Yoga The Science

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Yoga The Science

• YOGA
• Yogi A yoga practitioner practicing yoga in
  caves in the Himalayas i.e. far away from
  common life.
• But Yoga can be practiced by everyone.
• Two Extreme Views
• Yoga is highly difficult complex
• Yoga is too Simple
• YOGA IS TO BE STUDIED IN ITS TRUE FORM

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Yoga The Science

• Yoga is a highway for happiness prosperity.
• Material pleasures cannot give true satisfaction
  or joy.
• There is no limit that our expectations desires
  can fulfill.
• Continue doing your duties without expectations.
• Such impartial attitude towards the duties of
  life is YOGA

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Yoga The Science

• Yoga means to JOIN
• To join Atman with Paramatman
• PARAMATMAN
• The controller of the universal energy
• ATMAN
• The controller of the self
• If Paramatman is the ocean, Atman is a drop of
  its water, kept separate in a container (Body)
• Atman is confined to the body mind complex, and
  has its own separate identity
• When Atman merges with Paramatman, it looses its
  own identity.
• This is the aim of Yoga!

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Yoga The Science

• Tools Available
• Body (Perfectly Healthy)
• Mind (Totally Purified)
• Intellect (Properly Trained)
• Present Condition
• Body (Not Healthy)
• Mind (Not Purified)
• Intellect (Not Trained)
• Yogic Practices help in this Evolution

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Yoga The Science

• Yogic practice can be used for
• Correcting the disorders of the body
• Keeping the body in a healthy condition
• Improving mental capacities
• Developing the intellect

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Yoga The Science

• Patanjali Yoga
• Ashtanga Yoga
• (Eight Limb Yoga)
• Yama Social Discipline
• Niyama Self Discipline
• Asana Posture
• Pranayama Breath control
• Pratyahara Withdrawal of sense organs
• Dharana Concentration of Mind
• Dhyana Meditation
• Samadhi Union with God

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Yoga The Science

• Yoga is a science of personality development
• Physical Condition
• Mental Control
• Emotional Balance
• Intellectual Development

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Yama Social Discipline

• Yama
• Ahimsa Non Violence
• Satya Truthfulness
• Asteya Non Stealing
• Brahmacharya Sexual Control
• Aparigraha Non Possessiveness

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Yama Social Discipline

• Yama
• The first component of Ashtanga Yoga
• Rules for Social Discipline
• (Guidelines on how to behave in society)
• These are universal laws respected everywhere
• (Laws of Nature)
• These are natural instincts
• These are easy to follow

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Yama Social Discipline

• Ahimsa Non Violence
• Means of behaviour towards all living creatures
• Absence of harmful intentions or thoughts
• To be followed on three levels
• i) Physical
• ii) Verbal
• iii) Mental
• Control your actions, words mind
• Generate love compassion towards all living
  creatures

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Yama Social Discipline

• Satya Truthfulness
• Fact is fact
• There is no other way than to accept it
• We try to hide the facts
• We do not accept the facts
• One lie requires many more lies to support it
• Untruthfulness in all its various forms creates
  many types of unnecessary complications in life
• Truthfulness is absolutely necessary for the
  unfoldment of reality

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Yama Social Discipline

• Asetya Non Stealing
• Stealing means to take anything without the
  permission of its owner
• Yoga sadhaka should not take anything, which does
  not belong to them.
• They should not even take intangible or highly
  prized things, such as credits for something they
  have not done.

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Yama Social Discipline

• Brahmacharya Sexual Control
• In its real sense means the abstinence from
  sexual indulgence to obtain a higher yogic level,
  no compromise of this discipline is possible
• One cannot get real bliss realised by the
  transcendent knowledge of higher yogic life,
  whilst having sexual pleasures at the same time
• One may not be required to give up sexual
  activities straightaway, but must completely
  abstain before commencing serious practice of
  Yoga on a higher level.

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Yama Social Discipline

• Brahmacharya Sexual Control (cont.)
• A real yogi should be prepared to completely give
  up, not only physical indulgence in sexual
  activities, but also thoughts emotions
  concerned with it
• In a wider sense Brahmacharya means a freedom
  from cravings of all sensual enjoyments
• The attitude of the mind is responsible for these
  cravings

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Yama Social Discipline

• Aparigraha Non Possessiveness
• The tendency to accumulate worldly goods is
  considered a basic instinct in human life
• Necessities comforts luxuries
• (These are subjective limitless)
• One needs to satisfy its childish vanity
  desires, to appear superior to others
• One must spend time energy in accumulating
  these things, which are not really needed.

