Explore the koshas! When you go hiking in the Himalayan Mountains, you need a topography map showing the mountainous terrain. In Delhi City, you need to know the city blocks and major sites to orient yourself. Within yoga, a different guide is needed -one that charts the landscape of the Self-. The Koshas “layers” or … Read more
Nadis In addition to the seven chacras of the subtle body, the scriptures have described a network of subtle channels known as nadis through which the life force (prana) circulates. The Sanskrit word nadi derives from the root nad, which means “flow”, “motion” or “ vibration”. References in the Hatha Yoga Pradipika place the number … Read more
Clear the nadis and chacras with pranayama At pranic level, in their initial stage the practises of pranayama clear up the nadis, energy pathways in the body. The scriptures say there are over 72.000 nadis or pathways of prana in the pranic body and six main chacras. However, on the average individual, these pathways are … Read more
Prana Let’s talk a bit more about prana. The Sanskrit word prana is a combinatation of two syllables, pra and na and denotes constancy, a force in constant motion. The chhandogya Upanishad (1.11:5) says: “ In prana all moveable and immoveable beings merge during dissolution and rise out of prana (during creation)”. Prana is the … Read more
Kumbhaka: the yogic trip Personally I love to perform Kumbhaka. This is the moment when you hold your breath in between the inhalation and the exhalation. I remember, one of my yoga teachers nicknamed the effect of kumbhaka “ the yogic trip”. Why do we keep the breath out? What yogi say is, the period … Read more
We can differentiate three types of breathing. 1.Clavicle breathing is the most shallow and worst possible type of breathing. The shoulders and collarbone are raised while the abdomen is contracted during inhalation. Maximum effort is made, but a minimum amount of air is obtained. 2.Thoracic breathing is done with the rib muscles expanding the rib … Read more
I started studying yoga about eight years ago. At the time my breath was often shallowly, my shoulders were hunched and I had a painful tension in the upper part of the back and neck. Yoga practise helped me to learn how to expand my ribcage, how to use the lungs to their maximum capacity … Read more
‘Tasmin sati åvâsa-praåvâsayor gati-vicchedaï prâñâyâmaï’ (YS 2.49) ‘The asana having been done, pranayama is the cessation of the movement of inhalation and exhalation” The fourth limb of Ashtanga yoga is pranayama. Georg Feuerstein explains this sutra as following: “When the posture is mastered, the breath control can start. Breath controls is not mere rhythmic … Read more
Yesterday was the last day of the Ashtanga Yoga Mysore Week with Luke Jordan. After practice we had breakfast with the group of students. I spoke with Luke about the content of my blog yesterday; which talks about YS 2.46 Sthira-Sukham Âsanam: Asana is a steady and comfortable posture. In addition, Luke recited YS 2.47 and … Read more
YS 2.46 Sthira-Sukham Âsanam Asana is a steady and comfortable posture On the first day of this Ashtanga Mysore week I received my first verbal adjustment after doing the sunset invitations A & B and some standing positions. Luke recited Yoga Sutra 2.46; which is Sthira-Sukham-Asanam. He told me he sees a lot of “Sukham” … Read more