Ashtanga Yoga

The Basics of Ashtanga Yoga

The word yoga has become synonymous with stretching exercises and the image of a person deep in though while posing with both legs kept together and the yes close. This may be basically true but this is not the whole truth of yoga. In fact, there are a variety of yoga styles that are not known to most people.

One yoga style is known as Ashtanga Vinyasa which is characterized by aerobic actions and which originally targeted teenagers particularly boys. However, Ashtanga Yoga is now popular by enthusiasts of all sex and ages.

The word Ashtanga literally means eight for ashta and limbs for anga. True to its original meaning of eight limbs, Ashtanga Yoga follows the eight limbs identified with the discipline called yoga. The eight limbs poses can be found in the Yoga Sutras as detailed by Patanjili.

Indian Sri Pattabhi Jois taught Ashtanga Yoga to his students but this type of yoga was started by Sri Krishnamacharya whose book known as Yoga Makaranda became the basis for the asana poses or sequences in Ashtanga Yoga. Krishnamacharya is a major influence in the development of yoga because he was considered the great teacher of many yoga teachers.

While he has been a major influence in the various types of yoga being taught today, it is still the Ashtanga Yoga that is considered the closest to the teachings originally espoused by Krishnamacharya.

Unknown to many people who are not well versed on the goings on of Yoga, the various types of Yoga is intended for specific reasons. This was the thrust of Krishnamacharya who made sure that the yoga he was teaching specifically conformed or responded to the needs of the students or the disciples.

This is especially true for Ashtanga Yoga which was established by Krishnamacharya for young boys who used to live in the grounds of the place owned by the Maharaja of Mysore. Since Ashtanga Yoga is targeted for very young boys in the prime of their youth, it is understandable that this yoga type is very demanding physically and mentally.

Ashtang Yoga may still sound strange to those who do not know much about yoga but to make it more concrete, Ashtanga Yoga is the type of yoga being practiced by Madonna. The well known singer Sting is also following the discipline of Ashtanga Yoga. Ashtangi Yoga is more popularly known in the Western World as Power Yoga.

Ashtanga Yoga helps the disciple or follower live a healthy and full life through the enhancement of the eight limbs. This yoga type essentially aims to rid the follower of the everyday stress he is faced with. By following the Ashtanga Yoga discipline, a person is expected to be more relaxed despite living a stressful life.

The eight limbs of Ashtana Yoga consist of the following: 

1. Niyama which aims to take control of the life of a person and introduces the following virtues to the follower-personal restraint, patience, purity, and love of god.
2. Yama allows the disciple to focus on the goodness of man by looking at the following—truthfulness and non violence and keeping off from the worldly pleasures through celibacy.
3. Pranayma which refers to breathe control
4. Dharna which helps the disciple focus on his life and the overall goal of his life
5. Pratyahara which helps the follower isolate himself from the everyday noise and disorder and helps him to focus on what is positive
6. Dhyana which aims to help the disciple focus on his goals and how to achieve these goals
7.Samadhi which focuses on accomplishing bliss and overall peace
8.Asana which is basically the posture taken to relax the body and mind of the disciple

While Ashtanga Yoga is guaranteed to get a person to stretch himself physically and mentally, this yoga type does not really impose immediate success or achievement to the user. Rather, Ashtanga Yoga is meant to be practiced slowly and gradually until the student achieves his target.

Like most types of yoga, Ashtanga Yoga requires a lot of discipline from its students. But all the hard work and the discipline is well worth the effort just thinking abut what the student can achieve once he has maximize the benefits of Ashtanga to his life.

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Yoga Studio

Little Known Things about Yoga Studio

Yoga is a scientific system which engages in spiritual touch. It is actually originated in India. Yoga derives from Yoke which is a Sanskrit language. Mental and physical peace is the main purpose of yoga. It needs you to follow or abide from certain rules or else more harm will be produced than good.

If you are a yoga expert or perhaps a yoga instructor bound with growing students, a yoga studio is your main objective at this moment. You already saved up for it since you’ve been dreaming for one since the day you learned yoga. Before renting a studio, here are some simple tips and advices that you may want to read first. It may help you save a lot of money in the end.

Be sure to check the entire place first. Do not just consider the capacity and looks of the place. Check the electricity line, the whole building, emergency equipments it offers, whether or not it is properly zoned, and so on.

Zoning is the classification of your business to the local business listings. Since your studio will be a form of economic income also, it needs to be zoned properly or else your soon to be opened yoga studio ay not even declare its opening due to shutdown notice. Hire someone who will do this for you unless you are general inspector yourself.

