The Five Principles of Yoga & some traditions

The Five Principles of  Yoga

Principle 1: Proper Relaxation

The sages and yogis of ancient India devised powerful techniques for deep relaxation. Many modern stress-management and relaxation methods borrow heavily from the yogic traditions. By deeply relaxing all the muscles, you can thoroughly rejuvenate the nervous system and attain a deep sense of inner peace.
Proper relaxation should happen at the physical, mental, and spiritual levels.
This relaxed feeling is carried over into all your activities and helps you conserve your energy and let go of all worries and fears.

Principle 2: Proper Exercise

This principle revolves around the idea that our physical body is meant to move and exercise. Proper Exercise is achieved through the Yoga Postures or Asana which systematically works on all parts of the body - stretches and tones the Muscles and Ligaments, enhances the flexibility of the spine and the joints, and improves Blood Circulation. The asanas are designed to regulate the physical and physiological functions of the body. Practicing these Yoga Poses makes your body relaxed, gives you more strength and energy, and rejuvenates the various systems of the body. The Yoga Posture goes together with Proper Breathing. Each movement and stretch should be guided by your breath, making your movement and your breath coordinated and feel like one and the same. The execution of the Asana is beneficial to the body, and at the same time contributes to spiritual and Mental growth. 

Principle 3: Proper Breathing

Control of the breath means control of the mind.
Pranayama also increases vitality and mental clarity. 

Proper breathing means breathing fully and rhythmically, making use of all the parts of your Lungs to increase your oxygen intake. Proper Breathing should be deep, slow and rhythmical. To achieve this, you need to be able to regulate the length and duration of your inhalation, exhalation, and the retention of air in your lungs or the pauses between breath. Yoga Breathing Exercises or Pranayama teaches you on how you can recharge your body and control your mental state by regulating the flow of Prana - the life force. This helps you achieve a calmer and more focused mind, and increases your energy level. 

Principle 4: Proper Diet

The food you eat has a profound effect on your mind. 

For optimal body-mind health and spiritual progress, yoga advocates a sattvic (pure), lacto-vegetarian diet. A sattvic diet consists of food that is easy to digest, nourishing, and promotes clarity and purity of mind, such as grains, vegetables, dairy, fruit, and nuts. This type of diet supports any yogic practice. This is why it is an integral part of the traditional yogic lifestyle

Improper diet results to mental inefficiency and blocks spiritual awareness. Proper Diet is one that nourishes both mind and body. It should be well balanced and based on natural foods. Proper Diet in Yoga also means eating in moderation and eating only when you are hungry. We sometimes tend to eat when we are upset, using food to fill the gap or the emptiness that we feel. Bad eating habits will cause our senses to be dull that we won't even notice how much we eat or how it tastes and may result to diet related ailments like Obesity and Diabetes. Food should sustain our body. It should keep the body light and supple, the mind calm, and it should also help in keeping a strong immune system. 

Principle 5: Positive Thinking and Meditation

This is the most important point of all and the aim of the previous four points. 
Your mind will be slowly controlled and purified by the regular practice of meditation. 
It is important to keep regularity of time, place, and practice. 
Discipline and regularity conditions the mind to slow down its activity with a minimum of delay, thus promoting deeper states of meditation over time. 
Five or ten minutes daily will be more beneficial in the long run than one hour every now and then.
The first 4 yoga principles mentioned above will strongly support your meditation practice by providing the necessary tools to maintain a healthy body and mind, and attain calmness and peace, as well as discipline and inner strength.

The way we think highly affects our way of life. Practice keeping a positive outlook in life, this will facilitate in having a peaceful mind. Positive thinking and Meditation helps you remove negative thoughts and puts your mind under perfect control. 

