Yoga Poses

Mudra is the science of hand and finger postures. It can help to cure bodily ailments in a wonderful manner. It affects the body's energetic sysytem and the flow of prana (life energy) within it. It actually helps in balancing the five elements ( panch-tattvas ) in the human system to their optimal levels.

Abhaya Mudra

"Abhaya" means "fearless". Abhaya Mudra represents protection, peace, benevolence, and dispelling of fear.

Gyan Mudra

"Gyan" means "knowledge". It is the gesture of knowledge. This mudra is considered to bestow intelligence and wisdom. Hence the name.

Linga Mudra

"Linga" or "Angustha" means "phallus". Thumb is a symbol of masculinity.

Mritasanjeevani Mudra

Prithvi Mudra

"Prithvi" means "Earth". This mudra helps balance the earth element in the body.

Purna Gyan Mudra

This is the mudra of Lord Buddha.

Shunya Mudra

"Shunya" means "zero" or "sky". Sky is connected with the highest forces - with the "upper person" - with head.

Surya Mudra

"Surya" means "sun". Sun is the source of energy. Virtue of its energy is present in all living beings. Surya mudra attracts energy of the Sun.

Varuna Mudra

"Varuna" means "water" in Sanskrit. It balances the water element in the body.

Vaayu Mudra

"Vaayu" means "air" in Sanskrit. It balances the air element in the body.

Yoga and Asthma

Just imagine that it's the middle of the night and you suddenly wake up feeling uneasy. You are unable to catch your breath and getting suffocated. The whole world seems to be closing in around your throat and chest. The urgency to breathe is making you panic. Do you realize what is happening to you?

You're having an asthma attack! Asthma comes from the Greek word for “panting”. Asthma is primarily a disease of the respiratory system, where there is a wheezing cough and a sense of suffocation, since the patient has difficulties in inhaling rather than exhaling the air. Asthmatic attacks can be triggered by allergies, exercise, cold air, pollution and stress related disorders. The attack of asthma may last for a few minutes, few hours or even days wherein the patient is exhausted. It is common to all ages, children and adolescents of both sexes, irrespective of socio-economic background. Asthma and Bronchitis are two chronic lung ailments that can cause damage to the lungs. These should be treated immediately to avoid any complications.

Several studies have shown yoga to be a powerful adjunct therapy to reduce the frequency and intensity of asthma attacks as well as to decrease medication use. Tests carried out at Yoga Therapy Centers, across the world, have shown remarkable results in curing asthma. In some cases it has also been found that attacks can actually be averted, without the aid of drugs, just through yogic practices. There is ample research evidence to substantiate the fact that Yoga Therapy makes the treatment so much more successful. Nowadays, even allopathic and homeopathic doctors have arrived at the consensus that Yoga is an excellent alternative therapy for Asthma.

In an experiment conducted in Western Australia, 22 male patients aged 52 to 65 were selected. They suffered from severe breathing. Half of the men underwent standard treatment: physiotherapy that included relaxation techniques, breathing exercises and general workouts to improve stamina. The other 11 men were given a yoga teacher instead of a physiotherapist. He taught them techniques of yoga breathing, which encouraged the use of all chest and abdominal muscles as well as ten yoga postures.

The patients practiced their particular exercises for nine months. Then they were reexamined at the hospital: a technician tested their lung function, a physician screened them closely to determine how their symptoms had changed, and a stationary exercise bicycle was used to measure their capacity for exercise.

The difference between the two groups was striking. The men who had practiced yoga showed a significant improvement in their ability to exercise, but the physiotherapy group did not. Eight or more out of the 11 patients who underwent yoga declared that they had definitely increased tolerance for exertion and that they recovered more quickly after exertion. The physiotherapy group reported no similar improvement. Best of all, the patients who had studied yoga apparently gained the ability to control their breathing problems. A significantly greater number of patients reported that "with the help of yogic breathing exercises, they could control an attack of severe shortness of breath without having to seek medical help," according to the study.

