Yoga

No one in the world will be able to tell you clear deadlines, dates and figures – it all depends on your specific situation, on the habit of studying, on what goals you set for yourself. It happens that a person is just starting to practice yoga, and progress is very fast, and then suddenly "runs into a wall."

In this case, everything depends only on you, on your will and determination, on whether you will be able to realize the harmony method for yourself. But in any case, if yoga classes have become a habit for you, all the positive results will come, now it's only a matter of time.

The history of yoga goes back thousands of years, now it is not possible to determine exactly where and when this teaching arose. It is believed that in ancient times yoga was spread among a variety of peoples and countries, echoes of this teaching we find in the myths and legends of Europe, Russia, Scandinavian countries, the Middle East, Egypt, India.

Then, for reasons unknown to us, this halo significantly narrowed, but still covered a fairly wide geographical space - the territory of countries such as Afghanistan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, the countries of Central Asia, modern India, Nepal, Bhutan and Tibet, the countries of Southeast Asia. Now this halo has narrowed even more, to the territory of modern India, Nepal, Tibet and other nearby countries.

As for the names of the teachers and founders of yoga, it is not possible to name them, since in ancient times it was not customary to draw attention to one's personality, it was considered immodest. We only know the names of less recent followers of yoga, such as Patanjali, Vyasa and others.

No one in the world will be able to tell you clear deadlines, dates and figures – it all depends on your specific situation, on the habit of studying, on what goals you set for yourself. It happens that a person is just starting to practice yoga, and progress is very fast, and then suddenly "runs into a wall."

Since the knowledge of yoga in ancient times was passed from mouth to mouth, from teacher to student, written texts and treatises on yoga appeared already at a relatively late time. Many texts on yoga have been lost, and of those that have survived, many have not been translated not only into Russian, but even into any European language.

In this case, everything depends only on you, on your will and determination, on whether you will be able to realize the harmony method for yourself. But in any case, if yoga classes have become a habit for you, all the positive results will come, now it's only a matter of time.

One of the most ancient texts on yoga, which is beyond doubt among orientalists, is the treatise "Yoga Sutra Patanjali". However, in this text, Patanjali rather provides a systematic presentation of different approaches in yoga, generalizing them into a coherent sequence of eight steps, but does not state the entire theory and practice of yoga.

To date, we can say that true knowledge has been preserved primarily in those yoga schools that have maintained the tradition of transferring knowledge from teacher to student for many generations.

Yoga is an extremely safe system of self-knowledge. As the centuries-old history shows, yoga knows how to protect itself, to make sure that powerful knowledge and techniques do not fall into the hands of an evil, cruel person who can harm himself and others. Our universe is so cunningly arranged that even if the knowledge of yoga falls into the hands of such a person, he will not be able to use it. In yoga there are classical methods and so-called fast methods.

Classical methods are almost completely safe, anyone can study them, but it takes a long time to practice them to get a result, it requires determination, courage, will. Fast methods allow you to achieve the goal very quickly, they are truly capable of performing miracles, but they contain many pitfalls and can be dangerous for the practitioner.

However, usually an unprepared person cannot use them and harm himself, because none of the yoga teachers will teach such a person fast methods, and when faced with them independently, he simply will not be able to recognize them.

At the same time, yoga again and again urges the practitioner to be extremely attentive to his body, to remember about the principle of harmony, not to allow any pain. Observing the harmony method and strictly following all the recommendations of your teacher, you will never be able to harm yourself. This applies to both classical Hatha yoga and all other types of yoga.

In ancient times, yoga was an extremely closed teaching - the uninitiated were not even allowed close to the secret practices and techniques of yoga. It was believed that an unprepared person would not be able to use them in any case, but would cause negative associative connections in other people who would identify this person with yoga.

However, over the past 150-200 years, the situation has changed dramatically. It seems that some teachers and teachers of yoga have made a decision: that's it, the time has come, humanity is ready to accept this science, now it's time to fully publicize the knowledge of yoga, to bring it to as many people as possible.

