Satyananda Yoga - Practices

Asana

Asana is defined in Sage Patanjali's Yoga Sutras as 'that position which is comfortable and steady'. The raja yogis, then, practised asanas to develop the ability to sit comfortably in one position for an extended period of time, as necessary for meditation. The hatha yogis, however, found that asanas open the energy channels and psychic centres. They became tools to attain higher awareness, enabling the exploration of the body, breath, mind and subtle states.

Today, asanas are acknowledged to be techniques which place the physical body in positions that cultivate awareness, relaxation, concentration and meditation. An important part of this process is the development of good physical health by stretching, massaging and stimulating the pranic channels and internal organs.

Scientific research has proved that asanas prevent disease, promote health and have curative abilities, therefore many professionals use them to manage psycho-somatic stresses and diseases.

Asanas work on both the body and the mind. These are not separate entities although there is a tendency to think and act as though they are. The gross form of the mind is the body and the subtle form of the body is the mind. Practising asanas integrates and harmonises the two.

There are many informative books on asanas on the market, but the information contained in Asana, Pranayama, Mudra, Bandha, substantially contributes to the general corpus.

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Pranayama

Pranayama is generally defined as 'breath control'. Although this interpretation may seem correct in view of the practices involved, it does not convey the full meaning of the term. Prana means 'vital energy' or 'life force', ayama means 'to expand', accordingly pranayama is expansion of the vital energy. This vital energy is responsible for all life experiences including physical and spiritual.

Pranayamas harmonise the pranic body which is a network of nerve channels carrying the vital force to each and every cell and organ infusing them with life and dynamism. Pranayamas are also the preparatory practices for the awakening of the chakras (psychic centres) and aid in the perfection of kriya and kundalini yogas.

In the past pranayamas were taught to a select few as a part of higher yoga practice, but in the course of time Swami Satyananda Saraswati reintroduced the subject of pranayama as a part of daily yoga sadhana. The sequence in which the pranayamas are taught today by many yoga schools were developed by the Bihar School of Yoga.

The main publication dealing with this subject is Prana, Pranayama, Prana Vidya.

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Yoga Nidra

Yoga Nidra was devised by Swami Satyananda Saraswati from traditional Tantric practices and has had a major impact on the world of yoga. Yoga Nidra is a pratyahara technique in which the distractions of the mind are contained and the mind is allowed to relax. This practice has had a profound transformative effect on practitioners.

People feel that they are relaxing when they collapse in an easy chair with a cup of tea or coffee, a drink or a cigarette and read a newspaper or switch on the television. But this, in fact, is merely sensory diversion. Twentieth century research into sleep has proven that even entering into this traditional haven will rarely banish stress. True relaxation is an experience far beyond all this. For absolute relaxation one must remain aware. This is Yoga Nidra, the state of dynamic sleep.

Yoga Nidra is a systematic method of inducing complete physical, mental and emotional relaxation. During the practice, one appears to be asleep, but the consciousness is functioning at a deeper level of awareness.

Full details of the practice are set out in the book Yoga Nidra.

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Meditation

Many concentration and meditation techniques have been developed by Satyananda Yoga™ from ancient scriptures. The practices of pratyahara (stilling the mind), dharana (concentration), dhyana (meditation) and laya yoga techniques, derived from the Upanishads, the Tantras and other traditions have also been classified, taught and published. All techniques have different levels and stages of practice as clarified by the Satyananda Yoga™ tradition.

Below are descriptions of three common Satyananda Yoga™ meditation techniques:

Antar Mouna deals with the activities of the conscious mind. In Antar Mouna there is awareness of the thoughts and mental activity. The technique involves creating, transforming and finally gaining control of the thought processes.

Ajapa Japa is a mantra repetition practice with breath awareness in the psychic passages. The mantra may be the personal mantra given by a guru or the universal breath mantra So Ham whose spontaneous repetition is the core of Ajapa Japa.

Trataka involves gazing at one point, generally a candle flame, to induce relaxation and concentration of mind.

Details of these practices and more can be found in the books Meditations from the Tantras and Dharana Darshan.

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Other Practices

Other important contributions to Yoga made by the Satyananda Tradition are:

The Pawanmuktasana series, which includes:

• Part I - anti-rheumatic
• Part II - anti-gastric
• Part III - Shakti Bandhas

The introduction of:

Mudras and Bandhas

Mudras can be described as psychic, emotional, devotional and aesthetic gestures or attitudes which link individual pranic force with universal or cosmic force. Bandhas aim to lock prana in particular areas of the body and redirect it for the purpose of spiritual awakening. The physiological and psychological effects of mudras and bandhas have been examined and systematised.

Shatkarmas

The shatkarmas consist of six groups of purification practices which harmonise different aspects of the body and personality, inducing physical and mental purification and balance.

Details of all these will be found in Asana, Pranayama, Mudra, Bandha.

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