Page 1 of 4 1234 LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 35

Thread: Personal experiences in Yoga practise?

  1. #1

    Personal experiences in Yoga practise?

    Namaste.

    If this is extremely basic and silly my apologies.

    However, I have been wondering lately about Yoga. I understand that Yoga has been "borrowed" by the west as a secular and non-religious health practise to the extent that most of the religious elements are purposely removed.

    I am wondering how a true Hindu learns Yoga? Is it something taught by a Guru or Sadhu say in a temple to devotees?

    How does it differ from commercial and secular Yoga?

    I will be honest, I don't quite understand how Yoga fits into Hinduism so I'm hoping a bit of insight can help me find out.

    Thanks all, and again apologies if this comes across as basic.
    Last edited by mradam83; 09 June 2012 at 05:19 AM. Reason: Good suggestion by another member.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    September 2007
    Location
    Canada
    Age
    70
    Posts
    7,191
    Rep Power
    5038

    Re: How does a Hindu learn and practise Yoga?

    Vannakkam Mradam: The western sense of yoga usually only refers to hatha yoga, the third stage (I think) in the classic Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. It might be helpful to know what you mean by 'yoga' before beginning any discussion, as Hindus have a very different overall sense of the word then westerners do.

    Aum Namasivaya

  3. #3

    Re: How does a Hindu learn and practise Yoga?

    Quote Originally Posted by Eastern Mind View Post
    Vannakkam Mradam: The western sense of yoga usually only refers to hatha yoga, the third stage (I think) in the classic Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. It might be helpful to know what you mean by 'yoga' before beginning any discussion, as Hindus have a very different overall sense of the word then westerners do.

    Aum Namasivaya
    Namaste.

    Oh yes, apologies. By yoga, I am referring to the subsection of this forum and indeed what that term means.

    Sadly, being from the West, I only know Yoga as Hatha Yoga or the other types people have renamed it but I'm unfamiliar beyond that it's original and true meaning.

    I hope that helps. If not, let me know and I'll hopefully make it easier to describe the next time around.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    September 2007
    Location
    Canada
    Age
    70
    Posts
    7,191
    Rep Power
    5038

    Re: How does a Hindu learn and practise Yoga?

    Vannakkam: I didn't read this whole site ... there may be a bias or errors.. http://www.expressionsofspirit.com/yoga/eight-limbs.htm out of laziness and the fact I'm tired from a long drive, but essentially Patanjali is considered by many the classic starter/father of yoga. Note that Yama and Niyama come before Asana. Some consider the limbs progressive in nature. So from that POV, hatha yoga practitioners skip the first two limbs, which would be quite untraditional to put it mildly. The first Yama is ahimsa.

    Aum Namasivaya

  5. #5
    Join Date
    October 2010
    Location
    New Orleans, LA
    Age
    44
    Posts
    625
    Rep Power
    2262

    Re: How does a Hindu learn and practise Yoga?

    Namasté,

    As a very general and simplified explanation - as I understand it, if Hinduism is "the talk," think of yoga as the method of "walking the walk." It consists of all of the practices by which a spiritual seeker "yokes" him/herself to the Divine, working to serve That with purity and joy, and/or realise That within him/herself.

    There are different parts of this which work together. There is karma yoga, for example, whereby one serves God by rendering service to others and to the world. There is bhakti yoga, the practice of loving devotion and the meditation upon/praising of God's glories, grace, and wonder. The hatha yoga physical postures that you know, are part of raja yoga, another aspect. Some seekers choose one sort of yoga upon which to focus - seeing all they do as Divine service, for example, or practicing the love of God in loving and embracing all things and beings.

    The physical yoga practice that we know in the West is only a hollowed-out version of something much deeper. These postures, for a Hindu devotee, are meditative and disciplining. They serve to increase the body's suppleness and flexibility, granting a long life of health and strength - a longer life and energy through which to seek the Divine - as well as aligning the seeker with Divine energies. (Many of these postures are named after Gods, stories, etc.) Western yoga studios teach these poses for fitness only, eliminating the sacred elements intrinsic to them, and arguing that "yoga" belongs to the world and is not specifically "Hindu." (To give an idea of why this upsets many Hindus, imagine if I opened a restaurant called "Eucharist" and served different breads and wines there, and argued - amidst allegations of disrespect and sacrilege - that food is universally human, and that there's nothing specifically Christian about eating and drinking!)

