Author: yoga shobha

Yoga is a Comprehensive Way of Life & Dharmic Values

Yoga is a Comprehensive Way of Life & Dharmic Values

Oct 3, 2020 | |

Yoga is a comprehensive way of life & dharmic values Yoga keeps the body fit and mind still 21 June 2020 from Amma’s message on International Day of Yoga In the five years since the United Nations formed International Day of Yoga, yoga has found astonishing popularity. Most nations now recognize that yoga boosts physical, emotional, and intellectual health. Yoga, like Ayurveda, is a priceless gift to the world from the ancient rishis of Bharat. The meaning of the word yoga is “coming together” or “joining.” Yoga unites our body, breath, mind, and awareness in a potent harmony. If...

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Amma and Lord Surya, The Sun God

Amma and Lord Surya, The Sun God

May 28, 2019 | , |

Amma and Lord Surya, The Sun God Sunsets on any western seashore are beautiful, but with Amma’s presence, its beauty becomes several times more. Amma offers such beautiful outings to everyone at Amritapuri on all Mondays and Fridays. There, by the sea, Amma sits on a high pedestal so that She is visible from afar. Amma insists that She is able to see all Her children. This pedestal has two or three steps for several children to sit near Her. Tumban (the ashram dog) normally takes the full share of Amma’s left side. When Amma is here on this...

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The Key Aspects Leading to the Goal of Ashtanga Yoga

The Key Aspects Leading to the Goal of Ashtanga Yoga

Jan 1, 2019 | , |

The Key Aspects Leading to the Goal of Ashtanga Yoga “Athaanushaasanam Yoga” or “And now the instructions on Yoga” is one of the verses in the Yoga Sutras by Sage Patanjali. By saying “and now,” the great Sage is implying that, once we have completed the preliminaries, we can go deeper into ashtanga yoga practice. Before we delineate the prerequisites, let us take a look at the goal of Yoga. Patanjali says, “Yogashchittavrittinirodhah” (Yoga Sutras, 1.2), i.e. “Yoga is blocking or controlling the modifications of the mind stuff.” This is done through concentration and invoking ‘Ashtanga Yoga’ or the...

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How to Practice Yogasana to make it Real Yoga?

How to Practice Yogasana to make it Real Yoga?

Nov 8, 2018 | , |

Genuine Yogasana Practice What distinguishes yogasana practice from mere exercising or acrobatic contortions? Some practitioners are under the impression that the modifications of postures they practice are thousands of years old. Thus, by practicing those movements, they are following the ancient path of yoga with its mystical, long-traced history. The classical text Hatha Yoga Pradipika, which is only around six hundred years old, has only 84 asanas. However, other texts refer to many postures that existed longer.  Some scholars believe that when Sage Patanjali was writing about asana in the Yoga Sutras more than two thousand years ago, he...

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Developing a Self-Practice

Developing a Self-Practice

Oct 26, 2018 | , |

Exploring Self-Practice You bought a yoga mat. You have the right clothes. All the holes on your yoga card have been punched. Now you unroll your mat on the floor at home. You step onto it. And… How to practice yoga alone? What exactly is a “self-practice”? What are the benefits of practicing between classes? And how can we learn to develop a self-practice? In Amrita Yoga, yoga is not taught as mere physical exercise; it is also a personal spiritual practice (sadhana). When students walk out the door after a course, they are equipped with the basic knowledge...

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