Yoga Practice is a Self Empowering Practice, it can be Viewed from Three Aspects:
Firstly Yoga Practice as a Means to Self-Empower
Yoga links body and mind through āsana (postures) and prāṇāyāma (breathing). It is the means to achieve something through focused and vibrant physical and mental effort. Yoga enables us to have more influence over the energy of the body, breath and mind, promoting health and wellbeing. This arises through the enhancement of strength and flexibility at a physical, energetic and psychological level. Yoga practice is an art, offering fascinating and helpful skills for individuals seeking to develop and refine these qualities.
Traditionally these aspect of Yoga provides a means towards a more important goal.
Secondly Yoga Practice as a Means of Self-Inquiry
Yoga provides tools for creating a deeper understanding of ourselves, inquiring both into and beyond what we view as the everyday self, its actions and its motives. Yoga as a meditation leads us to appreciate and sustain a quality of attention. With more sensitive and consistent attention we can lessen the effects of our conditionings. As a consequence we can experience a deeper sense of well being and have the potential for action with greater awareness within our life, work and relationships.
However we all experience problems, poor health or illness from time to time.
Yoga links body and mind through āsana (postures) and prāṇāyāma (breathing). It is the means to achieve something through focused and vibrant physical and mental effort. Yoga enables us to have more influence over the energy of the body, breath and mind, promoting health and wellbeing. This arises through the enhancement of strength and flexibility at a physical, energetic and psychological level. Yoga practice is an art, offering fascinating and helpful skills for individuals seeking to develop and refine these qualities.
Traditionally these aspect of Yoga provides a means towards a more important goal.
Secondly Yoga Practice as a Means of Self-Inquiry
Yoga provides tools for creating a deeper understanding of ourselves, inquiring both into and beyond what we view as the everyday self, its actions and its motives. Yoga as a meditation leads us to appreciate and sustain a quality of attention. With more sensitive and consistent attention we can lessen the effects of our conditionings. As a consequence we can experience a deeper sense of well being and have the potential for action with greater awareness within our life, work and relationships.
However we all experience problems, poor health or illness from time to time.
Thirdly Yoga Practice as a Means of Therapeutic Recovery
Yoga to restore, support and prevent, is a healing therapy to assist us towards changing or anticipating the effects of problems and illness in our lives.
The approach is different for each person. The potential to practice Yoga will be influenced by the problem. The potential for working with the problem will be influenced by our attitude towards working with it.
Yoga can be used as a support alongside other forms of treatment. According to traditional Indian medicine, chronic diseases that cannot be relieved by medicine alone can be helped through the use of specific Yoga techniques.
Through the use of Yoga tools it is possible, within a group Yoga class or individual Yoga teaching situation, to introduce Yoga practices that both respect problems or illness and support the intention to reduce negative effects.
To practice Yoga as a therapy requires that we be willing to accept responsibility for making change within our own situation.
Yoga to restore, support and prevent, is a healing therapy to assist us towards changing or anticipating the effects of problems and illness in our lives.
The approach is different for each person. The potential to practice Yoga will be influenced by the problem. The potential for working with the problem will be influenced by our attitude towards working with it.
Yoga can be used as a support alongside other forms of treatment. According to traditional Indian medicine, chronic diseases that cannot be relieved by medicine alone can be helped through the use of specific Yoga techniques.
Through the use of Yoga tools it is possible, within a group Yoga class or individual Yoga teaching situation, to introduce Yoga practices that both respect problems or illness and support the intention to reduce negative effects.
To practice Yoga as a therapy requires that we be willing to accept responsibility for making change within our own situation.
These three aspects of Yoga practice as, self-empowerment, self-inquiry and therapy are mutually supportive in helping to maintain physical health, psychological vitality and a vibrant sense of purpose within the commitment and challenges of life, work and relationships.
What are Yoga Postures?
