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Food for Thought
Meditation is one of the most secret, most sacred doors through which we pass into the presence of the Lord. - David Oman McKay |
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Yoga Introduction
Yoga classes have become very popular over the last many years. In the US, over 18 million people attend yoga classes regularly. More than simply provide a form of exercise, yoga gives people a sense of general well-being. Yoga asanas (postures) are a wonderful and very effective way to keep your body in shape and calm your mind, yet there is much more to yoga that just the practice of its postures.
Yoga is considered to be the oldest spiritual tradition in the world, yet it not a religion. It is based upon a knowledge which has been tested and developed over thousands of years. And as with any knowledge that has been transmitted over a long period of time, a lot of misunderstanding has been accumulated about what it is.
"Yoga is a way of moving into stillness in order to experience the truth of who you are. The practice of yoga is the practice of meditation – or inner listening – in the poses and meditations, as well as all day long. It’s a matter of listening inwardly for guidance all the time, and then daring enough and trusting enough to do as you are prompted to do." Erich Shiffmann – Yoga master
The meaning of Yoga comes from the Sanskrit root <yuga>, ‘to join’ or ‘to unite’. As to what it is supposed to be united with its practice there has been thousands of different interpretations. I like to adopt the view that Yogic practices can help to promote an understanding of the imaginary separation between ‘us’ and a ‘higher power’.
“The mind if left to its own devices without paying attention to itself, creates boundaries and fragments itself into a thousand different pieces and energy flows and then forgets that there is a fundamental unity underling the entirety of it. When we lose sight of that fundamental unity we lose ourselves. The practice of Yoga is the practice to coming to ourselves and rediscovering ourselves and in fact coming to love ourselves and understanding we are not separate from the totality.”
Jon Kabat-Zinn, Phd. Director Stress Reduction Clinic and Center for Mindfulness
Unfortunately, many yoga teachers and schools in the West profess that practicing yoga asanas are enough to promote profound changes and help you to become more ‘spiritual’ if you keep practicing it. That may be true for some serious practitioners who have been practicing for many years, yet we do not subscribe to this view. What we have witnessed over the years is that although some yogic practices can and will expand your awareness, yoga needs to be considered and thought of in its entirety - and that does not happen in the course of a yoga class. Attending a Yoga class will most probably give you a taste of being more present, a deeper connection to your body and a calmer mind for a period of time. Therefore yoga, even in its reduced form, is still incredibly effective and valuable for people. But if you are interested in a deeper transformation, you will need to extend your search beyond the yoga classes.
YOSSUM has expanded and designed a specific program where the practices of Yoga asanas, Meditation, Silence and Self-Understanding are integrated for the practitioner to experience the entirety of Yoga.
“To become harmoniously balanced in love, work, wisdom and concentration is my ideal of religion. And this religion is attained by what we, in India, call Yoga, Union. To the worker it is union between people and the whole of humanity, to the mystic between one’s lower and higher self, to the lover between oneself and the God of love, and to the philosopher it is the union of all existence.
This is what is meant by Yoga. This is a Sanskrit term.
The person who seeks after this kind of union is called a Yogi.”
Swami Vivekananda – 1863 – 1902,
The first Indian Yoga ‘embassador’ to the West.
In September 11th, 1893 Vivekananda spoke for the first time in public addressing an American audience.
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