Let It Be....

As we come to the close of another year - we look back on all the good times and all the not - so - good times.  We see where we have been, and where we are headed.  In this life we only get one chance to live out the day.  In the end what we thought was real and good doesn't always turn out to be so.
           

                  
Still the show must go on.  The way to glory is strewn with blood, sweat and tears...
So, in the attempt to make a difference to someone - maybe you - I hold out this thought in the hope that one way or another you find peace.  That you see the rainbow - and the pot of gold!  That you remember who you are and that you have made it to another day - another year.  Believe in the goodness in life.  The world has enough saddness...  Set your mind to walk in the middle of the path - find balance, and in so doing find yourself.  You are the guardian of your own destiny.  You are the dream weaver of your own world.  The race is not to the strong - but to the one who never gives up.  To the finish line... and beyond!

In This Moment...

 

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Mere words can never convey the anticipation - the instant when perfection carries the day. Each moment explodes in the vortex of thought and action - combined into one flawless moment in time. Eventhough we cannot seem to put our finger on the trigger - or point to the precise instant where form merges with imagination and then that magical moment is born, still - we feel the thrill of the rush and something verging on the spiritual is created. We are born again. We can imagine ourselves stepping out and living life on the edge - letting it all hang out. Living the dream! Become inspired... Feel the moment. Dare to dream!

Beauty and the Beast...

 YOGA

 Yoga Style Guide



Your Guide to Popular Yoga Styles


By Ann Pizer, About.com Guide


Updated November 03, 2010






About.com Health's Disease and Condition content is reviewed by our Medical Review Board


There are many different styles of yoga being taught and practiced today. Although all of the styles are based on the same physical postures (called poses), each has a particular emphasis. Here is a quick guide to the most popular types of yoga that can help you decode the schedule at your gym and figure out which class is right for you.


HATHA






Hatha is a very general term that can encompass many of the physical types of yoga. If a class is described as Hatha style, it is probably going to be slow-paced and gentle and provide a good introduction to the basic yoga poses.






VINYASA


 

Like Hatha, Vinyasa is a general term that is used to describe many different types of classes. Vinyasa, which means breath-synchronized movement, tends to be a more vigorous style based on the performance of a series of poses called Sun Salutations, in which movement is matched to the breath. A Vinyasa class will typically start with a number of Sun Salutations to warm up the body for more intense stretching that's done at the end of class.






ASHTANGA & POWER YOGA






Ashtanga, which means "eight limbs" in Sanskrit, is a fast-paced, intense style of yoga. A set series of poses is performed, always in the same order. Ashtanga practice is very physically demanding because of the constant movement from one pose to the next. In yoga terminology, this movement is called flow. Ashtanga is also the inspiration for what is often called Power Yoga. If a class is described as Power Yoga, it will be based on the flowing style of Ashtanga, but not necessarily keep strictly to the set Ashtanga series of poses.






IYENGAR






Based on the teachings of the yogi B.K.S Iyengar, this style of practice is most concerned with bodily alignment. In yoga, the word alignment is used to describe the precise way in which your body should be positioned in each pose in order to obtain the maximum benefits and avoid injury. Iyengar practice usually emphasizes holding poses over long periods versus moving quickly from one pose to the next (flow). Also, Iyengar practice encourages the use of props, such as yoga blankets, blocks and straps, in order to bring the body into alignment.






KUNDALINI






The emphasis in Kundalini is on the breath in conjunction with physical movement, with the purpose of freeing energy in the lower body and allowing it to move upwards. All asana practices make use of controlling the breath. But in Kundalini, the exploration of the effects of the breath (also called prana, meaning energy) on the postures is essential.






BIKRAM/HOT YOGA






Pioneered by Bikram Choudhury, this style is more generally referred to as Hot Yoga. It is practiced in a 95 to 100 degree room, which allows for a loosening of tight muscles and profuse sweating, which is thought to be cleansing. The Bikram method is a set series of 26 poses, but not all hot classes make use of this series.

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ANUSARA



Founded in 1997 by John Friend, Anusara combines a strong emphasis on physical alignment with a positive philosophy derived from Tantra. The philosophy’s premise is belief in the intrinsic goodness of all beings. Anusara classes are usually light-hearted and accessible to students of differing abilities. Poses are taught in a way that opens the heart, both physically and mentally, and props are often used.