    One certainly may learn these practices from a Guru - a special teacher who embodies the Divine and guides the student closer to the Divine therefore. One may also learn at an ashram, a community of yoga practitioners/devotees, which is similar to a monastery in that it consists of folks who live and work together, to serve and realise God. There are also many books out there that can be excellent guides to Yoga (provided that they are written by Hindus, and not by fitness magazine editors or the like).

    An excellent first step is to begin adherence to the behavioral and social disciplines called yamas and niyamas. If you search "yama" and "niyama" on this forum and/or Google, you will find several discussions of these practices.

    Indraneela
    ===
    Oṁ Indrāya Namaḥ.
    Oṁ Namaḥ Śivāya.

  6. #6

    Re: How does a Hindu learn and practise Yoga?

    Quote Originally Posted by Eastern Mind View Post
    Vannakkam: I didn't read this whole site ... there may be a bias or errors.. http://www.expressionsofspirit.com/yoga/eight-limbs.htm out of laziness and the fact I'm tired from a long drive, but essentially Patanjali is considered by many the classic starter/father of yoga. Note that Yama and Niyama come before Asana. Some consider the limbs progressive in nature. So from that POV, hatha yoga practitioners skip the first two limbs, which would be quite untraditional to put it mildly. The first Yama is ahimsa.

    Aum Namasivaya
    Namaste.

    Excellent, thank you. I've got that now on my reading list so I can digest it. One thing that strikes Me is how simple yet how difficult the first Yama is especially for someone like me whos mind is never quite at peace. I feel if I could get to grips with that, I could actually achieve something.

    EM, as always, thank you my friend. :-)

  7. #7

    Re: How does a Hindu learn and practise Yoga?

    Quote Originally Posted by Indraneela View Post
    Namasté,

    As a very general and simplified explanation - as I understand it, if Hinduism is "the talk," think of yoga as the method of "walking the walk." It consists of all of the practices by which a spiritual seeker "yokes" him/herself to the Divine, working to serve That with purity and joy, and/or realise That within him/herself.

    There are different parts of this which work together. There is karma yoga, for example, whereby one serves God by rendering service to others and to the world. There is bhakti yoga, the practice of loving devotion and the meditation upon/praising of God's glories, grace, and wonder. The hatha yoga physical postures that you know, are part of raja yoga, another aspect. Some seekers choose one sort of yoga upon which to focus - seeing all they do as Divine service, for example, or practicing the love of God in loving and embracing all things and beings.

    The physical yoga practice that we know in the West is only a hollowed-out version of something much deeper. These postures, for a Hindu devotee, are meditative and disciplining. They serve to increase the body's suppleness and flexibility, granting a long life of health and strength - a longer life and energy through which to seek the Divine - as well as aligning the seeker with Divine energies. (Many of these postures are named after Gods, stories, etc.) Western yoga studios teach these poses for fitness only, eliminating the sacred elements intrinsic to them, and arguing that "yoga" belongs to the world and is not specifically "Hindu." (To give an idea of why this upsets many Hindus, imagine if I opened a restaurant called "Eucharist" and served different breads and wines there, and argued - amidst allegations of disrespect and sacrilege - that food is universally human, and that there's nothing specifically Christian about eating and drinking!)

    One certainly may learn these practices from a Guru - a special teacher who embodies the Divine and guides the student closer to the Divine therefore. One may also learn at an ashram, a community of yoga practitioners/devotees, which is similar to a monastery in that it consists of folks who live and work together, to serve and realise God. There are also many books out there that can be excellent guides to Yoga (provided that they are written by Hindus, and not by fitness magazine editors or the like).

    An excellent first step is to begin adherence to the behavioral and social disciplines called yamas and niyamas. If you search "yama" and "niyama" on this forum and/or Google, you will find several discussions of these practices.

