...lead very active and often stressful lives. There minds are simply cluttered. A lot of people combine both their yoga and meditation exercises in their lives to maximize the benefits they gain from both. They also get the additional benefits that combining both principles gives to the user.

Many new and old world religions, especially those in India, use the combined principles of yoga and meditation as the key elements to practising religion. This is the case because they fully understand and appreciate the core principles in yoga and meditation, and how practising these techniques bring about a large reduction of both stress and anxiety in the body. Furthermore, these elements of harmony and balance result in a more stable and tolerant society.

By really helping people to calm down and control their negative emotions, it ...more

Fireworks after Yoga Day USA

...tman, and Shiva and Shakti, or the realization of Purusha standing alone as separate from Prakriti, are some of the authentic reasons for Yoga.

While this is true, and Yogas purpose is for physical, mental, and spiritual health - many Yoga students in the United States do not hear of it, unless they attend a Yoga teacher training workshop. If most Yoga students in the United States wanted to learn about union of the Jiva and Brahman, then Bhakti Yoga would have flourished on the American Continents, instead of Hatha Yoga.

However, Americans have a completely different culture from India. For some Christians, the concept of union with ...more

Kriya, a Spiritual Yoga Experience

...f the mind.

2. Bhakti yoga aims to achieve peace with all the elements of your life through the power of love. It is often stated as "oneness with all creation and cosmic consciousness."

3. Jnana yoga is concerned with intellectual discipline leading to wisdom gained from spiritual knowledge giving freedom of the mind.

Thus, Kriya joins the three into a single discipline. It highlights the relationship between breath and mind. Breath control is self control. Breath mastery is self mastery.

Preparation is the first step in Kriya yoga. The body is prepared with a Hatha yoga exercise routine. For beginners or the less flexible, other alternative preparation routines are provided.

Mind preparation comes next. Here you focus your mind by studying gener...more

The Perseverance of Teaching Yoga, Part 2

...The third ingredient is to take action. The difference between a dream and a goal is how much action is propelling the idea forward. If I visualize becoming a Yoga teacher without any action, then this is just a pipe dream. You would be better off to dream in your sleep and take action while you are awake.

Look around you and you will see most people do not make any significant changes or take positive action. If you want to teach Yoga, this is to your advantage. Why do I say this? So many people passionately talk and dream without action. Even after you become a Yoga teacher, you must still take action, but many people rest on their laurels. A few Yoga teachers skip their continuing education,...more