Yoga

[agatha]

Would anyone be interested in sharing their experience with Yoga?

I would like to know more about the different types of yoga, benefits, how frequently and for what duration practiced, preferred way of learning - class, cd, book, other.

Thank you

[turtledude23]

I've never tried yoga but I've read from lots of sources that it's very beneficial to any spiritual path. I think what it does is make reaching deeper states of meditation easier because your body is occupied with tedious, yet healthy, postures and movements, which make the mind more clear.

[@ndy]

I started with a group last Autumn, I forget the name of the type I do but my teacher is lovely. She tells us about the history of the positions, were the energy is working and there proper names.

I've loved learning how to say Om properly, there’s something amazing about a room of people chanting together as one.
We also go through the various breathing techniques talk about meditation.

My teacher is also a spiritual healer so the class defiantly has emphasis on energy and technique (a class I took at a local health club when I lived in the city was more of a 'keep fit' type of class)

I really love it, I can't wait for the class to start up again next week.
There’s also a Kundalini class run near me, but I can't make this one till my little boy starts nursery.

[Eddie]

I've been attending class (once a week) for about a year and a half now. It's great; I wish I had started many years ago.

[Monica]

I am a Yoga dabbler but my husband is a serious yoga practitioner and it's a integral part of his spiritual path. Yoga is something I intend to make a bigger part of my life.

Highly recommended, for physical health, calmness of mind and emotions, and spiritual as well.

I would suggest a class to get started at first. Once you learn a few postures, you can practice them. It's more important to practice a few postures faithfully, than to take on too much and get overwhelmed.

My advice is to not try the really advanced postures any time soon, but work up to them gradually and be patient with yourself.

People often mistakenly think that yoga is about contorting your body into a pretzel, despite not being flexible enough to do that posture. Forcing a posture is never good and misses the point of Yoga practice, which is to just work on finding where your body's limits are, and then gently push out those limits, broadening those boundaries.

It is much more important to do a posture the best you can, even if it is far, far from the perfect goal, and just BREATHE into the muscles as you gently stretch. This way, you are benefiting, from where you are at. It's not important to look like the yoga models. What is important is that you expand your own boundaries of what YOUR body can do!

The physical postures are important spiritually, because as they stretch the muscles, the acupuncture meridians are cleared of blockages, and the chakras are cleared and opened as well.

Along with the physical practice, chanting of AUM is recognized in many spiritual traditions as connecting to the universal heartbeat, so to speak. It is the primordial, divine sound. I don't recall whether Ra ever mentioned the AUM but I know Edgar Cayce did.

As for styles of yoga, personally I don't care for Bikram, even though it is very popular and there may be a Bikram studio near you. The reason I don't like it is that they practice in 105 degree studio, and I couldn't tolerate that without passing out. (I live in Texas and we have 105 degree weather all the time in the summer - it doesn't bother me being outside - but in a small room filled with people, I found it suffocating.)

The idea is that the muscles will stretch more if the body is hot and sweaty. However, this method is very controversial and many practitioners of other styles of yoga consider Bikram to be potentially dangerous, because the student might be more likely to suffer injury at home when they attempt the same pose.

I personally agree with this assessment and would recommend a system of yoga other than Bikram. Bikram is also limited as it deals with only a set number of postures, so the student misses out on many other potential benefits, such as using specific postures for addressing certain ailments. There are many excellent books on yoga that address this.

If you don't have an instructor in your area, then next best is to get a yoga video. After you have worked with the video for awhile, then you can get more value out of a book, to expand your practice. But I wouldn't start with a book. I would start with either a live class or a video.

When choosing an instructor, the most important criteria is that they have the philosophy of gently guiding the student to the student's own limits, rather than forcing the student into a pose. I would avoid any instructor that just rushes thru the poses and expects the student to follow along! Good yoga instructors understand that a new student needs time to work thru blockages, and will allow the student to hold the pose and breathe into the muscles. So s-l-o-w, gentle practice is recommended, rather than a rushed sequence of poses.

There is plenty of time later, to get into aerobic styles of yoga like Ashtanga. That is more advanced and I wouldn't recommend starting with that.

Have fun! Many wonderful benefits await you!

[fairyfarmgirl]

I really love the basic Sun Salutation. I do this when I am able to. I just follow along with a Youtube clip. It feels good when I do. It seems to enhance my spiritual practice. I can feel the energy moving through my central column.

