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SYNOPSIS OF MARTIAL ARTS
TAOIST TANTRIC KUNG FU
HISTORY OF SHAN FU JOW
LINEAGE MASTER
SHAN FU JOW PHILOSOPHIA
SECRET CHI KUNG SYSTEM
Forms / Iron Hands/Weapons & Training
About Us
Contact
Links
FAQ
REGISTRY OF INSTRUCTORS
ESOTERIC BUDDHISM
RANKING SYSTEM
OUTREACH WORLDWIDE PROGRAME
THE SPIRITUAL SYSTEM
PRODUCTS AND AIDS
IMPORTANT NOTICE
GUIDE TO MEDICINE
FREE MEDICINAL RECIPE FOR CHI
ROLE OF MEDITATION AND DIET
MY MARTIAL ARTS LINKS PAGE
DIET NUTRITION AND TRAINING
HOW TO SPOT A FAKE MASTER
INTENSIVE COURSES
TEMPLE STYLE YOGA
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| TRADITIONAL TEMPLE STYLE YOGA |
| Lineage Yoga of the Esoteric Indian Naga School |
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| Yoga (Devanagari: योग) is a family of ancient spiritual practices originating in India. It is one of the six schools of Hindu philosophy, in which it is often paired with Samkhya, and they are referred together as the Samkhya-Yoga school. Today in India and across the World, Yoga is a vibrant living tradition and is seen as a means to both physical health and spiritual mastery. Karma Yoga (yoga of Action), Jnana Yoga (yoga of Knowledge), Bhakti Yoga (yoga of Devotion), and Raja Yoga (yoga of Meditation) are considered the four main paths of Yoga. Outside India, Yoga has become primarily associated with the practice of asanas (postures) of Hatha Yoga (see Yoga as exercise), a system of Yoga that developed from - and in order to prepare students for the practice of - Raja Yoga. Yoga as a means of spiritual attainment is central to Hinduism (including Vedanta schools), Buddhism, and Jainism, and has influenced other religious and spiritual practices throughout the world. Hindu texts establishing the basis for yoga include the Upanishads, the Bhagavad Gita, the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, the Hatha Yoga Pradipika and many others. Origins The earliest written accounts of yoga appear in the Rig Veda, which began to be codified between 1500 and 1200 BC. Some historians believe that this 5000-year-old sculpture is of a yogi. Enlarge The earliest written accounts of yoga appear in the Rig Veda, which began to be codified between 1500 and 1200 BC. Some historians believe that this 5000-year-old sculpture is of a yogi. Main article: History of Yoga The word "yoga" derives from the Sanskrit root yuj ("to yoke"); which is cognate to modern English "yoke", "jugal" and "jugum" in Latin. All derive from the Proto-Indo-European root *yeug- meaning "to join" or "unite".[1] It is generally translated as "union of the individual atma (loosely translated to mean soul) with Paramatma, the universal soul." This may be understood as union with the Divine by integration of body, mind, and spirit. A committed practitioner of yoga is referred to as a yogi or yogin (masculine), or yogini (feminine). These designations are for serious practitioners, who have already made considerable progress along the path towards yoga. Images of a meditating yogi from the Indus Valley Civilization are thought to be 6 to 7 thousand years old. The earliest written accounts of yoga appear in the Rig Veda, which began to be codified between 1500 and 1200 BC but had been orally transmitted for at least a millennium prior to this. The first quasi-rational, full description of the principles and goals of yoga is to be found in the Upanisads, thought to have been composed between 800 and 300 BC. The Upanisads are also called Vedanta since they constitute the end or conclusion of the Vedas (the traditional body of spiritual wisdom). In the Upanisads, the older practice of offering sacrifices and ceremonies to appease external gods gives way instead to a new understanding that man can, by means of an inner sacrifice, become one with the Supreme Being (referred to as Brahman or Mahātman) -- through moral culture, restraint and training of the mind. Bhagavad Gita Main article: Bhagavad Gita The Bhagavad Gita ('Song of the Lord') is thought to have been written some time between 400 and 100 BC. Technically it is not an individual work - it is a section of the epic Mahabharata - but it is frequently published and discussed as if it were. To this day, it remains the single most influential and popular work of Hindu philosophy ever written, and it is also the first work devoted explicitly and wholly to yoga. Its narrative concerns a moral dilemma faced by Prince Arjuna, who is advised by Lord Krishna as to the best course of action regarding how he should regain his lost kingdom. The first and foremost lesson of the Bhagavad Gita is regarding the importance of action - that we have a moral imperative to act, and that by implication non-action is an immoral choice when faced with a dilemma. But this action should always be conducted without selfish motivation. Thus