Yoga postures are an aspect of Yoga practice. They are positions we move in and out of to promote health and well being and to promote strength, flexibility and vitality.
Traditionally the goal was to cultivate strength and flexibility in the body so as to have the ability to remain in a seated position for an extended period to meditate.
The sanskrit term for a Yoga posture is 'āsana'.
Most āsana take us away from the habitual body postures of daily life and activity. Āsana help to minimise habitual patterns which dull both the body and the mind.
Yoga practice increases our sensitivity to ourselves and our surroundings providing us with greater awareness of corresponding influences and greater awareness of what sustains us.
Āsana can be adapted to influence our physical structure and to influence our systems energetically and constitutionally.
Yoga postures are an aspect of Yoga practice. They are positions we move in and out of to promote health and well being and to promote strength, flexibility and vitality.
Traditionally the goal was to cultivate strength and flexibility in the body so as to have the ability to remain in a seated position for an extended period to meditate.
The sanskrit term for a Yoga posture is 'āsana'.
Most āsana take us away from the habitual body postures of daily life and activity. Āsana help to minimise habitual patterns which dull both the body and the mind.
Yoga practice increases our sensitivity to ourselves and our surroundings providing us with greater awareness of corresponding influences and greater awareness of what sustains us.
Āsana can be adapted to influence our physical structure and to influence our systems energetically and constitutionally.
"Āsana without breath is not āsana"
-Śri T Krishnamacharya
Yoga as Meditation
“In the case of a person whose mind is calm and free from disturbances there is the integration of the person who meditates, the mind which is utilised for meditation and the object that is meditated upon.”
T Krishnamacharya’s commentary on Yoga Sūtra C1 v41.
"Until the Dancer (Citta-Psyche) deeply realises that the Observer (Cit-Awareness) of the Spectacle (Viṣaya-Experiences) is not interested in the Drive/s (Avidyā-Illusion) which animate the dance, the Dancer continues to Dance - Sāṃkhya Kārikā verse 59"
Reference - cYs journal
“In the case of a person whose mind is calm and free from disturbances there is the integration of the person who meditates, the mind which is utilised for meditation and the object that is meditated upon.”
T Krishnamacharya’s commentary on Yoga Sūtra C1 v41.
"Until the Dancer (Citta-Psyche) deeply realises that the Observer (Cit-Awareness) of the Spectacle (Viṣaya-Experiences) is not interested in the Drive/s (Avidyā-Illusion) which animate the dance, the Dancer continues to Dance - Sāṃkhya Kārikā verse 59"
Reference - cYs journal
Yoga and Breathing
Breath is fundamental to life. However in daily life we are rarely conscious of our breath, the breath just happens. Breath is the fundamental link between mind and body.
When the mind is unsteady or unsettled, the breath will be unsteady. When we are fearful, angry, nervous or disturbed in some way the breath becomes shorter, faster and irregular. There will be tension in the body and the heart rate increases.
When the mind is settled and we feel relaxed and at ease the breath will feel smooth and even. Likewise the body will feel at ease and the heart rate will be slower.
In Yoga postures (āsana) we work consciously with the breath. The aim of breath in asana is:
Breath is fundamental to life. However in daily life we are rarely conscious of our breath, the breath just happens. Breath is the fundamental link between mind and body.
When the mind is unsteady or unsettled, the breath will be unsteady. When we are fearful, angry, nervous or disturbed in some way the breath becomes shorter, faster and irregular. There will be tension in the body and the heart rate increases.
When the mind is settled and we feel relaxed and at ease the breath will feel smooth and even. Likewise the body will feel at ease and the heart rate will be slower.
In Yoga postures (āsana) we work consciously with the breath. The aim of breath in asana is:
- to create change in terms of the structure of the body
- to improve the quality and stamina of the breath
- to create steadiness and stillness in the mind
- to create harmony between movement of the body and movement of the breath
- to provide a mirror to observe change in the body and change in our response to practice
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