaningful standards to those who meet the requirements of the standards means that a registered yoga teacher has met certain criteria and has made a commitment to becoming a safe and qualified teacher.

Yoga Sun Salutation

Featured

Posted on 10/05/2018 by YAOJ

Yoga Sun Salutation (Surya Namaskar) IIlustrated Step by Step

Sun Salutation (Salute to the Sun) or more popularly known as Surya Namaskar (Surya is the Sanskrit word for the sun and Namaskara derives from namas: “to bow, obeisance, reverential salutation) is a set/sequence of asanas/postures often practiced in a morning yoga session to aerobically generate heat and warmth in the body, which is helpful as one gradually moves into deeper postures.

Sun Salutation is performed in the morning empty stomach in a graceful flow and linked by breath-a method called vinyasa that massages, detoxifies, and stimulates almost every organ of the human body. It can be practised on varying levels of awareness, ranging from that of physical exercise in various styles, to a complete sadhana which incorporates asana, pranayama, mantra and chakra meditation and it is best done early morning on an empty stomach.

Each Sun Salutation round consists of two sets. These 12 yoga poses complete one set of Surya Namaskar.To complete the second half, you need to repeat the same sequence of postures, only moving the left leg instead of the right.

You might find many different variations of the Sun Salutation. However, it is best to stick to one particular sequence and practice it regularly for best results.

Sun Salutation is important for two reasons. One, it can be a great workout for the whole body – stretching, flexing and toning the muscles, an excellent exercise for weight loss. It also offers numerous health benefits beyond the physical level, relaxing the mind, leading it to meditation. Two, Sun Salutation gives us an opportunity to express gratitude to the sun, without which life on earth would be impossible!

Benefits: It’s a perfect asana sequence; it’s a great way to start your day; generate heat to cleanse your body and mind.

SUN SALUTATION IN 12 EASY STEPS

Stand in Mountain pose with the hands in prayer position, feet and legs together, heals are rooted, firm your legs.

The palms are gently pressed together with the shoulders back and down.

The chest presses in towards the thumbs

Inhale through the nose and raise the arms up above the head with your hands in prayer position. Look up at the thumbs.

Gently Bend back.

Lift out of the waist, reaching up towards the sky.

Exhale into Standing Forward Fold.

Press the palms onto the floor; if necessary, bend the knees slightly.

If you have the flexibility, bring the fingertips under your shoulder in line with the toes.

Inhale through the nose and step the right foot back into High Lounge.

Shoulders are back and down, the chest presses forward, crown lifts up. Keep the front knee directly over the ankle and keep the back leg firm and straight or knee bent.

Inhale and step the left foot back into Plank.

The shoulders are aligned forward directly over your wrists. The body is in one straight lane in a push-up position.

Press the heels back, and reach the crown of the head forward.

Exhale down into Caterpillar/Snail.

Bend the knees to the floor and then lower your chest and chin to the floor. Keep your chest open and your elbows close to the side of your rib cage. Reach the hips up towards the sky, arching the back

Inhale and raise your upper body into Cobra pose.

Roll the shoulders back and extend the shoulder blades down and press them in towards the chest. Your chest should be lifted and open and elbows should stay close to the body.

Your legs and feet should be well extended. As a variation, you can also do an upward dog.

Exhale into Downward Facing Dog.Tuck the toes under, bend the elbows, and lift the hips up and back.

Press firmly into the hands, spread the fingers and press the palms into the mat, they should be shoulder width apart.

Now, lift your hips up towards the sky, lengthening your spine. Gently straighten your legs, pressing your heels down into your mat as far as you can go.

Inhale and step right forward into High Lunge.

Step the left foot forward between the two hands. Adjust the legs so that the knee is directly over the ankle and the toes and knee are pointing forward.

Keep the back leg straight or bent as you sink the hips down. The chest and gaze are forward.

Exhale into Standing Forward Fold.

Press the palms flat to the floor or hold on the fingertips.

If you have the flexibility, bring the fingertips in line with the toes.

Inhale and sweep the arms up with palms together.

Gently arch the lower back

Look up to the sky

Exhale and bring the palms together in Mountain Pose.

Place the feet together or 2-3 inches apart, parallel and facing forward.

The crown of the head lifts up, the chin is parallel to the floor

Standing Heating Breath Bhastrika Pranayama

Featured

Posted on 10/05/2018 by YAOJ

Standing Heating Breath (Bhastrika Pranayama)

Bhastrika Pranayama is an empowering chest/thoracic type of breathing technique that has a very important place in hatha yoga. The Standing Heating Breath benefits are numerous, they range from physiological to postural, mental, psychological and emotional. This type of pranayama has been adopted by Bikram as part of the initial warm up sequence and as a mean to energize/detoxify the body in preparation of yoga practice consequently is now associate with hot yoga, however, this technique of forcefully and quick breathe in from nose and breathe out from mouth exists for centuries.

Blower in Sanskrit is called Bhastrika. Hence exhalation of breath forcibly and quickly is the main feature of Bhastrika Pranayama. One should inhale & exhale breath like a blower. It is in a way a combination of Kapalbhati & Ujjayi. Among all the Kumbhakaras, this Pranayama is considered the best.

Contraindications and Cautions: The Standing Heating Breath should not be performed in case of pregnancy, heart disease and high blood pressure. These are the best way to properly prepare for esoteric forms of yoga breathing exercises.

Share this:

Share this:

NOTHING HAPPENS BY CHANCE Article 7.5.2020, by Master Yoga Teacher Felice Vernillo Owner Shakti Yoga Centre Civitanova Marche – Italy

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Sadhviji serves as:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Yoga Sun Salutation (Surya Namaskar) IIlustrated Step by Step

SUN SALUTATION IN 12 EASY STEPS

Share this:

Standing Heating Breath (Bhastrika Pranayama)

Share this: