Yoga

Yoga Has A Long History In America

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It might surprise many people to learn that yoga has a long history in the United States. For a lot of Americans, their knowledge of yoga may only date back to the 1960s, when the concepts of spiritualism and meditation were embraced by the countrys counterculture.

But it may surprise some people to learn that yoga in the U.S. has a history that dates back to the late 1800s.

In 1883, Swami Vivekananda made an appearance at the World Parliament of Religions in Chicago where he greeted his sisters and brothers of America, a salutation that brought a standing ovation from the large audience in attendance. His idea that all of the religions of the world are merely separate parts of a larger religion was a new concept to those hearing him speak about the mind, body and spirit.

Swami Vivekananda was followed by Yogendra Mastamani, also from India, who arrived in the U.S. and settled on Long Island, N.Y. in 1919 and established the American version of Kaivalyadhama, an Indian organization that made major strides in the scientific exploration of yoga. Mastamani introduced Hatha Yoga to the United States.

One year later, one of the most popular yogis of all time, Paramahansa Yogananda, arrived in Boston to introduce kriya yoga to the U.S. He created the Self-Realization Fellowship, which now has its headquarters in Los Angeles. Yogananda also wrote the world-famous best seller, “Autobiography of a Yogi”, a book that is still an inspirational resource for many yoga instructors and students.

In the 1930s, Jiddu Krishnamurti brought the yogi to new level of awareness in the U.S. thanks to this popular, eloquent speeches on Jnana-Yoga yoga, which is the yoga of discernment. His talks earned him the admiration of a number of celebrities of the time, such as writers Aldous Huxley and George Bernard Shaw and actors Charlie Chaplin and Greta Garbo.

In 1924, the U.S. imposed a restriction on the number of Indians it would allow to move to the U.S., meaning students who sought the teachings of yogis had to travel to India. One of these students was Theos Bernard, who traveled to India and came back in 1947 to write the book “Hatha Yoga: The Report of a Personal Experience”, an influential book which is still widely today.

The same year that Bernard penned his examination of Hatha Yoga, Russian-born yogi Indra Devi opened one of the first Hatha Yoga studios in Hollywood and earned the title First Lady of Yoga. Devi was admired by housewives across the U.S., as well as Hollywood stars such as Gloria Swanson, Jennifer Jones and Robert Ryan. Devi died in her home in Buenos Ares in 2002.

But the man who is generally credited with introducing yoga to middle America is not even a native of India. Richard Hittleman, who studied in India for a number of years and returned to the States in 1950 to become a yoga instructor in New York, introduced a non-spiritual-based yoga to the United States and forever changed the way yoga was thought of and taught in America. It was Hittleman who placed emphasis on the physical side of yoga, letting a Western audience focus on the bodily aspects of yoga and not just the mind. Hittleman’s goal was to teach American students to gradually embrace the spiritual side of yoga, which many people have.

As Hittleman worked to expand yoga on the East, Walt and Magana Baptiste were working to increase yoga’s scope on the West Coast when they open a studio in San Francisco in the 1950s. Both of the Baptistes were students of Yogananda and Walt brought the influence of Vivekananda to the practice, creating an entirely new approach to yoga. Their yoga influence is being continued by their daughter and son, Sherri and Baron.

Elsewhere in San Francisco, Swami Vishu-devananda immigrated from India in 1958 and created “The Complete Illustrated Book of Yoga” with famed artist and designer Peter Max. The book has become a go-to manual for yoga instructors and students. Vishu-devananga would later go on to create the Sivananda Yoga Vedanta yoga centers, which has become one of most prominent yoga school franchises in the entire world.

When the counterculture began to take hold in the 1960s, the idea of yoga and its emotional effects caught the interest of many people, and one of the most famous groups to explore the meditative possibilities of yoga were The Beatles, whose relationship with the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi was famous around the world. He created the Transcendental Meditation school of yoga that today employs more than 40,000 instructors and approximately 4 million followers worldwide.

In the late ’60s, Professor Richard Albert of Harvard took a journey into India and came back with the name Ram Dass and gave talks to college students around the nation in support of his blockbuster book “Be Here Now”, which set thousands of young people on a journey of discovery through yoga. The book continues to be source of inspiration for many people in their quest for spirituality through yoga.

In the 1970s, yoga continued to grow as studios began popping up all over the nation. The Mount Madonna yoga school, founded by Baba Hari Dass, gave residential yoga to the inhabitants of Santa Cruz, California. Shrila Prabhubada began the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, which led to the international spiritual study of Bhakti Yoga. Ashtanga-vinyasa Yoga was brought to the U.S. by Pattabhi Jois in the mid ’70s and made yoga popular with new groups of people. Swami Satchitananda was probably the most famous non-musician to appear at Woodstock. Swami Sivananda Radha is the female yogi credited with first investigating the link between the spirituality and psychology of yoga. And the teachings of Swamii Chidananda, who himself was a student of yoga master Swami Sivananda, were delivered to the world by one of his former students, instructor Liliias Folan through her landmark PBS television series “Lilias, Yoga and You” which aired on the network from 1970 to 1979 and made yoga available in every home in the U.S.