Studies conducted at yoga institutions in India reported impressive success in improving asthma. For example, one study of 114 patients treated over one year by yoga found a 76 percent rate of improvement or cure and that asthma attacks could usually be prevented by yoga methods without resorting to drugs. A study of 46 adolescents with asthma found that yoga practice resulted in a significant increase in pulmonary function and exercise capacity and led to fewer symptoms and medications. Patients were given daily training in yoga for 90 minutes in the morning and one hour in the evening for 40 days.

Apart from this, several other studies have also shown yoga as an alternate therapy to cure asthma. Yoga has come a long way to heal and manage asthma. The yoga approach is ideal in the treatment of asthma and any bronchial problems as the breath is the thread that runs through the entire practice.

Since Yoga believes that the mind is central to a diseased condition, pacifying and placating it would, in itself, help cure the disease to a great extent. This comes through increased self-awareness. Simple Yogic practices help regulate breathing patterns, as well as enhance lung functioning. Consistent practice of yoga postures and pranayama (breathing exercises) increases the lung’s airflow, air capacity, stamina and efficiency. Back bending postures open the chest improving the functioning of both lung and heart. Result: Most patients are able to manage their condition by simply allaying their fears and anxieties.

So if you are looking for therapeutic drug-free methods of Asthma control naturally and effectively, take a look into Yoga. It won’t hurt, in fact, help you out a lot.

Yoga Videos

Yoga

The word Yoga comes from Indian philosophy, it literally means union, and in this context refers to the union of the individual's soul with the universal.

Yoga is an ancient philosophy of life as well as a system of exercises that encourages the union of mind, body, and spirit. In the words of Patanjali, author of the Yoga Sutras, "yoga is the ability to focus the mind on a single point without distraction." Yoga is a physical discipline; it uses the body and breathing to develop self-awareness and mental clarity.

There is simply no other discipline quite like yoga because it utilized the body, mind and spirit, all in one practice. Yoga is indeed a spiritual path that is based on ancient sacred philosophy, but one does not need to make an ethical decision when practicing yoga, rather finding your own path is wholly accepted. The holistic benefits of yoga are suitable for the young or old, sick or well, with any religious background. The secrets of yoga are inwardness, concentration, and purification of mind and body with cleansing thoughts and food.

Yoga Videos Online

Practice Yoga, Pilates, and Meditation daily, anytime, anywhere with our DVD quality streaming of yoga videos online. Experienced highly qualified instructors will guide you through your practice, helping you stay in shape, lose weight, tone body, and manage stress. Also download music for Yoga, Meditation, and Audio Practices.

Goal of yoga

Goal of yoga

The goals of yoga are varied and range from improving health to achieving Moksha. Within Jainism and the monist schools of Advaita Vedanta and Shaivism, the goal of yoga takes the form of Moksha, which is liberation from all worldly suffering and the cycle of birth and death (Samsara), at which point there is a realisation of identity with the Supreme Brahman. In the Mahabharata, the goal of yoga is variously described as entering the world of Brahma, as Brahman, or as perceiving the Brahman or Atman that pervades all things. For the bhakti schools of Vaishnavism, bhakti or service to Svayam bhagavan itself may be the ultimate goal of the yoga process, where the goal is to enjoy an eternal relationship with Vishnu.

Yoga practices in other traditions

Yoga practices in other traditions

Buddhism

The Buddha depicted in yogic meditation, Kamakura, Japan

Early Buddhism incorporated meditative absorption states. The most ancient sustained expression of yogic ideas is found in the early sermons of the Buddha. One key innovative teaching of the Buddha was that meditative absorption should be combined with the practice of mindfulness. The difference between the Buddha's teaching and the yoga presented in early Brahminic texts is striking. Meditative states alone are not an end, for according to the Buddha, even the highest meditative state is not liberating. Instead of attaining a complete cessation of thought, some sort of mental activity must take place: a liberating cognition, based on the practice of mindful awareness. The Buddha also departed from earlier yogic thought in discarding the early Brahminic notion of liberation at death.^[55] Liberation for the Brahminic yogin was thought to be the realization at death of a nondual meditative state anticipated in life. In fact, old Brahminic metaphors for the liberation at death of the yogic adept ("becoming cool", "going out") were given a new meaning by the Buddha; their point of reference became the sage who is liberated in life.

