YOGA – eco friendly ma

Prayers used in Yoga Class with meanings

Namasthe 🙏! This blog is intended for yoga students. It has the list of prayers / mantras that are being recited in the yoga class with their meanings…

Śānti Mantra/Prayer:

Sukshma Vyayama

Human body has various joints which require movement and lubrication. In our day to day life, some of the joins are rarely used and some are overused – which creates problems at later phase of life. Therefore basic movement of joints are essential in order to maintain them in healthy & proper condition. Sukshma Vyayama is a system of physical and breathing exercises which help to sequentially work out all joints of a body from the crown of head to the tip of toes, and warm it up. This system has a strong purifying effect on the energy of the body.

Maharshi Patanjali’s Ashtanga Yoga

Pre-requisite : YOGA, definition and a brief introduction to origin, history and development of YOGA <Do read this blog 1st for better understanding.>

Maharshi Patanjali in his Patanjali Yoga Sutras (PYS) gives Ashtanga Yoga i.e. 8 limbs of Yoga in 2nd & 3rd chapters called Sādhana Pāda & Vibhūti Pāda. The following sutra gives the 8 steps of yoga.

Continue reading Maharshi Patanjali’s Ashtanga Yoga

Pranayama – The Yogic Science of expansion of Prana

Pranayama is thought as breath control technique but actually it’s much broader than just that. The word “Pranayama” is comprised of two root words –

Pranayama is Prana + yama; where Prana is the vital energy and yama means to control.

Pranamaya is Prana + ayama; where Prana is the vital energy and ayama means expansion.

In a way both of them are right. Pranayama is the science of understanding, controlling and there by expanding the dimension of prana.

Surya 🌞 namaskara 🙏

Being immensely radiant and a life giving force on earth, the Sun ☀️ is the representation of the invisible supreme power that nurtures and sustains the universe. Surya namaskara is sun ☀️ salutation 🙏 , it combines yogasanas and pranayama. It is best done during sunrise or sunset time, facing the sun. It is to be done after Śithilīkarana Vyayama and before Yogāsanas. Prayer to be recited before Surya namaskara:

Patanjali Yogāsanas and it’s pre-requisites

Namasthe 🙏

Lets see the definition of Āsana🧘🏻‍♀️:

Sage Patanjali in his Patanjali Yoga Sutra’s defines āsana as

Sthiram + Sukham + Āsanam (PYS 2.46)

Āsana is a physical posture that is steady & comfortable.

Prayatna + Saithilya + Anantha + Samapattibhyam (PYS 2.47)

YOGA, definition and a brief introduction to origin, history and development of YOGA

Namasthe 🙏

Before doing my YIC (YOGA Instructor Course) course in S-VYASA (Swami Vivekananda YOGA Anusandhāna Samsthāna), I was in the perception that I knew yoga as I had learned and was practicing few āsanās & prāṇāyāma <got to learn from a doctorate in Yoga Dr.Rajesh Sir in Mangalore> from a decade. I presumed I knew it and joined the course to learn few more of them and to get certified. But only later that I realized that the āsanās & prāṇāyāma are just a part of yoga, it’s a much deeper philosophical subject and there is loots to explore!

I believe most of you are also in that perception and hence I have made an attempt to write this blog..

So what is YOGA???

Pātañjala Yoga (also known as Raja Yoga) is one among the six systems of Indian philosophy (known as satdarsanas). Pātañjali is a maharisi (an intellect & a researcher) who lived somewhere between 900 – 100 B.C. and compiled – Pātañjali Yoga Sutras (PYS). Sutras means short sentence – an aphorism having subtle in-depth meaning. The PYS is divided into 4 padas/groups and consists of 196 sutras/formulae. He gives several sādhana techniques known as Asthanga Yoga in PYS. <PYS is mind blowing, anyone who reads it with the meaning is sure to become an ardent fan of this intellect Pātañjali, I am not an exception, will write another blog in detail on this..>