Yoga Namaskar


Book Description




Dynamic Suryanamaskar


Book Description

Surya Namaskar is a magical name in Indian history and now becoming popular all over the world, it has become a global household name. Surya Namaskar has many references in the Vedas and Puranas. Since that time this yoga has been practiced by many people all over the world. To begin one’s day with the Surya Namaskar is very beneficial as it connects the individual with the cosmos. Out of so many people interested in yoga and spirituality some persons have taken Suryanamaskar as their life style. One such person is Krzysztof Stec from Poland who loves this practice. I remember that as soon as he arrived at Vishwatmak Jangli Maharaj Ashram almost 10 years ago he was talking about and encouraging everyone to start practicing Suryanamaskar. He has been practicing it every day for many years, and in a little more than two hours he performs in excess of 1008 rounds of Suryanamaskar. Such feat is astonishing and worth praising. He has built tremendous stamina and extraordinary endurance over the years with such regular and disciplined practice. The medical practitioners in the nearby town of Kopargaon have examined him and came to conclusion that he has the physiological parameters of 25 year old youngster (as of today he is running 59 years old). Only two years ago he completed a demanding two years’ master degree program at the department of physical education at one of the primary universities of India, at Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi. There he had to compete and work-out with colleagues who were one third his age! Last year when he undertook 42 days’ complete fast for the Gurupurnima (anusthan), he began without water (or any food) and continued for full 23 days and later, to complete the fast, he drank only water. In spite of such severe tapasya (discipline and austerity), when most other people usually stay in bed and barely move or to help themselves get several I.V., he was so energetic and full of vitality that he was swimming daily the distance of 5 to 8 kilometers.




The Wrestler's Body


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The Wrestler's Body tells the story of a way of life organized in terms of physical self-development. While Indian wrestlers are competitive athletes, they are also moral reformers whose conception of self and society is fundamentally somatic. Using the insights of anthropology, Joseph Alter writes an ethnography of the wrestler's physique that elucidates the somatic structure of the wrestler's identity and ideology. Young men in North India may choose to join an akhara, or gymnasium, where they subject themselves to a complex program of physical and moral fitness. Alter's first-hand description of each detail of the wrestler's regimen offers a unique perspective on South Asian culture and society. Wrestlers feel that moral reform of Indian national character is essential and advocate their way of life as an ideology of national health. Everyone is called on to become a wrestler and build collective strength through self-discipline.




The Path of Modern Yoga


Book Description

A history of yoga’s transformation from sacred discipline to exercise program to embodied spiritual practice • Identifies the origin of exercise yoga as India’s response to the mania for exercise sweeping the West in the early 20th century • Examines yoga’s transformations through the lives and accomplishments of 11 key figures, including Sri Yogendra, K. V. Iyer, Louise Morgan, Krishnamacharya, Swami Sivananda, Indra Devi, and B. K. S. Iyengar • Draws on more than 10 years of research from rare primary sources and includes 99 illustrations In The Path of Modern Yoga, Elliott Goldberg shows how yoga was transformed from a sacred practice into a health and fitness regime for middle-class Indians in the early 20th century and then gradually transformed over the course of the 20th century into an embodied spiritual practice--a yoga for our times. Drawing on more than 10 years of research from rare primary sources as well as recent scholarship, Goldberg tells the sweeping story of modern yoga through the remarkable lives and accomplishments of 11 key figures: six Indian yogis (Sri Yogendra, Swami Kuvalayananda, S. Sundaram, T. Krishnamacharya, Swami Sivananda, and B. K. S. Iyengar), an Indian bodybuilder (K. V. Iyer), a rajah (Bhavanarao Pant Pratinidhi), an American-born journalist (Louise Morgan), an Indian diplomat (Apa Pant), and a Russian-born yogi trained in India (Indra Devi). The author places their achievements within the context of such Western trends as the physical culture movement, the commodification of exercise, militant nationalism, jazz age popular entertainment, the quest for youth and beauty, and 19th-century New Age religion. In chronicling how the transformation of yoga from sacred discipline to exercise program allowed for the creation of an embodied spiritual practice, Goldberg presents an original, authoritative, provocative, and illuminating interpretation of the history of modern yoga.




