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Yoga To Open Your Heart & Calm the Mind
What poses to do when you travel, did you know what is Jnana Yoga and much more...
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In Today's Email:
Jnana Yoga: Yoga for the intelligent...
The Most Important Yoga Pose When Travelling...
Learn Sanskrit: Do you know what Bhakti means?
Yoga Sequence to opne your heart and calm the mind...
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Jnana Yoga: Yoga For The Intelligent
Jnana means knowledge. This yoga is the yoga for the intelligent and selected people. This yoga is the ultimate goal of all the other varieties of yoga. This yoga teaches you to look at the world as it is without any ignorance and bias. You can achieve this state by practicing rigorous mental discipline and virtue. This yoga is also called Raja Yoga or the king of all the yogas since it is of the highest variety and rules over all the other varieties. This is the Yoga that Patanjali has described in his Yoga Sutras.
This yoga is made up of eight parts of which five are external and the other three are internal. Two of its parts, viz Yama and niyama deal with types of behavior that the student of yoga should avoid like lying, cheating, stealing etc., and those behaviors that he should cultivate like cleanliness, non-collection, etc. Asanas and Pranayama are the next two parts of this yoga. Asanas are the physical movements that help in developing the suppleness of the body and thus cure any diseases. You can control your breath by using pranayama which increases the capacity of the lungs to take in air and thus increases the vitality of the body. The next part Pratyahara denotes the withdrawal of the sense organs from objects of enjoyment. The remaining three parts deal with intense mental concentration.
Patanjali maintained that practicing these eight parts of yoga faithfully and intensely will, over a period of time, erase all the impurities of the body and mind and thus attain knowledge that will liberate the person from bondage and ignorance. This yoga is called Ashtanga Yoga since it is made of eight parts. It is also called Dhyana yoga due to its stress on mental concentration. Hence, whenever there is any mention of yoga, it is usually implied that the person is talking about Jnana Yoga.
The Most Important Yoga Pose When Travelling
With over 84,000 poses in yoga to choose from for practice, yoga enthusiasts and practitioners might be left confused about just which ones are the most important. With our daily demands and commitments, most of us might not have the time to perform so many poses therefore we should focus on the one that is of the most benefit for daily practice and that is the Shoulder-Stand (known in Sanskrit as Sarvangasana).
It is my recommended favorite of the inverted poses. Its ease and reminder that as a kid, you tried it before, make it one that I emphasize even more so than the Headstand you might be familiar with as they share almost if not all the same benefits without the fear of standing on your head. Inverted poses reverse the action of gravity on the body.
Instead of everything being pulled towards the feet, the orientation shifts towards the head. On emotional levels the Shoulder Stand turns everything upside down throwing a new light on old patterns of behavior. It improves health, reduces stress and anxiety and increases mental power and also increases self confidence. In addition, the abdominal organs, liver, spleen, stomach, kidneys and pancreas receive a powerful massage helping them work better.
In Sanskrit, Sarvanga means all parts so as the name suggests, it affects all the bodily organs. It stimulates the thyroid gland, balancing the circulatory, digestive, nervous, reproductive, and endocrine systems. It is indeed a panacea, a cure-all. Obesity and corpulence are alleviated by this pose as well as constipation and enlargement of the liver and the spleen. It is best practiced with its counter poses in specific durations for maximal efficiency and when planned correctly, the whole sequence could take less than 6 minutes to carry out, depending on your schedule. Personally, I make the point as a practitioner to incorporate the sequence into my daily regimen with other forms of exercise, but I always place the most emphasis on this one pose for all the benefits above. So next time when you are unsure of which pose you have to include in your session when you are on the go, make it a point to go for the Shoulder-Stand. Your body will thank you for it.
LEARN SANSKRIT
Bhakti can be translated as unwavering devotion or unquestioning faith. Bhakti yoga—the practice of devotion—is one of four ancient forms of yoga. In Bhakti yoga, making offerings, chanting, and devotional singing free the mind from negative distraction. Performing worship ceremonies (puja) at home, such as the arti (light) ceremony, keeps the presence of the Divine in your mind as you go out to complete your everyday tasks. Bhakti adds a different dimension to your yoga practice, extending it from the mat to the Self.
Yogi Of The Week
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Santa Teresa, Costa Rica For Health, Rejuvenation, and Yoga
As much as Santa Teresa, Costa Rica—at the tip of the Nicoya Peninsula—is a surfing destination, it also continues to be a significant place for yogis from all over to practice in harmony.
“I’ve explored a lot of different countries in this beautiful world,” says Stefano Allegri, an Italian-born teacher working in Costa Rica, “but always when I unroll my mat in the shala of Florblanca some magic emerges—my words can’t explain the experience.”
The oceanfront hotel venue and Pranamar down the beach (a paradisiacal retreat property with popular daily classes open to the public) are like melting pots of cultures and influences.
Open Your Heart & Calm the Mind
Take a break from striving with this forward-bending practice, which will keep you close to the earth and help calm your thoughts.
AS YOU PRACTICE Make sure the room is at a comfortable temperature, and take time to steady your mind by finding a relaxed breathing rhythm and focusing on your exhalation.
1. Supta Baddha Konasana (Reclining Bound Angle Pose) Lie on your back, with the soles of the feet together and the knees open wide, each resting on a blanket, and with your arms by your sides, palms facing up. Allow the muscles of the abdomen and inner thighs to relax toward the floor.
2. Ananda Balasana ( Happy Baby) On your back, the knees are bent slightly wider than the hips. The ankles and shins track the knees in a 90-degree angle perpendicular to the earth. The hands grip the inside sole of the flexed feet (if you have difficultly holding the feet loop a strap over each sole) and push the knees down, coaxing the thighs in toward the torso, lengthening the spine, releasing the tail bone toward the earth and extending the base of the skull away from the back of the neck. The gaze is up toward the sky.
3. Balasana (Child’s Pose) Lower your leg and move into a kneeling position, sitting on your feet. Fold forward from your hips, allowing your torso to rest on your thighs and keeping your knees hip-width apart. Rest your head on your hands or on a bolster in front of you.
4. Cat-Cow Pose Come to your hands and knees. Inhale, extend your spine forward, and draw your head up and back. Exhale, round your spine, and drop your head, like a cat arching its back. Repeat Cat-Cow 5 to 10 times, and then come upright to a kneeling position.
5. Adho Mukha Svanasana (DownwardFacing Dog Pose) From cat-cow, tuck the toes under and step back into Downward Dog. Take long, deep breaths, focusing on the exhalation and lengthening your spine.
6. Setu Bandha Sarvangasana (Bridge Pose) Lift your hips into Bridge Pose, with your feet hip-width apart and knees stacked over your ankles. Interlace your fingers behind your back, and extend your arms toward your feet. Exhale to release. End with Savasana.
Meme
NAMASTE ❤️
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