The most interesting thing is that historically it coincided with the scientific and technological revolution, as if yoga teachers were waiting for the moment when it would be possible to spread yoga knowledge very quickly with the help of modern means of civilization. At the moment, the blessing of yoga teachers has been received for the open dissemination of yoga knowledge - of course, in those schools that are open, because even in our time there are many closed schools.

In our yoga school of the Anandaswami tradition, it is believed that yoga knowledge belongs to all mankind, moreover, the history of civilization will largely depend on whether people will be able to perceive this ancient knowledge and the spiritual values inherent in it.

No, it is not. Yoga is extremely respectful of all religions, not singling out any of them, but it is not a religion itself - it is a system of self-knowledge. Yoga can be practiced by a person who adheres to any religious views, as well as an atheist.

In yoga, it is believed that religion is a personal matter for everyone. Yoga does not contradict and perfectly complements religion, but it completely distances itself from any religious disputes and disputes.

Yoga is extremely respectful of science, but it is not a science itself.The difference between science and yoga is in the reference point: science tries to know the world by choosing an external reference point, but in yoga the reference point is the "I" of each person. In addition, yoga piously observes the first principle, in yoga it is believed that it is better not to have any knowledge than to have knowledge gained through the suffering of living beings.

In science, the principles of morality and humanism are not always so rigidly observed.However, in yoga, as in science, it is also called upon to sharpen your mind, wherever possible, to observe the principle of logic and common sense, to fundamentally stop any illogic and obscurantism. Yoga knowledge never contradicts ordinary logic. Yoga perfectly complements science.

Yoga does not treat either physical or mental illnesses – there is medicine for this. Yoga is not a substitute for medicine, if you have health problems and you do not know if you can practice yoga, contact your doctor first. Yoga is designed for "practically healthy" people, in other cases it is necessary to approach yoga classes with extreme caution.

Of course, there are situations when, with the help of yoga, a person was cured of diseases that official medicine recognized as incurable. Since yoga is a very strong teaching, it happens that it lifts a person out of bed, on whom the doctors, as they say, put an end, but, once again, there are no guarantees.

Extremely negative! Yoga believes that it is fundamentally impossible to achieve any heights of self-knowledge with the help of chemistry - be it hallucinogens, psychotropic substances or any other drugs. The basis of spiritual self-transformation is only the will of a person and honest, purposeful work on oneself, it is impossible to "accelerate" this process with the help of chemistry.

Taking drugs, a person not only causes terrible harm to his body, but also sharply degrades spiritually, so yoga has a sharply negative attitude to any narcotic substances. In the twentieth century, there was a boom in the West, a huge surge of interest in drugs and hallucinogens, followers of these trends were convinced that they were opening up "new horizons of consciousness."

In yoga, this is considered a terrible myth, one of the dangerous traps on the path of the spiritual evolution of mankind.

The mentality of the countries of the East itself does not assume that someone will take the liberty to certify yoga teachers, there is not and cannot be a single certification center. There are many different yoga schools in India, and the methods of these schools can sometimes vary dramatically. In addition, in the East there is the utmost freedom in a person's choice of a method of self-knowledge, a method of spiritual development, they respect this freedom even more than we have the "Declaration of Human Rights".

At the same time, in some schools in India and in the West, there is a practice of certification of yoga teachers who have graduated from this school. However, the yoga tradition itself suggests that no certificate can guarantee you that you are really a yoga teacher or a professional teacher.

Of course, from the standpoint of logic, if you trust any yoga school, it probably makes sense to trust a teacher who has a certificate of this school. But there are no guarantees, because in yoga, the personality of the teacher himself is first of all important.

Therefore, the choice is only yours – if, while practicing yoga under the guidance of an instructor, you feel confidence in him and feel inner harmony from performing exercises, it makes sense to continue practicing. If the instructor has certificates of all yoga schools, all imaginable and unthinkable initiations, but you personally do not feel confidence in him – perhaps you should find another instructor.

