51 Days Yoga Consciousness Series 2nd May-21st June 2021

Namaste All My Yoga Yaatris! May Yog Bless You!

Knowledge of Yoga is infinite, boundless and timeless. “Learning Yoga is an everlasting journey that leads you within and Within is where you find the world of immortal bliss”. –Mitraasha

The idea behind running this 51 Days Yoga Consciousness series is to proffer my modest learnings and share the divine pearls of Yoga science with people at large. Let’s have a conjoint intent to learn, implement and extend the wisdom of Yoga with a positive co-action and harmonious reverberation amongst each other.

Yoga as a part of life

Your life is the reflection of your choices. Whether you want to live it through on the very existential basis from day to day as it comes and not really give it any direction willingly OR choose to cruise it in a very idealistic way as far as you possibly can, is completely your decision.

Some people live customarily and habitually with a monotonous daily routine following their only materialistic plan, without nurturing any elevated aim of life. And then there are those with illuminated and apprised minds aiming to live with more awareness and less illusions each moment of their existence. What is your choice?

When Yoga becomes a part of your life, it not only acts as a regimen but also becomes the objective of life that needs to be attained every single day as a way of life. The process of transformation may not appear easy, but the path will provide you with a higher and ultimate aim, giving more meaning and a larger viewpoint of life.

Routine

Aspirants must adhere to a regular routine of attending to the body-mind-complex by practicing all strands of Yoga viz:Yama, Niyama, Kriyas, Asanas and Pranayamas. Regularity of practice should be a priority so as to maintain the rhythm of the energy generated in the body. If due to unavoidable circumstances, practice gets disturbed for a day or two,you should try to make up for it by giving more time to the practice the next day. Another important aspect to keep in mind is to have a balanced, nutritious and wholesome yogic diet to yield the required energy and keep the body light and free from toxins.

Many current day yoga institutions and distinguished Yoga Gurus (keeping in mind the limitations of the present day practitioners) have made some modifications in the traditional flow of the steps of Yoga practice which was originally based on the Hatha Yoga approach, to accommodate the larger sect of people.

Sequence

In the classification shared below, Asanas have been categorized based on a set of principles sanctioned and endorsed by more than 100 Yogis and Yoga professionals during ‘An All India Conference’ in Mumbai in 1970.

Accordingly, the present day sequence suggested largely for good results would like like this in sequential order:

Kriyas, Sukshma Vyayama, Surya Namaskar, Asana, Pranayama, Dharna, Dhyana. 

  • 1. KRIYAS – Hygiene Practices 
  • 2. SUKSHMA VYAYAM – Warm Up Exercises
  • 3. SURYA NAMASKAR – Sun Salutation
  • 4. ASANAS – Postures  (Ideally distributed as: standing, sitting, lying down on the back-supine, lying down on the stomach-prone position)
  • * Meditative
  • * Cultural : (A) Relaxation (B) Spinal * (B) Spinal #Stretch and balance  #Forward bend  #Backward bend #Sideward bend  #Torsion * (C) Abdominal compression * (D) Inversion 
  • 5. PRANAYAMA- Breath Regulation
  • 6. DHARNA- Fixity
  • 7. DHYANA- Meditation

I shall explain each one of them briefly in upcoming days.

Broad Guidelines for Asana Practice 

Regular Practice: 

When practiced regularly, the mental effort integrates instinctually with corresponding muscles being worked upon, and the exercises gradually develop as a daily routine of life. This repetitiveness (Abhyasa) results in the uniformity of affect reciprocation of no mind-physical struggle involvement. 

Amount Of Practice:

It should neither be too less to be inefficacious, nor too much to become unbearable and troublesome. The healthy amount of daily Yoga exercises may fall between 25-30 minutes to begin with and go upto an hour or two depending on the level of the practitioner. 

Choice of right technique: 

Amongst numerous Asanas in fashion today, many are the adaptations of the traditional Asana modified merely for exposition purposes. The choice of Asana, therefore, is very vital for a good effective practice. A good Asana is one which works on the joints and major muscle groups, like the spinal and abdominal muscles, enhances the blood circulation, expands the steadiness and increases positive experiences. 

Practising Static and Dynamic Asanas: 

Traditionally an Asana was expected to be held for an extended period of time to achieve best benefit from the practice. However, even though it may be achievable for an advanced practitioner, for the beginner, dynamic practice is advised, where the Asana is immured for short durations of time, and more than one round is repeated. Eventually with regular Abhyasa, one can master the Asana and then go for static holds of extended durations. Normal breathing is practiced for the static asanas, although the practitioner is advised to equalise the inhalations and exhalations by breathing very slowly as far as attainable.

Happy happy yoga life!

Thought of the day : Yoga teaches us to cure what need not be endured and endure what cannot be cured.- B.K.S. Iyenger

Link to day 08: Proning Helps Covid-19 Patients Breathe Better https://kreately.in/51-days-yoga-consciousness-series-2nd-may-21st-june-2021-mitraasha-day-08-proning-helps-covid-19-patients-breathe-better/

Link to day 10 : Bhavas: Dharma, Gyana, Vairagya, Aishwaryahttps://kreately.in/day-10-bhavas-dharma-gyana-vairagya-aishwarya-mitraasha/

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