Month: March 2019

Optimum health achievement begins in your mind. We must first balance our inner self before taking on challenges in our body. Many yoginis or yoga enthusiasts completely understand this need. By performing yoga and making use of mantras along with poses, we silence the brain and allow for our usual stream of healing power to complete it’s work!

Being on the right path, sustained the momentum and finding out how and where to start will always be hard. The internet is the perfect place to find instruction and information although not all websites are worth the visit.

Worry no more! We will help you with finding the 7 top yoga websites that you will absolutely love. Get video clips, lessons and yoga illustrations both for starters and pros and even get into community support group coming from – all coming from websites that believe in love, loyalty as well as spread of happiness!

Make sure to comment and let us know which you like best. Do you think we missed one?

CorePower Yoga

CorePower offers a truly unique practice based on intuition rather than tradition. CorePower yoga helps restore, detoxify and invigorate the body and mind with weight on movement, equilibrium and meaning. They have designed an aggressive and stimulating course that integrates both force and concentration, flow as well as spirituality.

YogaGlo

YogaGlo is the new online yoga experience in HD video that provides the experience of being in the class at your home. YogaGlo is for everybody, irrespective of religious beliefs, race, age, political views and human condition. YogaGlo’s mission is to enable people all around the globe to get actively involve in this process.

SacYoga.yoga retreats and trainings, special discounts and various classes. Learn more about all different yoga studios, yoga poses that each instructors would teach, yoga retreats and training seminars, and other pertinent information and events in Sacramento.

Yoga Journal

For more than 30 years, one magazine has reported on the expansion and revolution of the yoga movement. Yoga Journal has been there, serving teachers and the ever-growing yoga community. Through the years, Yoga Journal has proven its progressive growth and is always proud to present yogajournal.com-a social bound, meaningfuld yoga community.

My Yoga Online

ABC of Yoga gives you all imaginable information about the different Styles of Yoga: Bikram Yoga, Hatha Yoga, Kundalini Yoga, Ashtanga Yoga, Nude Yoga, and much more. They give you comprehensive descriptions of the Asanas and extra Yoga Trainings. Additionally they cover Health and Yoga, Yoga Diets, Yoga Health Advantages, the good influences of Yoga on our body’s systems, and also Meditation & Yoga. Together with adequate education and practice, you may be able to go through what Yoga has to offer for you and your body system.

ABC-of-Yoga.com

Founded in Vancouver BC, by renowned yoga and wellness experts Michelle Trantina and Kreg Weiss, and business entrepreneur Jason Jacobson, MyYogaOnline have always believed in whole health, and the power of yoga, health and wellness. In 2005, they developed My Yoga Online so they could share this love with the yoga enthusiasts all around the world. They wanted to convey the many benefits of yoga, Pilates, meditation, dance, diet, and holistic living to everyone, everywhere.

Yoga Basics

Yogabasics.com deepest yearning and wish is to build the world an excellent place with the highest goal to get rid of the anguish, misery and unhappiness of the people of the world, and to get rid of the reasons of this agony. They really are prepared to serve, in their maximum competence, to expand the information and knowledge of the traditional way of yoga to all who yearn for these methods. They pray that their work helps others to understand, grow and develop morally, physically and mentally.

Well, that’s our list. What is your favorite? Do you have one you like that’s not on this list?

Yoga is a holistic therapy originated in India over 5000 years ago. Yoga contributes to physical, mental and spiritual well being. Physical benefits lie in creating a toned, flexible and sturdy body. It facilitate in improving blood circulation and significantly aid to relieve pain. Mental benefits rely on relaxing mind in stressful situations. It encourages positive consideration and focus the intellect. Spiritual benefits depend on creating the awareness of oneself and understanding the interdependence between mind, body and spiritual infinity.

Types of Yoga and their benefits:

Yoga can be classified into Hatha, Bhakti, Karma, Jnana, Raja, Tandra, Mandra and Purna. They are discussed in detail below

Hatha Yoga:

Hatha yoga works to achieve balance between body and mind through asanas (postures), breathing techniques and meditation. The postures, followed in Hatha yoga improves flexibility and opens all energy channels. Breath control is believed to control one’s mind in this form of yoga. It is also practical to prevent diseases like diabetes, arthritis and hypertension. The yoga is principally beneficiary for relieving stress, anxiety and depression.

2. Bhakti Yoga:

Bhakti signifies attachment to God. Bhakti Yoga is based on the principle -Love is God and God is Love-. It is one of the oldest forms of yoga which is believed to have its root in the Vedas of Hindu Culture. Nine types of practices are implicated namely Sravana(listening to God’s stories), kirtana (singing God’s praises), smarana(remembering God at all times), padasevena(service to others to reach God), archana(worship of god with images), vandana(self absorption), dasya(meditating and servicing), sakha bhava(delight to be a companion of God) and atma nivedana(self surrender to God). Bhakti Yoga helps the devotee to attain the highest level of spiritual achievement.

3. Karma Yoga:

Karma means deed or action. Karma Yoga insists a person to be ego free and selfless. One develops maturity to service others and carry out God’s commandments happily. It encourages a hopeless man and puts him to think and speak right. The yoga involves remembering God in all activities and service for humankind. It teaches how to work unselfishly and enjoy peace still in suffering. 4. Jnana Yoga:

It is the yoga that leads to path of wisdom. The second part of Bhagavad Gita called Jnana Yoga is taught to the practitioner. The four components of Jnana Yoga are Viveka (ability to differentiate real and unreal), vairagiya (detachment to purify mind and improve one’s concentration), shad samphat which itself involves six virtues and mumukshutva (liberation). The yoga is purely based on the preaching’s of Vedic literature and helps in attaining knowledge. 5. Raja Yoga or Astangha Yoga:

This branch of yoga aims in synchronizing the breath by following a progressive chain of postures. The word Astanga means -Eight Limbed Yoga-. It engross eight spiritual practices namely yama(moral codes), niyama(self study), asana(postures), prnayama(breath control), pratyahara(sense control), dharana(concentration), dhyana(meditation) and Samadhi(dissolve into universe). Through Astanga Yoga, Blood circulation increases throughout the body which relieves from joint pain, removes toxins and diseases from internal organs. It makes the body light, strong and healthy.

