Yoga: Valuable Knowledge, Hatha Yoga Exercises, Benefits and Philosophy of Yoga, Basics of Yoga Practice for Self-Development

What is yoga

Every day on our planet, yoga is becoming more and more popular, more and more people are beginning to be interested in classes on the mat. Almost everyone has ever heard the mysterious and mysterious word - Yoga. More and more celebrities in the West and in Russia practice exercises - asanas and recommend them to their admirers.

However, not everyone knows that yoga is not just exercises for developing flexibility, restoring health and mental balance, but a deep and wise system of self-improvement, which is not only physiology, but also a spiritual component.

In order to answer the question of what yoga is, the EduLesson.in club has prepared a section - "All about yoga", designed to help seeking people in knowing themselves.

The history of yoga

According to the legend, it is believed that Shiva, the patron god of all ascetics, brought the knowledge of yoga to this world, and through the sage Matsyendra this knowledge spread throughout our planet. Matsyendra, being in the guise of a fish, heard Shiva's conversation with his wife Parvati at the time of the transfer of knowledge, so Yoga has come down to our days and gained recognition.

Yoga, Vedic culture and Russia are closely related and have common roots. According to legends, 7 wise teachers from the north - Sapta Rishi, brought knowledge to the territory of modern India after the cataclysm that occurred in the north of our planet.

More about this, the connection between the two cultures and much more, can be viewed in the video: "Why should a Russian do yoga."

Eight steps of yoga

According to the ancient treatise "Yoga Sutras of Patanjali", in which everything about hatha yoga is considered in detail, there are 8 steps:

1. Yama is the ethical and moral foundations.
2. Niyama are methods of selflessness and self-discipline.
3. Asana is physical exercise.
4. Pranayama is a breathing technique.
5. Pratyahara is the control of your senses.
6. Dharana is a deep concentration of one's consciousness on an object.
7. Dhyana is a meditation that occurs as a result of Dharana and is accompanied by a tranquility of consciousness.
8. Samadhi is a state of consciousness, usually caused by deep meditation, in which the bonds of a person's ego are weakened and the inner microcosm merges with the outer “cosmic Absolute”.

How to start yoga classes

There are two classical opinions about where to start yoga classes, they are described in competent and ancient primary sources and that is why they are classic.

The first of them says that you first need to master two spiritual and moral degrees - Yama and Niyama.

The pit represents the ethical steps:

• Ahimsa - non-violence, vegetarianism can certainly be attributed to this point.
• Satya is truthfulness both to others and to oneself in one's thoughts.
• Asteya - non-stealing or non-appropriation of someone else's.
• Brahmacharya - abstaining from sense gratification, lust and passion.
• Aparigraha - detachment from material goods, non-accumulation of things, non-acquisitiveness.

Niyama contains spiritual asceticism and consists of:

• Shaucha - purification of the mind and body, cleanliness.
• Santosha - positive thinking, accepting both negative and positive events and treating them equally. Satisfaction with your position.
• Tapas - Asceticism, self-discipline and regular practice, tapasya.
• Svadhyaya - self -study and knowledge of spiritual literature.
• Ishvara - pranidhana - dedication of one's merits to the Supreme, the development of altruistic qualities in oneself.

The principles of morality and self-discipline were discussed in detail by Andrey Verba in the video about yoga - "Yama and Niyama":

You can find more details about the basics of hatha yoga, philosophical and moral concepts in a specially prepared section - Fundamentals of Yoga.

The second opinion, which is closest to our reality, says that at the initial stage in our difficult time - the era of Kali Yuga, when ignorance and passion prevail, it is recommended to start your path in yoga with shatkarmas - cleansing techniques. There are 6 of them, but there are also various variations. Purifying our body through shatkarmas, we also gradually begin to influence our consciousness and mind, heal the body, cleanse the subtle body and thereby make the body more flexible.

You can read more about cleansing techniques in the section - Shatkarmas.

Proper nutrition. Vegetarianism

After completing a few shatkarmas, such as shankaprakshalana, it is much easier to switch to an adequate diet that is conducive to yogic practice - vegetarianism.

At the moment, all the myths that vegetarianism carries some kind of threat to health have long been debunked. More than 1 billion people on our planet live without meat without any problems and have not even heard of the notorious vitamin B12 deficiency.

