Tuesday, January 26, 2010

# 40 - Fear of the Unknown

Occasionally, the fear of the unknown keeps us from making progress. yogaxpress seeks to eliminate these fears – it is a mobile stretch clinic that takes yoga to the people, and attempts to clear the cobwebs that may keep some of us away from this ancient discipline. It simultaneously addresses eight common ailments of mind and body. In a simple bedside manner, yogaxpress helps de-mystify myths, highlights facts, and monitors trends in yoga. For those who do not yet have faith in the preventive healthcare benefits of a daily yoga practice, it offers simple ways to help address everyday imbalances, in the hope that eventually they too will see the light.

Monday, January 18, 2010

# 39 - Various Styles of Yoga

Names given to systems, techniques, styles, or variations by contemporary masters include iyengar yoga (initiated by bks iyengar) using props for posture alignment; yin yoga (promoted by paul grilley) is a yoga of stillness; kripalu yoga is meditative and healing; jivamukti yoga (by sharon gannon and david life) includes chanting and meditation; bikram yoga (promoted by bikram chaudhary) is practiced in an enclosed heated room; anusara yoga (introduced by john friend) is a gentle, flowing style of healing yoga; sivananda yoga (named after swami sivananda), includes diet and relaxation; ishta yoga (developed by alan finger) includes tantric chanting and meditation; satyananda yoga (named after swami satyananda) involves selfless service; and svastha (developed by a.g.mohan) aims to improve physical health.

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

# 38 - Tributaries of Yoga

Other tributaries of yoga include swara yoga (yoga of the breath), karma yoga (yoga of good deeds), bhakti yoga (yoga of devotion), kundalini yoga (rising energy yoga), dharma yoga (yoga of kindness), kaivalya yoga (yoga of healing), ananda yoga (yoga of joy), gnana yoga (yoga of knowledge), hasya yoga (yoga of laughter), & raja yoga (yoga of mind/ meditation). On the other hand, the spiritual progress attained by each person is directly related to the level of dedication at every stage, because yoga exists at various levels: mantra (repetitive healing chants/ aural - emotional level), yantra (repetitive geometric forms/ visual - mental level), and tantra (repetitive pelvic stimulants/ sensual - physical level). Trataka or candle gazing on the other hand, helps entice overactive minds into the porous fabric of inner silence.

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

# 37 - Hatha vs. Ashtanga Yoga

Contrary to popular western belief, there are only two main kinds of yoga – hatha and ashtanga. Hatha yoga is more austere, and involves a severe kind of physical penance where postures are held for a longer period of time. When postures transition gracefully from one to the next, they are referred to as hatha vinyasa (a perfect example is the sun salutation, and its 12 variations). Ashtanga yoga on the other hand has eight tributaries as the name suggests (in Sanskrit, ashta = eight; and anga = limb/s). The eight limbs of ashtanga yoga are iyama (social discipline), niyama (personal discipline), pranayama (breath control), asana (posture practice), pratyahara (withdrawal of senses), dharana (concentration), dhyana (meditation), and samadhi (superconscious/ transcendental state).