The main goal is to achieve the highest and transcendent state of happiness, awareness of your higher self, gaining complete freedom from any conditioning, any dependence. This state is called samadhi. Yoga does not bring anything from the outside, it only reveals what is already laid down initially.

Yoga teaches us that the potential of our higher self is truly limitless, that our natural state is sachchidananda, or the experience of the highest joy and bliss.

But in ordinary life, we identify ourselves with our manifestations, with our bodies, because of ignorance, suffering, dependence, pain arises, therefore, the main path of any yoga, no matter what kind of yoga you do, is the gradual elimination of ignorance, the knowledge of the resources hidden in each of us and the attainment of this highest freedom.

Yoga is a holistic and multifaceted teaching about self-knowledge and the surrounding world, which has a thousand-year history. In ancient times, it was an extremely closed system, because the techniques and practices were very strong and gave real power.

This is a very concrete science, it contains many specific exercises and techniques that allow you to realize your inner potential, to reveal the tremendous physical and mental abilities inherent in each person, to maintain yourself in excellent physical shape.

Doing yoga, a person comes out of the "gray everyday life" into a new, absolutely fantastic and magical world, becomes more open, sincere, kind, begins to live a brighter, richer, full-fledged life.

Teaching not only helps to improve physical health, gain a strong, slender, hardy body, but also allows you to fully realize yourself in all spheres of life – in work and study, in career and business, in family and interpersonal relationships, in professional and personal development and many other areas of human activity.

This is an extra-karmic gift of the Universe, left to us by the teachers and teachers of antiquity, who have already achieved all the goals that one can only dream of. They left us the knowledge of yoga to help us change our lives for the better as quickly as possible, to rise to a new spiritual level.

No, it is not. Yoga can be called only that system of self-knowledge that strictly adheres to the first principle of yoga, or the principle of kindness, and the second principle, or the principle of common sense.

The first principle tells us that we "should not harm any living being unless absolutely necessary; if there is no way not to harm, then we must do as our duty dictates." This principle is the cornerstone of any system of self-knowledge, without observing it it is impossible to rise to a new spiritual level.

The second principle, or the principle of logic, tells us that "we should not waste our time and energy on trifles. We must first be very clear about our goals, whether these goals are in work, study, yoga or any other field of activity, and then direct all our efforts only to achieve these goals.

Therefore, before getting involved in another activity, we should ask ourselves whether it leads us to the goal, and if not, we should ruthlessly discard it, no matter how tempting it may seem to us."

Observing the first and second principles, sooner or later we intuitively "grope" our way of life, which is called dharma, or destiny, and by following it, we achieve all our goals faster and at the same time become more aware of our duty.

The foundation of all yoga, the main secret of any yoga exercise is harmony, in the right combination of where to force yourself and where you can afford.

If you only allow yourself, progress will be slow, because yoga classes require will, determination, effort from a person; on the contrary, if you force the process too much and constantly "keep yourself in check" without relaxing for a second, this will also slow down your practice. Asceticism in yoga is absolutely necessary, but it must be harmoniously combined with relaxation and enjoyment from practice.

In yoga, the most important thing is not WHAT you do, but HOW you perform this or that exercise. You can twist into three knots and take the most difficult asana, which will look one-in-one like in the picture, but will not be yoga at the same time, but you can take the simplest pose and get a huge effect from it.

In other words, we must avoid extremes, observe the principle of common sense and listen very carefully to our body, to our feelings, emotions, feelings. Any physical or mental exercise may or may not be a yoga exercise, an element of inner harmony and joy from its performance is important.

The main criterion for success is only one - it is the habit of doing yoga. Of course, flexibility, slimness, a sense of harmony, and the ability to focus are also indicators of progress in yoga, but they are all secondary and secondary.