the principle of Karma Yoga, of selfless action. It distinguishes several types of yoga according to what is most appropriate for the different nature of people, such that a devoted person will be most suited to the duty of Bhakti yoga, an intellectual person to Jnana yoga and so on. The Bhagavad Gita talks of four branches of yoga: (1) Karma yoga (sometimes called Kriya yoga), the yoga of action in the world " With the body, with the mind, with the intellect, even merely with the senses, the yogins perform action toward self-purification, having abandoned attachment. He who is disciplined in yoga, having abandoned the fruit of action, attains steady peace..." (Ch5:V11-12) (2) Jnana yoga, the yoga of knowledge and intellectual endeavor " When he perceives the various states of being as resting in the One, and from That alone spreading out, then he attains Brahman. They who know, through the eye of knowledge, the distinction between the field and the knower of the field, as well as the liberation of beings from material nature, go to the Supreme." (Ch15:V31/35) (3) Bhakti yoga, the yoga of devotion to a deity ".... those who, renouncing all actions in Me, and regarding Me as the Supreme, worship me... of those whose thoughts have entered into Me, I am soon the deliverer from the ocean of death and transmigration, Arjuna. Keep your mind on Me alone, your intellect on Me. Thus you shall dwell in me hereafter." (Ch12:V6-8) " And he who serves me with the yoga of unswerving devotion, transcending these qualities [binary opposites, like good and evil, pain and pleasure] is ready for absorption in Brahman." (Ch14:V26) (4) Raja yoga, the yoga of meditation " Establishing a firm seat for himself in a clean place... having directed his mind to a single object, with his thought and the activity of the senses controlled, he should practice yoga for the purpose of self-realization. Holding the body, head and neck erect, motionless and steady, gazing at the tip of his own nose and not looking in any direction, with quieted mind, banishing fear, established in the brahmacharin vow of celibacy, controlling the mind, with thoughts fixed on Me, he should sit, concentrated, devoted to Me. Thus, continually disciplining himself, the yogin whose mind is subdued goes to nirvana, to supreme peace, to union with Me." (Ch6:V11-15) [edit] Yoga Sutras of Patanjali Main articles: Patanjali and Yoga Sutras of Patanjali The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali are a book of 196 aphorisms compiled by the sage Patanjali sometime between 100 BC and 200 AD. Patanjali in the Yoga Sutras presents the goal of yoga as 'the cessation of mental fluctuations' (cittavrtti nirodha). In reference to the Bhagavad Gita classifications, Patanjali's yoga is a form of Raja yoga, as it seeks meditiation as the path towards the ultimate goal. Patanjali himself referred to it as "Ashtanga Yoga" ("Eight-Limbed Yoga"), from the eight steps he set out as the practical path towards attainment of enlightenment. This eight-limbed concept became an authoritative feature of Raja yoga from that point forward, and is a core characteristic of practically every Raja yoga variation (including Hatha yoga) taught today. Patanjali's Eight Limbs of yoga practice are: (1) Yama (The five "abstentions"): violence, lying, theft, (illicit) sex, and possessions (2) Niyama (The five "observances"): purity, contentment, austerities, study, and surrender to god (3) Asana: Literally means "seat", and in Patanjali's Sutras refers to seated positions used for meditation. Later, with the rise of Hatha yoga, asana came to refer to all the "postures" (4) Pranayama ("Life Force Control"): Control of prāna, life force, or vital energy (5) Pratyahara ("Abstraction"): Reversal of the sense organs (6) Dharana ("Concentration"): Fixing the attention on a single object (7) Dhyana ("Meditation"): Intense contemplation of the true nature of reality (8) Samadhi ("Liberation"): Super-conscious state of enlightenment Hatha Yoga Pradipika Main article: Hatha yoga Hatha Yoga is a particular system of Yoga introduced by Yogi Swatmarama, a yogic sage of the 15th century in India, and compiler of the Hatha Yoga Pradipika. Hatha Yoga is a development of - but also differs substantially from - the Raja Yoga of Patanjali, in that it focuses on shatkarma, the purification of the physical as leading to the purification of the mind (ha) and prana, or vital energy (tha). In contrast, the Raja Yoga posited by Patanjali begins with a purification of the mind (yamas) and spirit (niyamas), then comes to the body via asana (body postures) and pranayama (breath). Hatha yoga contains substantial tantric influence, and marks the first point at which chakras and kundalini were introduced into the yogic canon. Compared to the seated asanas of Patanjali's Raja yoga which were seen