PRANAYAMA

What is Pranayama - Many people think of Pranayama as just breathing control, but it is very much more.
Ayama means dimension, not control.
So pranayama is practiced in order to expand the dimensions of prana within the body.
Pranayama is essentially a process by which prana is controlled by regulating the breathing voluntary. It involves a temporary pause or interval in the movement of the breath.

Purpose of Pranayama - The Hatha Yoga Pradipika states that Pranayama is practiced in order to understand and control the pranic process in the body. Breathing is a direct means of absorbing prana and the manner in which we breath sets off pranic vibrations, which influence our entire being.
By becoming aware of the nature of the breath and by restraining it, the whole system becomes controlled. When you retain the breath you are stopping nervous impulses in different parts of the body and harmonising the brain wave patterns. In pranayama, it is the duration of the breath retention, which has to be increased. The longer the breath is held, the greater the gap between nervous impulses and their responses in the brain. When retention is held for a prolonged period, mental agitation is curtailed.
Through pranayama the mind can be brought under control. In many spiritual traditions, including Sufism, Buddhism and Yoga, it is known that by concentrating on the breath, you can still the mind, develop one-pointedness and gain entry into the deeper realms of the mind and consciousness.

Precautions and Prohibitions -  Pranayama should not be practiced when the lungs are congested.
- Pranayama should not be practiced immediately after meals and at least four hours should be allowed after eating.
- During Pranayama the breath must not be forced or strained.
- People with high blood pressure, lung, heart, eye or ear problems should NOT hold after an IN breath and no vigorous breathing exercises, cleansing or bellows breaths.
- People with low blood pressure should NOT hold after an OUT breath.

Chakras I

Chakra (derived from the Sanskrit cakraṃ चक्रं ([ˈtʃəkrə̃]), pronounced [ˈtʃəkrə] in Hindi; Pali: ॰हक्क chakka, Chinese: 轮, Tibetan: འཁོར་ལོ་; khorlo) is a Sanskrit word that translates as "wheel" or "turning".

Chakra is a concept referring to wheel-like vortices which, according to traditional Indian medicine, are believed to exist in the surface of the etheric double of man. The Chakras are said to be "force centres" or whorls of energy permeating, from a point on the physical body, the layers of the subtle bodies in an ever-increasing fan-shaped formation (the fans make the shape of a love heart). Rotating vortices of subtle matter, they are considered the focal points for the reception and transmission of energies. Seven major chakras or energy centres (also understood as wheels of light) are generally believed to exist, located within the subtle body.

It is typical for chakras to be depicted as either flower-like or wheel-like. In the former, a specific number of petals are shown around the perimeter of a circle. In the latter, a certain number of spokes divide the circle into segments that make the chakra resemble a wheel or chakra. Each chakra possesses a specific number of segments or petals.

Texts documenting the chakras go back as far as the later Upanishads.

The Integral Yoga and Other Yogas

This yoga aims at the conscious union with the Divine in the supermind and the transformation of the nature. The ordinary yogas go straight from Mind into some featureless condition of the cosmic silence and through it try to disappear upward into the Highest. The object of this yoga is to transcend Mind and enter into the Divine Truth of Sachidananda which is not only static but dynamic and raise the whole being into that truth.
Those who seek the Self by the old yogas separate themselves from mind, life and body and realise the self of it all as different from these things. It is perfectly easy to separate mind, vital and physical from each other without the aid of supermind. It is done by the ordinary yogas. The difference between this and the old yogas is not that they are incompetent and cannot do these things - they can do this perfectly well - but that they proceed from realisation of Self to Nirvana or some Heaven and abandon life, while this does not abandon life. The supramental is necessary for the transformation of terrestrial life and being, not for reaching the Self. One must realise Self first, only afterwards can one realise the supermind. - Sri Aurobindo

DHANURASANA

- Dhanusha means a bow. The hands are used like a bowstring to pull the head, trunk and legs up and the posture resembles a bent bow. Therefore this asana is called "Dhanurasana".

- Technique - Lie prone on the floor on the stomach, face downwards. Relax the muscles. Keep the arms resting alongside the body.
- Bend the legs at the knees.
- Raise the arms and hold the ankles with the hands. Raise the chest and the head. Fill the lungs with air.
- Straighten and stiffen the hands. Stiffen the legs also. The body now assumes the posture of a convex arch.
- If you lift the legs up, you can raise the chest . Hold the breath.
- Then exhale slowly. Attempt to keep the knees together.
- Stay in this position as long as possible.
- In this asana, the abdomen supports the whole body. So practice this asana when the stomach is empty.
- The body in Dhanurasana pose gets good exercise if it is lightly rocked from left to right and forward and backward.

