Yoga In USA

Patanjali, the father of Yoga was a great physician too. Supposed to have lived during 200 B.C to 200 A.D, his book Yoga  Sutra is a guide book for simple and healthy living.  Yoga Sutra has 195 aphorisms or sutras which actually do not describe the yogic postures or asanas. Yoga as described by him is not only about asanas or postures and well being. Yoga according to Patanjali is a way of life. His book is basically an ethical outline for living a principled life and includes the science of yoga into your daily life.

The basis of the teachings of Patanjali is entwined in the eightfold path of yoga or the ashtanga yoga. These teachings are suggestions for a better life. The eight fold path is as follows

Yama means social behaviour. It tells you the way to treat others and the world around you. These are the right values. Also called the do’s and don’ts. There are five yamas: Nonviolence (ahimsa), Truth and honesty (satya), Nonstealing (asteya), Nonlust (brahmacharya), Nonpossessiveness (aparigraha),

Niyama means personal discipline and responsibility. This tells us how to treat ourselves. Also called observances. There are five niyamas: Purity (shauca), Contentment (santosha), Austerity (tapas), Study of the sacred text (svadhyaya), and Living with an awareness of the Divine (ishvara-pranidhana).

Asana. Yoga is commonly understood as performing the various asanas. According to Patanjali, “The posture of yoga is steady and easy.” The ancient sages used yoga to prepare themselves for meditation. In order to meditate a person requires to sit in one posture for a long time, the body should be flexible and agile and at the same time cooperative to achieve this. One should be able to concentrate without getting disturbed by the environment during meditation.

Pranayama. Prana or the life force or energy is everywhere. It is present in every living being. It flows into us through our breath. Pranayama actually refers to controlling this life force. The key actions of pranayama are inhaling the breath, retention of breath, and finally exhaling it out. As Iyengar has explained the basic behind the controlling of breadth, “A yogi’s life is not measured by the number of days but by the number of his breaths. Therefore, he follows the proper rhythmic patterns of slow, deep breathing.” Pranayama cleanses the system and eliminates mental distractions such as anxiety, tension, agitation, desperation etc. facilitating easier concentration.

Pranayama is generally practised after the asanas.

Pratyahara. Pratyahara denotes withdrawal of the senses. It happens at the time of meditation, breathing exercises, or the practice of yoga postures. It occurs when a person concentrates or focuses his attention inwards, within himsel or herself. Controlling your senses is very tough, once mastered, distractions like itching, sounds, smell etc. will not be felt at the time of meditation.

Dharana. “Concentration is binding thought in one place,” - Patanjali

Concentration or dharana is training the mind to be focussed on a single, place, image, subject even things like, a candle, a flower or even a mantra. There should be no effort for concentration, it should be very gentle. The mind is in the concentration mode, once the person loses any sense of passing time.

Dhyana. Dharana leads to dhyana (state of meditation). It is the state of uninterrupted meditation. Unlike what is understood, the aim of dhyana is not losing consciousness, the aim is to heighten awareness and unification with the universe. If you are concerned about distraction you are not meditating just concentrating. The peace achieved by meditation is visible in every aspect of the person, be it working, enjoying or shopping.

Samadhi. This is the final aim of yoga as described by Patanjali. Samadhi according to Vyasa is complete control of functions of consciousness or “samadhan”. Samadhi also means the complete union with the divine or to merge with the divine. This is state of extremely heightened consciousness or enlightenment.

Besides being a guide for practising yoga, the sutras of Ashtanga yoga of Patanjali also suggests a moral and right way of living.

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“Sit still and you get monkeys in your head!” –K. Pattabhi Jois

Sri Krishna Pattabhi Jois was born in a priest family of Kowshika village near Hassan in Karnataka. His father was not only a priest but also an astrologer who was the family priest of several families in the village. Like other Hindu boys of his age Pattabhi Jois was taught the Vedas and the Hindu rituals.

In 1927, at the tender age of 12, Pattabhi Jois happened to attend a lecture and yoga demonstration by Sri T Krishnamacharya. Sri T. Krishnamacharya was a great exponent of Hatha Yoga. Other notable students of Sri T Krishnamacharya are BKS Iyengar and TKV Desikachar. Jois was so impressed that he became his disciple the next day and thus started a relationship which lasted 25 years.