At the World Health Organization, in a recent report dated October 26, 2015, 22 experts from 10 countries of the world presented the results of 800 scientific studies, according to which meat products were recognized as carcinogens, directly affecting the development of cancer in humans.

 

 

Vegetarianism or a more fashionable trend now - veganism, is very popular in the west because has obvious health benefits that can be noticed quickly enough by switching to proper nutrition. Famous actors and actresses, singers and singers, directors, bodybuilders, famous politicians and many other figures of our time advocate a healthy lifestyle that you can start with your diet.

“How can one hope that peace and prosperity will reign on earth if our bodies are living graves in which killed animals are buried !?”, so the famous Russian writer Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy said, seeing the reality around him.

However, if you have been eating meat food for a long time or throughout your life, you should carefully switch to a non-killing diet, because a sharp change in diet can lead to a deterioration in well-being. To help you understand this issue, we have prepared a very detailed section on nutrition, which will answer your questions about vegetarianism and raw food - Nutrition.

Yoga Tips

Practicing shatkarma, gradually changing my diet, improving in yama and niyama, learning everything about hatha yoga, it is much easier to do exercises - asanas. After all, the body, according to the experience of many novice practitioners, becomes more flexible and able to withstand heavy loads. By combining these instructions, doing them in parallel, you can achieve much greater success in practice.

Gradually starting to practice asanas, following the recommendations described above, it is important to adhere to several basic principles:

• From simple to complex - a gradual increase in load, performing asanas in simple variations, depending on the level of flexibility.
• Asceticism - during the practice of asanas, in the extreme version of the exercise, there should be permissible discomfort. The total load should not exceed 70% of the maximum possible. This will save the body from injury.
• The regularity of practice is abhyasa. Whatever efforts the student makes, it is necessary to try to make the practice regular. Perhaps the most important principle for people doing yoga in society.
• Concentration on yoga practice - in order to achieve this, you can use counting to yourself, stretching the breath as you inhale and exhale. You can also close your eyes in simple exercises, thereby increasing concentration.
• Performing inverted asanas after the main set of exercises - in this way the energy rushes to the higher energy centers.
• If possible, the lesson should last from one hour or more. Usually, a set of exercises lasts from 1.5 to 2 hours.

The goals of yoga

The main goal of yoga, according to the classical texts, is to achieve mukti or moksha.

Moksha is liberation from samsara, the cycle of birth and death, or, to use Buddhist terminology, the attainment of Nirvana.

However, there are alternative opinions, the main of which, according to the teachings of the Buddha of the Mahayana and Vajrayana traditions, is that the goal of the development of living beings is to achieve enlightenment (Bodhi) - the state of Buddha. It is impossible to describe this state because it is acintya. Achintya is something that cannot be comprehended with the mind, intelligence and intellect. However, following the path of a Bodhisattva and developing in oneself into six perfections - paramitas, everyone can become a Buddha, but this can take more than one life. Nevertheless, as the Buddha himself said, giving predictions in Sadharmapundarikasutra, everyone can come to enlightenment - Anuttara samyak sambodhi.

You can learn more about the goals of self-development in the video lecture on yoga - "Samadhi and the Way of the Bodhisattva":

Yoga Exercise Goals

One of the main goals that practitioners of asanas have long set for themselves is to achieve a stable position, with crossed legs with a straight back, and stay in it for a long time. These positions are called meditative asanas, such as padmasana - the lotus position, ardhapadmasana, sidhasana, vajrasana and others.

A more detailed list with asanas and mudras can be found in the Yoga Encyclopedia section .

For modern yogis living a social life, gradually learning everything about yoga, asanas acquire special importance, due to their specific influence on the subtle membranes and energy channels - nadis. Performing certain asanas, the subtle bodies and shells are purified, the mind is purified, the consciousness is balanced. This is due to the austerity that occurs in practice and that is why discomfort during yoga is extremely necessary.

More recommendations for performing asanas can be found in the section - Asanas .

Pranayama and Meditation

"Having established yourself in asana, gaining control over your body and adopting a balanced diet, practice pranayama in accordance with the instructions of your guru."

So says the first sloka of the second chapter of one of the main classical texts of yoga - "Hatha Yoga Pradipika". You can download to read this book, and learn everything about yoga, in the section Books for download .

Having achieved the opportunity to stay in a meditative position for a long time, taking blissful food, one can gradually master the breathing techniques.

