Universal Principles of Yoga (Part 1)
May 26, 2010 by admin
Filed under Non Fiction
Paul M. Jerard Jr. asked:
Yoga and Yogic philosophy is occasionally misunderstood because some people have not been informed of the universal principles that are not threatening to any belief or disbelief. Many people who do not practice Yoga are often surprised to find detailed dietary suggestions contained within their Yoga training. Yoga aids the student toward better health in every possible aspect. So, Yoga requires and in depth explanation.
Let’s start with the meaning of Yoga, which literally means “unity” or “union.” Your next question might be, “Unity with what?” Yoga does help unify the mind and body, but it also unifies the spirit or soul within you with God. The soul is sometimes known as the “Atman” and can also be referred to as pure or true consciousness. Yoga is not a religion, but it can be practiced in harmony with any religion.
Before we go any further; it should be noted that many students from a variety of religions have practiced Yoga and feel a deeper connection with God as a result of the mind, body, and spirit unification process. Therefore, Yoga is doing no harm to anyone of any religion. Yoga philosophy does not preach a “Better than thou” doctrine. This has been mankind’s excuse to wage war, since history was first recorded and even before.
The concept of another person’s religion, nationality, ethnic background, race, and gender; being less, have always been convenient reasons for bigotry, slavery, and cruelty. Tolerance of others is not a new idea in Yogic philosophy.
There is no group that has the exclusive rights to Yoga. India is the birth place of Yoga and the people of India have gladly shared their gift with the rest of the world. There is no exclusive group that practices Yoga or teaches Yoga classes. Yoga was not designed to be an exclusive practice and Yoga has evolved for the best over 5,000 years to this day.
For the sake of being “politically correct,” many Yoga teachers omit the spiritual aspect of Yoga in their Hatha Yoga classes. This is fine, since the masses of some cultures object to learning about a method to connect to God. However, what does it say about a culture that is to busy to talk or think about God?
It means many things and some societies are showing signs of systematic spiritual illness. However, if you teach Hatha Yoga under these circumstances, you might be best to leave religion outside your classes. Unless, you are teaching Bhakti Yoga or something similar such as Jewish, Moslem, or Christian Yoga, the union of mind, body, and spirit does not usually occur in a typical Hatha Yoga class.
© Copyright 2006 – Paul Jerard / Aura Publications
Yoga and Yogic philosophy is occasionally misunderstood because some people have not been informed of the universal principles that are not threatening to any belief or disbelief. Many people who do not practice Yoga are often surprised to find detailed dietary suggestions contained within their Yoga training. Yoga aids the student toward better health in every possible aspect. So, Yoga requires and in depth explanation.
Let’s start with the meaning of Yoga, which literally means “unity” or “union.” Your next question might be, “Unity with what?” Yoga does help unify the mind and body, but it also unifies the spirit or soul within you with God. The soul is sometimes known as the “Atman” and can also be referred to as pure or true consciousness. Yoga is not a religion, but it can be practiced in harmony with any religion.
Before we go any further; it should be noted that many students from a variety of religions have practiced Yoga and feel a deeper connection with God as a result of the mind, body, and spirit unification process. Therefore, Yoga is doing no harm to anyone of any religion. Yoga philosophy does not preach a “Better than thou” doctrine. This has been mankind’s excuse to wage war, since history was first recorded and even before.
The concept of another person’s religion, nationality, ethnic background, race, and gender; being less, have always been convenient reasons for bigotry, slavery, and cruelty. Tolerance of others is not a new idea in Yogic philosophy.
There is no group that has the exclusive rights to Yoga. India is the birth place of Yoga and the people of India have gladly shared their gift with the rest of the world. There is no exclusive group that practices Yoga or teaches Yoga classes. Yoga was not designed to be an exclusive practice and Yoga has evolved for the best over 5,000 years to this day.
For the sake of being “politically correct,” many Yoga teachers omit the spiritual aspect of Yoga in their Hatha Yoga classes. This is fine, since the masses of some cultures object to learning about a method to connect to God. However, what does it say about a culture that is to busy to talk or think about God?
It means many things and some societies are showing signs of systematic spiritual illness. However, if you teach Hatha Yoga under these circumstances, you might be best to leave religion outside your classes. Unless, you are teaching Bhakti Yoga or something similar such as Jewish, Moslem, or Christian Yoga, the union of mind, body, and spirit does not usually occur in a typical Hatha Yoga class.
© Copyright 2006 – Paul Jerard / Aura Publications
Yoga Fitness: Above and Beyond Your Average Fitness Routine
Seth Daugherty asked:
Yoga is synonymous with fitness. This is because yoga is interested in a holistic outlook on the entire body and how fitness should be incorporated into exercise. This is because yoga is about, mind, body and spirit, but yoga is also synonymous with health and fitness.
Anyone who has been taking yoga classes for any amount of time will probably tell you they feel much more fit then they did before taking yoga classes. This is because of the holistic ideals behind yoga and how the holistic side of yoga actually creates a fit body from head to toe.