Yogacara Buddhism

Yogacara (Sanskrit: "yoga practice"), also spelled yogāchāra, is a school of philosophy and psychology that developed in India during the 4th to 5th centuries. Yogacara received the name as it provided a yoga, a framework for engaging in the practices that lead to the path of the bodhisattva The Yogacara sect teaches yoga in order to reach enlightenment.

Ch'an (Seon/Zen) Buddhism

Zen (the name of which derives from the Sanskrit "dhyaana" via the Chinese "ch'an") is a form of Mahayana Buddhism. The Mahayana school of Buddhism is noted for its proximity with Yoga. In the west, Zen is often set alongside Yoga; the two schools of meditation display obvious family resemblances. This phenomenon merits special attention since the Zen Buddhist school of meditation has some of its roots in yogic practices. Certain essential elements of Yoga are important both for Buddhism in general and for Zen in particular.

Indo-Tibetan Buddhism

Yoga is central to Tibetan Buddhism. In the Nyingma tradition, the path of meditation practice is divided into nine yanas, or vehicles, which are said to be increasingly profound. The last six are described as "yoga yanas": Kriya yoga, Upa yoga, Yoga yana, Mahā yoga, Anu yoga and the ultimate practice, Ati yoga. The Sarma traditions also include Kriya, Upa (called Charya), and Yoga, with the Anuttara yoga class substituting for Mahayoga and Atiyoga. Other tantra yoga practices include a system of 108 bodily postures practiced with breath and heart rhythm. The Nyingma tradition also practices Yantra yoga (Tib. Trul khor), a discipline which includes breath work (or pranayama), meditative contemplation and precise dynamic movements to centre the practitioner. The body postures of Tibetan ancient yogis are depicted on the walls of the Dalai Lama's summer temple of Lukhang. A semi-popular account of Tibetan Yoga by Chang (1993) refers to caṇḍalī (Tib. tummo), the generation of heat in one's own body, as being "the very foundation of the whole of Tibetan Yoga". Chang also claims that Tibetan Yoga involves reconciliation of apparent polarities, such as prana and mind, relating this to theoretical implications of tantrism.

Jainism

Tirthankara Parsva in Yogic meditation in the Kayotsarga posture.

Kevala Jñāna of Mahavira in mulabandhasana posture

According to Tattvarthasutra, 2nd Century CE Jain text, Yoga, is the sum total of all the activities of mind, speech and body. Umasvati calls yoga as the cause of asrava or karmic influx as well as one of the essentials—samyak caritra—in the path to liberation. In his Niyamasara, Acarya Kundakunda, describes yoga bhakti—devotion to the path to liberation—as the highest form of devotion. Acarya Haribhadra and Acarya Hemacandra mention the five major vows of ascetics and 12 minor vows of laity under yoga. This has led certain IndologistsRobert J. Zydenbos to call Jainism as essentially a system of yogic thinking that grew into a full-fledged religion. Dr. Heinrich Zimmer contended that the yoga system had pre-Aryan origins which did not accept the authority of the Vedas and hence was reckoned as one of the heterodox doctrines similar to Jainism. Jain iconography depicts Jain Tirthankaras meditation in Padmasana or Kayotsarga yogic poses. Mahavira was said to have achieved Kevala Jnana "enlightenment" siting in mulabandhasana position which has the first literary mention in the Acaranga Sutra and later in Kalpasutra like Prof.

