Yoga

What is Yoga

Yoga is a word from the ancient Sanskrit

language that means Union, the attainment
and merger of the individual human
consciousness with the cosmic consciousness.
The word Yoga is also used to describe the
different Yogic Techniques employed, the
different disciplines that are used to facilitate
the awareness and experience of Body, Mind
and Spirit integration.
 Yoga has for
thousands of years had
a holistic
understanding of the
Human being, its
subtle physiology and
the connection
between mind and
body. The vast
philosophies and
disciplines of Yoga
Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga (eight fold Yoga) , also

known as Ashtanga Yoga, is a style

of yoga codified.

 Yama
 Niyama
 Asana
 Pranayama
 Pratyahara
 Dharana
 Dhyana
 Samadhi
Yama (Universal Morality)

The intention behind YAMA YOGA is to embrace the joy of life,

laughter and love with the ethical practices of YAMA (the attitude
we have towards things and people). 

 Ahimsa (Compassion for all living things)

 Asteya (Non-stealing)
 Satya (Commitment to Truthfulness)
 Aparigraha (Neutralizing the desire to acquire and hoard wealth 
 Brahmacharya (Sense control )
Niyama (Personal Observances)

Niyama means "rules" or "laws." These are the rules

prescribed for personal observance. Compared with the
yamas, the niyamas are more intimate and personal.

 Saucha (Purity)

 Santosha (Contentment )

 Tapas (Disciplined use of our energy)

 Swadhyaya (Self study)

 Ishwarapranidhana (Celebration of the Spiritual)

Asana (Body postures)

Asana is the practice of physical postures. On a deeper level the

practice of asana, which means "staying" or "abiding" in Sanskrit, is
used as a tool to calm the mind and move into the inner essence of
being. The challenge of poses offers the practitioner the opportunity to
explore and control all aspects of their emotions, concentration, intent,
faith, and unity between the physical and the ethereal body.
Pranayama (Breath Control )

Pranayama is the measuring, control, and

directing of the breath. Pranayama controls
the energy (prana) within the organism, in
order to restore and maintain health and to
promote evolution.
Pratyahara (Control of the Senses)

Pratyahara means drawing back or retreat. In

pratyahara we sever this link between mind and
senses, and the senses withdraw. When the senses are
no longer tied to external sources, the result is restraint
or pratyahara.
Dharana (Concentration and cultivating inner
perceptual awareness)

Dharana means "immovable

concentration of the mind". The essential
idea is to hold the concentration or focus
of attention in one direction. The
objective in dharana is to steady the mind
by focusing its attention upon some stable
entity.
Dhyana (Devotion , Meditation on the Divine)

Dhyana means worship, or profound and abstract

religious meditation. It is perfect contemplation.
During dhyana, the consciousness is further unified
by combining clear insights into distinctions between
objects and between the subtle layers of perception.
Samadhi (Union with the Divine)

Yoga is the attainment of Samadhi.

Samadhi means "to bring together, to
merge." In the state of samadhi the body
and senses are at rest, as if asleep, yet the
faculty of mind and reason are alert, as if
awake; one goes beyond consciousness.
 DIFFERENT POSTURES OF ASANAS

1. Halasana – The Plough Pose

2. Paschima Namaskarasana – Reverse Prayer Pose

3. Sarvangasana – The Shoulder Stand Pose

4. Chakrasana – The Wheel Pose

5. Natarajasana – The Lord of Dance Pose

In Sanskrit ‘Hal’ means a ‘plough’ and ‘Asana’ means ‘pose.
Halasana or plough pose can be practiced after one
masters the poorva halasana or the preliminary plough
pose.
Sarvangasana or the shoulder stand pose comes from the Sanskrit
words – ‘Sarva’which means ‘all’ and ‘Anga’ which means
‘part’. Sarvangasana involves all parts of the body as the name
suggests. 
Chakrasana or the wheel pose is a backward bending yoga
asana. Chakra in sanskrit means Wheel and Asana means a pose.
In Chakrasana, the final position looks like a wheel, hence the
name.