The main task of pranayama is to accumulate energy, to purify it and calm the mind. This is achieved through regular practice and gaining control over prana in the subtle body of a person.

However, you should be more careful with breathing techniques, because they have contraindications both from the point of view of physiology and the readiness of the person practicing yoga for the energies with which he may face.

More details about the basics of breathing techniques, rules of execution and safety precautions can be found in the lecture - “Pranayama: the fourth stage of yoga. Introduction ":

Meditation is deep concentration accompanied by a calmness of the mind. Pranayama directly affects a person's ability to meditate, the deeper the breathing, the quieter it is, the more concentrated the mind of the practitioner.

The sage Swatmarama in Hatha Yoga Pradipika says that while the prana in the subtle body moves, the chitta (mental force) also moves and vice versa. In other words, without being successful in breathing techniques, it will be difficult to calm your mind and redirect attention to the right point in consciousness or space.

There are a large number of meditations, degrees of their effectiveness and impact. The most famous of these is trataka. Trataka is often called meditation for beginners, but the effects it can give to the practitioner may make one think about the need to do it regularly. This cleansing technique and, at the same time, meditative practice is able to increase the general level of energy and concentrate it in the Agya chakra (Ajna chakra), which in turn reveals the ability of subtle perception and the ability to realize quite serious life tasks. That is why these techniques are considered secret, due to their ability to harm both the practitioner and the people around him.

Meditation, through austerity and concentration, is able to generate the universal life energy - tapas. Tapas is the “currency” by which the yogi achieves a successful rebirth in future lives. How much tapas a person has in his "karmic bank" directly depends on how he lives and will live in the future.

However, in order to get this universal "currency" it is not enough to know everything about yoga and meditation and practice regularly. The whole truth about yoga is that tapas can be obtained only by giving some knowledge and helping people in their spiritual self-improvement. Not everyone is capable of carrying knowledge, but the majority has time, certain abilities and professions that can be directed towards helping living beings.

A lot of interesting things about meditation can be found in the lecture of Ekaterina Androsova - "Meditation for beginners":

Classic Yoga Texts

A sufficient number of authoritative sources have survived to this day, in which you can read everything about hatha yoga. The generally accepted basic classical texts are:

• Hatha Yoga Pradipika - the instructions of the sage Swatmarama. Download the original source.
• Gheranda-samhita - the instructions of the sage Gheranda. Download the original source.
• Shiva-samhita is a narration about yoga on behalf of God Shiva. Read the original source online .

It is also considered to be a competent source:

• The yoga sutras of Patanjali are the instructions of the sage Patanjali. Download 11 simultaneous translations .

These are not just books about yoga, these are deep spiritual scriptures that will allow you to understand the philosophy of yoga and understand how best to practice it.

You can read these texts online in the "books for download" section , which contains everything about yoga and meditation.

Karma and reincarnation. Yoga philosophy

Two fundamental concepts in yoga philosophy are Prakriti and Purusha , material and spiritual components.

Prakriti is causal matter, which is essentially everything that we see, hear and feel, the entire universe around us.

However, the existence of the universe is impossible without Purusha - the spiritual principle of all that exists, it is during the merging of Purusha with Prakriti that the formation of the universe occurs, due to the beginning of the interaction of the three modes of material nature. Gunas are three elements or properties that make up the material world: sattva (goodness, peace), rajas (passion, movement), tamas (ignorance). Not a single living being is free from the influence of these elements, be it a person or a celestial (demigods).

Being carried away by the material world, a person forms his karma - a cause-and-effect relationship, due to attraction to any form of prakriti.

Karma is actions, both positive and negative, that affect the subsequent reincarnation of people in this or that world. Having committed any negative act, a person will be obliged to experience the fruits of this act on himself in the future, but not everything is as fatal as it might seem at first glance. Yoga is the tool that is able to minimize the consequences caused by karmic actions. Retribution can be experienced to a much lesser extent if, realizing that you are wrong, you make an effort to practice hatha yoga and experience austerity while doing certain exercises. Thus, a person is able to experience a negative situation in a much easier way, being in tranquility and the mode of goodness - sattva.

Reincarnation, formed by a person's karma, is an important component in understanding the yoga worldview. For Hindus and many other peoples, including early Christianity, the concept of reincarnation is an absolutely natural process of rebirth and development of the soul in the material world. The facts of reincarnation are known for certain, which can be found in a specially created section - Reincarnation .