6. Tantra or Kundalini Yoga

Kundalini Yoga is a meditative practice for promoting mental and spiritual wellness. It is an unusual form of yoga based on the fact that energy coiled on the base of the spine like a serpent can be tapped to flow from spine to brain and viz., and bring positive effect for the practitioner. It involves postures, breathing exercises and utterance of mantras. Unlike other yoga, Kundalini helps to develop strengthened nervous system.

7. Mantra Yoga:

In Mantra yoga, one needs to utter words called as Mantras. The rhythmic repetitions of mantras or syllable develop concentration leading to union of mind with the universe. It makes to focus on a single thought and creates vibrating power by certain pitches and pronunciation concealed in the mantras.

8. Purna or Integral Yoga:

Purna yoga leads to wisdom and union of body and mind with spirit. It involves meditation, Asana (postures), pranayama (breathing exercises), applied philosophy and change in lifestyle. Meditation comprises of moment to moment techniques which could make you to listen to your heart. Besides postures and meditation, Purna yoga teaches one to follow a good nutritional diet and also protect from environmental toxins to lead a healthy lifestyle.

Yoga gained significant importance worldwide and nowadays in the faster world, it is a remedy to relieve from stress. Apart from the above discussed yoga, there also exists a unique yoga called laughter yoga introduced in the year 1995 in which people laugh with no reason without depending on jokes or humor. It is based on the scientific fact that the body gets both physiological and psychological benefits. To conclude, Yoga is a tool to repair and recondition your life. Only in Yoga, one could attain the awareness of life and the universe. It is pure and truly a spiritual practice that makes a person to think and act globally.

The word yoga was first used in the Rig Veda but not clearly explained. Patanjali introduced Ashtanga (eight limbs) yoga and the Asanas are part of Patanjali yoga. Hatha yoga focuses on the Asanas and Pranayama parts. Hatha is a Sanskrit word. Hatha means forceful or willful. And some people describe this as ha means Sun and tha means Moon. Hatha yoga consists of Asanas (postures), Shatkarma (purifying practices), Mudras (hand and finger positions), Bandhas (locks) and Pranayama (breathing exercise). In this article, we discuss on Hatha yogas origin and evolution.

Sources of Hatha yoga:
Basically there are three books on Hatha yoga available, from ancient India. They are Gheranda Samhita, Hatha Yoga Pradipika and Shiva Samhita.

Gheranda Samhita: Samhita means a collection. The name represents the Gherandras collection. The book belongs to nearly 17th century. These are the teachings of Gherandra to his disciple Chanda Kapali. Gheranda Samhita is considered the encyclopedia of yoga. There are only a few differences between Hatha yoga Pradipika and Gheranda Samhita. Both Gheranda Samhita and Hatha yoga Pradipika have similarities with Patanjalis eight limbs of yoga. Gheranda Samhita explains seven limbs of yoga. Those are

Shatkarma six types of purification methods

Asana postures

Mudra hand and finger positions

Pratyahara withdrawal of senses

Pranayama breathing exercise

Dhyana meditation

Samadhi the goal of yoga, higher level of concentration

Hatha Yoga Pradipika: Hatha yoga Pradipika was written by Swami Svatmarama in Sanskrit in 15th century CE. Hatha yoga Pradipika is the practices and experiments of Swami Svatmarama. The book consists of four Upadesas (chapters). They explain Asanas, Pranayama, Kundalini (corporeal energy), Bandhas, Kriyas (action, deed effort), Chakras (spinning wheel, vortex, or circle), Shakti (empowerment, sacred force), Nadis and mudras.

Shiva Samhita: Shiva Samhita is written in Sanskrit. The author and the exact period of time are not known. Some scholars opinion is that it was written in 17th and 18th centuries. Recent scholar James Mallinson opined that it belongs to period before 1500 BC. It consists of 84 Asanas. Only four of them have been described in detail. It also contains mudras, meditation, etc. as other books do.

Recent developments:

Sritattvandhi was compiled by Maharaja of Mysore in the 19th century. It contains details of 122 Asanas.

B.K.S. Iyengar published Light on Yoga the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali with 360 asanas in the year 1966.

Dharma Mittra completed a master yoga chart with 908 asanas in 1984.

A remarkable expert of yoga is Sri Krishnamacharya. He travelled throughout India and taught yoga several students in 20th century. The famous yoga teachers are Indra Devi (who opened a yoga studio in Hollywood), Pattabhi Jois (Ashtanga Vinyasa System), B.K.S. Iyengar (authored many books and founder of Iyengar yoga), T.K.V. Desikachar (son of Krishnamacharya and founder of Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandiram).

Today, there are many yoga types around the world. Many yoga experts developed their own yoga style. Some of them are Anusara, Ashtanga Vinyasa, Baptiste yoga, Bikram yoga, Flow yoga, Jivamukti yoga, Power yoga, Subtle Yoga, Universal Yoga, Viniyoga, and Yin yoga.

Yoga is continuously evolving. But for basic concepts, go back to the Yoga Sutras written by Pantanjali.