Prāṇāyāma
Āsana & Prānāyāma
02/03/12 19:34
“To cure the ills of the body, use the body. To cure the wandering of the mind, practice prānāyāma.”
-Śri T Krishnamacharya
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Creating Space
06/02/12 07:01
“Being aware of your breathing takes attention away from thinking and creates space”
Eckhart Tolle - A New Earth
Prāṇāyāma within Rāja Yoga and Haṭha Yoga
06/01/12 06:30
Some excerpts from an article by Paul Harvey outlining the viniyoga (application) of prāṇāyāma from a Rāja Yoga and a Haṭha Yoga perspective.
“In the Rāja Yoga approach, as delineated in texts such as the Yoga Sūtra, the practice of Prāṇāyāma is focused around developing and refining the principles of attention, timing and number of breaths.
The fruits of this approach are a reduction in confusion (Yoga Sūtra C2 v52) and fitness for the first steps in the meditative process (Yoga Sūtra C2 v53) towards cultivating an experience of being filled with a subtle sense of stillness (Yoga Sūtra C1 v3).
“In the Haṭha Yoga approach, as delineated in texts such as the Haṭha Yoga Pradīpikā, the practice of Prāṇāyāma is focused around developing and refining the principles of using two primary channels (īḍā and piṅgalā) through a variety techniques to effect a śodhana (clearing of blockages) of the nāḍī (channels for prāṇa).”
“…..the practice of Prāṇāyāma links the student to the more refined aspects of dhāraṇā (concentration) and dhyānam (meditation) as a seated practice.”
Read full article. The article is also available as a downloadable PDF, courtesy of Dharma Downloads
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“In the Rāja Yoga approach, as delineated in texts such as the Yoga Sūtra, the practice of Prāṇāyāma is focused around developing and refining the principles of attention, timing and number of breaths.
The fruits of this approach are a reduction in confusion (Yoga Sūtra C2 v52) and fitness for the first steps in the meditative process (Yoga Sūtra C2 v53) towards cultivating an experience of being filled with a subtle sense of stillness (Yoga Sūtra C1 v3).
“In the Haṭha Yoga approach, as delineated in texts such as the Haṭha Yoga Pradīpikā, the practice of Prāṇāyāma is focused around developing and refining the principles of using two primary channels (īḍā and piṅgalā) through a variety techniques to effect a śodhana (clearing of blockages) of the nāḍī (channels for prāṇa).”
“…..the practice of Prāṇāyāma links the student to the more refined aspects of dhāraṇā (concentration) and dhyānam (meditation) as a seated practice.”
Read full article. The article is also available as a downloadable PDF, courtesy of Dharma Downloads
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Yoga as a Tool
25/08/11 06:38
Yoga as a View, Practice and Tool
Published in Spectrum, The Journal for the British Wheel of Yoga’ the following is an excerpt from the third of a three part article by Paul Harvey cYs.
“Yoga as a tool is more likely to be the starting point for most students these days in that we often choose a style or approach to Yoga as a starting point in our Yoga experience. There are many, many choices these days, although the common denominator now appears to be based around Yoga teachers rather than Yoga teachings.
For example we can choose from Anusāra, Aṣṭāṅga, Bikram, Dru, Gītānada, Integral, Iyengar, Jīvamukti, Kripālu, Kuṇḍalinī, Sahaja, Scaravelli, Śivananda, Satyānanda, Viniyoga, etc.
Which is fine in itself. However the question that arises is how much do the various ‘types’ actually apply the Haṭha energetic principles of Practice in order to realize the View of Yoga? My own field of expertise lies within the teachings often referred to as Viniyoga, so I can only speak with experience from this perspective.
The primary principle here is that the Practices of Yoga must be adapted to the starting point, potential and needs of the student. Within this premise is a further question how, or even how much, the tools of Yoga utilize the Practice principles of Haṭha, in order to realise the View of Yoga as presented in what is seen as the primary teaching on the goal of Yoga, the Yoga Sūtra.”
Read more on Yoga as a Tool - The Art of viniyoga for developing a Personalized Practice
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Published in Spectrum, The Journal for the British Wheel of Yoga’ the following is an excerpt from the third of a three part article by Paul Harvey cYs.
“Yoga as a tool is more likely to be the starting point for most students these days in that we often choose a style or approach to Yoga as a starting point in our Yoga experience. There are many, many choices these days, although the common denominator now appears to be based around Yoga teachers rather than Yoga teachings.
For example we can choose from Anusāra, Aṣṭāṅga, Bikram, Dru, Gītānada, Integral, Iyengar, Jīvamukti, Kripālu, Kuṇḍalinī, Sahaja, Scaravelli, Śivananda, Satyānanda, Viniyoga, etc.
Which is fine in itself. However the question that arises is how much do the various ‘types’ actually apply the Haṭha energetic principles of Practice in order to realize the View of Yoga? My own field of expertise lies within the teachings often referred to as Viniyoga, so I can only speak with experience from this perspective.
The primary principle here is that the Practices of Yoga must be adapted to the starting point, potential and needs of the student. Within this premise is a further question how, or even how much, the tools of Yoga utilize the Practice principles of Haṭha, in order to realise the View of Yoga as presented in what is seen as the primary teaching on the goal of Yoga, the Yoga Sūtra.”
Read more on Yoga as a Tool - The Art of viniyoga for developing a Personalized Practice
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Yoga as a Practice
24/08/11 20:09
Yoga as a View, Practice and Tool
Published in Spectrum, The Journal for the British Wheel of Yoga’ the following is an excerpt from the second of a three part article by Paul Harvey cYs.