Everything about yoga: books and primary sources

The primary sources of yoga are not limited to three texts, there are a large number of legends that have survived to this day. To everyone who is engaged in self-development, they will certainly be extremely useful and interesting:

• Mahabharata is a legend about the great battle between the Pandavas and the Kauravas, about good and evil, about courage and courage, about Dharma and ignorance. Krishna, the incarnation of God Vishnu, is one of the main characters in this scripture and brings universal truths to his devoted disciple Arjuna. Download all volumes in one archive.
• Ramayana is a story about prince Rama, the incarnation of God Vishnu, who fights against the demon Ravana. Important components of the Dharma and human life are deeply affected. Download a book.
• Yoga Vasishtha is one of the main texts of yoga philosophy, which tells about the conversations of the sages who gathered in the palace of Rama. Rama's questions are answered by sage Vasishtha. Download the book Yoga-Vasishtha .

Video about the Mahabharata in the lecture - "Mahabharata - briefly about the main thing":

More videos about yoga and Vedic culture can be found in this section .

Yoga types

Yoga consists not only of moral steps and various practical methods. Like a lake, into which many streams flow, yoga absorbs various types and directions:

• Karma yoga is the performance of prescribed duties in accordance with one's abilities and skills. Fulfillment of your Dharma, duty to Gods and Ancestors. An important component in karma yoga is detachment from the fruits of one's actions - akarma. Any action, even if it bears good, performed for selfish purposes, is slavery, bonds that keep a person in this world.
• Bhakti Yoga is the sincere cultivation of love, devotion and service to God or the cosmic absolute. One of the important components of this type of yoga is atma-nivedana, the offering of all actions and thoughts to God. Regular chanting of the mantra Om will also be the practice of bhakti yoga, since Om is the embodiment of the divine in sound.
• Jnana yoga (jnana yoga, jnana yoga) is the path of self-knowledge, in which more emphasis is placed on eliminating ignorance - avidya by training the mind with different methods. However, jnana is not only the accumulation of various yogic knowledge, but also introspection and various types of meditation. This type can also include the concept of sanity - bringing three criteria of truth to a single whole - sabda (the opinion of a competent person or deity), shastra (spiritual scriptures) and sadhu (personal experience, practice).
• Raja Yoga is what is now considered to be a classical yoga based on Patanjali's eight-fold yoga (Ashtanga Vinyasa). Raja is royal, due to the fact that it is aimed at curbing the mind - chitta-vritti-nirodhah, through various asanas, pranayamas and meditations.

So that self-improvement is not one-sided, one should not give preference to any one of these types of yoga, self-development will be more complete and harmonious if all these methods are applied in parallel, it is then that progress in self-knowledge will be more successful.

Yoga styles

The 20th century was marked by an explosive growth in the popularity of yoga throughout the world. Many styles and directions began to appear, of which there are already more than 40. The most significant contribution to the popularization of yoga in the West and around the world was made by two students of Sri Tirumalaya Krishnamacharya - Sri Pattabhi Jois and Sri Bellur Krishnamachar Sundararaja Iyengar, better known as B.K. FROM. Iyengar.

They founded two directions:

• Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga (Sri Pattabhi Jois) is a style based on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, the main component of which is a fairly dynamic practice with asanas flowing from one to another through vinyasas (connecting exercises with breath control). During the classes, important attention is also paid to bandhas (energy locks), drishti (concentration of attention on a part of the body or space) and various levels of complexity of the selected asana sequences.
• Iyengar Yoga is a style based on detailed and detailed adjustment and mastering of each asana, moving from simple to more complex. During classes, as a rule, various auxiliary items are used: straps, bricks, pillows, rollers, and more. A fairly large amount of time is given to each asana.

However, there are many other directions.

You can learn more about almost all existing styles in the article by Valentina Ulyankina.

The edulesson.in club does not give preference to any one direction of yoga, in view of the fact that each style, their combinations and variations are suitable for different groups of practitioners. The teachers of the club study and practice different styles of yoga, however, preference is given to classical methods.

Conclusion

Self-development and cultivation of altruistic qualities in oneself is an important component of a person's spiritual development. That is why the teachers and members of the edulesson.in club have collected everything you need to know about yoga in one section in order to simplify the search, facilitate the development of various asanas, pranayamas and meditations for people striving for self-improvement. We hope you find it useful.