...Yoga is a scientific system of physical and mental practices that began in India more than three thousand years ago. Its main purpose is to help each one of us achieve our highest potential and to experience enduring health and happiness. It helps extend our healthy, productive years far beyond the accepted norm and, at the same time, improve the quality of our lives. There is a branch of yoga that is called Hatha Yoga. Hatha Yoga begins by working with the body on a structural level, helping to align the vertebrae, increase flexibility, and strengthen muscles and connective tissue. At the same time internal organs are toned and rejuvenated; the epidermal, digestive, lymphatic, cardiovascular, and pulmonary systems are purified of toxins and waste matter; the nervous and endocrine systems are balanced and toned; and brain cells are nourished and stimulated. The end result is increased mental clarity, emotional stability, and a greater sense of overall well-being.Because Yoga works on so many different levels, it has great potential as an effective therapy for chronic diseases and conditions that do not respond well to conventional treatment methods. According to the book “Yoga for the Special Child” children with Down Syndrome and other developmental disabilities who practice Yoga often surprise their parents and teachers with their quick mastery of basic motor, communicative, and cognitive skills. The same Yoga routine can help children with learning disabilities develop greater...
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...thoughts.” These are some of the things that may come to mind when one thinks about Yoga and Meditation and all that their practices entail. However, there is much more to Yoga and Meditation than calm breathing, squishy mats, soothing music and downward dog. “Yoga is a combination of both physical and spiritual exercises, entails mastery over the body, mind and emotional self, and transcendence of desire (hafsite.org).” Yoga, when combined with certain religious practices, like Hinduism and Taoism, takes a person places where they are able to see beyond their problems and fills themselves with inner peace and tranquility. The Yoga’s of Hinduism and Taoism play a very important role in their respective religions and how they help the individual transform spiritually, mentally and physically, as well as, achieve their ultimate goals. The Yoga’s seen in Hinduism involves the typical exercise yoga, Raja yoga, one sees at gyms and fitness centers. Raja yoga involves “bodily postures and controlled breathing techniques combined with mantras and meditation (Notes).” There are three other types of yoga and meditation forms that are not as well-known as the Raja yoga. They are, Jnana yoga, “the way of wisdom (Notes).” This form of yoga uses rationality to overcome ignorance and to understand by studying and discussing texts (Notes). Many people in the world could benefit from implementing this form of yoga in their life. So many people jump on band wagons and are quick to disagree or judge...
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...Religions: Eastern and West 2 September 2014 The Four Yogas In Hinduism, there are four paths of yoga that are utilized as a reference guide that can help one along their spiritual journey towards self-realization. These paths provide different avenues that work for different people and are tailored towards certain temperaments so that one can choose the path that will provide them with the most success. According to Philip Novak, “Hinduism recognizes four paths of yoga or methods of self-transformation: the yoga of action (karma), the yoga of devotion (bhakti), the yoga of knowledge (jnana), and the yoga of meditation (raja yoga)” (Novak 34). These are paths to spiritual self- transformation that one can take after they have been taught that the controlling of the mind comes through meditation. Karma yoga is the pathway to self-transformation through work or action in the form of selfless service. Karma yoga appeals to those who have active temperaments. An example is given out of the book explaining that we are human machines made for action or work. Meaning, that our entire body, except for the reproductive apparatus merges together through action. The drive to work is mental not economical. We are by nature selfish beings, through Karma yoga we can step out of our spiritual ignorance through selfless actions. The goal of Karma yoga is for one to continually work towards acting in a selfless nature. Karma yoga is the action towards diminishing one’s self-centeredness...