The reason behind this is that most land lords do not even care to do all their obligations properly. This is just a preventive measure on how you can save yourself from spending too much money in the end.

According to the fire code, a building should have a fire alarm, exit signs, extinguishers and the likes. If you will plan set up the place as a studio then the local fire department will inspect it and you need to pass the inspection if you want your small business to continue.

Another thing that you need to think about is the building code wherein you need to acquire a permit that is signed or approved by a professional such as a general conductor, architect or a professional tradesman. Although in reality it is not really your building, still with the paper that you will be signing as the lessee of the said place, the law will still consider you as the lawful owner of the said place.

So how can you protect yourself from all of these things? Here’s how:

1. Try hiring an attorney and consult with him or her. Choose someone who specializes in the commercial real estate. An attorney may require you to spend additional money but the money spent here is much worth than the money you’ll be spending with all the codes and laws you need to abide by just signing an unfixed place.

2. Do a research on every location that you think you like. Do not forget to contact a legal inspector to help you out before signing any contract.

After you are done with all the necessary precautions that you need to take, you are now ready to sign up the contract for your new yoga studio. The next thing that you need to worry from now on is how to make it look like as a yoga studio.

You should have a plan on how your yoga studio would work and function for the first three months. List all the things that you will need for your studio. You can

Start with the basic equipments first then if you still have extra budget, spend it on things that will make your yoga studio more comfortable and relaxing.

As a yoga instructor, you should know all the names of your students by heart. Treat each and everyone of them like your friend and never ever let them feel neglected if you do not want to lose students in the end.

In conclusion, building or creating a yoga studio is not that easy. It needs time and a lot of hard work in order to make it a successful one. The risk of running into a trap which is legal while preparing yourself for your new studio is not impossible to happen. You may find it unethical but in reality it is legal so you have to do everything if you want to prove something.

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Yoga Posture

Yoga: Pose With Confidence and Style

What first comes to your mind when you hear the word Yoga? You would probably imagine a Yoga guru showing a group of people how to properly meditate with slow dance-like movements. Yoga exercises are basically that, plus much more benefits.

The most important skill that you need to practice if you’re thinking of practicing Yoga is mastery of different Yoga postures. Yoga is all about postures. In fact, it’s been believed that every Yoga posture is attributed to cure a certain disease.

Unconvinced? Try asking any Yoga teacher or practitioner and surely, he will attest to it. He might even offer to teach you how it’s done or give you proofs on how Yoga has cured a lot of diseases.

Testimonies on the various benefits of yoga are believable. A newbie can easily confirm how Yoga has improved the health of several Yoga practitioners. That is why, Yoga is considered to be one of the most popular forms of exercise.

There are actually several ways on how to practice Yoga, but all of them share a lot of similarities. For instance, good posture is very important in Yoga meditation. To be able to breathe properly and meditate deeper, a Yoga student must learn how draw his spine into the straightest possible line.

Most of the Yoga movements require a student to sit on the floor without any backrest. He must learn how to align his spinal cord and be comfortable to be able to go through a meditative state.

However, chairs can become props for some Yoga postures. Usually, chairs are used to support your lower legs while you are lying on a mat. Chairs with a good lumbar support are also useful for seated Yoga postures.

There are still a lot of Yoga postures you can try – too many to mention them all here. You might want to enroll yourself in a Yoga class if you’re interested with this form of exercise. For starters, standing Yoga postures are the most common.

The most basic type of standing Yoga posture is what we call the tree balance. This posture involves lifting up the balls of your feet and rocking your weight onto your heels. Then try lifting your arms and make both of your palms meet on top of your head. Of course, throughout the exercise, you would have to maintain a straight back.

This tree balance posture is said to strengthen your thighs, ankles, spine and calves. It also stretches your inner thighs and groins, and your chest and shoulders, in addition to improving your sense of balance.

The snake is an example of a floor Yoga pose. This is done by lying flat on the stomach with the hands on the shoulders. Lift your arms up and push your pelvis down. Your back should form an arch and try to focus your eyes as if they’re part of the arch. Like with other Yoga poses, you would have to keep the shoulders down.

At first, you might find it difficult to perfectly align your whole body, not to mention painful at times. However, with constant practice, you’ll soon be able to perform these postures effortlessly.

But performing these postures is not enough. You would need to be able to remain there for at least thirty seconds. In this way, you’ll learn how to balance your body. Breathing awareness is an important part of maintaining these postures.

