AYN Advice

What is Yoga?

The word yoga means "to unify". It is the unification of body and spirit to achieve harmony. The yoga method, proven over millenia, teaches us how to reeducate our bodies, our thoughts, to no longer be dominated by our emotions. The goal is the mastery and the opening of the being.

What is Ashtanga yoga?

Ashtanga Yoga literally means "eight-limbed yoga," as outlined by the sage Patanjali in the Yoga Sutras. This method of Yoga involves synchronizing the breath with progressive series of postures—a process producing intense internal heat and a profuse, purifying sweat that detoxifies muscles and organs. The result is improved circulation, a light and strong body, and a calm mind.

There are eight limbs of Ashtanga yoga:

     
  • yama - the laws of life
    •  
  • niyama - the rules for living
    •  
  • asana - the physical postures
    •  
  • pranayama - the breathing exercises
    •  
  • pratyahara - the retirement of the senses
    •  
  • dharana - steadiness of mind
    •  
  • dhyana - meditation
    •  
  • samadhi - the settled mind

yama - the laws of life:

     
  1. nonviolence
    2.  
  2. tructhfulness
    3.  
  3. integrity
    4.  
  4. chastity
    5.  
  5. nonattachment

niyama - the rules for living:

     
  1. simplicity
    2.  
  2. contentment
    3.  
  3. purification
    4.  
  4. refinement
    5.  
  5. surrender to the supreme self or Lord