OXYGEN YOGA WORLD

nce upon a time, long ago, all the Munis and Rishis approached Lord Vishnu to tell him that even though He (incarnated as Lord Dhanvanthari) had given them the means to cure illnesses through Ayurveda, people still fell ill. They also wanted to know what to do when people got sick.
Sometimes it is not just physical illness, but mental and emotional illness too that needs to be dealt with. Anger, lust, greed, jealousy etc. How does one get rid of all these impurities? What is the formula?
Vishnu was lying on the bed of snakes — the serpent Adishésha with a 1,000 heads. When the Rishis approached Him, He gave them Adishésha (the symbol of awareness), who took birth in the world as Maharishi Patanjali.
Hence Patanjali came to this earth to give this knowledge of yoga which came to be known as the Yoga Sutras.
Patanjali said that he was not going to discuss the Yoga Sutras unless 1,000 people got together. So 1,000 people gathered south of the Vindhya Mountains to listen to him.
Patanjali had another condition. He said that he would put a screen in- between him and his students, and told them that nobody was to lift the screen, or leave. Everybody had to stay in the hall till he finished.
Patanjali stayed behind the curtain and he transmitted his knowledge to the 1,000 gathered, and each of them absorbed this knowledge. It was an amazing phenomenon, and even amongst the students, they could not believe how they were getting this knowledge. They could not believe how the master was making each of them understand the knowledge without uttering a single word from behind the curtain.
Everybody was amazed. Each one of them experienced such a blast of energy, such a blast of enthusiasm, that they could not even contain it. But they still had to maintain the discipline.
One little boy had to go out to attend nature’s call. So he left the room. He thought to himself that he would go quietly and return quietly. Another person became curious, “What is the Master doing behind the curtain? I want to see.”
He got so curious that he lifted the curtain to see the Master. Just as he did so, all 999 disciples were burnt to ashes. Now, Patanjali became very sad. There he was ready to impart knowledge to the whole world and all of his disciples were burnt.
At this moment, that one little boy returned. Patanjali asked him where he had gone. The boy explained and asked his forgiveness. Patanjali was compassionate and felt that at least one of his disciples was saved.
So he gave him the rest of the yoga sutras, the rest of the knowledge. But, the student had violated the law and Patanjali was not willing to forget that. He said, “Since you have violated the law, you will become a Brahmarakshasa, a ghost and hang on the tree.” And the only way he could liberate himself from the curse is to teach one student. Saying this, Patanjali disappeared.
Now Brahmarakshasa, hanging on a tree, would ask everyone who passed by a question and when they could not give an answer, he would eat them. He had no choice. For a few thousand years, this was the story. He could not find a single person to whom he could teach the yoga sutras. So, he remained in the tree as a Brahmarakshasa. (The lesson here is that when one who has great knowledge does something wrong, the state of Brahmarakshasa will come. An intelligent person becoming a criminal is more dangerous than an innocent person becoming a criminal. If a person, who knows all knowledge and then turns a criminal, it is much more dangerous). Brahmarakshasa was hanging there and waiting for relief.
Then out of compassion, Patanjali himself becomes a disciple and comes as a student to Brahmarakshasa who told him all the yoga sutras, which Patanjali wrote on palm leaves. The story goes that to redeem one disciple, the Master became the disciple of a disciple.
Patanjali wrote the yoga sutras sitting on the top of the tree as that was where Brahmarakshasa sat. Brahmarakshasa worked only in the night. So, he dictated the sutras at night and Patanjali wrote them on leaves. He plucked all the leaves and made a small scratch, drew blood and wrote. This went on for seven days. At the end of it, Patanjali was tired. He put everything he had written into a piece of cloth, set it down and went to bathe. When he returned, he found that a goat had eaten most of the leaves. Patanjali then took the cloth bag and the rest of the leaves and walked away.
What meaning have you unlocked from this story?
In this story, there is a lot of depth. The puranas do not give any explanation. They just give a story and it is for us to unlock the meaning. So what is that you all have to find out?
How did the master convey the knowledge to everybody without uttering a word?
What was the significance of the veil?
When the veil was lifted why did everybody burn down?
Why was one boy forgiven?
What is the significance of the goat?
What is the significance of this story?
YOGA SUTRAS IN FORM OF ASANAS
The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali succinctly outlines the art and science of Yoga meditation for Self-Realization. It is a process of systematically encountering, examining, and transcending each of the various gross and subtle levels of false identity in the mind field, until the jewel of the true Self comes shining through.
A five-fold systematic path of 1) faithful certainty in the path, 2) directing energy towards the practices, 3) repeated memory of the path and the process of stilling the mind, 4) training in deep concentration, and 5) the pursuit of real knowledge, by which the higher samadhi (asamprajnata samadhi) is attained. (shraddha virya smriti samadhi prajna purvakah itaresham).
shraddha = unconditional faith, trust, confidence, belief, certainty
virya = energy, strength of will
smriti = memory, intentful remembrance, mindfulness
samadhi = deep absorption of meditation, entasy
prajna = wisdom, discernment, super cognitive
purvakah = preceding, coming before, prerequisite
itaresham = of other people
When Patanjali codified, or compiled the Yoga Sutras, it was not that a new system was created, but rather, the ancient practices were summarized in an extremely organized and terse way. While the Yoga Sutras are thought to be as old as 400 BCE, archaeological evidence and other texts suggest that the methods described in the Yoga Sutras were being practiced as early as 3000 BCE. Oral tradition states that the period may be even longer.
Yoga means union of the parts of ourselves, which were never divided in the first place. Yoga literally means to yoke, from the root yuj, which means to join; it is the same as the absorption in the state of samadhi. Sutra means thread, and this thread, or multiple threads weave a tapestry of insight and direct experience.
There have been many scholarly commentaries on the Yoga Sutras, but all the commentaries miss something very practical. Such commentaries can only satisfy the intellect, but do not actually help you beyond that: ‘yogash chitta vritti narodha’–yoga is the control of the ‘modifications’ of the mind. Narodha means control; there is no other English word for it. Control doesn’t mean suppression, but channeling or regulating.
In the tradition of the Himalayan masters, Yoga, Vedanta, and Tantra complement one another, leading one systematically along the path to Self-realization. The aspirant clears the mind through the practice of Yoga meditation as codified in the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, does self-enquiry of Vedanta, and then breaks through the final barrier with Tantra, experiencing the heights of kundalini awakening.

