What can it do for you and how it works
Get Your Self Connected
Find More Sustained Joy, Hone Your Intuition, Create Space and Transform
the Breath
First and foremost, Yoga teaches us to establish a more profound relationship, control, and knowledge of our breath. Through applying the vital limb of Pranayama, we are given a deeper connection with our power of life and, through incorporating these techniques with meditation, learn to direct, focus and sustain our attention.
Discernment
Yoga’s method brings a more straightforward path to our natural abilities to discern or what is referred to as Vivekas - Discernment. Discernment is the ability to obtain sharp perceptions or to choose/judge well. In the case of choice, discernment can be psychological, moral, or aesthetic. Within judgment/choice, discernment involves going past the mere perception of something and making nuanced observations about its properties or qualities on more profound levels of awareness.
Transformation
“Yoga serves the individual through inviting transformation, rather than by giving information.”
– TKV Desikachar
The power of having a clear Vision or Bhavana
By establishing a clear Bhavana or idea, image, or vision and then creating disciplined new patterns with inner thirst or Tapas, we begin a roadmap for transformation or the ability to change.
Yoga gives us formulas to change our behavior through a process called Abhyasa, which leads to the disconnecting of the attachment to the old habit, behavior, or thought pattern, referred to as Vairagyaga.
Intuition
Through Yoga, we become more able to listen to our inner voice through trust and relaxation of the nervous system. Intuition is the ability to acquire knowledge without recourse to conscious reasoning. Different writers give the word "intuition" a great variety of other meanings, ranging from direct access to unconscious knowledge, unconscious cognition, inner sensing, and inner insight to unconscious pattern recognition and the ability to understand something instinctively without needing conscious reasoning. Yoga helps us differentiate between our pre-conceived notions, social conditioning, and authentic voice to discern wisely and see the difference.
The Mind
Through our life experience, we develop first or retain psychological impressions or what Yoga refers to as Samskaras. These collections of Samskaras make up our conditioning. These Psychological impressions may be Through the process of Yoga, we can approach, recognize and remove these impressions to re-condition and clarify the rays of the mind and where they lead us.
FAITH
In the Yoga Sutras states that Faith or Shraddha is necessary for us to reach our objectives. You must choose, visualize, form a mental image of and stay centered on the goal, not the adversities that stand in your way of finding the outcome you seek.
MOVEMENT
Most Yoga poses or sequences are related, benefit, and strengthen the spinal column. The biomechanics of the spine are flexion, extension, rotation, and lateral flexion. Our sedentary lifestyles, constant sitting, and lack of muscular structure to support the spine and body can cause pain, poor posture, and discomfort. Basic and breath-centered Asana can bring energy, circulation, and strength building to stabilize our bodies and counter some of our current lack of movement. Although recent trends in Yoga have brought some hostile and questionable ideas to the forefront, understanding the concepts of alignment, balance, anatomy, and biomechanics can help us become conscious of how we may be causing an imbalance in our bodies. The benefits of Yoga can definitely be felt physically, but what else can it do for us and others?
Improve the Quality of Your Relationships
Including the most important one, your relationship with your own self
Joy
Joy can be defined as a feeling of great pleasure and happiness or the removal of suffering. Why do we choose to do things? Because they bring us joy. How can we get more of it and for longer? We must get clear , positive, concrete & specific about what we want and how to get there. This is a yogic skill called Pratipaksha Bhāvanā and is clearly outlined in the Pātañjalayogaśāstra. It could be explained as the power of positive thinking. When you associate with negative thoughts, replace them with positive ones and create new neural pathways to make way for a new perception.
Relationships
"Yoga is relationship."- TKV Desikachar.
Since yoga is primarily an internal process, one of the ways to quantify it is having an effect is to observe the quality of our interpersonal relationships and how they change through our practice. Our life and our ability to be content with ourselves, those around us, and the world are directly connected to the quality of our relationships. By getting clear on what stories we are telling ourselves and reducing the psychological clutter of the mind, we can get closer to our true selves and interact with those around us more authentically.