Always take your time. Try to put away all the worldly distractions. Focus inward instead and perpetuate a positive attitude. Your innate ability to heal will then be activated. Yoga postures are slow and versatile enough to help different people relax their bodies, clear their minds and enlighten their spirits.

Slowly, you’ll notice some improvements with your body. Yoga enthusiasts also believe that you could be mentally stronger just by regularly doing Yoga. There will be no instant benefits, though. Don’t be in a hurry, besides patience is one of the virtues you’ll learn from Yoga.

Yoga is also associated with spiritual growth. Yoga does not only improve physical health but also draws the Yoga student closer to his spiritual side. Every Yoga posture relates to a specific spiritual aspect also. Yoga is based on a perfect understanding of how a human spirit relates to his body.

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Yoga History

Yoga: Beyond the Painful-looking Body Contortions

Long before Hollywood actors jumped into the yoga bandwagon, this form of discipline already existed. Just how old do you think yoga is? A few hundred years? A thousand? It is more than that, believe it or not. Its history could be dated back to 4000-1500 BC, well, approximately. Yes, that’s even before the medieval era or Confucius’ time!

The exactness of its actual beginning is hard to determine because, by nature, yoga is considered sacred, and thus, spoken and taught in secret. In fact, early records of this practice were written on palm leaves, making it prone to being lost or damaged.

There were hints of yoga practice in the civilization of Indus Valley (circa 3000 BC) and even the earliest known religions, Buddhism and Hinduism, were known to incorporate this form of belief in their teachings.

India is the first country that would come to anyone’s mind when yoga is mentioned. This is because the first known, detailed, yoga transcription was in sacred Hindu records called Vedic shastras.

Yoga could then be divided into four periods:

The Pre-classical era

This could be traced as far as 5000 years back. The Indus-Saravasti in Northern India was the first to mention ‘yoga’ in Rig Veda (holy texts). These texts were not solely used for religious teachings but also for keeping records of rituals and songs by Brahmans or priests. These were termed as the Upanishads (the root word being ‘upa’ which means near, ‘ni’ which means down and ‘shad’ meaning to sit), mainly described as a form of discipline which unites these six ‘aphorisms’: control of breathing or ‘pranayama’ meditation or ‘dhyana’, inhibition of the senses or ‘pratyahara’, examination or ‘tarka’, concentration or ‘dharana’, and ecstasy or ‘samadhi.

The Bhagavad-Gita is, by far, the most famous part of the Upanishad texts. With this in mind, it was comparable to our modern day form of religions where yoga is used to achieve spirituality minus the physical rigors.

The Classical Era

Enter Patanjali, author of the Yoga-Sutras and believed to be the ‘father or founder of yoga’. Just like the obscurity of yoga’s history, Patanjali’s profession is still unknown as of this day. Some believe he is a teacher of grammar. Some say he teaches the philosophy of Samkhya. Others go to the extreme by believing that he was an incarnation of the ruler of serpents named Shesha (which had 1000 heads!).

From the six limbs of the Upanishads, Patanjali added two more. According to him, the path to enlightenment can be obtained through the practice of these eight-limb discipline. Added to the other six were Niyama and Yama, both comparable to the biblical Ten Commandments as they focus on ethics and morals.

The Post-Classical Era

It is hard to define when the classical period actually ended. The teachings of Patanjali were used in many different practices that soon different forms of yoga were established. However, there were only slight modifications from Patanjali’s form of discipline. The only two schools that taught ‘radical yoga’ were tantra and hatha. These two schools deviated from Patanjali’s belief and instead focused on both the formless type of consciousness and using the physical body to achieve the so-called enlightenment. Both tantra and hatha teach that there is a Higher Being that could reside in each individual and detachment from this Being could result in suffering and much pain. So, thanks to their teachings, we now visualize yoga as painful body contortions that raise a person’s spirituality!

The Modern Day

It was not until the 1800’s that masters of yoga discipline traveled to the west. Being completely different from any form of religion or practice, these masters had many curious followers.

Hatha Yoga or modern day yoga was made famous in India by T. Krishnamacharya. He traveled far and wide to demonstrate and teach the poses of hatha yoga. He was also the first to open a school for formal yoga practice. He called this the Hatha Yoga School. Krishnamacharya was also the teacher of famous yoga advocates Pattabhi Jois, B. K.S. Iyengar, and T.K.V. Desikachar.

Hollywood had its first taste of yoga when Indra Devi had her studio opened in 1947. It was a giant leap for modern yoga and ever since, it gained followers by the million. And yes, today, we never lack schools that teach many styles, yet, their goal is still common--- self-enlightenment.

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