SANGEETA PADMANABHAN and BHUSHAN BHUKTE from the Heartfulness Yoga Academy explore the nature of Asana, Pranayama and Dhyana, and how easily they can be practiced during the Yoga4Unity program.
“Yoga is a means, and an efficient self is the product.”
Daaji
Every year the Heartfulness Yoga Academy celebrates International Day of Yoga along with other Yoga institutions through the Yoga 4 Unity Program @ www.yoga4unity.com.
We teach Asana, Pranayama, and Heartfulness Meditation with Transmission right from the beginning. Asanas and Pranayama contribute to the health and strength of the body and mind, and beautifully complement the cleansing and strengthening process that the Heartfulness practices offer. This combination is in the Ashtanga tradition of Patanjali, and offers a rapid and dynamic transformation at a deep and subtle level to one and all.
So let’s have a closer look at Asana, Pranayama, and Meditation.
Asana
For thousands of years, the Hatha Yoga practices were known only to the ascetics, and the ultimate goal of Yoga was to understand the true nature of the Self or Reality through Raja Yoga.
Asana (posture) is stable and comfortable. A body posture that results in a steady state of comfort is called Asana. That’s how Sage Patanjali defines it.
Asana is the third limb of Sage Patanjali’s Ashtanga Yoga, but in the Hatha Yoga tradition, Asana comes first. Both Sage Patanjali and Swami Swatarama (in the Hatha Yoga Pradipika) talk about achieving mastery over the mind. The body is just an instrument.
Pranayama
Pranayama is the fourth limb of Sage Patanjali’s Ashtanga Yoga. Through Pranayama, we regulate and balance the rhythms of energy resulting in a healthy body and mind.
It is interesting to know that life is not measured by the number of days but by the number of breaths. Do you know the secret of the tortoise’s long life? It’s breathing rate. It breathes only three to four times every minute, whereas human beings breathe at least 15 times every minute.
Daaji often reminds us that all our activities are influenced by the flow of prana in our nadis, and it is possible to alter the flow voluntarily by using willpower and certain yogic techniques.
ABC – an exercise
Always
Breathe
Consciously
If you watch your breath you will find that it is usually flowing more in one nostril than the other. Check and see which one of your nostrils is breathing dominantly at this moment.
Meditation
Meditation or Dhyana is the seventh limb of Ashtanga Yoga. The ancient science of meditation has from time immemorial been practiced for God Realization. Meditation is said to be the “voice of consciousness.”
The purpose of meditation is self-transformation, to arrive at a new “me.” Heartfulness has a special system of meditation with pranahuti (Transmission). This approach evolved out of the ancient tradition of Raja Yoga.
Join us for a course or for a session @www.heartfulness.org/yoga
Bhushan Bhukte & Sangeeta Padmanabhan