PRANAYAMA

‘Prana’ refers to the universal life force and ‘ayama’ means to regulate or lengthen. Prana is the vital energy needed by our physical and subtle layers, without which the body would perish. It is what keeps us alive. Pranayama is the control of prana through the breath. These techniques rely on breathing through the nostrils.
Prana flows through thousands of subtle energy channels called ‘nadis’ and energy centers called ‘chakras’. The quantity and quality of prana and the way it flows through the nadis and chakras determines one’s state of mind. If the Prana level is high and its flow is continuous, smooth and steady, the mind remains calm, positive and enthusiastic. However, due to lack of knowledge and attention to one’s breath, the nadis and chakras in the average person may be partially or fully blocked leading to jerky and broken flow. As a result one experiences increased worries, fear, uncertainty, tensions, conflict and other negative qualities.
The ancient sages of India realized these breathing techniques. Some common pranayamas include Bhastrika, Kapalabhati, and Nadi shodan pranayama. Regular practice increases and enhances the quantity and quality of prana, clears blocked nadis and chakras, and results in the practitioner feeling energetic, enthusiastic and positive. Practiced correctly under the right supervision prananyama brings harmony between the body, mind and spirit, making one physically, mentally and spiritually strong.
Pranayama-Kundalini copy
A NOTE OF WARNING: Since the Pranayamas deal with the subtle force, it is important to practice them as taught in yoga classes. Do not experiment with them.
MEDITATION
The rest in meditation is deeper than the deepest sleep that you can ever have. When the mind becomes free from agitation, is calm and serene and at peace, meditation happens.
The benefits of meditation are manifold. It is an essential practice for mental hygiene. A calm mind, good concentration, clarity of perception, improvement in communication, blossoming of skills and talents, an unshakeable inner strength, healing, the ability to connect to an inner source of energy, relaxation, rejuvenation, and good luck are all natural results of meditating regularly