It’s no secret that yoga and meditation go hand-in-hand. While some people use yoga merely to meet their fitness goals, many instructors emphasize the 5,000 year old spiritual teachings that are behind the movements, positions, stretches and breathing techniques. They argue that unless you subscribe to the basic principles of yoga, you will not achieve full balance and spiritual oneness.

Sahaja yoga and meditation has been taught worldwide since 1970. Sahaja Yoga is well known for treating ailments and diseases. Additionally, the practice was introduced to New York City’s Rikers Island prisoners to help them find social, psychological and spiritual healing. To translate from Sanskrit, “Saha” means “spontaneous” and “ja” means “born within.” Yoga, of course, means “union.” The end goal is kundalini (or spiritual awakening), as well as a unity and collective awakening among every member of society.

Students of this branch will study the three vertical energy channels within the human body: the sun channel (governing our thought processes), the parasympathetic / nervous system channel (governing our body processes) and the moon channel (governing our emotions). In addition to these three channels, millions of chakras (literally translated from Sanskrit to mean “wheels” or energy centers) are swirling around us, keeping the channels in motion. Chakras can vary from religion to religion, but Sahaja Yoga focuses on several in its yoga and meditation: the crown chakra (pituitary gland / consciousness), the third eye chakra (pineal gland / sleep and awakening), the throat chakra (thyroid / growth and maturity), the heart chakra (thymus / stress and wellbeing), the solar plexus chakra (pancreas / digestion and energy), the sacral chakra (groin / sexuality and reproduction) and the root chakra (adrenal gland / basic fight or flight instincts and kundalini awakening).

Another study is the Raja Yoga tradition (the “king” of yoga or “royal path”), which is heavily steeped in spirituality. Practitioners believe in a serious code based upon self-restraint, quietude, concentration, regulation of breathing, uniting body and mind through action, withdrawing from the senses and studying religious texts. Often retreats are offered (by places like the Margaret Austin Retreat Center in Texas or the Chopra Center in Carlsbad, California) to help students immerse themselves in a new way of thinking. Students will learn about the Eightfold Path and the seven chakras, in addition to yamas and niyamas (code of conduct and religious observances, respectively).

For more information on yoga and meditation, look up SahajaYoga.org for extensive information about the methods and philosophy behind the practice. For information on Raja Yoga, prospective students can run a studio search at Yoga.com. For therapeutic yoga, ask your doctor or go to IAYT.org and click on the “Find a Yoga Therapist” tab in the upper right hand corner.

Practicing Yoga and Pilates is nothing new. Its been around for centuries but has enjoyed a revival of interest in the past few decades. It is not just naturalists, Buddhists or Hindus practicing, it is now a mainstream form of exercise and relaxation. If you do not have a regular workout program or even if you want a change of pace, Yoga may be what you need. You can look good and feel good quickly. Are you ready to begin learning this ancient art? Click here to read more: What Is Yoga and at Yoga Classes also at Yoga Stretches

This entry was posted on Saturday, October 25th, 2008 at 2:17 am and is filed under Fitness And Healthy Living. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.