YOGIC LIFESTYLE Archives

Finding Your Place In Yoga

March 1, 2024February 28, 2024

The great thing about yoga is that is what I’ve gained from it (among other gifts), but it might have very well granted something different to each of you readers. Yoga can help us build upon our strengths, and develop areas that aren’t as strong for us, because it is malleable enough to be a different practice for each person. That is why there is a different place for each of us, in our yoga practice/instruction and otherwise. Yoga can also help us to find that place and stay there.

Teaching Yin Yoga Classes

February 23, 2024February 23, 2024

After practicing and teaching karate and tai chi for many years, I was drawn to yoga in my quest for a spiritual connection. First it was from books, then from videos and finally I started visiting local yoga studios in search of a teacher. In the beginning of my practice I was concentrating on the physical practice, and was not sure where I was going with it. I just loved the feeling of stretching and twisting my body into various postures. Soon I was addicted to the quest for perfect postures. At that point I found my teacher Alan Finger and my emphasis began to change. I realized that the physical practice was primarily meant for developing the strength of mind and body necessary to sit in meditation for at least 20 minutes and that the side effects of the physical practice like discipline, flexibility calmness and strength were secondary.

Yoga Mantras for Managing Anxiety

January 9, 2024December 31, 2023

Mantras are sacred syllables or words. This technique is also known in some spiritual traditions as a mantram. A mantra is different from…

Clarifying Your Sankalpa: Kapalabhati Pranayama

February 6, 2024December 29, 2023

You make a wish to work up to 30 rounds at a time by doing several sets of 10 breaths, and then resting for a moment or two between sets. As you practice Kapalabhati Pranayama, imagine that you are invigorating your brain with fresh oxygen and clearing away all limiting thoughts and negative beliefs, in order to make room for uplifting thoughts that will support you in implementing your sankalpa.

Practical Application of Mantra Practice

December 21, 2023December 20, 2023

When you practice mantra meditation you are centering your core being. You are learning to calm your mind, focus your inner energy and put yourself at peace mentally and spiritually. With mediation practice you can become calmer, more focused and less stressed at everyday activities. It is important for everyone to know how to slow their bodies down and reconnect with their inner self on a regular basis. You will feel rejuvenated and more centered after mediation with mantras and will be able to go through your day more effectively and balanced.

What is a Sankalpa?

December 18, 2023December 17, 2023

One way to clearly define a chosen goal or sankalpa for the year to come is to contemplate the result of following through on the sankalpa you have chosen. For example, if you have decided that learning Sanskrit will help your own spiritual growth, and learning the language will also help you to offer deeper spiritual wisdom to your Yoga students, implementing this sankalpa may indeed help you to more fully offer your own unique skills and talents to the world around you.

The Concept of Yoga

November 27, 2023November 27, 2023

Yoga changes lives by goal setting and the energy that teachers bring into classes. Those who choose to follow the yogic path are quite often interested in fulfilling their greatest potential. Setting goals (sankalpa) is an effective tool to achieving your best self.

Yoga for Anxiety Relief – On and Off the Mat

November 23, 2023November 23, 2023

I was getting a little older and I had decided it was time to take better care of my physical health, so I joined the local YMCA. I didn’t pick that gym for any particular reason, it just happened to be close by and it looked nice, so I signed up. One day, after working out on the treadmill, I walked by the front desk on my way out and saw a display of class schedules for the different locations around town. One of the locations was very close to my current gym and it advertised mind/body classes such as meditation and yoga.

What is Power Yoga?

November 6, 2023November 3, 2023

You may have noticed that Aura Wellness Center recently added a Power yoga course. Yet, people considering yoga teacher training courses often wonder what the “power” is all about. To some people the word (power) doesn’t seem yogic. So, what’s all the hype about this particular style?

Increase Happiness with Yoga

October 30, 2023October 28, 2023

By Bhavan Kumar How can you increase happiness with yoga? Since yoga moved onto the world stage, asana, pranayama, meditation, and other Yogic stress-reduction exercises have been studied as possible alternative treatments for mood-related disorders. However, the body of literature on the therapeutic benefits of yoga was relatively limited until the Internet propelled it forward. …