Yoga has continued its influence across America with classes and studios in cities all over, from the smallest town to the major metro areas. In addition, the advent of digital media, including CDs, DVDs and streaming Internet video, yoga can go anywhere, further giving it a foothold in the United States.

Yoga Therapy And Preventative Health

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Yoga therapy has been sitting by quietly, while the mainstream population has begun to “try Yoga,” but that may soon change. With the world’s governments and financial markets struggling along, there will be many changes in the near future. The world’s governments will have to consider the massive cost of national defense, retirement programs, education, healthcare, energy, education, and preventative health.

At this time, prevention in healthcare is a “field of dreams.” As we know, some medical conditions are inherent within our specific genetic pool. However, there are many ailments, diseases, and conditions, which are preventable.

This is where healing modalities such as, Yoga therapy can become cost-effective alternatives to an over burdened medical system. Below is a question and answer session about the need for Yoga as a recognized form of therapy.

Q: What is Yoga Therapy?

A: Most of today’s Yoga therapy can be traced back to Sri Swami Tirumalai Krishnamacharya, who trained his share of modern masters, including his son T.K.V. Desikachar (Viniyoga) and B.K.S. Iyengar (Iyengar Yoga).

Yoga has therapeutic value and can be modified for any person. This is not the same form of Yoga movement seen in most health clubs. Yoga therapy involves teaching customized techniques, to one individual, based upon his or her specific needs.

This may encompass postures, specific breathing, meditation, and a large variety of Yogic techniques. The Yoga therapist’s primary objective is to treat the whole person. Complete physical health cannot be separated from emotional and mental health.

In fact, spiritual health also plays an important factor in recovery. We know that the power of prayer, mantra, and positive affirmation, will enable a person to heal faster. There is much conflict over which specific religion a person practices. Yet, this is a private decision and, as such, should be left to the individual.

Q: Why should Yoga teachers be concerned with Yoga therapy?

A: Some teachers are content teaching athletic forms of Yoga. This is a wonderful thing, but as we, and our students, grow older, teachers become aware of a variety of ailments. Constant pain creates a need for relief, because you can think of nothing else.

If you have a migraine, or back pain, can you think of much else? The mind is totally focused on pain. Hence, there is a need for inner calm and pain relief, which therapeutic Yoga can give.

Q: What is Yoga Therapy’s future role in alternative health?

A: Yoga is the source of many different healing modalities. As I have stated many times, “Yoga is the mother of all health maintenance systems.” Contemporary medicine and Yoga therapy have plenty of space together on the path to heal humanity.

There is no shortage of people who are in pain. Yoga is a cost-effective form of therapy. Together, medicine and Yoga can effectively help people who are suffering from a variety of ailments.

Copyright 2008 – Paul Jerard / Aura Publications

Yoga Retreats Packages In India

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India is rightly known as the World Capital of Yoga and the word yoga is from the Sanskrit language which means to unite or to attach. Yoga is widely believed to be in existence as old as civilization. Yoga poses are known to be found in stone seals from around 3000 B.C , although some believe that yoga was prevalent even before that and an other form of body postures ‘shamanism’ which was similar to Yoga. Yoga could be classified into four periods namely Vedic period, Pre-Classical Yoga, Classical Yoga and Post-Classical Yoga. Yoga restores balance and peace into our lives and helps in the physical, mental and psychological well being of an individual. India’s yoga retreats are very traditional and authentic in their treatment which follows the ancient teachings of ‘yoga asanas’. There are many yoga retreats packages that have come into existence through the length and breadth of India.

These yoga retreats emphasize on leading an ashram life and guests are treated very divinely and gracefully. They are instructed to undergo many practices such as meditation lessons, chanting classes, daily yoga etc and they are provided a very soothing environment as it is surrounded by farms and the guests could interact with the local population and get an insight into their lives. Guests are given practice in various facets of yoga for therapeutic guidance and they are also aided if they want to pursue aesthetic and a spiritual path in their lives. yoga thus has the tenacity to bring a change in our outlook towards life and turn us into more reformed beings. It is really a revelation to know that how the minute changes in the life style and dietary habits could bring a world of change in the overall well being of an individual.

These retreats also take special care in the culinary and dietary habits of the guests. It is pure Organic vegetarian food on a very strict time policy and a strict no- alcohol policy. The guests are even involved in the farming in the gardens with the morning sun and they could offer help in the cooking arena thus making their stay as close to home and warm as possible. The massages are performed in a very meticulous manner as the guest requirements vary from one another. They provide an environment to free all types of stress be it professional or personal and help in rejuvenating and reprising our lives to restart our lives on a refreshed note.

