Iyengar writes Pranayama may be broadly divided into two categories: (a) When there is no digital control over the nostrils. (b) When the thumb and two fingers of the right hand are used to regulate and control the flow of breath through the nose. This is called digitally controlled pranayama. Moreover, this pranayama is of …
“No teacher can give you the secrets, it is your own practice that can give you secrets.” Geeta Iyengar Yoga Studies is a practise-based learning program for students who wants to delve deeply into yoga. At Yoga Mandir we provide weekly virtual and studio classes; flexible online practise-based courses; monthly study group sessions and individual …
BKS Iyengar writes ‘In order to understand this simplicity of the consciousness and purity of the Self, one needs a matured knowledge (paripakva jnana). We go to educational institutions to acquire knowledge. But to learn yoga, the institution is not outside. You have to step into your own university within the body, the mind and …
‘All vibrating energies are prana. All physical energies such as heat, light, gravity, magnetism, and electricity are also prana. It is the hidden and potential energy in all beings, released to the fullest extent as a response to any threat to one’s survival. It is the prime mover of all activity. It is energy that …
‘When the contemplator and the object of contemplation become one, then the seer and the seen become inseparable and one. With the blending together of the subject (meditator) and the object (meditated upon), they become one and this is samadhi. Thus, dharana, dhyana and samadhi are interconnected and intermingled. Patanjali coins a technical term, ” …
‘Yoga psychology acknowledges that whilst we exist as a physical entity, we are ultimately much more than our body. In the Yoga Sutras, Patanjali has classified five layers or kosas to our existence. Our physical presence is undeniable but this is merely the outer layer. The second layer is the physiological form or energetic form. …
‘Anu means with, along with or connected: also in an orderly succession. Anuloma, therefore, means in regular gradation, with the hair (loma = hair), along the grain or in natural order. In Anuloma Pranayama, inhalation is done through both nostrils and exhalation alternately through either nostril. Prati means opposite. This type of Pranayama is the …
‘Imprinting is the act of placing a set of images or experiences in the storehouse of our impressions. This body of experience allows us to access something greater than the stretches and breathing exercises. These practices are the vehicle by which we experience directly and clarify our perception’. Goode A, Yogic Imprinting, www.yogamandir.com.au It is …
This subject asks – What is Yoga? It identifies that conjunction and dissociation are central to an understanding of why we practice. ‘When the seer identifies with consciousness or with the objects seen, he unites with them and forgets his grandeur. The natural tendency of consciousness is to become involved with the object seen, draw …
Prashant Iyengar says ‘What is an ‘object’? An object is something which you can know, something which you can keep in front of you and watch. Yoga, as you are all aware, is something to know yourself with, and how do you know yourself? Basically, the point is that we identify ourselves with the mind …
Reflective practice With the introduction of the New Australian Assessment Guidelines in 2022 there is a pressing need for the assessing community to develop a consistent understanding of the new levels, their relationship to one another and the way an individual is assessed. Given the decentralised nature of our assessment structure where individual assessing committees …
‘In the third chapter of Hatha Yoga Pradipika, Swatmarama states that as long as the breath and prana are still, the chitta is steady and there can be no discharge of semen. In time the sadhaka’s increased vigour is sublimated for higher and nobler pursuits. He then attains the state of urdhva-retas, one who has …
In Light on Pranayama BKS Iyengar writes: ‘The prefix ‘ud’ means upwards or expanding. It also conveys the sense of pre-eminence and power. ‘Jaya’ means conquest or success, and, from another point of view, restraint. In ujjayi the lungs are fully expanded, with the chest thrust out like that of a mighty conqueror’. Iyengar BKS Light on Pranayama p.123 Having …
‘The five afflictions which disturb the equilibrium of consciousness are: ignorance or lack of wisdom, ego, pride of the ego or the sense of ‘I’, attachment to pleasure, aversion to pain, fear of death and clinging to life’. Iyengar BKS, Light on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. p.111 ‘These endless cycles of fluctuations are known …
The Specialist-Scoliosis program is one of a series of specialist programs offered within the institute. The specialist programs are developed to assist students with specific needs to develop greater confidence in their practice and to equip them with techniques and modifications such that participation within the practitioner Yogasana courses and Led practice programs is possible. …
The Specialist-Neck & Shoulder program is one of a series of specialist programs offered within the institute. The specialist programs are developed to assist students with specific needs to develop greater confidence in their practice and to equip them with techniques and modifications such that participation within the practitioner Yogasana courses and Led practice programs …
The Specialist-Back & Hip program is one of a series of specialist programs offered within the institute. The specialist programs are developed to assist students with specific needs to develop greater confidence in their practice and to equip them with techniques and modifications such that participation within the practitioner Yogasana courses and Led practice programs …
The Specialist-Knee program is one of a series of study areas offered at Yoga Mandir. The specialist programs have been developed to assist students and teachers to develop greater confidence in their practice when working with specific needs. It has also been designed to equip them with a variety of practical techniques and modifications that …
‘Bhastrika means bellows: air is forcibly drawn in and out as if using a pair of bellows. In all other types of pranayama inhalation sets the pace, the pattern and the rhythm for exhalation, but in bhastrika exhalation sets the force and the pace. Here both out and in-breaths are vigorous and forceful. The sound …
‘Kumbha means a pot which can be full or empty. Kumbhaka is of two types. It is either (a) a pause between an in and an out breath or (b) between an out and an in breath. It is the art of retaining the breath in a state of suspense. It also means the withdrawal of the intellect …