I also do Yoga Kids video with the the wild pack of Indigos. It is the original vhs tape that we check out periodically from the library and follow along. They seem to be very energized by it. Meanwhile I am ready for a sit down and rest. lol

fairyfarmgirl

[Protonexus]

Kundalini yoga is particularly useful for understanding and experiencing energy centers, flow, and transfer.

[turtledude23]

Kundalini yoga is particularly useful for understanding and experiencing energy centers, flow, and transfer.

I read that its not good to prematurely awaken the kundalini energy and that its better if it comes out as a natural process of spiritual growth, and I think The Law of One supports this because Ra considers psychological issues to be energy blockages in the chakras.

[Protonexus]

Which is why there are various stages of yoga, kundalini being one of the more advanced. Advice should always be considered subjective, also consider the phenomenon of spontaneous kundalini awakening - most yogic literature says this is not possible and yet it occurs.

[Namaste]

Yoga is fantastic. It's described as the science of the body and mind, which I entirely agree with; the East are decades (centuries?) ahead of the West in this regard.

I started Yoga after reading Initiation (Elizabeth Haich), which was mentioned in the Ra Material. Those being initiated (training for enlightenment), performed various physical concentrative exercises (asanas - Hatha Yoga), followed by other meditative/contemplative/concentrative tasks (Raja, Kundalini Yoga etc.). They followed this under the tuition of initiated teachers, who would have been given the core of their knowledge from Ra, or Atlantean lineage (this is why QiGong and Yoga are so similar, and yet 'appear' in totally different cultures; they have the same roots of knowledge).

Raja Yoga can be thought of as overcoming the mind, the liberation of the mind to unity. You might recognise this as what Ra describes as balancing.

My personal belief is that Yoga stems from ancient teachings of Atlantis, which stem from higher levels of consciousness (Ra).

I practice Yoga daily (from the book Yoga & Health), and find it wonderful.

[fairyfarmgirl]

Spontaneous Kundalini rising happens. I know about this personally. --fairyfarmgirl

[agatha]

All of these responses have been most helpful:exclamation:

Thank you

[Monica]

Spontaneous Kundalini rising happens. I know about this personally. --fairyfarmgirl

Yeah me too.

[Shemaya]

Hi agatha,

I started doing yoga many years ago at the gym, just lightly delving in.

Now I attend an Anusara yoga studio in my hometown. Anusara yoga
It is a heart-opening yoga started by an American, John Friend. The philosophy and teachings are very aligned with the STO-radiant path, and it has been a blessing for me to take yoga to the next level. I find that gently challenging the body is a great metaphor for the spiritual path. Every time I go, my teacher Amy gives me a gem to ponder for my spiritual journey. Plus my body feels amazing after a session. Last night she was talking about the Rig-Veda (sp?) that gives four reasons for doing yoga, one of which is because you feel good....you feel alive the energy pulsing and tingling afterwards. It's a natural high. Helps me shut down my mind and just "Be" in my body.

Pranayama, yoga breathing, is a very important spiritual tool. Our breath is our body's direct link to Spirit. If you do breathwork things will happen. You will activate your physical body's energy, and your subtle body's energy. You may activate kundalini, like Monica and fairyfarmgirl mentioned. If you activate kundalini and feel overwhelmed, I would advise that you find support...either a teacher that you trust, or communicating on this board, or a yoga community. Take care that you find support that is feels comfortable and loving and STO.

I unfortunately had a bad experience when my kundalini activated, it was a preincarnative contract with the "teacher". Long story, but it was a major catalyst that I'm still recovering from and that was 3 years ago. So i would advise that if you are feeling dissonance with a teacher or community, don't place all your trust with them. That was my mistake, I wasn't trusting my internal truth enough , but it was very confusing, and I am compassionate with myself.

There is a really good website online that teaches yoga as a spiritual path. The teacher is Yogani and I feel a good energy from him, his saying is "The guru is in you" Love that empowerment! here is the link: AYP homepage
I haven't taken it up because I was so burned out from my prior experience, but I do visit the website from time to time and have read some of Yogani's material, and do some of the practices.

I hope this helps. Take care agatha, I wish you well on your yoga journey!!

[agatha]

Hi Shemaya,

Thank you for your response. It is very helpful.

Thanks again to all who have shared.

I now have several good starting points:exclamation:

:idea:

[Protonexus]

Hatha yoga is a good starting point.

[Namaste]

Hatha yoga is a good starting point.

Agreed, a combination of Hatha and a meditative form of Yoga.

Good luck with your endeavours :¬)

[agatha]

Hatha yoga is a good starting point.

Thank you Protonexus and Namaste