YOGA Surya Namaskar


Book Description

Our Vedas eulogize the Sun, and there are many hymns in praise of the Surya Devata. Especially, the first chapter of the Krishna Yajur Veda Taittiriya Aranyakam has come to be known in recent times as the Surya Namaskar chapter. ------------------------------------------ Surya Namaskar is a fundamental set of 12 postures to step into a higher state of consciousness that reflects Purity. It leads to Yoga, or the significant moment when one relaxes, absorbed in divine union. ------------------------------------------ The entire process comprises of • A Cheerful beginning • Stepping onto the Yoga Mat facing EAST • Having a sip of Water to begin with • Chanting Om Suryaaya Namah ----------------------------------------- It is a proven cardiovascular workout of a high order, when done at a smooth pace. When done with holding the stretch at each pose with normal breathing, it is meditative, relaxing and toning. The Sun is traditionally connected to the Manipura Chakra, known as the Navel Center, or the Solar Plexus. It is also the 2nd brain of the body, where all the nerves meet, and the place of the umbilical cord attaching every new born. We see that all the poses in the Surya Namaskar have a significant effect on the solar plexus. In other words these asanas massage, strengthen, realign, and invigorate the stomach and gut. That by default in medical parlance is the prime source of illness prevention and cure.




Karma


Book Description

NEW YORK TIMES, USA TODAY, and PUBLISHERS WEEKLY BESTSELLER “Full of valuable insights to guide you.”—WILL SMITH “Thoughtful and life-affirming . . . a must-read.”—TONY ROBBINS “This book will put you back in charge of your own life.”—TOM BRADY A new perspective on the overused and misunderstood concept of “karma” that offers the key to happiness and enlightenment, from the world-renowned spiritual master Sadhguru. What is karma? Most people understand karma as a balance sheet of good and bad deeds, virtues and sins. The mechanism that decrees that we cannot evade the consequences of our own actions. In reality, karma has nothing to do with reward and punishment. Karma simply means action: your action, your responsibility. It isn’t some external system of crime and punishment, but an internal cycle generated by you. Accumulation of karma is determined only by your intention and the way you respond to what is happening to you. Over time, it’s possible to become ensnared by your own unconscious patterns of behavior. In Karma, Sadhguru seeks to put you back in the driver’s seat, turning you from a terror-struck passenger to a confident driver navigating the course of your own destiny. By living consciously and fully inhabiting each moment, you can free yourself from the cycle. Karma is an exploration and a manual, restoring our understanding of karma to its original potential for freedom and empowerment instead of a source of entanglement. Through Sadhguru’s teachings, you will learn how to live intelligently and joyfully in a challenging world.




Teaching Yoga with Verbal Cues


Book Description

This book contains verbal cues for Ashtanga Yoga's Primary Series. Verbal cues are concise commands that a Yoga teacher uses to give clear directions to Yoga students. They are an essential tool for a teacher and are just as important as a physical adjustment. They help the student to find actions throughout the body so they can become skillful and autonomous in expressing a pose.




Handbook of Hinduism in Europe (2 vols)


Book Description

Handbook of Hinduism in Europe portrays and analyses how Hindu traditions have expanded across the continent, and presents the main Hindu communities, religious groups, forms, practices and teachings. The Handbook does this in two parts, Part One covers historical and thematic topics which are of importance for understanding Hinduism in Europe as a whole and Part Two has chapters on Hindu traditions in every country in Europe. Hindu traditions have a long history of interaction with Europe, but the developments during the last fifty years represent a new phase. Globalization and increased ease of communication have led to the presence of a great plurality of Hindu traditions. Hinduism has become one of the major religions in Europe and is present in every country of the continent.




Surya Namaskars


Book Description

Surya Namaskars examines the contemporary relevance of the ancient yogic exercise of paying obeisance to the Sun the source of all energy. The author discusses how this yogic technique can be used to revitalize latent energy within oneself and harness it to help lead a balanced, fulfilled and rewarding life. The exercises are described step-by-step along with appropriate illustrations and photographs.