JIVAMUKTI



This style of yoga emerged from one of New York’s best-known yoga studios. Jivamukti founders David Life and Sharon Gannon take inspiration from Ashtanga yoga and emphasize chanting, meditation, and spiritual teachings. They have trained many teachers who have brought this style of yoga to studios and gyms, predominantly in the U.S. These classes are physically intense and often include some chanting.



FORREST



Headquartered in Santa Monica, California, and gaining popularity around the U.S., Forrest Yoga is the method taught by Ana Forrest. The performance of vigorous asana sequences is intended to strengthen and purify the body and release pent-up emotions and pain so that healing can begin. Expect an intense workout with an emphasis on abdominal strengthening and deep breathing.



KRIPALU



The name Kripalu is associated both with a style of hatha yoga and a yoga and wellness center in Stockbridge, Massachusetts. Both were founded by yoga guru Amrit Desai, who came to the United States from India in 1960. Kripalu is a yoga practice with a compassionate approach and emphasis on meditation, physical healing and spiritual transformation that overflows into daily life. Kripalu also focuses on looking inward and moving at your own pace.



INTEGRAL



Integral yoga follows the teachings of Sri Swami Sachidananda, who came to the U.S. in the 1960s and eventually founded many Integral Yoga Institutes and the famed Yogaville Ashram in Virginia. Integral is a gentle hatha practice, and classes often also include breathing exercises, chanting, kriyas, and meditation.



MOKSHA



Moksha Hot Yoga was founded in Toronto, Canada in 2004 by yoga teachers Ted Grant and Jessica Robertson. Though a relative newcomer, Moksha has quickly gained popularity as over 30 affiliated studios have since opened worldwide, including in Canada, the United States, Switzerland, and the Caribbean. A set series of about 40 poses done in a hot room, Moksha Yoga is designed to be both accessible and challenging, supporting life-long health.



RESTORATIVE



In restorative yoga, props are used for support the body so that you can hold poses for longer, allowing you to open your body through passive stretching. Restorative postures are usually adapted from supine or seated yoga poses with the addition of blocks, bolsters, and blankets to eliminate unnecessary straining.



SIVANANDA



The first Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Center was founded in 1959 by Swami Vishnu-devananda, a disciple of Swami Sivananda. There are now close to 80 locations worldwide, including several ashram retreats. Sivananda yoga is based upon five principles:



1. Proper exercise (Asana, focusing on 12 poses in particular)



2. Proper breathing (Pranayama)



3. Proper relaxation (Savasana)



4. Proper diet (Vegetarian)



5. Positive thinking (Vedanta) and meditation (Dhyana)



YIN YOGA



In Yin Yoga, poses are held for several minutes at a time in order to the stretch the connective tissue around the joints. Yin Yoga directly addresses the demands that sitting still in one position for a long time, as in meditation, places on the body by focusing on stretching connective tissue instead of muscle.



OTHER STYLES

Yoga-Sool is an ancient form of yoga taught by martial arts  Grandmaster Do Ju Nim.  Yoga-Sool incorporates aspects of all the different schools of yoga discipline and applies those techniques to helping create the needed flexibility found within the martial arts discipline.


Other yoga styles that are growing in popularity include Laughter Yoga and Christian Yoga.

http://yoga.about.com/od/typesofyoga/a/yogatypes.htm

  YOGA SOOL -A MOMENT IN TIME.  
  
The simplicity which is found within the yoga practice traditions of the true Masters both in India and the Asian martial art systems have been highly misundrstood by the Western mind set and those who would try and discourage universal understanding within the disciplines.  Many, if not all of the objections directed at this ancient practice, centers around the spirituality imbedded within the fundamental aspects of the art.  The

