...red on one's personal concept of God.

tantra Yoga: A way of showing the unseen consciousness in form through specific diagrams, and movements. One of the diagrams that is used to show the joining of the physical and spiritual bodies is two triangles superimposed upon one another. The downward-pointing triangle represents the physical body. The upward-pointing triangle represents the spiritual body of support, energy, and vastness.

Kashmir Shaivism: It is based in emotion rather than intellect. The practice of this yoga philosophy states that everything in the universe has both male and female qualities. In Kashmir Shaivism, these male and female principles form an equal partnership, so interdependent that they cannot be separated. The attraction between them produces the ultimate union of opposites, creating the immense complexity of the universe that we enjoy and celebrate.

Yoga is not a religion. It has no fixed set of beliefs. There...more

Karmic Yoga and the Necessary Mindset

...What is a life of service and how does it benefit anyone? That is the question that I have always asked. The answers that I received were that it gives you an opportunity to meet new people. It gives you a chance to expand your ideas about the world. It helps you grow as you gain new insights through new conversations and experiences.

Karmic Yoga connects you with the Divine through the works that you do with other human beings. This connection results in a cleansing of the soul and spirit, allowing you to move closer to a clarity that only comes through such work. It helps remove the karma of the society in which you find yourself, and makes you free by expanding your thinking capacities. This is all well and good. In theory it sounds great, but the truth is, it can do the opposite.

When you work with a lot of people you often dont see the face of God, you see some very obnoxious, ignorant, arrogant, angry people. Sometimes these people are so scared for their lives and their ability to survive that they are dangerous. Sometimes they lie, cheat,...more

The Westernization of Yoga or Why Stretching & Flexibility is Not Yoga

...lished is making you better able to carry out your gross impulses. This is what happened to Darth Vader. He practiced the exercises of a Jedi Knight and they only fed the Flaws in his character.

My Yoga teacher, Yogiraj Swami Bua, Maharaja of Hatha Yoga, sums this up when he says; The Lotus Pose will not take you to Heaven.

Another way of looking at this is: Yoga is union. How can one claim to practice union only a few hours a week? Do we get married for a few hours a week? (OK. I can hear all the humorous comments about marriage this will generate.) I think we can legitimately question the validity of using the term union to refer to a fleeting or very temporary State of Being.

By this, I do not mean we are not practicing Yoga unless we are in the State of union. I mean we must be trying to be in the State of union. Whether we succeed or not, is another question.

My purpose in writing this article is to try and stop Yoga from following in the foot steps of the many Ancient Traditions which have been reduced by the market place to nothing but a hollow shell of their true selves.

There is no money to be made in not giving people what they want. Therefore, I hope this article will inspire some to examine what they want and lead them to true Yoga.

For more information about Gary Giamboi's or Swami Bua's views on Yoga, please go to http://www.genbukan.biz/disciplines_yoga.html<...more

Use Yoga exercises To Effectively Treat Addictive Behaviour!

... trapping them. If that problem isn't addressed then it will be impossible to release that problem from their life, thus preventing them the freedom to move on.

Yoga postures are frequently used in varying detox programs to help people come off drugs and alcohol. Yoga assists them to recreate the balance in their life that they had somehow lost along the way. By helping people to look at their way of thinking, that they have conditioned themselves to accept. Yoga can help people with addictive personalities to take the necessary steps to enforce changes in ...more

Jivamukti New Yoga York

...nd body; and to increase strength and flexibility. Asanas, or physical postures, are emphasized when the body is out of shape, in need of healing, or not flexible enough. The different styles of yoga, however, approach the practice of asanas in individual ways.

Two of the most popular styles of yoga used today are hatha Yoga, and vinyasa Yoga. Although vinyasa yoga is derived from hatha yoga, classes are very different. One of the features that make it unique is the pace. Another is the way postures are linked together in a series of movements. This produces effects in the body, especially in the cardiovascular system, that hatha yoga does not.

Hatha Yoga is a gentle and slower paced form of yoga, although it can be quite challenging physically when you move deeper into the practice of it. The word Hatha, when split in to 'ha' and 'tha', means 'sun' and 'moon'. This style is ideal for those that are new to yoga, and haven't yet built up experience or confidence. Due to its' slower pace, it is easi...more

Yoga Insights: Surya Namaskar (Sun Salutations), Part 2

... coordination are also benefits that Yoga students can expect to see and feel. During my experience while teaching Yoga classes, I have noticed that students, at any age, noticeably improved in strength, muscle tone, and overall coordination, when they regularly practice Sun Salutations.

Some of them even loss weight, but diet is also a large factor in this. Yet, some that did not lose weight did lower body fat. We know this because privately- trained Yoga students do have their body fat checked when they start. This is not a requirement, but it is an option. Some Yoga students must see and feel the physical benefits first, in order to stick with the program.

Mental healt...more

Dangers of Kundalini Yoga

...any real spiritual progress in seeking after occult powers.

To practice kundalini yoga we need to have purity in our mind and vital. If we still cherish worldly thoughts and try to open up our energy centers it will cause tremendous confusion and our efforts will be wasted, as our energy will be directed downwards rather than upwards. If we really want to practice Kundalini yoga the best approach is to meditate and concentrate on the heart. It is in the heart where we will feel purity in abundant measure. sri Chinmoy suggests:

If you wish to follow the path of kundalini, my humble advice to you is to first try to awaken the heart center. The heart center is considerably pure. The vital or disturbing emotions will be purified by the opening of this center.

We should also follow the path of Kundalini yoga under the guidance of a qualified spiritual teacher. When studying Kundalini yoga we should maintain an attitude of genuine sincerity and reverence.more

Astral Projection in Yoga Practices - How to Become One With Everything

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There should be no great surprise that astral projection in yoga practices are a reasonably common phenomenon. In the truest sense of the word, Yoga means "yolk" or union. Many astral projectors speak of the feeling on unity or "oneness" while out of the body. A major theme in most meditative traditions is the idea of "non-dual" realization, or for simplicities sake, there being no separation between ANYTHING in the manifest world. The water and the waves for examp...more

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