The five yamas or the constraints of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali bear an uncanny resemblance to the five major vows of Jainism, indicating a strong influence of Jainism. This mutual influence between the Yoga philosophy and Jainism is admitted by the author Vivian Worthington who writes: "Yoga fully acknowledges its debt to Jainsim, and Jainism reciprocates by making the practice of yoga part and parcel of life." The Indus valley seals and iconography also provide a reasonable evidence of the existence of a proto-yogic tradition akin to Jainism. More specifically, scholars and archaeologists have remarked on close similarities in the yogic and meditative postures depicted in the seals with those of various Tirthankaras: the "kayotsarga" posture of Rsabha and the mulabandhasana of Mahavira along with seals depicting meditative figure flaked by upright serpents bearing similarities to iconography of Parsva. All these are indicative of not only links between Indus Valley Civilisation and Jainism, but also show the contribution of Jainism to various yogic practices.

References in Jain canons and literature

Earliest of Jain canonical literature like Acarangasutra and texts like Niyamasara, Tattvarthasutra etc had many references on yoga as a way of life for laymen and asctics. The later texts that further elaborated on the Jain concept of yoga are as follows:

• Pujyapada (5th Century CE)
  • Ishtopadesh

• Acarya Haribhadra Suri(8th Century CE)
  • Yogabindu
  • Yogadristisamuccaya
  • Yogasataka
  • Yogavimisika

• Acarya Joindu (8th Century CE)
  • Yogasara

• Acarya Hemacandra (11th Century CE)
  • Yogasastra

• Acarya Amitagati (11th Century CE)
  • Yogasaraprabhrta

Islam

The development of Sufism was considerably influenced by Indian yogic practises, where they adapted both physical postures (asanas) and breath control (pranayama). The ancient Indian yogic text, Amritakunda, ("Pool of Nectar)" was translated into Arabic and Persian as early as the 11th century.

Malaysia's top Islamic body in 2008 passed a fatwa, which is legally non-binding, against Muslims practicing yoga, saying it had elements of "Hindu spiritual teachings" and could lead to blasphemy and is therefore haraam. Muslim yoga teachers in Malaysia criticized the decision as "insulting". Sisters in Islam, a women's rights group in Malaysia, also expressed disappointment and said they would continue with their yoga classes. fatwa states that yoga practiced only as physical exercise is permissible, but prohibits the chanting of religious mantras, and states that teachings such as uniting of a human with God is not consistent with Islamic philosophy. In a similar vein, the Council of Ulemas, an Islamic body in Indonesia, passed a fatwa banning yoga on the grounds that it contains "Hindu elements" These fatwas have, in turn, been criticized by Darul Uloom Deoband, a Deobandi Islamic seminary in India.

In May of 2009, Turkey's head of the Directorate of Religious Affairs, Ali Bardakoğlu, discounted Yoga as a commercial venture promoting extremism- comments made in the context of Yoga practice possibly competing with and eroding participation in Islam .

Christianity

In 1989, the Vatican declared that Eastern meditation practices such as Zen and yoga can "degenerate into a cult of the body". In spite of the Vatican statement, many Roman Catholics bring elements of Yoga, Buddhism, and Hinduism into their spiritual practices.

Some fundamentalist Christian organizations consider yoga practice to be coherent to its religious background and therefore a non-Christian religious practice. It is also considered a part of the New Age movement and therefore inconsistent to Christianity.

Tantra

Tantrism is a practice that is supposed to alter the relation of its practitioners to the ordinary social, religious, and logical reality in which they live. Through Tantric practice, an individual perceives reality as maya, illusion, and the individual achieves liberation from it. particular path to salvation among the several offered by Hinduism, links Tantrism to those practices of Indian religions, such as yoga, meditation, and social renunciation, which are based on temporary or permanent withdrawal from social relationships and modes.

During tantric practices and studies, the student is instructed further in meditation technique, particularly chakra meditation. This is often in a limited form in comparison with the way this kind of meditation is known and used by Tantric practitioners and yogis elsewhere, but is more elaborate than the initiate's previous meditation. It is considered to be a kind of Kundalini Yoga for the purpose of moving the Goddess into the chakra located in the "heart," for meditation and worship.

Images