Branches of Yoga and traditions 

The sage Patanjali was the first to systematize the philosophy and practice of yoga into an eight step system called Ashtanga Yoga. This is the most comprehensive school, in that it embraces many aspects of other systems. Unfortunately, in the West yoga has come to mean only hatha yoga or yoga postures (asanas). In fact, this is only one aspect of the yoga system. There are different yoga paths, but they all have the same ultimate goal: the union, or rather re-union, with your divine nature. In other words, what we call Liberation, Self-realization, or Enlightenment. This cannot be achieved without deep states of meditation leading to Samadhi, or merging with the Supreme Consciousness. Ashtanga Yoga or “Eight Limb Yoga” The eight limbs of yoga are: Yama, or 5 moral restraints (dont's): ahimsa (non-violence), satya (truthfulness), asteya (non-stealing), brahmacharya (celibacy or sense control), apraigraha (non-covetousness). Niyama, or observances (do's): saucha (purity), santosha (contentment), tapas (austerity), swadhyaya (study of scriptures), and Ishwara pranidhana (surrender). Asanas: body postures. Pranayama: breathing techniques for the control of prana and the mind. Pratyahara: withdrawal and control of the senses. Dharana: concentration. Dhyana: meditation. Samadhi: superconscious state. Here non-duality or oneness is experienced. This is the deepest and highest state of consciousness, where body and mind have been transcended and the yogi is one with the Self or God. The goal of life is to achieve and remain in that state.
Hatha Yoga ("Forceful Yoga"). Basically, the first 4 limbs of the Ashtanga system are considered hatha yoga. The main focus is the physical and energetic purification and training. Its goal is to bring the physical body into a perfect state of health so the soul has a fitting vehicle of expression to work through. Raja Yoga ("Royal Yoga"). This is another name for Ashtanga Yoga and its focus and goals are the higher limbs of yoga —concentration, meditation, and Samadhi— also known as samyama. It includes systems such as siddha yoga, kriya yoga, laya yoga, sahaja yoga, and others. Bhakti Yoga ("Yoga of Devotion") is the path of devotion to the Divine. It is pure selfless love from the heart. The relationship between a bhakta and God is very internal and cannot be described with words. Devotional chanting (kirtan, bhajans), prayer, worship, ritual, and mantra repetition are important aspects of this path, since they keep the devotee's mind continuously focused on God. Karma Yoga ("Yoga of Action") is the path of selfless service. For a karma yogi, any activity of human life is an opportunity to serve God. The key to Karma Yoga is the performance of right actions and service for their own sake, without attachment to the end results or a sense of ownership of what is being performed. Jnana Yoga ("Yoga of Wisdom") is the path of knowledge. Taking the philosophy of Vedanta the Jnana Yogi uses his mind to inquire into its own nature. He uses viveka (discernment or discrimination) for moving from avidya (ignorance) to vidya (knowledge). He discerns that the world as perceived by the senses is not real, but an illusion of the individual ego or “I-sense.” Before practicing Jnana Yoga, the aspirant needs to have integrated the lessons of the other yogic paths. Without selflessness and love of God, strength of body and mind, the search for self-realization can become mere speculation. Kundalini Yoga. Kundalini is the dormant energy that lies at the base of the spine. Most realized teachers have agreed that awakening and raising the Kundalini Shakti (or Kundalini energy) to the crown chakra is essential for enlightenment. Various types of raja yogas have this aim and focus, so they may be also be referred to as Kundalini yoga. Meditation or Dhyan Yoga is the practice of turning the attention from outer awareness to inner concentration. It is considered the ultimate medicine, as it slowly but surely removes energy blocks, increasing the energy flow, promotes relaxation and peace, and burns deep impressions and negative tendencies in the mind, which according to yoga and Ayurveda are the real cause of suffering. On the physical level, meditation helps to prolong the body's anabolic process of growth and repair, and to reduce the decaying process. Each cell in the organism is governed by the subconscious mind. They have both an individual and a collective conciousness and intelligence. Positive thoughts bring positive energy to the cells. As meditation brings about a positive state of mind, it also rejuvenates all bodily cells. More importantly, it brings self-knowledge, peace of mind, and the ultimate state of merging with the Divine. Ayurveda and Yoga, Sister Sciencesby Vishnu Dass, NTS, LMT, CAyu. Ayurveda and yoga are sister sciences that have been united for thousands of years for the sake of healing body, mind, and consciousness. Generally speaking, Ayurveda deals more with the health of the body, while yoga deals with purifying the mind and consciousness, but in reality they complement and embrace each other.   The ancient rishis (seers) were the original masters of all Vedic sciences. They understood that good health is a great asset on the path toward Self-realization. If the body is neglected it can easily become an obstacle to spiritual practice. Anyone who has practiced meditation for any length of time would agree to how difficult it can be to sit still for long periods of time without feeling discomfort and fatigue. Both yoga and Ayurveda are mutually supportive and offer many ways to prevent and heal various disorders as well as to cleanse and rejuvenate the body. Besides sharing a philosophical foundation, both systems have many similarities in relation to attitude, nutrition, diet and lifestyle, hygiene, exercise, cleansing practices, as well as spiritual practices. Traditionally, a student of yoga would first live close to and serve the guru for many years, during which time he would learn healthy habits. The basic Ayurvedic principles for health and longevity were past on in the lineage in oral form to serve as a foundation for a life of sadhana (spiritual practice). Nowadays, the teachings of yoga are easily available to all, and whether prepared or not we can leap headlong into its practice. This has its blessings, in the sense that more people can be turned on to the teachings, although much is often lost without the parampara, or close guidance at the feet of an accomplished master. With this in mind, modern yoga practitioners would most certainly benefit from a basic knowledge of Ayurveda to help establish a healthydinacharya (daily routine) and adjust their practice according to the constitution, predominant dosha or imbalance, season, and so on, to prevent disease and promote longevity. Book a private Asheville yoga session for an individualized yoga regime. Similarities between the Yoga System and Ayurveda Both are ancient Vedic teachings. Yoga originates in the Yajur Veda, while Ayurveda originates in the Atharva Veda and Rig Veda. Both recognize that keeping the body healthy is vital for fulfilling the four aims of life: Dharma (duty), Artha (wealth), Kama (desire), and Moksha (liberation). Both recognize that the balance of doshas (humors), dhatus (tissues), and malas (waste products) is essential for maintaining good health. Both share virtually the same metaphysical anatomy and physiology, which consists of 72,000 nadis (subtle channels), 7 main chakras (energy centers), 5 bodily sheaths, and the Kundalini Shakti (energy). Both advocate the use of diet, Ayurvedic herbs, asana, pranayama, meditation, mantra, astrology, prayer, puja (worship), and rituals for healing the entire being.  Both encourage physical health as a good foundation for mental, emotional, and spiritual well-being. Both share the same view on psychology. Ayurveda embraces all six of the main schools of philosophy including the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali and Vedanta (a non-dual philosophical and spiritual path). They both understand that the attachment to the body-mind complex is the root cause of all suffering and that the ultimate state of health is experienced when we abide in our true nature, which is total peace, regardless of the state of the physical body. Both use cleansing methods for the body, all of which encourage the removal of waste products and toxins through their natural routes of elimination. Ayurveda hasPanchakarma (five cleansing actions) and yoga uses Shat Karma (six purification measures).

