YOGA is Excellence of Life
Deep meaning of YOGA
Over the past two decades, yoga has gone from relative anonymity in the West to a well-recognized practice offered in thousands of studios, community centers, hospitals, gyms, and health clubs.
Although yoga is often presented as a popular fitness fad, it is actually the center of Vedic science that developed in the Indus Valley over five thousand years ago.
The word yoga is derived from the Sanskrit root yuj, which means union with the source of existence. Unity consciousness is also referred to as the state of enlightenment in which one experiences complete freedom from all conditioning and one is no longer restricted by customs, past experiences or “karma” as well as by any form of of dogma or ideology. It is a state of spontaneous creativity, love, compassion, joy and equanimity. These are also known as divine qualities.
As yoga has evolved and flourished over thousands of years, various forms and schools of yoga have developed. Traditionally there are four types of yoga:
1. Jñana Yoga: the yoga of the intellect, science and knowledge.
2. Bhakti Yoga: the yoga of love and devotion.
3. Karma Yoga: the yoga of service and action.
4. Raja Yoga: the yoga of meditation, physical postures, and breathing practices.
Raja Yoga is often referred to as the "king path of yoga" because it focuses on practices that draw our attention inward and promote the integration of mind, body, and spirit. The classic text of Raja Yoga is the Yoga Sutras, which are attributed to the legendary sage Patanjali. While the exact dates of Patanjali's life and writings remain unclear, scholars estimate that the Yoga Sutras were written at least 1,700 years ago.
According to the Yoga Sutras, “Yoga is silencing the mind. When the mind is silent, we settle into our essential nature, which is unlimited awareness. The essence of yoga is the union of the integration of the different layers of life: physical, emotional and spiritual. It is a practice to go beyond the ego's usual identification with the mind and body, and experience our true spiritual being. Anchored in this connection with the spirit, we are able to solve the challenges that arise in our lives with greater ease and joy.
Consisting of 195 aphorisms (sutras), the Yoga Sutras describe the eight limbs of yoga, providing a clear map for the evolution of consciousness from ordinary stages of consciousness such as walking, dreaming, and sleeping, to higher stages. , such as the non-local consciousness known as Atma Darshan, cosmic consciousness, divine consciousness, and unity consciousness.
Here is a summary of the standard interpretations of the eight limbs of yoga.
1) Yamas - Rules of conduct.
2) Niyamas - Rules of personal behavior.
3) Asana - Physical postures.
4) Pranayama - Breath control.
5) Pratyahara - Control of the senses.
6) Dharana - Control of the mind.
7) Dhyana - Meditation.
8) Samadhi - Absorption.
The program that we offer at Escuela Ishwa Odíne is a practice based on consciousness, whose roots are the wise teachings of Raja Yoga and the eight branches of the Yoga Sutras. The practice in our Yoga classes is generated to integrate and balance all the layers of our life, so that our body, mind, heart, intellect and spirit flow in harmony.
We all have a dharma or purpose in life. By expressing our unique talents and using them to serve others, we will experience unlimited love, abundance, and true fulfillment in our lives.
By practicing yoga postures, we integrate the movements with universal principles.
It has been discovered at a scientific-medical level that practicing classic yoga postures promotes multiple benefits in the human organism, providing balance in the immune system and the nervous system, while increasing production in the body_cc781905-5cde-3194-bb3b -136bad5cf58d_ of antimicrobial peptides, which help the immune system fight viruses.
The traditional Yoga practice has benefits far superior to other systems of exercising.
On the other hand, it also improves and balances success and material abundance, nurtures personal relationships, peaceful personal interactions, health and well-being, and a higher consciousness, which includes intuition, creativity, sagacity, imagination. and the inspiration.
Even if yoga only improves fitness, the time spent practicing is totally worth it. However, while the health benefits are many, yoga offers much more than just a way to exercise the body. The profound meaning and gift of yoga is the path it offers us into the timeless and spaceless world of spirit. Yoga teaches us both to let go and to have respectful awareness at all times. In this expanded state of consciousness, we are freed from suffering. We remember our essentially spiritual nature and life becomes happier, more meaningful and freer.
Yoga is Excellence of Life
