Yoga

A special breathing technique called “Ujjay” (“victorious breath”) is used. In this technique we can hear our own breath as a weak whisper or as in deep sleep. The technique makes it easier to concentrate on the breath and thus coordinate breathing and movement. In addition, oxygen uptake increases and intense internal heat is developed.

Ashtanga Yoga is based on eight levels or steps. These are:

1.     Yama, which has five underlying levels: Ahimsa (non-violence), Satya (honesty), Asteya (non-stealing), Brahmacharya (continence), Aparigraha (non-desire)
2.     Niyama, which also has five underlying levels: Saucha (purifying), Santosha (being happy), Tapas (discipline), Swadhyaya (self-searching), Ishwarapranidhana (surrendering)
3.     Asana – physical positions
4.     Pranayama – Breathing exercises where you learn to control the vital energy
5.     Pratyahara – Retract your senses
6.     Dharana – Concentration
7.     Dhyana – Meditation
8.     Samadhi – Bliss / Body and soul become one with everything around us

The yoga philosophy was systematized by Patanjali for about 300 BC and is considered one of the great philosophical systems in India. Yoga is referred to as science, psychology and spiritual tradition. Depending on the point of view, tradition holds all these concepts.

It is important to note that yoga is an applied philosophy – only by practicing Yoga can one make the experience described by philosophy, and one who practices Yoga uses himself as a “laboratory.” According to yogic thinking, man has a divine nature, but it is overshadowed by growing up, experience, thought patterns, – limitations that the mind and the five senses set for the experience of who we are.

By learning to master the mind and senses, a Yogi seeks to discover his innermost nature. Our innermost nature is imagined as pure consciousness, and it can neither age nor die. It is identical with the universal consciousness of the Brahman world universe or God.

The yogic path can involve major psychological, emotional and identity changes.

Ashtanga yoga is probably a very old system, but in modern times can be traced back to Mysore in southern India where a great yogi named Sri T. Krishnamcharya taught it to his pupil Sri Pattabhi Jois. It was not until the 1960s that the technique became known in the West when Sri Pattabhi Jois began teaching a group of Western students. These spread Ashtanga yoga to its students in the US, Australia and Europe.

Since then, Ashtanga yoga with its powerful and dynamic style has gained immense popularity. Recently, a number of similar techniques have emerged that have found their way to yoga schools as well as gyms.

Traditional Ashtanga yoga is still taught by Sri Pattabhi Joi’s successor and grandson Sharat Jois in Mysore, and by many of his students around the world. Sri Pattabhi Jois left the world in 2009.

The most important characteristic of Ashtanga yoga is the vinyasa principle. Vinyasa means synchronized breathing and movement system. Each movement has its associated inhalation or exhalation. Emphasis is placed on flow and balance. For example, breathe in, raise your arms, put your palms together and look up at your thumbs – exhale bend forward, lower your arms and place your hands on the floor. This was vinyasa # 1 and # 2 in Surya Namaskar, which is the first exercise in the Ashtanga system. In many ways, the vinyasa system resembles a choreographed dance where the breath forms the rhythm that the movements follow.

The purpose of vinyasa is to make you hot and sweaty. This has a cleansing effect on the body. The sweat secretes waste and the blood flows freely to all muscles and joints. The breath brings fresh oxygen to the cells of the body and removes stiffness and tension. The order of positions is carefully composed. Together, they form a sequence that gradually opens the body and develops strength, balance and concentration. In addition, the exercises have therapeutic effects on internal organs. There are six different sequences or series in Ashtanga. You must master all the exercises in a series before you can move on to the next one. The first series is called “Yoga Therapy” and consists of exercises that improve the balance of the skeleton. By strengthening large muscle groups in the abdomen / back and stretching “hamstrings” and hip joints, we can achieve a better relationship between strength and flexibility.

This type of yoga is suitable for those who like to move. There is no assumption that you are particularly soft, but the more often you practice the better results: as you memorize the series by yourself, you can practice them on your own at home: it is better to exercise 15 minutes each day than to do a “skipper roof” now and then. The most important thing is that you concentrate on your breath and your inner focus. Eventually you will notice that you relax even in the demanding physical exercises and that you get more energy.

Opening mantra

Om
Vande Gurunam charanaravinde
Sandarshita svatmasukavabodhe
Nishreyase jangalikayamane
Samsara halahala mohashantyai
Abahu Purushakaram
Shankhacakrsi dharinam
Sahasra sirasam svetam
Pranamami patanjalim
Om

Oversettelse:

Om
I pray to the lotus feet of the supreme guru
who teaches knowledge, awakening the great happiness of the self revealed
who acts like the jungle physician.
able to remove the delusion from the poison
of conditioned existence.
To Patanjali, an incarnation of Adisesa,
white in color with a thousand radiant heads,
(in this form as the divine serpent Ananta), human in form below the shoulders
holding the sword of discrimination, a wheel of fire representing infinite time, and the conch, representing divine sound, to him
I prostrate.
Om

Finishing mantra

Om
Swasthi-praja bhyah pari pala yantam
Nya-yena margena mahi-mahishaha
Go-bramanebhyaha.shubamastu-nityam
Lokaa-samastha sukhino-bhavanthu
Om shantih shantih shantih
Om

Oversettelse:

Om
May prosperity be glorified –
may administrators rule the world with law and justice.
may all things that are sacred be protected.
and may people of the world be happy and prosperous.
Om peace peace peace
Om