Category: Yoga
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How to draw the Sri Yantra
Introduction I’ve played with the Sti Yantra over the years numerous times. In the beginning there were few and hard to find instructions. Today there are many more, especially video tutorials. I’ve been through quite a few and it is very difficult to find a clear and good one: Please note that the instructions focus…
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Religiousness in Yoga Part 17: Nirodha
Excerpts from “Religiousness in Yoga” by TKV Desikachar … The mind functions at five levels. 1. Mostly it functions in a way that we hardly notice it. So much happens, so many ideas, perceptions come and go that very often we lose track. It is like a monkey that is drunk and somebody is poking…
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Religiousness in Yoga Part 16: Jñāna, Bhakti, Mantra, Rāja, Kriyā, Karma, Laya, Tantra, Haṭha, Kuṇḍalinī
Excerpts from “Religiousness in Yoga” by TKV Desikachar Part 1: Jñāna Yoga … inquiry in which we first hear, then we reflect, and then gradually we see the truth, is jñāna yoga … that jñāna is always there. Jñāna arrives automatically when something that is blocking it has been removed … We see the truth,…
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Religiousness in Yoga Part 15: Antarāya, Iśvara-praṇidhāna
Excerpts from “Religiousness in Yoga” by TKV Desikachar Part 1: Antarāya … The term antarāya describes a situation where a person moving towards betterment is blocked, either because of the experiences had in that progression or because of negative factors that might have been present for many years. Let us consider some of these obstacles,…
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Religiousness in Yoga Part 14: Bandha
Excerpts from “Religiousness in Yoga” by TKV Desikachar Part1: Definition … I have explained how prāṇāyāma helps the firs in the body, sūrya, to reduce the “dirt,” apāna. Bandhas are a means by which we can intensify this process. The theory is that the bandhas make sure the flame is brought exactly to where the…
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Religiousness in Yoga Part 13: Antaraṅga Sādhana, Saṃyama, Kaivalya
Excerpts from “Religiousness in Yoga” by TKV Desikachar Part1: Antaraṅga Sādhana … We are not consciously aiming for or striving to do dhyāna. We are really striving to remove the obstacles to dhyāna. We always have a potential for the state of samādhi but somehow something comes between us and that state. This veiling we…
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Religiousness in Yoga Part 12: Prāṇāyāma, Ratio, Gazing, Mudrā
Excerpts from “Religiousness in Yoga” by TKV Desikachar Part 1: Ratio Now, a very important aspect of the practice of prāṇāyāma is how to establish the right ratio for individual practice … We might need something new to maintain our attention to practice or to suite a particular need, If the ratio is too easy,…
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Religiousness in Yoga Part 11: Antaraṅga, Pratyāhāra, Dhāraṇā, Dhyāna, Samādhi
Excerpts from “Religiousness in Yoga” by TKV Desikachar Part 1: Antaraṅga … We have discussed the first four aṅgas, yama and niyama as attitudes and āsanas and prāṇāyāma as two limbs we can practice. The remaining four aṅgas are called antaraṅga sādhana, meaning “certain things we really cannot practice, rather they just happen.” All we…
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Religiousness in Yoga Part 10: Prāṇa, Ayāma, Apāna, Sūrya
Excerpts from “Religiousness in Yoga” by TKV Desikachar Part 1: Prāṇa & Ayāma … Let us continue with prāṇāyāma, the fourth aṅga … our first objective is to be conscious of the breath … Next we determine how to continue to be conscious of it. … The word prāṇāyāma has two parts, prāṇa and āyāma.…
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Religiousness in Yoga Part 9: Prāṇāyāma, Pūraka, Recaka, Kumbhaka, Samavṛtti, Viṣamavṛtti, Anuloma, Viloma, Nāḍī śodhana, śītalī, Kapālabhāti, Bhastrikā
Excerpts from “Religiousness in Yoga” by TKV Desikachar This part introduces the vocabulary of breath-related practices. Part1: Pūraka & Recaka … In prāṇāyāma we simply breathe. As long as we observe how the body is responding to our breathing, we have nothing to worry about. Problems develop only when we insist upon holding the breath…