largely as a means of preparing for meditation, it also marks the development of asanas as full body 'postures' in the modern sense. Hatha Yoga in its many modern variations is the style that most people actually associate with the word "Yoga" today. [2] Because its emphasis is on the body through asana and pranayama practice, many western students are satisfied with the physical health and vitality it develops and are not interested in the other six limbs of the complete Hatha yoga teaching, or with the even older Raja Yoga tradition it is based on. Ardha-matsyendra-asana The Half Spinal Twist Pose Translation: Ardha means half. Matsyendra is one of many Siddhas or masters who where accomplished Yogis mentioned in the medieval Yoga text the Hatha-Yoga-Pradipika. This posture posture is traditionally called the Spinal Twist because the spinal column is twisted gently. "Keeping the abdominal region at ease like the back, bending the left leg, place it on the right thigh; then place on this the elbow of the right hand, and place the face on the palm of the right hand, and fix the gaize between the eye-brows. This is called Matsyendra-posture." Comments: The Half Spinal Twist is one of the best Yoga postures for cultivating flexibility and strength in the spine. It sooths stiff necks and upper back tension caused by stress, poor posture, or prolonged periods of sitting in one position. The alternating compression and release of the abdominal region flushes this area with blood and massages the internal organs. Muscles of the stomach and hips are also toned from repeated practice of the Half Spinal Twist. Durations/Repetitions: The posture can be held for as long as you are comfortable. (One repetition consists of performing the posture on each side. Two to three full repetitions should be done at each session. Posture: Gomukha The Cow-face Pose Translation: Gomukha literally means "cow face" in Sanskit. Pronunciation: go-moo-khah-sa-na Placing the right ankle on the left side and the left ankle on the right side, makes Gomukha-asana, having the appearance of a cow." Hatha-yoga-pradipika I.22 Place both feet on the ground with heels crossed under the buttocks. Sit straight and still, the mouth raised. This is called Gomukha-asana, resembling the mouth of a cow. Gherunda-samhita II.16 The Cow-face Pose (gomukha-asana) Instruction: 1 Sit in a crossed-leg position, right leg over left. 2 Spread the legs as far apart as possible without bending the knees. 3 Bend the left knee and place the bottom of the left foot against the inner left thigh. Bring the left heel as close to the perineum as possible. Keep the left knee on the floor. 4 Grasp the right foot with the left hand and keeping the foot on the floor place the heel of the right foot against the front-left portion of the left buttock. The right knee should be directly on top of the left knee. 5 Inhale slowly through the nostrils and raise the right hand over the head and bend the right elbow. Reach behind the back with the left hand and clasp the fingers of both hands (forming an "s" shaped lock). 6 Hold the posture as long as you can comfortably hold the inhale breath. Exhale slowly and then repeat the posture reversing the arms and legs. Posture: Hala-asana - The Plow Pose Translation: The The Sanskrit word Hala means plow, as in a traditional plow that is drawn by a horse or oxen. When performing this posture your body resembles a plow. Pronunciation: hull-ah-sa-na The Plow Posture (Hala-asana) Instruction: 1 Lie flat on the back in the shava-asana. 2 Inhale through the nostrils. Place the palms face-down on the floor. Keeping the hips on the floor, bend the knees and bring them up toward the stomach while exhaling. 3 Inhale, then while exhaling, raise the legs straight up perpendicular to the floor. You may support your hips with your hands or leave the arms flat on the floor, whichever is most comfortable. 4 Exhale and continue to raise the legs over the head, bending at the waist, lifting the back and buttocks until the toes touch the floor directly in back of the head. Keep the feet together. If the lower back is supported by the hands try returning the arms flat to the floor with the palms facing down. If you are unable to comfortably place the arms on the floor continue to support the lower back with the hands. 5 Keep the knees straight. Breath slowly through the nostrils and hold the posture for several minutes. If you cannot touch the floor with your toes hold them as close to the floor as possible and continue to exert effort to lower them. 6 Reverse the steps to return to the shava-asana. The hala-asana is an excellent morning posture although some might find it more difficult then. During sleep the spine can become somewhat compressed resulting in the experience of tightness or stiffness in the back. A few repetitions of the hala-asana will quickly restore flexibility to the spine as well as promote alertness. Durations/Repetitions: Hold the hala-asana for as long as you are comfortable. 