In the year 1948, Jois established the Ashtanga Yoga Research Institute at Mysore. In 1962, he published his first book in yoga “Yoga Mālā”. The book was later translated to English and published again in 1999. André Van Lysebeth, a Belgian studied yoga with Pattabhi Jois in 1964. His book J’apprends le Yoga (1967) mentions Sri K. Pattabhi Jois. This resulted in lot of foreigners coming to Mysore to learn and study yoga with him.

Pattabhi Jois has always stressed on practice as a method of learning the yoga philosophy. He still teaches at the Ashtanga Yoga Research Institute in Mysore, with the assistance of his daughter and grandson Sharath.

The daily routine at the Astanga Research Institute at Mysore consists of couple of hours of practise of vigorous asanas (yogic postures) which are synchronised with the breath in a continuous flow. In Sanskrit, this synchronization of the breath and the body movement is called ‘vinyasa’. It purifies and energizes the body. The “viniyasa” practise of Jois has a very important role in increasing the flow of ‘prana’ or life force energy. Viniyasa is also known to calm the mind.

Together Jois and Sharat teach six standardised and graded routines that scale from the challenging introductory series to the completion series set. The later is not mastered as yet. The knowledge imparted at the Ashtanga Research Institute at Mysore are said to be derived from ‘Yoga Korunta’, an ancient yogic text. It is supposed to be more than 500 years old and is written in difficult to understand Sanskrit manuscript. Though this is believed to be mythical by some people, the practice taught by Jois and Sharat has shown immense benefits to its practitioners.

Astanga yoga as taught by the Astanga Yoga Research Institute is quite popular in the western countries. Despite his lack of fluency in the English language, many students from the western countries have come over to him to learn yoga and its philosophy at his home at Mysore. Pattabhi Jois with his grandson and disciple Sharat hold yoga classes six days in a week.

Pattabhi Jois is known to encourage his students to continuously better at their practice. And believe it or not he always uses his own brand of humor to do so.

“Sit still and you get monkeys in your head!”

Also you can find the list of Ashtanga Yoga Studio in USA from this site.

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Bikram Yoga

Bikram Yoga is a variety of “Hatha” yoga. Its founder and propagator Bikram Choudhury, has studied yoga with Bishnu Ghosh, the brother of Paramahansa Yogananda.

Bikram yoga or “Hot” yoga as it is usually know as, is performed in a room where the temperature is maintained at 105degrees Farenheit/ 37 degree celsius. It is a sequence of 26 asanas which is done twice and the posture is held for a definite time period. The asanas are then followed by Kapalbhati pranayama.

Out of all the types of Hatha Yoga, Bikram Yoga happens to be the most vigorous and stimulating. Bikram Choudhury has put a lot of thought while designing it. For Bikram Yoga is capable of warming up and stretch each and every joint, muscle, ligament, tendon, vertebrae and organ of the body down to the cellular level. Fresh oxygenated blood is supplied to every part, every organ of the body to stimulate it, which propagates a healthy, mind, body and spirit.

The reason of this “hot” yoga performed in a heated room is a very scientific one. Heat increases the flexibility of muscles and joints. This helps in deep stretching and also encourages the release of toxins from the body. With higher level of stretching, the muscles, joints and ligaments along with the other parts of the body are strengthened and help in the proper functioning of the internal organs also. Increased flexibility means less injuries and ease in acquiring and holding the posture for the said time.

A ninety minute beginner session of Bikram yoga consists of 26 poses, improves the mind and body, helps in relaxation, aids in the physical strengthening. With constant practice, these sessions also heal the various ailments of the body. “Yoga”, according to Bikram Choudhury, “is not about being flexible, but about strengthening your body and your spine in all directions with the goal of creating a union between the body, mind and spirit”. Here there is no standard of comparison. You are compared against yourself, and aim is to constantly improve.

Besides teaching this form of yoga at his home at Los Angeles, Bikram Choudhury also conducts workshops throughout the U.S. Bikram Yoga has not only helped many individuals fight their illnesses, it has also helped its founder recuperate from a grave injury , where he was informed by the doctors that he may not be able to walk again. He learnt yoga to strengthen his body and in the process also regained his mobility.

Though there have been certain legal issues regarding the propagation of Bikram Yoga, nonetheless the physical benefits were never questioned. This form of yoga like all the others has succeeded to make a place for itself. So much so, that a big majority of people in the U.S including the stars are known to practise it.