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...spiritual paths of the Hindu when he said, “Yoga is the journey of the self to the self through the self”. That discovery comes in 4 separate and distinct forms. Common American perception is that the practice of yoga is primarily a physical practice separate and apart from religion. “The word yoga derives from the same root as does the English word yoke; meaning to unite and place under disciplined training”. Americans take this definition literally and only consider the physical aspect of yoga training. This approach leads to a gap in the most enlightening aspects of yoga; spiritual training. Like many of the world’s religions Hinduism has one distinct goal and that is to unite the human spirit with God. Hindu’s believe that there are 4 separate paths to reaching enlightenment and uniting your spirit with God via the spiritual and physical discipline that is yoga. Because of the variety and complexity of the human personality, Hinduism understands that we all approach our spirituality from different points in life. The focus of the four paths is on the strongest aspect of the personality with the ultimate goal of “rendering the surface self-transparent to its underlying divinity; cleansed of its gross impurities”. The four paths of yoga are Jnana Yoga (the path through knowledge), Bhakti Yoga (the path through love), KarmaYoga (the path through work), and Raja Yoga (the path of the psychophysical). Jnana Yoga is considered the yoga for the rational. It is said that Jnana...
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...methods in the mind-body connection is yoga. It refers to a type of exercise based on, diet, controlled breathing, exercise, and a series of physical postures. It is considered to be an alternative practice of medicine. Yoga brings together physical and mental disciplines to achieve peacefulness. This exercise is commonly linked to relaxation and meditation. Yoga is very useful because it can help control the mindset, it also contributes to our health. It helps reduce the risk factor for some chronic diseases, such as high blood pressure and heart disease. It can also help alleviate chronic conditions, such as depression, anxiety, pain, and insomnia. It can work as a stress and anxiety reducer. Aside from the array of physical benefits, one of the best benefits of practicing yoga is how it helps a person manage their stress, which has been known to have devastating effects on the mind and body. “Stress can reveal itself in many forms, including back or neck pain, sleeping problems, headaches, and the inability to concentrate,” says Dr. Nevins. “Yoga can be very effective in developing coping skills and reaching a more positive outlook on life.” This type of exercise is mainly recommended for individuals with a very active and demanding life. One of the best ways to accomplish the coping skills is to practice certain kinds of exercises, such as yoga, which relaxes the body and mind. Yoga has many styles, forms, and intensities. Hatha yoga, in particular, may be an excellent...
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...R AJA Y OGA rajyaeg S WAMI V IVEKANANDA CELEPHAÏS PRESS Issued by Celephaïs Press, somewhere beyond the Tanarian Hills (i.e. Leeds, England), August 2003 E.V. Revised and corrected, November 2003. This work is in the public domain. EACH SOUL IS POTENTIALLY DIVINE. THE GOAL IS TO MANIFEST THIS DIVINE WITHIN, BY CONTROLLING NATURE, EXTERNAL AND INTERNAL. DO THIS EITHER BY WORK, OR WORSHIP, OR PSYCHIC CONTROL, OR PHILOSOPHY, BY ONE, OR MORE, OR ALL OF THESE—AND BE FREE. IS THE WHOLE OF RELIGION. DOCTRINES, OR DOGMAS, OR RITUALS, OR BOOKS, OR TEMPLES, OR FORMS, ARE BUT SECONDARY DETAILS. THIS PREFACE SINCE the dawn of history, various extraordinary phenomena have been recorded as happening amongst human beings. Witnesses are not wanting in modern times to attest the fact of such events, even in societies living under the full blaze of modern science. The vast mass of such evidence is unreliable, as coming from ignorant, superstitious, or fraudulent persons. In many instances the so-called miracles are imitations. But what do they imitate? It is not the sign of a candid and scientific mind to throw overboard anything without proper investigation. Surface scientists, unable to explain the various extraordinary mental phenomena, strive to ignore their very existence. They are, therefore, more culpable than those who think that their prayers are answered by a being, or beings, above the clouds, or than those who believe that their petitions will make such beings...
