Yoga is said to unite the mind, body, and spirit.
Aims and Objectives of Vedaguru
To introduce yoga in its original form to the world, as much we can.
To encourage living with yoga and demonstrate its harmony with nature.
The 10 Yoga lessons included with the Ayurveda course cover various body purification kriyas, various warming up exercises, simple breathing exercises (Pranayama) and meditation.
Vedaguru ayurveda and yoga school offer :
- Yoga course for beginners
- Yoga intermediate and advanced practitioners course
- Yoga teachers training course
- Yoga Acharia course
- Yogic course
This spiritual tradition was founded by Adi Shankaracharya, the supreme soul of ancient Vedic science. This great tradition was introduced by the Swami Sivananda in the 19thcentury. Swami Athmananda is the disciple of Swami Sivananda. Acharya Gopala Krishna is the successor of Swami Athmananda and is our inspiration and guru. We follow him and teach Indian Traditional yoga which is the synthesis of Ashtanga yoga, Hatha yoga, Karma yoga and Jnana yoga, and is based on ancient texts of Patanjali’s Yoga Suthras (Ashtanga), Hatha yoga, (Gheranda Samhitha,Hata Pradeepika), Bagavat Gita, Upanaishads, Vedas and Tantra.
The word yoga derives from the Sanskrit word “yuj” which, depending upon the context, can have one of two different meanings. One meaning is ‘samadhi’ which is defined as total absorption leading to a fully controlled state of the mind. The other meaning is ‘union’. According to Vyasa, the most authoritative commentator on the sutras, the word yoga means ‘samadhi’ in the current context. In many other branches of philosophy, Vedanta for example, yoga means ‘union’ where it implies the union of the individual self and the supreme consciousness called Brahman.
Often it appears that yoga is a personal affair, a private conduct for one’s own physical health and physiological balance of the system, which no doubt yoga is. But there is something else to yoga, without a knowledge of which it may not bring the real benefit which would be expected by someone from the practice of it.
The practice of Yoga is, really, the practice of the art of living.
One of the Five Principles of Yoga is Pranayama or the science of breath control. This is an overview of what Pranayama is and the Breathing Exercises practiced in Yoga.
In Vedantic philosophy, Prana is the notion of a vital, life-sustaining force of living beings and vital energy.
Prana was first expounded in the Upanishads, where it is part of the worldly, physical realm, sustaining the body and the mother of thought and thus also of the mind. Prana suffuses all living forms but is not itself the Atman or individual soul. In the Ayurveda, the Sun and sunshine are held to be a source of Prana.
In yoga, breathing is considered a very important process as it is the most vital means of absorbing prana into the body. The shastras explain how prana gives consciousness and life to every creature which breathes. According to Taittiriya, Brahmana and Maitri Upanishads and Shiva Swarodaya, the breath is referred to as the vehicle of Brahman or cosmic consciousness.
The breath has so much importance in human existence that the ancient rishis or seers evolved a complete science around it, just from studying the simple process of respiration. This science, Swara yoga, however, should not be confused with Pranayama, though both deal with prana. Swara yoga emphasises the analysis of the breath and the significance of different pranic rhythms; whereas, Pranayama involves techniques to redirect, store and control prana.
Most of us breathe incorrectly, using only a small part of our lung capacity. Shallow respiration or rapid breathing, as in a stressful situation, builds up stagnant air in the lower regions of the lungs. Also, normal breathing takes place either in the abdomen or in the thorax or chest. By combining the abdominal and thoracic breathing, it is possible to inhale the optimum amount of air into the lungs, and exhale the maximum amount of waste air. According to yoga, this is the way everyone should be breathing.
There are a lot of benefits we can get with the practice of Pranayama; deep steady breathing has a calming effect on both body and mind, and it’s very useful to reduce stress. By controlling the pranas through the practice of pranayama, the restlessness of the mind is automatically controlled.
Pranayama teaches us ways, techniques and practices, that we can apply in our daily life to deepen, stretch and strengthen both our breath and our powers of concentration.
