Introduction to Yoga

INTRODUCTION TO YOGA
Yoga is a light which, once lit, will never dim. The better your practice, the brighter the flame.The practice of yoga aims at overcoming the limitations of the body. Yoga teaches us that the goal of every individual’s life is to take the inner journey to the soul. Yoga offers both the goal and the means to reach it.
Yoga is an ancient art based on an extremely subtle science, that of the body, mind and soul. The prolonged practice of yoga will, in time, lead the student to a sense of peace and a feeling of being at one with his or her environment.Good health results from perfect communication between each part of the body and mind; when each cell communes with every other. Although yoga is essentially a spiritual science; it leads to a sense of physical and emotional well being.
Asanas are based on the three basic human postures of standing, sitting, or lying down. But they are not a series of movements to be followed mechanically. They have a logic which must be internalized if the pose is to be practiced correctly. Most types of exercise are competitive. Yoga, although non-competitive, is nevertheless challenging. The challenge is to one’s own will power. It is a competition between one’s self and one’s body.
Yoga minimizes the impact of stress on the individual. Yogic science believes that the regular practice of asanas and pranayama strengthens the nervous system and helps people stressful situations positively. Yoga is the union of the individual self with the universal self. Asanas, one of yoga’s most significant tools, help the sincere student develop physically and spiritually. The ancient sages believed that if you put your whole heart into your practice, you become a master of your circumstances and time.
The mind is the vital link between the body and the consciousness. The individual can live with awareness, discrimination, and confidence only once the mind is calm and focused. Yoga is the alchemy that generates this equilibrium.
The basic tenets of yoga are described in the form of “eight limbs” or “steps” described by the sage,Patanjali.These are aphorisms, explaining the codes of ethical behavior which will ultimately lead to self-realization.
Prana is the life-force which permeates both the individual as well as the universe at all levels. It is at once physical, sexual, mental, intellectual, spiritual, and cosmic.Prana,the breath, and the mind are inextricably linked to each other.Yogic science recognizes that spiritual health is activated by a system of chakras or ‘nerve’ centres, said to be located within the spinal column. Cosmic energy lies coiled within these chakras and has to be awakened for self-realization.
The tradition of the guru, or master, and the yogi, or disciple, is an ancient one. All learning from generation to generation has been handed down this way. The guru must be compassionate, yet exacting. The yogi must be sincere and dedicated.Yoga asanas cover the basic positions of standing, forward bends, twists, inversions, back bends, and lying down. The 23 classic poses must be practiced with physical coordination, as well as intelligence and sincerity. An asana is not a posture which you assume mechanically. It involves thought, at the end of which a balance is achieved between movement and resistance.

Source: YOGA-B.K.S.IYENGAR

Swami Vivekananda proclaimed “Each soul is potentially divine.The goal is to manifest this Divinity within, by controlling Nature- external and internal. Do it either by work or worship, psychic control or philosophy, by one, or more, or all of these and be free. The systematic methodology of unfoldment of this inner potential Divinity, by moving towards Self-perfection is referred to as Yoga by Sri Aurobindo. Yoga is thus a process by which the Animal-Man ascends through the stages Man-Man, Super-man and the Divine-man. In this process, the limited, narrow, selfish thinking completely changes and takes the shape of an integrated, all-encompassing, selfless character expressed by equanimity. This state of Divinity or Self- perfection is the state of pure consciousness, maximum creativity and bliss. Hence, the movement towards THAT through Yoga is a delightful, blissful process. Since every individual or society is always striving to achieve greater happiness, bliss, creativity and higher mental faculties, Yoga clearly is the real solution, both for individual fulfillment and social harmony.
Divergent are the methods of Yoga. Unless one sees the underlying unity and harmony, one is apt to lose track amidst diversities. Once the insight into the ‘Unity in Diversity’ develops, the truth about the comprehensive nature of Yoga emerges. This central note of harmony was emphatically sounded in the speeches of Swami Vivekananda. He called for men with muscles of iron and nerves of steel, Sri Aurobindo laid stress on a comprehensive growth of personality at the physical, mental, intellectual, emotional and spiritual levels. The present course on Yogic practices is tailored for an all-round development of the personality to a certain extend.
First, some loosening and stretching exercises called Sithilikārana Vyāyāma are introduced which help to make the body supple and flexible so that they aid in Asanas that are designed to conserve the energies and transform them to subtle forms of mental energies. The asanas also provide a means to develop an inner awareness thus aiding in calming down the mind. The cleansing techniques, ‘Kriyas’, help to clean the respiratory, circulatory, nervous and digestive systems and bring about a balanced functioning of the body, thereby purifying the subtle “Nādis”. These techniques prepare the individual for practicing Pranayama, Asanas and Meditation.

This booklet of instruction introduces only some of the aspects and is by no means exhaustive. Through these practices one gets a preparatory training for pursuing higher techniques leading to states of increasing harmony and bliss.

YOGA: An Instruction Booklet, A Vivekananda Kendra Publication