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...In America, yoga is commonly used to achieve improved physical health or fitness; however, in Hinduism, yoga “involves focusing consciousness” in a way to achieve union of body and mind, and come to the realization of the ultimate union between the individual consciousness and the universal consciousness, which is Braham. A yoga path is a purposeful search of oneness with all that is. The lecture, The Five Yogas of Hinduism, declares the five traditional types of yoga are: Hatha Yoga, Bhakti Yoga, Jnana Yoga, Karma Yoga, and Raja Yoga. According to The Five Yogas of Hinduism, Hatha Yoga involves “physical exercises that prepare a person for sitting, meditation, concentration.” An emotional disposition is suited to Bhakti Yoga, which focuses...
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...Yoga in Iloilo Yoga practice in Iloilo. At last I am writing about something very personal that I am very passionate about. It’s been a long time since I have written something from the heart so I hope you guys would bear with the scattered thoughts and clumsy words. Here it goes. Why do yoga Jane? What made you decide to practice yoga? Why not just go to the gym, exercise, jog or do aerobics? Well honestly I have tried all of that but none of them captured my interest for long. Sorry but if I am not really into what I’m doing I tend to ignore it and deliberately forget about it. And all of them had temporary effects on my body. Take note I only said body. I need something more than that. I need to do something that I am very passionate about and that does not only benefit my body but influences my mind, psych – my whole well-being. So what is yoga? In contrast to the pursuit of your desire as a means to happiness, the purpose of yoga is aimed at the monumental, life-changing discovery of who and what you truly are. This is how yoga works; this is how yoga makes me feel great. Yoga is helping me discover and experience the truth, my truth – which I am discovering, is goodness. That my basic nature is happiness. Yoga truly complements my beliefs. Have you noticed that it is so easy to lose touch with who we are, that core essence with which we were born between home, work and all of the demands and stresses in between? Because of all the activities we do it sometimes feels...
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...Yoga History and Traditions T he single most important aspect of YOGA is that our physical asana practise is just one part of YOGA SCIENCE. The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali make this perfectly clear when defining yoga as Science of the Mind. This mental science is founded on Raja Yoga. The Sutras provide a firm foundation for all of the many types of yoga postures and meditation which have been developed over the centuries. They all have one thing in common, the search for and development of a particular state of being we call consciousness. The asanas, or postures together with pranayama, which is the meditative technique of breath awareness, help us to prepare the body for the more difficult work in opening up the subliminal or unconsciousness mind. The subject of yoga history is enormous, difficult to define and open to a number of interpretations. However, we can make it easier by noting that the main elements of philosophy in India are The Vedas, Brahmanism, Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism and Sikhism. Yoga history has...
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...differences between the four paths of yoga? And relate the four paths to other philosophical or religious traditions? The four paths of yoga are jnana yoga, karma yoga, bhakti yoga, and raja yoga. Even though the four parts of yoga come from Hindu philosophies each has its own way that can make people live spiritually and comfortably by choosing a certain path that an individual is comfortable with. Everyday people will use techniques that were born with yoga and not even know they are using a basic form of yoga. Each type of yoga is different from one another in a lot of different ways. Jnana yoga is learning from others. Karma yoga believes doing work unselfishly will lead to good deeds happening for one. Bhakti yoga is expressing yourself. Raja yoga is the art of meditation. Jnana yoga or knowledge yoga is based on learning from teachers who have a lot of knowledge with jnana yoga. As such priests and intellectuals will prefer this type of yoga so they can learn and then teach it themselves. Reading the bible is also considered jnana yoga since you will gain knowledge by doing this. This type of yoga was refined by a school of philosophy that is still being done today the school of Vedanta. The Vedanta school uses the ideas of the Upanishads as its primary inspiration. Upanishads is defined as which come at the end of the Vedas. All other forms of yoga do not incorporate learning or teaching in they way they express themselves. Jnana yoga can relate to numerous religions that...
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...Summary- Research and testing by PhD Lindsey Hopkins showed the acceptability and antidepressant effects of hatha yoga. Hatha is a branch of yoga that has aerobic and physical exercises that enhances the well-being of a body. For eight weeks, Hopkins conducted her study with 23 male veterans that participated twice a week. The overall average of the veteran’s enjoyment of the yoga study was a 9.4 from a 1 to 10 scale. They also talked about how the yoga program elevated their mood and had a significant reduction in symptoms after the study was concluded. At Alliant University in San Francisco, MA Sarah Shallit invited 52 women to a different form of yoga called Bikram yoga, also known as heated yoga. Shallit had the same process as Hopkins,...