The Ayurvedic approach to asana practice

The use of asana, pranayama, and meditation for healing is known as Yoga Chikitsa, or Yoga Therapy and has been used for thousands of years by Ayurvedic and yogic adepts. In Yoga Chikitsa, a group of yogic exercises are chosen that will best support the individual and are practiced daily. This can be done over an extended period of time in conjunction with anAyurvedic regime, Ayurvedic herbs and dietary guidelines. Yoga Chikitsa also plays an integral role in the Ayurvedic cleansing and rejuvenation process known as Panchakarma.

For a well balanced personal yoga practice, it is important to take into consideration your individual body structure, prakruti (original constitution), and vikruti (present constitutional imbalance). The following are general recommendations according to the predominant dosha. You can also learn an invidualized approach to yoga by scheduling a private Asheville yogasession.

 Vata predominant individuals should remember to focus on calming, grounding, stillness, strengthening, and balancing while doing their practice.

Precautions for vata:

• Vinyasa or flow styles of yoga tend to move too quickly from one pose to the next and can aggravate the hyper-mobile quality of vata over time. Flow sequences can be made to be more vata pacifying if they are not excessively long, the length of time poses are held is extended, and transitions are done slowly and consciously.
• Those with lower back problems may find that bending the knees in standing forward bends can prevent discomfort.
• Back bends should be done slowly, carefully and within one's own limits.

Pitta individuals should maintain a calm, cool, and relaxed intention while doing asanas. Pitta types may benefit from trying to cultivate an attitude of forgiveness, and of surrendering or offering the fruits of their practice to the divine of to those in need of positive healing energy. Because asana practice tends to generate heat in the body, it is best to do yoga at cooling times of the day, such as dawn or dusk. Also, it is useful to place some emphasis on poses that help to release excess heat from the body, such as poses that compress the solar plexus and poses that open the chest.