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Yama Social Discipline

• Aparigraha Non Possessiveness (cont.)
• Maintaining guarding the accumulated items
• Constant fear of loosing them
• Feeling of pain if actually lost
• Feeling of regret to leave them behind, when
  bidding goodbye to this world.
• We spend our valuable time resources to
  accumulate, yet they generate a constant source
  of disturbance to us.
• Hence minimise your needs

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Yama Social Discipline

• Yamas are to be followed fully irrespective of
  place, time, caste without exception
• It is necessary to follow the Yamas 100 to
  attain a level of higher yogic practice
• When you undertake yoga practice, try to follow
  Yamas as much as you can
• If you follow Yama Niyama you will be able to
  perform Asana Pranayama better
• If you practice Asana Pranayama better you will
  automatically start following Yama Niyama
• Following Yama Niyama will help to attain the
  goal of yoga
• CHITTA VRITTI NIRODHAHA

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Niyama Self Discipline

• Niyama
• Shoucha Cleanliness, Purity
• Santosha Contentment
• Tapa Austerity
• Swadhyaya Self Study
• Ishwara Pranidhana Surrender to God

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Niyama Self Discipline

• Second component (Anga) of Ashtanga Yoga
• Rules for self discipline
• Yamas are moral prohibitive, whereas Niyamas
  are disciplined constructive
• Yamas provide ethical foundation Niyamas
  provide physical mental foundation for
  furthering studies of Yoga
• Yamas can be practiced only within a society, but
  Niyamas can be practiced anywhere irrespective of
  society
• Yamas are reactive Niyamas are active

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Niyama Self Discipline

• Shoucha Cleanliness, Purity
• Purity of body, mind intellect
• These instruments become impure when things are
  added to them. Shoucha helps to eliminate these
  additions.
• Hatha Yoga prescribes many practices for the
  purification of the internal body
• The cleansing practices are divided into six
  major categories
• Shatkarmas
• 1) Dhouti 2) Basti 3) Neti 4) Tratak
• 5) Nouli 6) Kapalbhati

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Niyama Self Discipline

• Shatkarmas
• Dhouti Cleaning of the digestive tract
• Basti Cleaning of the rectum
• Neti Cleaning of the Nasal passage
• Tratak Cleaning of the eyes
• Nouli Improving the digestion
• Kapalbhati Cleaning of the lungs
• For purification of the mind Mantra Sadhana

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Niyama Self Discipline

• Santosha Contentment
• This is a mental attitude that keeps the mind in
  a condition of equilibrium
• Circumstances impact on the mind cause it to
  react. These reactions disturb the equilibrium
  of the mind in turn disrupt the physical
  condition of the body
• To avoid these disturbances train your mind to
  react with contentment
• Always say Very nice Very nice!
• A continual practice of Ashtanga Yoga along with
  training the mind through Mantra Sadhana, is
  necessary to develop this attitude

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Niyama Self Discipline

• Tapa Austerity, Self Discipline
• This includes various practices, the object of
  which is to purify the sadhakas body mind complex
  for further study of Yoga
• Practices include fasting observing various
  vows. These are performed to control the
  functions of the body mind
• A systematic practice begins with simple
  exercises, to exert control of willpower in
  progression more difficult practices are
  performed. This practice loosens the association
  of the consciousness with the body mind complex

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Niyama Self Discipline

• Swadhyaya Self Study
• Study is the process of acquiring knowledge, both
  theoretical practical
• The explanation given by Patanjali of study is as
  follows
• Deerghakaal for long period
• Nairantarya continued, uninterrupted
• Satakarasevito with full unconditional faith
• The style of study will depend on the individual
  self

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Niyama Self Discipline

• Ishwarpranidhana Total surrender to God
• The progressive practice of Ishwarpranidhana will
  lead to samadhi, the state of union
• Ishwarpranidhana is a process of transformation
  from human to God
• Ishwarpranidhana is the concept of loosing the
  identity of the self merging it with that of
  Ishwara the God
• This effort may take many forms according to the
  temperaments the previous Sanskaras of the
  sadhaka
• Ishwarpranidhana is explained in detail in Bhakti
  Yoga