20-30 seconds is fine for early attempts, increase the time gradually as you become more comfortable. Posture: Naga-asana - The Cobra Pose Translation: The Sanskrit word naga means snake or serpent. The naga-asana is also known as the bhujanga-asana. The Sanskrit word bhujanga, which also means snake, is derived from the root bhuj which means to bend or curve. Pronunciation: na-gah-sa-na Let the body, from navel to toes, touch the ground, the palms placed upon the ground, and raise gently the upper part of the body (from navel to head) like a snake. This posture increases the gastric fire; it destroys all diseases and by constant practice leads to the awakening of Kundalini." The Gheranda-samhita II.42-43. The Cobra Pose (Naga-asana) Instruction: 1 Lie on the stomach with the head turned to one side and the arms alongside the body with palms facing upward. 2 Turn the head and place the chin on the floor. Inhale then exhale slowly through the nostrils and swing the arms around until the hands are placed just below the chin with the palms down and the finger tips of each hand almost touching and the elbows on the floor. 3 Inhale slowly through the nostrils, press down on the hands and lift the torso from the waist up off the floor, arching the spine backwards and straightening the arms. Keep the hips on the floor. 4 Tilt the head as far back as possible and hold the posture for the duration of the inhaled breath. 5 Exhale and reverse the process to return to position #1. Durations/Repetitions: Hold the posture for either the duration of a held inhaled breath or from one-half to three minutes. Repeat the naga-asana two to five times. Padma-asana - Chenrezig Posture: Padma-asana - The Lotus Posture Translation: The Sanskrit word naga means snake or serpent. The naga-asana is also known as the bhujanga-asana. The Sanskrit word bhujanga, which also means snake, is derived from the root bhuj which means to bend or curve. Pronunciation: pud-mah-sa-na "Place the right foot on the left thigh and the left foot on the right thigh...with the soles upward, and place the hands on the thighs, with the palms upwards...This is called Padma-asana, the destroyer of all diseases. It is difficult of attainment by everybody, but can be learned by intelligent people in this world. The Hatha-Yoga-Pradipika I.46-49 The Lotus Posture (padma-asana) Instruction: 1 Sit on the floor with the legs stretched out straight in front. 2 Bend the right knee and grasp the right foot with both hands and place it on top of the left thigh bringing the heel as close to the navel as possible. 3 Bend the left knee and grasp the left foot with both hands and place it on top of the right thigh bringing the heel as close to the navel as possible. 4 Both knees should be on the ground and the soles of the feet are pointed upward. The spine is held straight but not rigid. 5 The position of the legs may be switched after a period of time if the posture becomes uncomfortable. Posture: Shalabha-asana The Locust or Grasshopper Posture Translation: The Sanskrit word Shalabha means locust or grasshopper. There is a variation of this posture called the viparita-shalabha-asana. The Sanskrit word viparita means "reverse." This is an advanced variation not covered here. Pronunciation: sha-la-bhah-sa-na ie on the ground with the face downwards and both hands under the chest touching the ground with the palms of the hands and both legs raised in the air ten inches high. This is called the Shalabha posture." The Gheranda-samhita II.39 The Locust or Grasshopper Posture (Shalabha-asana) Instruction: 1 Lie on the stomach with the head turned to one side and the arms alongside the body with palms facing upward. 2 Turn the head and place your chin on the floor. Slide your hands under your thighs, with the palms pressed gently against the top of your thighs. 3 Inhale slowly and then raise the head, chest, and legs off the floor as high as possible. Tilt your head as far back as possible. Keep your feet, knees, and thighs pressed together. 4 Starting at the top of the head and working your way down to the feet, bring your attention to each part of your body, consciously relaxing it before proceeding on to the next. 5 Remain in the posture while holding the breath. You can support your legs by pressing the hands upward against your thighs. 6 Hold the posture for as long as you can hold the inhaled breath then slowly return the legs, chest, and head to the floor while exhaling. 7 Remove your hands from under your thighs and place the arms alongside your body. Turn your head to the side and rest. I SHALL AGAIN UPDATE NEXT WEKK FRIENDS OF MILDMAY:-) |
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