Yogawhat | Find what is yoga for you

How to start a successful yoga business?

c9labsadmin — Mon, 22 Nov 2010 15:52:15 +0000

What is this book about?

This book is a clear guide, artfully written, which will put the studio owner on the path of business financial discipline required to be a successful owner. It is the only guide you need on how to start a successful yoga business and studio.

Check it out
http://www.yogastudiostart.com/

What is Yoga?

c9labsadmin — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 00:00:33 +0000

Yoga is more than mere bending and twisting. It is a science of the body and mind that teaches practitioners how to live a more peaceful life. Building the bridge between the physical, mental and spiritual in every practice session allows yoga to teach the art of living with every breath, posture and movement.

The Spiritual Heart of Yoga

c9labsadmin — Sat, 21 Aug 2010 12:00:52 +0000

Yoga is a spiritual path that allows life to unfold through you. Asana is a means for each student to know themselves deeply and the level of the posture itself does not determine the depth of transformation or life learning. Students who commit themselves fully to the heart of yoga gain the lasting benefit of living a peaceful life. When the body and mind come together in a moment of harmony we get a glimpse into our eternal nature inside. All yoga practice really aims to give dedicated practitioners this shimmering window into the vastness of our true nature.

Surya Namaskara

c9labsadmin — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 12:00:43 +0000

This initiatory series of postures known as the Sun Salutations are an opening into the heart of yoga’s physical and spiritual lineage. On a physical level these series of movements mean to ignite the inner fire of purification, known as agni in Sanskrit. When the agni is kindled the posture and breath combine to cleanse the body of toxins and the mind of unhealthy thoughts. Only with the inner solar fire lit is yoga really working its magic of transformation. Performing a series of Surya Namaskara is meant to stimulate the cardiovascular system, warm up the muscles and joints and direct the mind’s focus internally.

There are two variations of the Surya Namaskara in the Ashtanga Yoga tradition, Surya Namaskara A & Surya Namaskara B. The A series is easier than the B and when taken together five rounds of each can be considered to constitute a full yoga practice. Traditional Hatha Yoga recommends the practice of the Sun Salutation either before the dawn or as close to sunrise as possible while facing East. Since yoga uses breathing, postures and gaze to unify and stabilize the body and mind the best time to perform the Surya Namaskara as well as all yoga postures is early in the morning, before breakfast and the busyness of life begin. The mind is calmer before daily activities commence, the body is in a residually pure state after the night’s sleep and the air is clean from the trees oxygenating it over night with their cellular respiration that turns carbon monoxide into oxygen.

The timing of daily physical practice is also a recognition of the solar centric universe of India’s past. The great sages, known as Rishis, in the tradition of yoga placed the sun’s magnificent presence at the center of their understanding of the cosmos. Every Surya Namaskara is a greeting to the constant solar cycle that gives life to the Earth and its inhabitants. However the symbolism of the Surya element of the practice does not stop at the mere physical manifestation of the sun. Instead Surya is also a metaphor for the inner luminosity acquired by accomplished yoga practitioners. Every Surya Namaskara is a prayer for the practitioner to develop the inner glow of spiritual realization.

While the inner fire of purification creates the perfect groundwork for toxins and impurities of the body and mind to be removed, this cleansing work is balanced by a sattvic or peaceful attitude. Hatha Yoga aims to restore health and balance in the body and even the Surya Namaskara demands practitioners to be both strong and flexible. In doing so the solar and lunar aspects of the body and mind become balanced.

Tapas

c9labsadmin — Sun, 15 Aug 2010 00:00:48 +0000

Yoga demands that you evolve and transform beyond your normal understanding of yourself. Anything in yoga that forces you to confront your limitations with the intention of moving past them can be considered Tapas. Translated from Sansrkit as accepting pain as help for purification, you can think of Tapas as experiences that you endure with a happy attitude in order to strengthen your spiritual resolve. Everything from strenuous physical yoga posture to a vegetarian diet to meditation retreats to sexual continence and much more can be considered some of the austerities modern yoga practitioners can use to train their minds to be bent towards enlightenment. While many avid yoga practitioners take on Tapas with an urgency the practice of austerities should always be done with a Sattvic or peaceful attitude in order to ensure that you will truly benefit on a spiritual level from your hard work.

Moola Bhanda

c9labsadmin — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 12:00:55 +0000

Often referred to as the root lock, Moola Bandha is an esoteric energy lock in the body associated with the root chakra, or Muladhara Chakra. Much like acupuncture points in the body if you search for a physical muscle place the exact location of this mysterious Bandha will elude you. Instead think of the muscles of the pelvic floor and the whole network of interior muscles in your pelvis, abdomen and hip sockets as the physical gateways to the energetic flow of prana, or life force. If you practice yoga consistently with a keen awareness of your pelvic floor one day you will experience the powerful subtleties of Moola Bandha.

The discovery of Moola Bandha is often closely linked with the awakening of the prana, sometime depicted as Kundalini energy rising in snakes through the central column of the body. Once this truly limitless flow is tapped into you will experience a vast emptiness that shines with the luminosity of spirit and know the joy of compassionate power. Humbly begin your practice with the physical understanding of the body and allow that to lead you to the discovery of your own personal power center over the course of your lifelong devotion to yoga.

Karma Yoga

c9labsadmin — Sun, 08 Aug 2010 00:00:42 +0000

When you learn life lessons through the spiritual path of yoga you burn through the seeds of past negative karma. In a sense karma is the greatest teacher of all because it brings you face to face with your mistakes and asks you to be better because of them. Whenever you find yourself in the midst of a challenging period of your life that demands that you give, grow and just be more than you have ever known you are literally working on untying the knot of karma.

Enlightenment

c9labsadmin — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 12:00:36 +0000

Ask yourself what you can do today for the benefit of others? In the path of yoga the desire to attain enlightenment for yourself stems from a simultaneously selfish and un-selfish purpose. You want liberation to end your own misery and to help others end their pain and suffering too.

Tim Miller Ashtanga Yoga Workshop

c9labsadmin — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 00:00:56 +0000

The first person to ever receive the prestigious Certification to teach Ashtanga yoga, Tim Miller is one of the late Sri K. Pattabhi Jois’s most esteemed and respected teachers and students. He is perhaps the only long time continuous student of Jois’ and carries the torch of Ashtanga Yoga with true integrity. A humble soul with an immense knowledge of yoga, anatomy, sanskrit and traditional yoga philosophy, an afternoon with Tim Miller can change your whole perspective on yoga for the better. His gift is in his endless wisdom and open heart for all students.

David Swenson Ashtanga Yoga Workshop

c9labsadmin — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 12:00:05 +0000

As one of the senior teachers in the Ashtanga yoga tradition David Swenson has turned on thousands of practitioners to this ancient discipline. He is not only an accomplished yogi and yoga teacher but also a masterful storyteller with a great sense of humor and compassion. David’s workshops give you a taste of the heart of the Ashtanga yoga from a living legend.