“Another irony in the emerging role and identity of Yoga in the West today is with regard to the term Haṭha Yoga. The term is mainly used generically these days to identify and group ‘physically’ based Yoga practices. As a teacher I am often asked in connection with the question what kind of Yoga do you teach, is it Haṭha Yoga?
The irony is that when we look at what Haṭha Yoga really is we find that the physical elements are relatively limited with very few Āsana discussed. Furthermore within the few discussed, the largest group are concerned with sitting, in preparation for practice elements other than Āsana. Here primarily to facilitate a quality of being able to sit still and as if move beyond the physical body.
Here the primary concern and field of activity for Haṭha Yoga practitioners is with regard to the energetic or ‘Prāṇa’ body and its role in helping to facilitate a quality of energetic ‘clarity’ and energetic ‘stillness’ ultimately as a ladder to support the practitioners exploration of meditational states of being.
The role of Haṭha is to help take the student towards the View and to help refine the View. What is important also is that we understand the various influences that exist in the West today in terms of ‘Yoga’. What seems to be in danger of being lost in all of this are the ‘energetic principles’ that underpin Haṭha Yoga because people have become very focused on the physicality, or even gymnastic type influences. It seems that modern Yoga practice is dominated by Āsana and the words Āsana and Yoga appears to have become sadly synonymous.”
Read more on ‘Yoga as a Practice’
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Published in Spectrum, The Journal for the British Wheel of Yoga’ the following is an excerpt from the second of a three part article by Paul Harvey cYs.
“Another irony in the emerging role and identity of Yoga in the West today is with regard to the term Haṭha Yoga. The term is mainly used generically these days to identify and group ‘physically’ based Yoga practices. As a teacher I am often asked in connection with the question what kind of Yoga do you teach, is it Haṭha Yoga?
The irony is that when we look at what Haṭha Yoga really is we find that the physical elements are relatively limited with very few Āsana discussed. Furthermore within the few discussed, the largest group are concerned with sitting, in preparation for practice elements other than Āsana. Here primarily to facilitate a quality of being able to sit still and as if move beyond the physical body.
Here the primary concern and field of activity for Haṭha Yoga practitioners is with regard to the energetic or ‘Prāṇa’ body and its role in helping to facilitate a quality of energetic ‘clarity’ and energetic ‘stillness’ ultimately as a ladder to support the practitioners exploration of meditational states of being.
The role of Haṭha is to help take the student towards the View and to help refine the View. What is important also is that we understand the various influences that exist in the West today in terms of ‘Yoga’. What seems to be in danger of being lost in all of this are the ‘energetic principles’ that underpin Haṭha Yoga because people have become very focused on the physicality, or even gymnastic type influences. It seems that modern Yoga practice is dominated by Āsana and the words Āsana and Yoga appears to have become sadly synonymous.”
Read more on ‘Yoga as a Practice’
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Yoga as a View
23/08/11 21:47
Yoga as a View, Practice and Tool
Published in Spectrum, The Journal for the British Wheel of Yoga’ the following are excerpts from the first of a three part article by Paul Harvey cYs.
“It is interesting these days that as a Yoga teacher the question I am more likely to be asked is ‘What kind of Yoga do you do?’ rather than ‘What is Yoga?’. It’s either that we think we already know what Yoga is or, more likely, that the view is becoming lost within the myriad of ways in which Yoga is offered.”
“In terms of what is presented as Yoga today where is the view? We need to have a view, we need to know how to access it and we need to know how to stabilise and sustain it.
In Yoga the View is explored most eloquently in the Yoga Sutra and its main focus is the relationship between two aspects that constantly interact in sustaining our sense of being and individuality. The two aspects are that of the perpetual activity of the mind or Citta and the ever present quality of stillness inherent within the awareness of Cit. When the Citta dominates we are more in the past than the present and when Cit dominates we are more in the present than the past.
The premise of the Yoga Sutra is that when the past takes over we are more liable to act and interact unskillfully. Even within different aspects of our Yoga practice when a disturbance arises it is because the past has taken over, a memory has arisen. However if there was no past there would be no Citta. Citta is like a vault full of past memories. Within this ever active process we want to create a space between impulse and reaction.”
Read more on ‘Yoga as a View’
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Published in Spectrum, The Journal for the British Wheel of Yoga’ the following are excerpts from the first of a three part article by Paul Harvey cYs.
“It is interesting these days that as a Yoga teacher the question I am more likely to be asked is ‘What kind of Yoga do you do?’ rather than ‘What is Yoga?’. It’s either that we think we already know what Yoga is or, more likely, that the view is becoming lost within the myriad of ways in which Yoga is offered.”
“In terms of what is presented as Yoga today where is the view? We need to have a view, we need to know how to access it and we need to know how to stabilise and sustain it.
In Yoga the View is explored most eloquently in the Yoga Sutra and its main focus is the relationship between two aspects that constantly interact in sustaining our sense of being and individuality. The two aspects are that of the perpetual activity of the mind or Citta and the ever present quality of stillness inherent within the awareness of Cit. When the Citta dominates we are more in the past than the present and when Cit dominates we are more in the present than the past.
The premise of the Yoga Sutra is that when the past takes over we are more liable to act and interact unskillfully. Even within different aspects of our Yoga practice when a disturbance arises it is because the past has taken over, a memory has arisen. However if there was no past there would be no Citta. Citta is like a vault full of past memories. Within this ever active process we want to create a space between impulse and reaction.”
Read more on ‘Yoga as a View’
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