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Religiousness in Yoga Part 8: aṅga, yama, niyama, āsana
Excerpts from “Religiousness in Yoga” by TKV Desikachar Part1: Yama & Niyama … Yoga does not offer us a specific method, in that, if we do this, such will happen … Yoga also suggests that our attitude towards things can help in this movement toward reduced avidyā and freedom from duḥkha. The entire practice of…
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Religiousness in Yoga Part 7: Improvisation in Asana
Excerpts from “Religiousness in Yoga” by TKV Desikachar … As we continue āsana practice using a variety of postures and breathing in a planned sequence, somehow we get used to the routine. Gradually our attention to our practice decreases … This, then, is a reason for improvisation, to bring a new quality of attention and…
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Religiousness in Yoga Part 6: Puruṣa & Prakṛti
Excerpts from “Religiousness in Yoga” by TKV Desikachar This chapter is a brief overview of Samkhya. In this excerpt I’ve elected to let the live teaching setting in which this book originated by letting the questions come through. I believe that the questions (and answers) capture well the essence of these teachings by encountering (and…
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Religiousness in Yoga Part 5: Saṃskāra, Puruṣa & Prakṛti
Excerpts from “Religiousness in Yoga” by TKV Desikachar Part1: Saṃskāra … dust that blows on the skin is harmless, but if a tiny particle gets into the eye we suffer … a person who seeks clarity becomes sensitive like the eye … That is why there is always more apparent duḥkha for a viveki, one…
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Religiousness in Yoga Part 4: Vinyāsa, Laṅghana & Bṛṃhaṇa
Excerpts from “Religiousness in Yoga” by TKV Desikachar Part1: Vinyāsa … Will someone who knows nothing about Yoga recognize the difference between it and gymanstics … merely by looking at a book on Yoga āsanas? Yoga … is not an expression of form for others to watch. We are doing it for ourselves. We are…
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Religiousness in Yoga Part 3: Avidyā, Dhyāna, Svatantra, Pratikpaksa, Duḥkha, Guṇa, Prajñā, Kaivalya
Excerpts from “Religiousness in Yoga” by TKV Desikachar 1: Avidyā ” … We never know when a particular form of avidyā might arise. It is like planting seeds. The moment they get water, fertilizer and air, they sprout … We should never relax when we appear to have no avidyā … Therefore, we emphasize that…
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Religiousness in Yoga Part 2: Asana, Sukha, Sthira
Excerpts from “Religiousness in Yoga” by TKV Desikachar 1: Asana The practice of Yoga provides us an occasion that might give us a feeling for the meaning of the word Yoga. Despite any incidental benefits, this is the fundamental reason for practice … In our practice we focus upon the body, the breath and the…
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Yoga Practice & Well-Being Charts 2022 part 1
The experiment in charting my well-being continues through subjective Yoga-practice related indicators. Monthly Charts The monthly charts being 10 days before the beginning of the month and continue 10 days beyond its end in order to give the month some context. 6 Month Charts The 6 month weekly median and daily charts stretch back into…
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Religiousness in Yoga Part 1: Yoga, Avidyā, Pariṇāma, Puruṣa, Sādhana
Excerpts from “Religiousness in Yoga” by TKV Desikachar 1: Yoga Yoga is one of the six principle systems of Indian thinking known as darśana. The word darśana is derived from the Sanskrit root drś, meaning “to see.” Fundamentally darśana means “view” or “a particular way of viewing.” It also has a further meaning which suggests…
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Yoga Practice Charts 2021
In some past Yoga check-ins, I tried using graphs to illustrate how my sense of well-being fluctuates. The graphs were created in retrospect and I invented data to try to express how I felt. In 2021 I initiated a journaling experiment to see what real data might look like. I use a spreadsheet to collect…