Bikram Yoga Poses Stand The Heat To Gain The Advantages

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There are a number of specific Bikram yoga poses that you will need to learn and that have to be performed in a room that has a temperature of ninety to one hundred degrees Fahrenheit and where humidity levels are also high. Bikram yoga is named after the founder Bikram Choudhury who after years of studying yoga, under the well-known yogi Bishnu Ghosh, developed this unique form of yoga that has today gained in popularity, especially in the Western world.
Union of Mind and Body and Spirit
By performing Bikram yoga poses it is hoped that you will be able to unite your body with the mind and spirit, affect greater flexibility of the body while also increasing its strength. Part of the increased popularity of Bikram yoga lies in the fact that it enables a person to strengthen the muscles as well as the lymphatic, nervous and endocrine systems.
There are a total of twenty-six different Bikram yoga poses that need to be learned and mastered that must be performed in a room with desired level of heat and humidity. It must also be remembered that each of the twenty-six Bikram yoga poses should be performed twice in each session.
These different twenty-six Bikram yoga poses include those for standing, and for backward and forward bends and a number of twists. The advantage of performing Bikram yoga poses in a heated room lies in the fact that it has been proven that a practitioner will get the maximum benefits at a certain level of heat when the body becomes more flexible and less prone to injuries.
No doubt, many of the different Bikram yoga poses are challenging and not everyone will be comfortable performing them. Though with greater amount of heat in the room, the body increases its flexibility and so it becomes easier to practice the Bikram yoga poses, and in addition allows for reaching greater depth of each physical pose in a shorter period of time.
Because of the heat, the body will also sweat more and so lead to expelling of harmful toxins from the body and of course, as mentioned before, reduces the chance of injuring one. In any case, each of the twenty-six Bikram yoga poses are especially designed to enable the practitioner to strengthen their bodies and stretch muscles and joints as well as ligaments, and so leads to improved physical well being.
If you have thought about attending a Bikram yoga class, you will do well to follow your inclinations, as you will be getting an excellent opportunity to perform different Bikram yoga styles that will suit your needs. Though of course, to identify the proper style, you will have to make an effort and do your own research beforehand.
Though Bikram yoga poses are challenging and involve greater physical activity, there are various poses that can suit people of different abilities and so whether you are a novice or experienced you can pick the type of pose that you feel the most comfortable with and provided you can stand the heat, there will be nothing stopping you from achieving a better state of health and fitness.

Yoga, Nutrition And You – How They All Work Together

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For many practitioners of yoga, it’s hard to completely separate the discipline from other aspects of their lives, such as nutrition. To them, getting the proper balance from yoga not only concerns the fitness-building and stress-reducing benefits of yoga, but also includes a nutrition plan that supplies the proper nutrients to assist in the creation of both.

Combining yoga and nutrition is not a new development. Yoga instructors have been touting the benefits of proper nutrition for years. But it has become part of a new awareness recently thank to scientific studies that back up the claims regarding diet that yogis have been espousing for centuries, namely that nutrition is a big part of the quest for balance between the mind, body and spirit.

As we’ve said, combining yoga and nutrition is not a new development. In fact, there is an entire practice of yoga, called Anna Yoga, which is directed at food as it relates to fitness and a healthy spirit. But while the information concerning healthy eating may not be the same among the various kinds of yoga, some of the belief are relatively the same: consume modest, reasonable portions of food that is high in nutrients and low in toxins. These include lots of fruits, vegetables and whole grains. It is a diet that has existed among practitioners of yoga for decades but today’s doctors have only recently begun to understand and encourage.

Among yoga practioners, food is divided into three categories: Rajasil, Tamsik and Satvik. Rajasik (food of the king) is food that is overly processed or seasoned. Candy, processed foods and beverages and alcohol are classified as Rajasik foods. Tamsik foods are elaborately prepared foods that are high in sodium and usually highly spiced. Finally, Satvik foods are considered the ideal diet by yoga enthusiasts, foods that are consumed in as close to the original state as possible, meaning fresh vegetables and fruits that, if cooked, are lightly seasoned and prepared to keep most of their nutritional value.

Satvik foods are, therefore, easily digested and have exceptional nutritional value. When eaten in conjunction with the performance of the health benefits of yoga, Satvik foods are considered an important part of a well-conditioned mind and body.

Even if you are not a regular student of yoga, adhering to a Satvik diet can have great benefits.

One of the main concepts of nutrition and yoga is that the food used be as fresh as possible. Fresh fruits and vegetables and the enzymes they contain are favorable over frozen or canned foods, where the canning process has taken out many of the vitamins and minerals of the food. In addition, some instructors recommend eating a large portion of the fruits and vegetables raw to absorbe more of their nutritional value.

Green vegetables are held in special regard by many yogis, who consider vegetables such as broccoli, spinach, lettuce and cabbage to have the highest nutrients and life force. Fruit is also considered highly nutritious and full of the life force. Because of the natural sugars in fruit, they can supply a quick but nutritious and sustained source of energy without the toxins.

While many yoga practitioners shy away from meat (including fish and poultry), it is not entirely off the list for everyone involved in yoga However, yoga instructors recommend moderation in taking in meat as it may contain toxins such as lactic acid, fat, cholesterol and other chemicals that can slow the growth of muscles gained from the practice of yoga.

Finally, the way in which the food is prepared for consumption is also one of the keys to nutrition for yoga practitioners. Yoga experts recommend that you eat your meals slowly to give your body time to absorb all of the benefits and nutrients contained within. Yoga exercise, many experts believe, will help in preparing the body to use the nutritional benefits of nutritious eating.