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...Yoga beyond relaxation Yoga is a discipline most often seeked out for practices of breathing, physical meditation and postures (Streeter et al. 281). As well, yoga has been observed to elicit relaxation through its constant practice. This paper observes how yoga can provide more advantages in our daily lives based on two studies that use the discipline of yoga to make an impact on the hormonal and nervous system as well as physiological behavior. First study is by Streeter et al. has focused on the relevance that yoga has on brain GABA levels. (Streeter et al. 1145) GABA is a neurotransmitter released in the brain important for reducing excitability of neurons. Thus, low levels of GABA has been found in people with anxiety and mood disorders. In Streeter et al. study, participants between 18-45 were screened and placed into two groups; the experimental-yoga group and the walking-control group. Results for this study showed that the yoga group improved in the scale levels for mood and decreased anxiety in comparison to the walking group (Streeter et al. 1150). In addition, the results correlate with the increased GABA levels obtained during yoga intervention. Second study by Burkett et al. is focused on the use of yoga to regulate arousal, a non directive generalized activation of the body, affected by the intensity of an activity or situation. Scientists emphasize that while arousal and anxiety may be used interchangeably, anxiety is perceived negatively and is mostly...
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...Anti-Gravity Yoga Introduction Anti-gravity yoga, also known as aerial yoga, is a relatively newer concept in the fitness world, that is fast gaining popularity worldwide. This concept is the brainchild of Christopher Harrison, a former choreographer, gymnast and aerial performer. Anti-gravity yoga combines traditional yoga asanas with other exercise forms like Pilates, aerial acrobatics and calisthenics, with the aim of achieving a complete body workout. In anti-gravity yoga, hammock-like suspended gear is used to practice different yoga poses and exercises. These hammocks can support weight of up to 970kgs, so be rest assured, you will be safe. Benefits of Anti-Gravity Yoga There are a number of health benefits that can be gained through the regular practice of anti-gravity yoga. Some of the main benefits can be seen as under; ...
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...Essay #1 - Feel Good Yoga Teacher Training Jennifer Miller, November 28, 2014 Discuss some of the benefits of yoga that make it ideal for addiction recovery. “Addiction is a persistent, compulsive dependence on a behavior or substance” according to one of the many, varying published definitions*. Father Joseph Pereira, of the Kripa Foundation, an organization in India dedicated to working with people afflicted with chemical dependency, says that “Rehabilitation is only a deep breath away”. This statement may sound simplistic, but the practice of yoga is a powerful tool for those suffering from addiction, particularly when combined with a recovery program. The physical, mental and spiritual benefits of practicing yoga are...
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...Jnana Yoga. Further, the Yoga Upanishads as also other texts talk about the Mantra Yoga, Nada Yoga and Laya Yoga among other forms as also the Kundalini Yoga. Various forms of yoga in brief: - Hatha Yoga Hatha Yoga is the Order of the Day Hatha Yoga can be safely be said to be the order of the day because the practices of Yoga which are popular today, namely asanas and pranayama, are sourced in Hatha Yoga. Thus, we may not be wrong in asserting that Yoga today as it is practiced is Hatha Yoga. These practices are popular because being pre-dominantly physical in nature their effects can be seen in short term and can be measured. Practices which affect the mind beneficially (say for example mind control techniques or even for that matter yamas and niyamas or meditation) lose out on popularity because their effects cannot be perceived and measured with certainty and objectivity. But it has to kept in mind that in Hatha Yoga, the physical practices lead to practices which control the mind and finally enable the practitioner to transcend the mind reaching thereby the unmani avastha (no-mind state) or manonmani avastha (mind-without-mind state). This is the state of complete Mauna of mind. Also, the topic of the...
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