If you have developed the habit of doing yoga every day - no matter what kind of yoga you do - then success is guaranteed to you, now it's only a matter of time when certain results from the practice will come. If there is no such habit, you can get some effect very quickly and also lose it quickly.

In addition, it should be remembered that yoga can only be called a system of self-knowledge that strictly adheres to the first and second principles - the principles of kindness and common sense.

If a person is evil, cruel, harms others and does not want to change at the same time, it is unlikely that he will be able to master yoga practices at a really serious level.

Strictly speaking, anyone can do yoga. Even if for one reason or another you cannot practice physical yoga (age, health problems, etc.), you can practice other types of yoga - meditation, dream yoga, visualization yoga, raja yoga, etc.

The teaching is very multifaceted, practices related to volitional efforts and asceticism are more suitable for someone, while for someone - with methods of energy and trust in the Absolute. Anyone can learn something useful from a wide arsenal of practical yoga methods.

But, no matter what kind of yoga you do, if you practice it honestly, purposefully, regularly, if you develop the habit of practicing, you can get a truly wonderful result.

In principle, there are no external devices or diagnostic methods to determine whether a particular yoga exercise is being performed correctly. No external observer will be able to do this, only the practitioner himself can determine this.

At the same time, yoga gives some guidelines on how to do this – when performing each exercise in yoga, you should feel harmony and a state of joy. If you are doing an exercise and you want to continue doing it, then you are doing it correctly. You can feel the joy of overcoming yourself by performing a pose with effort, using will, or, conversely, the joy of experiencing pleasant sensations in the body when the pose becomes comfortable, but in both cases there should be positive emotions.

If you feel pain, discomfort, desire to get out of the pose, but use violence on your body, then you do anything but yoga. In yoga, it is believed that violence against the body is absolutely not effective and does not lead to any long-term results. As it is said in an ancient treatise on yoga, "pain and yoga are incompatible, if there is pain, there is no yoga, if there is yoga, there is no pain."

This is the main secret of yoga, this is what distinguishes it from physical education and sports. It is thanks to the harmony method that you begin to feel better about yourself, move from the outside world to the inside, and begin to grow spiritually. It is this method that allows you to get all the beneficial effects of yoga - to develop and hone your intellectual abilities, learn how to plan and achieve your goals, harmoniously build relationships with others, and much, much more.

If we briefly structure the whole variety of effects obtained from yoga, we can answer this question as follows:

Physical health, good energy tone, a surge of energy and vitality.

A beautiful, hardy, slender physical body.

Mental health, stress relief, calmness, balance, inner harmony and freedom, a sense of joy and happiness.

Real positive changes in life - a more interesting and highly paid job, a busy, interesting life, building more harmonious relationships with others, freeing up a temporary resource, achieving all the goals set,

Spiritual development – a person becomes more open, kind, sincere, begins to understand himself and the universe better, becomes a support for other people.

There are a lot of types of yoga, as many as there are manifestations of human activity. As a rule, the main, classical types of yoga include Hatha yoga, kriya yoga, mantra yoga, pranayama, meditation. These yogis allow you to rebuild your physical body, make it more perfect, hardy, strong, help you gain clarity of consciousness, hone your mind and intellectual abilities.

These yogis are the foundation for more complex, exotic yogas, such as Tantra yoga, yoga of falling in love, Nyasa yoga, Bhakti yoga, Jnana yoga, Raja yoga, dream yoga, visualization yoga and many others. About twenty types of yoga are studied in our yoga school within the framework of the Open Yoga University - you can find more detailed information about these types on the website openyoga.ru .

No one in the world will be able to tell you clear deadlines, dates and figures – it all depends on your specific situation, on the habit of studying, on what goals you set for yourself. It happens that a person is just starting to practice yoga, and progress is very fast, and then suddenly "runs into a wall."

In this case, everything depends only on you, on your will and determination, on whether you will be able to realize the harmony method for yourself. But in any case, if yoga classes have become a habit for you, all the positive results will come, now it's only a matter of time.