Checkout the complete list of Bikram Yoga Studio at this site.

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Bihar School of Yoga

“Yoga is not mere asana, Yoga is not mere meditation. Yoga is a philosophy” - Swami Niranjananda

Yoga was previously done by the yogis who lived a solitary life away from the society and practiced yoga. The efforts of various people to make yoga a part of the daily life of the common man led to the development of various schools. Paramahamsa Satyananda started the Bihar School of Yoga in Munger in 1964 to teach the art to both the yogis and householders.

This school of yoga not only aimed at the physical development of the individual practicing it but also focussed on various other aspects such as personal development etc. The Bihar School of Yoga teaches yoga and its teachings along with the current physical and mental sciences.

Bihar School of Yoga conducts research in yoga and medicine in association with some very prominent hospitals, organisations and institutions. Their programs are use by a number of organizations such as the education and prison Government sectors, the hospitals, the defense Services, public and private sector industries namely, Indian Oil Corporation, Coal India Limited, National Thermal Power Corporation, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation, the Steel Authority of India.

Swami Satyananda integrated various components of Tantra in this school of yoga. He has also systematized the various types of pranayama, which is taught widely now. A very important contribution of Swami Satyanada towards yoga was the rediscovery of Yoga Nidra. Yoga Nidra as explained by Swami Satyananda is psychic sleep. It is a systematic method of relaxation which takes care of the complete physical, mental and emotional aspects of the person practising it. Yoga Nidra also connects the individual with himself/ herself on a much deeper level than was possible with simple relaxation. After a session a person feels more relaxed and refreshed than he/she feels after sleeping normally. The hypnogogic state (state between wakefulness and sleep) of the Yoga Nidra not only has curative but also restorative benefits. He has also systematized the pawan muktasana series of asanas into three parts. First part is for rheumatic problems, second for gastric problems and third part is for shakti bandha or asanas to release energies within the body.

Bihar school of yoga also has a great thought in teaching children. The kids are taught by the fellow kids, this is because of the firm belief that, “Children have a native sense of personality. Grown-ups can’t understand this nature and try to mold the child in their own image. But children are not conditioned beings. They have their own ways of recognizing, understanding and learning information, situations, subjects.” This belief has led to the development of Bal Yoga Mitra Mandal (BYMM). The aim of this organization is to propagate the philosophy of yoga to children in a ways other than academic. Children have such high grasping power and the power of absorbing things and concepts increases manifold when another child happens to be describing or explaining things, therefore making the learning faster. The absence of barrier (age, knowledge and authority) helps in understanding of the concept and implementation in a much better and faster way.

Swami Satyananda, the founder of Bihar school of yoga is now retired from active teaching. His closest disciple, Swami Niranjananda has taken over the responsibilities of propagating this form of yoga. He has founded the Bihar Yoga Bharati, a unique institution of its kind which teaches higher yoga studies. This institution is affiliated to the Bhagalpur University and offers recognized courses.

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The Vivekananda Yoga Training Institute

The Vivekananda Yoga Training Institute exists only to augment the ways and means by which aspirants and trainers worldwide implement, enhance and deepen their understanding of Yoga.Yoga, if practised in the right manner, will definitely lead to human perfection both by body and soul.

The Vivekananda Yoga Training Institute in Karur, has been in operation for more than a decade. The Vivekananda Yoga training Institute in Karur is situated in the heart of the district.Yet,the place is more quiet and peaceful, providing the calmness needed for

practising Yoga.

The Vivekananda Yoga Training Institute conducts several programs to help progress the beginners, practicing aspirants and amateours. These programs includes introductory programs such as Meditation Classes , motivation and Youth Programs.

The Vivekananda Yoga Training Institute has six trainers and the classes are conducted in the morning and evening on all the days of the week.Our students have won the National Yoga championship, last year. Our Institute has also won many prizes and medals, over the past decade,since, it was instituted.

Yoga, which means union, is the culmination of the spiritual practice and not merely the practice itself. The perfection of the imperfect is what is to be achieved before the union is possible. This is achieved by the cleaning process of our body and soul. This is where the need for a spiritual Master comes in most. It is the spiritual Master who is able to remove past impressions from our mind and provide the input of divine energy into us which nourishes the soul.

Once a state of spiritually elevated consciousness pervades the individual self, normal worldly life goes on while spiritual progress also follows hand-in-hand, thus bringing into play harmonious and balanced development of the human being in the twin fields of existence, finally culminating in our achieving the goal of human perfection.