- Remember - Do not try to bring the toes near ears forcefully if it is difficult. Gradually increase the practice.

- Benefits of Dhanurasana - One who regularly practices Halasana, Mayurasana and Dhanurasana never becomes lazy. One is always active and energetic.
- This asana gives a good massage to the abdomen so it cures prolonged constipation, dyspepsia, and other disorders of the stomach.
- Increases energy and counteracts depression.
- It cures spinal hump and rheumatism of the legs, the knees and the hands.
- It reduces fat. It activates the intestines and increases the digestive power.
- It nourishes all the abdominal organs by supplying blood to them. This asana is a blessing to those who suffer from gas and other intestinal disorders.
- Stretches the chest and lungs.
- This asana is very beneficial specially to women because it alleviates the menstrual disorders and improves the reproductive system.
- This asana rejuvenates the spine . It prevents bones from being untimely degenerated.
- It activates the pancreas and insulin is produced in proper proportion.

- Contraindications - High and low blood pressure, Migraine, Insomnia, Serious lower back, Neck injury, Diarrhoea, Headache, Heart problem, Peptic ulcer, Hernia, Thyroid or endocrine gland disorders.


- Dhanurasana ou posture de l'arc
- Technique - Se coucher sur le ventre, replier les jambes en gardant les gros orteils joints, genous écartés, attraper les chevilles avec les mains.
- Allongez-vous sur le ventre avec les bras le long du corps. Le menton repose sur le sol et les pieds sont étendus.
- Sur l’inspiration, pliez les deux jambes et attrapez les chevilles avec les mains. Levez la tête, le haut du corps et les cuisses, et regardez vers le haut. Éloigner les pieds des fessiers en soulevant du sol la tête et les épaules.
- Le corps est maintenant comme un arc en tension. Le poids du corps repose sur l’abdomen. L’extension de la colonne vertébrale et sur le Chakra Manipura.
- Essayer de bien soulever les pieds pour que le corps repose sur l'abdomen.
- Retenez la respiration et maintenez la posture aussi longtemps qu’elle vous est confortable.
- Expirez en revenant dans la posture de départ.
- Ou aussi - Tenir la posture quelques secondes en respirant normalement.
- Relâcher la posture doucement et se reposer à plat ventre avec les bras vers l'arrière et une joue sur le sol. Détendre tout le corps.

- Commencez par réaliser cet Asana trois fois en gardant brièvement la posture. Après avoir pratiqué ainsi un certain temps, étendez la pratique en gardant la posture quelques minutes en respirant normalement.


- Il est possible de préparer cette posture en dynamique : sur chaque inspir, de monter les pieds, les genoux, la tête et les épaules de plus en plus haut et de relâcher sur chaque expir.
- Aussi - Respirez normalement, basculez le corps d’avant en arrière dans la posture de l’arc en tension. Respirez normalement en roulant le corps de droite à gauche dans la posture de l’arc tendu.


- Bienfaits - Maintient la flexibilité de la colonne vertébrale, améliore la mobilité des hanches et des épaules. Masse les organes abdominaux et active le Chakra Manipura, stimulant ainsi le flux d’énergie vitale.
- Dhanurasana renforce et tonifie les muscles du dos, assouplit la colonne vertébrale, les hanches et les articulations des épaules.
- Elle masse les organes abdominaux, ce qui améliore la digestion, masse le plexus solaire, ce qui permet de remédier à l'anxiété.

- Précautions - Evitez cet exercice en cas d’hernie, de blessure du dos ou après une opération chirurgicale de l’abdomen.
- Dhanurasana est déconseillée aux femmes enceintes.

Yoga View

It is difficult to define in a way that satisfies the intellect because it is not a fixed thing. It isn't a thing at all, yet it is at the heart of the experience of yoga. Yoga practice is a means of transformation and that transformation is both deeply personal and universal. The way we see ourselves and the world defines the world in which we live. So in yoga and all sincere spiritual practice, we have to stop and question how we are relating to everything. This stopping means embracing the mysterious and unknown nature of existence. It is the Unknown itself, which gives birth to the yoga view in the individual. Because its origin is always empty, this perspective cannot be contained or owned. The yoga view is a perspective that is beyond any and all fixed ideas and assumptions. So it is free, all-inclusive and always new. Since the yoga view is free of fixed ideas, it kills fundamentalism and gives birth to compassion, understanding, and a profound ongoing curiosity into the nature of life. - The Yogaview

Sun Salutation

          Sun Salutation

Moon Salutation

Moon Salutation