Yoga Life Book
Page 16
3. YOGA (ASANA) PRACTICE:
Yoga is complete life. It is a method which overhauls all the sides
of the human personality.
Yoga is a system of integral education,
education not only of the body and the mind or the intellect, but
also of the inner spirit.
Yoga shows you the method of rising from
unhappiness to happiness, and from goodness to godliness and then
to eternal divine splendor.
Yoga is the art of right living. The
Yogis who have learnt the art of right living are happy, harmonious,
and peaceful. They are free from tension.
Yoga is a science perfected
by ancient seers of India, not of India-merely, but of humanity
as a whole. It is an exact science. It is a perfect, practical system
of self-culture.
Yoga does not want a turning away
from life. It demands spiritualisation of life.
Yoga is primarily
a way of life, not something which is divorced from life. Yoga
is not forsaking of action, but is efficient performance in the right
spirit. Yoga is not running away from home and human habitation,
but a process of molding one's attitude to home and society with
a new understanding.
Yoga Is Universal
Yoga is for all. Yoga is universal. It is not a
sectarian affair. It is a way to God and not a creed.
Yoga is not
a religion, but an aid to the practice of the, basic spiritual
truths in all religions.
Yoga can be practiced by a Christian or
a Buddhist, a Parsee, a Mohammedan, a Sufi or an atheist. To be
a Yogi means to abide continuously in and to live at peace with all.
Yoga is union With God consciousness.
Yoga is not Physical Exercise
The idea-: of the novice that Yoga (Constitutes physical exercises
or mere Asanas and Pranayama, a terrible error They are considered
to be aids in
Yoga practice. Most people do not have access to
Yoga beyond its' physical 'level, because true Yoga needs intense
personal discipline coupled with intense thinking under the guidance
of an able teacher. Yoga promises super physical and spiritual
blessing; It becomes unattractive to a common man who clamors for
immediate fruits and worldly prosperity.
A aspirant in the path of
Yoga should have faith, energy, cheerfulness, courage, patience,
perseverance, sincerity, purity, lack of despondency of mind, dispassion,
aspiration, concentration, serenity, self-restraint, truthfulness,
non-violence, non-covetousness, etc.
In the practice of Yoga, there is a reversal of the normal
outgoing activity of the mind. Steadiness of mind is very essential
for a reversal of the normal outgoing activity of the mind.
Unless the mind is first made steady and brought under complete
control, it will not be possible to change its course to the
opposite direction.
Yoga brings in perfection, peace, land lasting
happiness. You can have calmness of mind at all times by the
practice of Yoga. You can have restful sleep. You can have increased
energy, vigor, vitality, longevity, and a high standard of health.
You can turn out efficient work within a short space of time. You
can have success in every walk of life. Yoga will infuse in you
new strength, confidence, and self-reliance. The body and mind
will be at your beck and call.
Yoga brings your emotions under
control. It increases your power of concentration at work. Yoga
discipline gives poise and tranquillity and miraculously rebuilds
one's life. The Yoga way of life deepens one's understanding and
enables them to know God consciousness.
Yoga leads from ignorance
to wisdom, from weakness to strength, from disharmony to harmony,
from hatred to love, from want to fullness, from limitation to
infinitude, from diversity to unity, and from imperfection to perfection.
Yoga gives hope to the sad and forlorn, strength to the weak, health
to the sick, and wisdom to the ignorant.
Through Yogic discipline, mind, body and the organ of speech
work together harmoniously. For a Yoga practitioner, a new outlook,
a new health, a new awareness and a new philosophy rush in and
vividly transform his life.
Lust for power, material greed, sensual
excitement, selfishness, passion for wealth, and lower appetites
have drawn man from his true life in the spirit into the materialistic
life. He can regain his lost divine glory if he practices, in right
earnest, the principles of Yoga. Yoga transmutes animal nature into
divine nature and raises him to the pinnacle of divine glory and
splendor
Bliss Divine by Swami Sivananda
When there is perfect harmony between body and mind, we achieve
self-realization. Yoga teaches us that the obstacles in the path
of our self-realization show themselves in a physical or mental indisposition.
When our physical state is not perfect it causes an imbalance in
our mental state, The practice of yoga helps us overcome that imbalance.
Yogic asanas redress unsteadiness in the body. Uneven respiration
an indication of stress, is alleviated by the practice of yoga. Asanas
tone the whole body. They strengthen bones and muscles, correct posture,
improve breathing, and increase energy. This physical well-being
strengthens and calms the mind.
Practicing asanas cleanses the body.
Asanas, by increasing the circulation of fresh blood through the
body, purge it of the diseases and toxins which are the consequences
of an irregular lifestyle, unhealthy habits, and poor posture.
Regular practice of the stretches, twists, bends, and inversions,
which are the basic movements of asanas, restores strength and stamina
to the body. Asanas, together with pranayama, or the control of breath,
rectify physical, physiological, and psychological disorders. They
have a positive impact on the effects of stress and disease.
The
impact of yoga is never purely physical. Asanas I correctly practiced,
bridge the divide between the physical and the mental spheres.
Yoga stems the feelings of pain, fatigue, doubt, confusion, indifference,
laziness, self-delusion, and despair that assail us from time to
time.
The body and the mind are in a state of constant interaction.
Yogic science does not demarcate where the body ends and the mind
begins, but approaches both as a single, integrated entity. The
turmoil of daily life brings stress to the body and the mind. This
creates anxiety, depression, restlessness, and rage. Yoga asanas,
while appearing to deal with the physical body alone, actually influence
the chemical balance of the brain, which in turn improves one's
mental state of being.
By B.K.S. Iyengar
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