Yoga leads to the perfect functioning of the mind and body of an individual.It normalises the appetite and the body immune system of an individual. It paves way to eperience perfect health of mind and body. It soothes our mind calmly and rejuvenates our immune system.

Yoga helps us to achieve inner perfection, which is a synonym for God Realization. According to the teaching of this system, God is simple and therefore, the way to reach Him must be simple. Mind is the key instrument in a human being and by proper regulation of mind through meditation under practical guidance and support of a spiritual Master, one can evolve to the Highest. There are no rituals and ceremonials. Do’s and don’ts are also few and there are no rigid methods of austerity and penance.

Every faculty in-built in man has its legitimate function and must be used in the performance of that function. Therefore, celibacy is not prescribed but a normalization of the generative function is essential. It is in the world of family that almost all of man’s powers are perfected. Therefore, this system does not recognize differences of race, differences of sex, or indeed any other differences between individuals, and all are qualified to practice it, the sole qualification being willingness to participate in it.

It is generally believed that meditation requires a lot of preliminary sadhana (practice) and preparation. Yoga, on the contrary says that meditation is a simple thing and it does not require any preparation. In fact meditation can alone prepare the mind. In meditation, mind is not controlled but regulated.

The mind is bought to bear upon a single subject, and disturbing and intruding thoughts are allowed to drop off by non-attention. Non-attention is the greatest weapon to avoid thoughts, as thoughts without human attention have no power. The mind, therefore, is not being destroyed, but is gently diverted to communicate with the ultimate.

In the Vivekananda Yoga training Instiute, Summer programs and free seminars about the benefits of Yoga are conducted, in order to create awareness among people.It coaches kids speciall on meditation, which helps them to improve their concerntration and memory power and outsmart others in both studies and sports. The Vivekananda Yoga training Institute has the goal spreading the awareness of spreading yoga among people as its mission.

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BKS Iyengar is credited with making yoga reach out to the masses. His school of yoga also known as the Iyengar Yoga, is widely known for the use of different props as belts, blocks etc. to help in taking the various postures (asanas). Like the other forms of yoga, Iyengar yoga too follows the basic tenets given by the great Sage Patanjali.

The Iyengar yoga is a Hatha form of yoga. Though the word Hatha is a made from the combination of two words “Ha” and “tha” meaning sun and the moon, the more commonly understood meaning of the word Hatha is forceful or dynamic. This kind of yoga is done to purify one self. This school of yoga believes in perfecting the form of the body. To achieve this goal Hatha yoga inculcates the various types of pranayam and mudras.

The Iyengar yoga like the Hatha yoga believes in perfecting the structural alignment of the body through asanas. The well being of a person according to this form of yoga lies in the unity of the body, mind and the spirit. Therefore it is considered to be a very effective way to relieve and cope with the everyday stress of life.

Iyengar in his efforts to help everyone benefit from yoga researched and developed the use of various types of props (belts, blocks, cushion, straps etc.) to help the beginner attain the right posture required with great ease. Iyengar also stressed on the standing poses as these postures not only helped in the development of strong lower extremities, but also contributed to the energy and vigour of the person. While this ensured better coordination and balance, it also helped in the faster learning and achieving of the more complicated postures.

The directions for practising the Iyengar yoga are very meticulous and very well defined. The postures to be attained are clearly specified and even minor misalignments are not overlooked. Iyengar yoga has three aspects which makes it all the more unique. They are technicalities, sequencing and timing. Technicalities refer to the precise directions given to take the posture (asana). Sequencing refers to the sequence or order in which these asanas are performed. And finally timing refers to the time the posture is held for maximum benefit. These three aspects work together in building a healthy mind, body and spirit.

This method of yoga is learnt through an exhaustive study of the various yogic postures and breath control exercises. The different asanas and pranayams (breath control exercises) range from the very easy to extremely tough. More than 200 postures and 14 pranayamas have been systematized by Mr. B.K.S Iyengar. It helps a novice to gradually progress through the various levels with comfort and ease while reaping the benefits.

B.K.S Iyengar the propagator of yoga in the west has known to teach many students his form of yoga. Though he has retired from active teaching, he continues to take special classes and also write books on this form of yoga.

Checkout the complete list of Iyengar Yoga Studio at this site.

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