    Indraneela
    ===
    Oṁ Indrāya Namaḥ.
    Oṁ Namaḥ Śivāya.
    Namaste Indraneela.

    Your post was extremely helpful, many thanks.

    What has been your experience with Yoga and how has it entered your life?

  8. #8
    Join Date
    October 2010
    Location
    New Orleans, LA
    Age
    44
    Posts
    625
    Rep Power
    2262

    Re: How does a Hindu learn and practise Yoga?

    Namasté,

    "Personal experiences in Yoga practice" might be a better topic for a new message-thread? I suggest that because I wouldn't want your original question to be muddled and/or neglected, because the discussion veered off onto a tangent.

    Indraneela
    ===
    Oṁ Indrāya Namaḥ.
    Oṁ Namaḥ Śivāya.

  9. #9

    Re: How does a Hindu learn and practise Yoga?

    Quote Originally Posted by Indraneela View Post
    Namasté,

    "Personal experiences in Yoga practice" might be a better topic for a new message-thread? I suggest that because I wouldn't want your original question to be muddled and/or neglected, because the discussion veered off onto a tangent.

    Indraneela
    ===
    Oṁ Indrāya Namaḥ.
    Oṁ Namaḥ Śivāya.
    Namaste.

    I liked the suggestion, so I have took that on board. ;-)

  10. #10
    Join Date
    July 2012
    Location
    Texas
    Age
    42
    Posts
    94
    Rep Power
    229

    Re: Personal experiences in Yoga practise?

    Namaste.

    This is an interesting topic. I'm sure if you ask 50 different people you will get 50 different answers.

    My personal experience with Yoga over the past year brought me to Hinduism, and, in a roundabout way, here to HDF. I started with the common western misconceptions, I.e. asana and pranayama is the entirety of Yoga, that it was primarily a health practice, etc. I did basic Hatha Yoga for a couple of months, and started noticing a huge improvement in my health, complexion, tonality of muscle, even my singing was effected.

    I fIgured I should learn more about it, and this is when I began my journey to Kriya Yoga and Hinduism in general. Suddenly I realized that my deepest thoughts and understanding of the world was shared by others.

    Anyway, as I posted in another thread, I was initiated into Kriya Yoga tradition of Paramahamsa Prajnanananda last weekend and have been faithfully practicing my Kriya several times per day. As someone who regularly meditated for 2 or 3 hours a day using various techniques (Bhagavan Maharshi self-enquiry, Ham-Sa technique, release technique, etc.) I have already seen a difference in my ability to quiet the mind as well as maintain the quiet after meditating. I have more energy, and have been sleeping less and more restfully than I did previously. I have not stopped my other meditations, rather Kriya has enhanced them and their effectiveness.

    I will comment back here after a month, having not had much chance yet to incorporate the Yoga into my daily life but already seeing a difference after such a short time.

    Pranam.
    Aum Namah Shivaya
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    "Reality must always be real. It is not with forms and names. That which underlies these is the reality. It underlies limitations, being itself limitless. It is not bound. It underlies unrealities, itself being real. Reality is that which is. It is as it is. It transcends speech. It is beyond the expressions 'existence, non-existence', etc." ~Sri Bhagavan Ramana Maharshi~

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 2 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 2 guests)

Similar Threads

  1. Islam and Yoga
    By Maya3 in forum Hot Topics
    Replies: 5
    Last Post: 16 July 2012, 10:43 AM
  2. Aham Brahmasmi - 4 - The Way to the Absolute
    By devotee in forum Advaita
    Replies: 61
    Last Post: 02 March 2012, 11:35 PM
  3. Could Hinduism be Westernised?
    By ScottMalaysia in forum On Dharma
    Replies: 51
    Last Post: 16 May 2010, 12:49 PM
  4. Kriya yoga?
    By Spiritualseeker in forum Hatha & Kriya
    Replies: 21
    Last Post: 30 July 2009, 10:39 AM
  5. Personal Experiences with Ayurveda Practise.
    By YogSadhak in forum Ayurveda
    Replies: 0
    Last Post: 16 March 2007, 01:49 PM

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •