GUIDELINES FOR YOGA PRACTICE Always face East or North during practice. When lying down, head towards East or North. (Exception: For Surya Namaskar, follow the direction of the sun till sunset.  Otherwise, face east or north.) Practice on an empty stomach. If not feasible, a glass of plain water, juice or milk, a few nuts or…

YOGA COURSE This yoga course has been structured with a very scientific approach.  One goes gradually, in easy steps from the very simple postures to the more advanced ones.  The body has the time to adapt and progressively gain suppleness and elasticity.  It is thus able to perform the new postures and movements with better ease. The…

SURYA NAMASKAR Surya Namaskar, salutation to the sun is of ancient Vedic origin.  ‘Surya’ means sun, ‘Namaskar’ means salutation. It was a spiritual practice, paying respect to the sun god; a form of worship handed down from ancient seers. The sun was daily worshipped as the most powerful symbol of spiritual consciousness and the source of life. …

HATHA YOGA Yoga is a complete science and art.   It is a unique system the world over.  Yoga does not highlight physical health only, but also ensures mental and spiritual health. Yoga comprises a series of holistic practices involving self discipline, meant to purify and bring into close harmony body and mind. It works to perfect…

KUNDALINI Kundalini is the primal energy, the divine cosmic energy, the potential power of man.  Life depends on this dormant energy for its transformation, dynamisation and sublimation.  It controls man’s physiological, mental and spiritual evolution.  As divine energy it is latent in man and needs to be awakened.  Unless it is awakened, man will not have…

MEDITATION In meditation there is perfect concentration of the highest order.  The mind is not disturbed by external or internal factors, by any exterior noise or by any disagreeable thoughts. Meditation is the only means to check or control the onrush of the mind.  When the mind is under control, it becomes calm.  Perfect calmness or balance…

RELAXATION, CONCENTRATION AND MEDITATION   It may be a good idea to dispel the misunderstanding commonly met with, concerning these three different techniques. Relaxation should not be confused with concentration, nor concentration with meditation.  It is true that relaxation does help concentration and concentration helps meditation.  Each is a different practice, yielding different results. Relaxation Relaxation eases both physical and…

CONCENTRATION   Every human possesses the power of concentration to a greater or lesser degree.   Knowingly or unknowingly we use this power in our daily life.  In its simplest form it is the attention we have to pay to anything in our daily activities, reading, singing, cooking, etc. Absentmindedness or lack of attention will make it impossible to…

 YOGIC RELAXATION The fast moving modern life has put all our everyday activities under pressure.  Yet man is hardly aware of the growing tension overpowering him and sapping his energy. Tension imposes on us a tremendous waste of vital energy, prana.  Tasks that could be performed in all peace are overburdened with anxiety, resulting in severe depletion…

ETHICS   Happiness and misery are two different conditions of our mind.  They are of our own making.  It is our own ignorance that is at the root of all our miseries and suffering. The world is neither good nor evil.  We make it good or evil by our perception and our tendency to depict it with…

DIET We are what we eat.  Out of the food we consume, our body manufactures everything required for survival.  Our food is not only concerned with physical growth, but it profoundly affects our mind.  We depend on the food we eat for prana too.  This vital energy plays a crucial role in maintaining homeostasis, for us…

PRANAYAMA The word ‘Pranayama’ is of Sanskrit origin, ‘prana’ means ‘life force’ or ‘vital energy’; ‘ayama’ means regulation, extension, amplitude etc.  The knowledge and means to control prana is the science of pranayama. Prana is vital for life.  It is the sum total of the cosmic energy that is present in every organism.  It keeps the body…