True Yoga for Enlightenment and better health

Article by naren

"India a land of yogis and mystics" is a quote familiar with the western press. Known for its magical feats and the famous rope trick, India is a land that has always exuded charm. Yoga is a tradition in India and is seen as a means to enlightenment. Yoga is of four basic types, Karma, Bhakti, Jnana and Raja Yoga. Karma deals with action in the world, Jnana deals with knowledge and intellectual endeavor, Bhakti deals with devotion to a deity and Raja yoga deals with meditation. Modern Yoga has taken on a new connotation devoid of any spiritualist with the asanas or postures of hatha yoga included in fitness regimen. This has essentially led to many self designed types of yoga and is a lucrative business. Yoga essentially means enlightenment and is central to Hinduism and offshoots of Hinduism. Modern Yoga practice has inherited a few elements from this ancient tradition. Breathing exercise (pranayama) and meditation is the most popular of these. Yoga has a unique ability to relax a person and this is adopted by persons who do not look for enlightenment but for its utility to health of mind and bodyThe goals of Yoga are expressed differently by different traditions. The goals of modernism are relaxation and distressing of a person. With this in mind we have a number of tailored programs Yoga for beginners, Yoga for Women, Yoga for Children , Yoga for heart, etc. are the advertisements you would see to entice people to join a yoga fitness center. The common form of Yoga is the practice of concentration. The focus of meditation is different from school to school. Heart (anahata), or third eye (aina) are major points of focus, meditation on peace or Deities is another form. Hatha yoga was invented as purification so that meditation can be done with ease.

Physical purification, Moral Discipline, and meditation are the basics of yoga. There is a far wider reality which often gets forgotten in modern fitness practices. It is sorry to see that instead of holism practiced another view of yoga is p! ropagate d. Blinding the horse to see only in one direction is what the market forces have done to Yoga. Enlightenment is left far behind in our globalization and commercialization. Hatha yoga is only viewed for its health benefits and not for its enlightenment.

Health Benefits* It is believed to calm the nervous system. * It helps to balance the body, mind, and spirit* It follows the same principles as life energy and helps prevents specific diseases. * It is used to reduce blood pressure and stress * It improves sleep, coordination, flexibility, concentration and digestion. * Alternative remedies suggest it as a therapy for cancer, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, asthma and Irritable Bowel Syndrome* It is helps in treatment of spinal problems and chronic back pain.

Yoga as a healing alternative is now the most popular form and very few look towards yoga as a means toward enlightenment.

About the Author

Yogamiracles.com is a site of the various benefits of yoga. Info in http://www.yogamiracles.com/yoga-articles/origins-of-yoga.htm"> basics of Yoga , Yoga for beginners etc. can be found at this resource dedicated to yoga.

Enlightenment

www.loareport.com

Video Rating: 4 / 5

Touching Enlightenment

What does it mean to "meditate with the body"? Until you answer this question, explains Reggie Ray, meditation may be no more than a mental gymnastic —something you can practice for years without fruitful results. In Touching Enlightenment, the esteemed author of five books about Buddhist history and practice guides you back to the original practice of the Buddha: a systematic process that results in a profound awareness in your body rather than in your head.

Combining the scholarship that has earned him international renown with original insights from nearly four decades practicing and teaching meditation, Reggie Ray invites you to explore:

  • How to enter fully into communion with your embodied nature
  • The insights of Tibetan yoga, from guidance on breathing and working with discomfort to its challenge to modern practitioners on the path to realization
  • Why "rejected" experience becomes imprinted in the body —and how to receive it anew to reconstitute your human way of being
  • Karma of cause and karma of result —taking full responsibility for your life
  • Your three bodies—the physical, the interpersonal, and the cosmic

What does it mean to "meditate with the body"? Until you answer this question, explains Reggie Ray, meditation may be no more than a mental gymnastic —something you can practice for years without fruitful results. In Touching Enlightenment, the esteemed author of five books about Buddhist history and practice guides you back to the original practice of the Buddha: a systematic process that results in a profound awareness in your body rather than in your head.

Combining the scholarship that has earned him international renown with original insights from nearly four decades practicing and teaching meditation, Reggie Ray invites you to explore:

  • How to enter fully into communion with your embodied nature
  • The insights of Tibetan yoga, from guidance on! breathi ng and working with discomfort to its challenge to modern practitioners on the path to realization
  • Why "rejected" experience becomes imprinted in the body —and how to receive it anew to reconstitute your human way of being
  • Karma of cause and karma of result —taking full responsibility for your life
  • Your three bodies—the physical, the interpersonal, and the cosmic

List Price: $ 24.95 Price: $ 24.95



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