Yogena Yogo – Opening Yoga Prayer for Yoga Practice with Translation

CHANT IN PRAISE OF YOGA

Chant from Vyāsa’s commentary to Yoga Sūtra Chapter Three verse 6.

yogena yogo jñātavyo
yogo yogāt pravartate  |

yo’pramattastu yogena
sa yoge ramate ciram  | |

“Only through Yoga Yoga is known,
Only through Yoga Yoga arises.

One who is diligent with Yoga,
Enjoys Yoga for a long time.”

 View or download this post as a PDF with chant notations.

View or Download the Prārthanā Ślokam (Request Prayer) – Dhyānaṃ Ślokam relative to Patañjali.

Āyurveda & Yoga – Dhātu & Mala, Body Tissues and Means of Elimination – Part 8 of 12

ĀYURVEDA & YOGA

Previous articles have presented some ideas of Prāṇa so we can now move towards presenting a more complete picture of how Āyurveda sees the human body. This article looks at how Ayurveda sees the types of bodily tissues and waste products as vital to the effective construction and working of the body.

YOGA AND INDIAN THOUGHT

Yoga is a word that has, within Indian thought, many meanings. To define the word Yoga is very difficult as the word is so adaptable.

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Rāmānuja, Yāmunācarya, Krishnamacharya and Viśiṣṭādvaita

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Rāmānuja, was a disciple of Śrī Yāmunācarya. Śrī Yāmunācarya, composer of texts such as the Gītārtha Saṃgraha, Siddhi Traya and Stotra Ratna, was the grandson of the 9th century sage Śrī Nāthamuni and a forebear of T Krishnamacharya.

Krishnamacharya’s personal devotional philosophy and practices were grounded in the teachings that arose from these great sages and evolved into what became known as Viśiṣṭādvaita or qualified non-dualism (One of the three primary schools of Vedānta).

“Rāmānuja agrees with the Advaitin that the scripture
teaches the non-twoness (Advaita) of reality.
But, he denies the Advaitan’s conclusion
that this oneness is attributeless,
pure being or consciousness and that plurality
with regard to soul and material world is falsely
imposed on this one Being due to ignorance.”
Rāmānuja on the Yoga – Dr. Robert C Lester 1976.

108 Mudrā Practice Pointers – 1 – Cit Mudrā – A means to appreciate the subtlety of Yoga Sūtra C2 v46……

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Mudrā Pointer 1 – Appreciating the subtlety of Yoga Sūtra C2 v46……

Cit Mudrā
A means to appreciate the subtlety of Yoga Sūtra Chapter Two verse 46
the integration of the qualities of steady attentiveness and spacious clarity.

Link to Series: 108 Mudrā Practice Pointers

Mahānārāyaṇa Upaniṣad – Ṛtaṃ Tapas as Mantra Practice with translation

Mantra on tapāṣtāṅga or the eight limbs of tapas.

Tapas is an activity of mind, body or speech which demands a keen concentration of thought or requiring unusual and continuous physical effort.
View or download this Mantra complete with Chant notations as a PDF
View or download other Mantra from this Upaniṣad complete with Chant notations as PDF files

108 Yoga Study Path Pointers – 1 – What is important is the refinement of one’s practice repertoire……

What is important is the refinement of one’s
practice and study repertoire, rather than
just the enlargement of one’s repertoire,
whether it’s more Āsana, Chants or Texts.
Plus, the more time you spend on enlarging,
the less time you have to spend on refining.

Link to Series: 108 Yoga Study Path Pointers

Āyurveda & Yoga – Prāṇa and its links within Āyurveda – Part 7 of 12

ĀYURVEDA & YOGA

This article intended to introduce Prāṇa, its origin, function and malfunction. However, Prāṇa is such an important part of Yoga and Āyurveda that I have concentrated on presenting some basic ideas on its relationship to the individual, to Yoga and to the understanding of life known as Āyurveda.

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T Krishnamacharya – Downloadable Film from 1938

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Tirumalai Krishnamacharya was 50 when the film was made in 1938. He is now seen as one of the the most influential teachers in establishing what Yoga is identified as in today’s society. His students included Pattabhi Jois, BKS Iyengar, Indra Devi, and his son TKV Desikachar.

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Āyurveda & Yoga – Prāṇa & The Five Aspects of Each of the Tridoṣa – Part 6 of 12

ĀYURVEDA & YOGA


This article introduces the concept of Prāṇa and its place in Āyurveda within the three principles or Tridoṣa.

YOGA AND INDIAN THOUGHT

Generally the purpose of Yoga is to bring about a change within the prominence of awareness and its subsequent impact on the attitude and function of the individual.

Whether this change is a yoking of opposites or an unyoking of two aspects, seemingly inseparable, time and a process are involved. Also this notion of change may be initiated within an individual’s physical body or emotional responses and mental attitude.

However, within Indian thought there is a concept that is common to the different philosophies and to the different aspects of the individual. This concept is the presence and action of Prāṇa.

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Āyurveda & Yoga – The Tridoṣa The Human Constitution & The Ageing Process – Part 5 of 12

ĀYURVEDA & YOGA

This article explores the balance of the Three Principles in the individual and their effect on the processes of change and age.

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108 Teaching Path Pointers – 1 – Tradition is honouring the function……

Tradition is honouring the function.
Innovation is adapting the form.
Good not to get the two confused
or even worse – the wrong way round.

Link to Series: 108 Teaching Path Pointers

Yoga Makaranda by T Krishnamacharya

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Yoga Makaranda

– A Book on  Āsana Practice written by T Krishnamacharya in 1934.

Translated in 2006 from the 1938 Tamil Edition
by Lakshmi and Nandini Ranganathan.
Offered as a freely distributable download.
Download the translation as an Open Source PDF

Āyurveda & Yoga – The Triguṇa The Tridoṣa & The Human System – Part 4 of 12

ĀYURVEDA & YOGA

This article explores the relationship between the three principles or Tridoṣa, with the three qualities or Guṇa, and how Āyurveda views their qualities and modes of expression in the functions of the body.

One of the threads that links Āyurveda and Yoga with the Vedic schools of thought and non-Vedic schools such as Buddhism, is that everything is subject to change.

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Āyurveda & Yoga – The Pañca Bhūta The Das Indriya & The Tridoṣa – Part 3 of 12

ĀYURVEDA & YOGA

“Now is Āyurveda explained:
the expression of the five elements,
and the three principles most fundamental to life.”

So far in this series we have presented some ideas on the place of Yoga within Indian thought, with comments on the problems in distinguishing the different threads in the tapestry that holds together the cultural, religious and philosophical ideals of India.

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