- Yoga Fitness:
Fitness yoga is the discipline of strength training through core exercises. This can range from focusing on very specific parts of the body or focusing on a more holistic approach that includes the entire mind and body. Either way will get you fit, and it is probably good to have a combination of the two if you are serious about using yoga postures to keep fit.
- Power Yoga:
Power yoga definitely belongs in the fit category of yoga practice. Power yoga is a form of yoga that uses the yoga body postures, but in an accelerated succession of these postures. This will allow the body to strengthen very quickly, and stay very fit, but as you might have guessed, this type of yoga takes time and practice to master. This is because there are many yoga positions that must be mastered so you can do the yoga poses in a smooth succession.
- Staying Fit with Breathing:
One of the key features of yoga, whether it is yoga for meditation, strength or fitness or all three, is that yoga is about breathing. That is to say you need to breath properly while completing the different yoga poses. This is an added benefit to staying fit with yoga, because yoga will actually help you to breath more properly while doing other exercises as well, and will remind you to breath properly throughout the entire day, promoting fitness.
- Some of the Different Types of Yoga Fitness Include:
- Ashtanga Yoga is a type of yoga that means eight limbs. It is a quick paced yoga style, and is one of the more intense types of yoga. It is based on a progressive set of sequences of asanas which are synchronized with proper breathing. This is one of the more physically demanding types of yoga available.
- Power Yoga is seen as a western interpretation of yoga and is based on Ashtanga yoga. It also involves a series of poses in succession of each other.
- Vinyasa Yoga, which means breath synchronized movement is another intense type of yoga that is fast paced with an emphasis on breathing techniques. This type of yoga may begin with sun salutations and then might move to intense stretching exercises.
- Bikram Yoga is also known as hot yoga and is practiced in 105 degree heated rooms. Typically, this yoga session includes 26 different poses and is often practiced with a Bikram Yoga class. The hot temperatures will loosen muscles and there would obviously be profuse sweating as well. Some of the appeal to this type of yoga is the idea that it also cleanses the body due to the intense perspiration in the 105 degree temperature room.
- In Conclusion:
There are a lot of different types of yoga out there, and for fitness, there is no shortage of yoga styles that will suite your needs. We recommend trying them all out, and then deciding which one is best for you. Remember that yoga will provide an overall fitness that is hard to match with other types of fitness exercises.
Yoga is synonymous with fitness. This is because yoga is interested in a holistic outlook on the entire body and how fitness should be incorporated into exercise. This is because yoga is about, mind, body and spirit, but yoga is also synonymous with health and fitness.
Anyone who has been taking yoga classes for any amount of time will probably tell you they feel much more fit then they did before taking yoga classes. This is because of the holistic ideals behind yoga and how the holistic side of yoga actually creates a fit body from head to toe.
- Yoga Fitness:
Fitness yoga is the discipline of strength training through core exercises. This can range from focusing on very specific parts of the body or focusing on a more holistic approach that includes the entire mind and body. Either way will get you fit, and it is probably good to have a combination of the two if you are serious about using yoga postures to keep fit.
- Power Yoga:
Power yoga definitely belongs in the fit category of yoga practice. Power yoga is a form of yoga that uses the yoga body postures, but in an accelerated succession of these postures. This will allow the body to strengthen very quickly, and stay very fit, but as you might have guessed, this type of yoga takes time and practice to master. This is because there are many yoga positions that must be mastered so you can do the yoga poses in a smooth succession.
- Staying Fit with Breathing:
One of the key features of yoga, whether it is yoga for meditation, strength or fitness or all three, is that yoga is about breathing. That is to say you need to breath properly while completing the different yoga poses. This is an added benefit to staying fit with yoga, because yoga will actually help you to breath more properly while doing other exercises as well, and will remind you to breath properly throughout the entire day, promoting fitness.
- Some of the Different Types of Yoga Fitness Include:
- Ashtanga Yoga is a type of yoga that means eight limbs. It is a quick paced yoga style, and is one of the more intense types of yoga. It is based on a progressive set of sequences of asanas which are synchronized with proper breathing. This is one of the more physically demanding types of yoga available.
- Power Yoga is seen as a western interpretation of yoga and is based on Ashtanga yoga. It also involves a series of poses in succession of each other.
- Vinyasa Yoga, which means breath synchronized movement is another intense type of yoga that is fast paced with an emphasis on breathing techniques. This type of yoga may begin with sun salutations and then might move to intense stretching exercises.
- Bikram Yoga is also known as hot yoga and is practiced in 105 degree heated rooms. Typically, this yoga session includes 26 different poses and is often practiced with a Bikram Yoga class. The hot temperatures will loosen muscles and there would obviously be profuse sweating as well. Some of the appeal to this type of yoga is the idea that it also cleanses the body due to the intense perspiration in the 105 degree temperature room.
- In Conclusion:
There are a lot of different types of yoga out there, and for fitness, there is no shortage of yoga styles that will suite your needs. We recommend trying them all out, and then deciding which one is best for you. Remember that yoga will provide an overall fitness that is hard to match with other types of fitness exercises.