spiritual quality of any system as old and secretive as yoga once was, clearly allows  for great misunderstandings to flourish over time.  Hence the old adage of the blind men trying to explain what an elephant looks like.  The idea that any one disoriented person could find the actual truth which has been   concealed within the frabric of stories and song is outrageous and laughable.  But when we allow the process imbedded within a vibriant tradition such as what is found within the tenants of yoga sool and all other schools of thought in regards to the yogic teachings we find an understanding as to the structure and nature of how the body and the mind work together to bring us to a sense of higher purpose and spiritual      awareness.  It is by stillness and a calm surroundings that the mind begins to merge with the body and sounds and colors give way to an open enlightenment of the richest tones and hues of light.  Like a beautiful sunrise the mind's eye can see the ten thousand things which make up the world of endless bliss.  The idea of love and joy and peace all come from this place.  A place which we cannot grasp until we let go.  Until we let go of all those thoughts and daily distractions which keep us from having mind-full-ness.  Happy thoughts and feelings about who we are and what our purpose is in this life; full of possibilites.  Some may call it crazy others just stare and point as if they can erase the power which comes from inside the centered life of a person at peace with all of creation. "Peace! Be Still."

The Teachings of Integral Yoga

                                                      




The Meaning of the Yantra


by Sri Swami Satchidananda


Integral Yoga® is a complete Yoga, and the Integral Yoga yantra is also complete. It is a representation of the entire cosmos.



Sometimes external images are used in meditation or worship to symbolize or express certain divine ideas and qualities. When mantras (sound formulas used in meditation) or divine ideas are meditated upon, certain images are brought out. It is something like liquid crystallizing into solid form. These geometric figures are actually crystallized mantra forms. A yantra is a physical expression of a mantra - a mantra being a Divine aspect in the form of sound vibration - yantra in the form of a geometrical figure.

 In simple language, as I said before, our Integral Yoga yantra represents the entire creation. Each part of the yantra corresponds to a different aspect of the cosmos. According to yogic thinking, God or the Cosmic Consciousness, is originally unmanifest - just by Himself or Herself or Itself. As God begins to manifest, the first expression is as the sound vibration. The Bible explains it by saying, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." Here "word" means sound.



In Sanskrit they say something similar but take it a step further. "Nada, bindhu, kalaa" - the sound, then the dot, then the art or rays. If God manifests as sound, you can't see anything. What is the smallest expression which you could see? The bindhu or dot. It should be the smallest possible particle. But, of course, if it is that small we can't see it, so in the yantra it is shown as a large dot in the very center. The bindhu represents the first physical expression, the very core of the cosmos. It is that dot which then expresses as kalaa. Kalaa means the different aspects or literally the different rays or different arts.



The next expressions are the three rings of different hues surrounding the bindhu. They represent the three gunas or basic qualities of nature: sattva (balance, rajas (activity) and tamas (inertia). In the yogic thinking, everything in this universe manifests uniquely because it results from a unique combination of these three. All differences in the phenomenal world are due to the variations of these three basic qualities.



Then you see the hexagon around the three rings. This can be very well explained with an example from science. If you take a photograph of a crystal, you will see that its normal shape is six-sided. That's why the yantra has the six triangles around the center. It means that the first speck of matter expresses itself as more complex matter like a crystal.
 

The six triangles are actually a combination of two larger triangles, one pointed down, the other up. As one triangle passes through the other, we get this six-sided figure. The triangle with apex upward represents the positive, or masculine aspect; the inverted triangle is the negative, or feminine, aspect. In Sanskrit this concept is called Siva-Shakti. It is a combination of the male and female, equally represented. There is no inferiority or superiority for either aspect; they blend perfectly together. Whichever way you turn the yantra, they remain the same. So it makes a complete whole, and this itself represents the entire nirguna (unmanifest) as well as saguna (manifest) aspects of the Supreme.

 Once the triangles come together, the hexagon could then represent something else also: the six basic Tattvas or principles - the five senses and the mind as the sixth. The six-sided crystal then manifests outward in further expansions of the primordial energy and matter. Why and how does this happen? Out of love. So all the beautiful lotus petals represent the loving manifestation.

 Another way of explaining the petals is that the eight inner petals represent the subtle elements, while the sixteen outer ones indicate their grosser manifestations.

 Then you see the three large circles surrounding the lotuses. They indicate how these elements further express as the three worlds: causal, astral and physical. But even that is not the end. The Divine expression is unlimited. That is why the circles are framed by a square with gaps pointing outward, representing the infinity of creation.



Om Shanthi Shanthi Shanthi.

© 2001 - 2006 Satchidananda Ashram - Yogaville. All rights reserved. Used by permission