Kapha types tend to be sedentary and often dislike vigorous exercise. For this reason, their practice should be energetic, warming, lightening, and stimulating, providing they are physically capable. Vinyasa or flow style yoga is good for kapha because it is dynamic and moves quickly from one pose to the next, it induces sweating and gets the heart pumping.

Yoga is a vast realm of wisdom and practice..
I can't and wont even try and get it all in to these BLOGS but I hope it raises some interest in YOU and makes you want to find out more ;))

blessing and peace
SjD  

Yogic Diet or Sattvic Diet

Yogic Diet  

Instructions for an Ideal Diet

Food should be for living and living should not be for food. Really it is food which determines your behavior, mentality strength and vigor. The elephant though having a huge body is very calm, physically having tremendous strength, vigor and vitality, very pleasant and always standing on four legs. But a lion with a comparatively smaller body is having an aggressive attitude and cannot be calm and quiet but is always roaring. It is the difference of the food they live on. The elephant is vegetarian, whereas the lion is a non-vegetarian.

What is true of beasts is also true of human beings. They can evaluate and discriminate the food. They should eat for physical, mental and intellectual growth.

Yogis discovered from their experience the best food to keep the full growth of man. The body needs many forms of nutrition like proteins, carbohydrates, minerals, vitamins, starch etc. food is divided into three categories Tamasic, Rajasic and Sattvic. Tamasic food includes heavy food, all food which is prepared the previous day and so on. Rajasic food includes meat and all the spices, chilies and so on. Sattvic food is such as grain, dairy products, vegetables, fruits, nuts, honey and nutritive roots. For good health, concentration of mind, control of emotions and sharp intellect sattvic food is recommended.

Selection of Food for Yogic Diet

Grains including wheat, rice, dhal, maize, ragi etc – 30% 

Dairy products – 20% 

Vegetables – 20%: 

Yogis say that there are five vegetables which are the best and five herbs. 

The vegetables are; Ladies finger, brinjal, bitter gourd, parval and all leafy vegetables. 

Brinjal for winter and bitter gourd for rainy season. Ladies finger is good for all season. 

There are many other vegetables which can be used now and then, not every day. 

Such as green beans, snake-gourd, tomato, carrot, beet root, drum-stick, cauliflower, cabbage, potatoes. 

Some of the greens of these vegetables are good. A little carrot can be used every day.

Fruits and Honey – 20%: 

Honey is the best sweetening. Jiggery or brown sugar also can be used. 

White sugar is completely forbidden because it contains a lot of starch. Every fruit is good. 

It should not be too ripe or too raw. Apple is the best fruit. Dried fruit is not a yogic food because it is hard to digest.

Nuts – 10%: 

Coconut is the best. Cashew nut and groundnut can be taken a little. 

Mustard, Jeera(Cumin seed), Salt, Curry tree or sweet neemleaf, Cardamom, Jaggery and Oil can be used to make food wholesome, tasty and pleasant. 

These should not be too much but very moderate. 

Onion and Garlic must be avoided as much as possible. 

Any alcohol or thing which gives slightest stimulation to the body, even tea and coffee should be avoided.

Attitude Towards Eating

The most important thing about food is not the food itself but how you eat it. 

If a preson eats food when excited, that will not help him at all. 

It may even be harmful. 

Angry, disturbed or excited feeling will do harm. 

The person eating the food must be clam, quiet, undisturbed and undistracted. 

The mind too should think of the eating process. 

In the old Hindu household food is not served till you change your dress, wash your hands and feet, sit at a particular place, take water after the food is laid down, sprinkle water round it after the mantras and then only eat it without distractions. Even the mantras work as auto-suggestion and food becomes not only tasty but healthy. Even the poison given to saint Mirabai did not harm her because of auto-suggestion.

Food should be broken into pieces by teeth, mixed with saliva and swallowed. 

The juices which the tongue produces are extremely helpful in digestion. 

Therefore you should chew slowly and then swallow.

While taking in food no one should drink water. 

That will dilute the juices and reduce their capacity to help indigestion. 

Water should be taken half an hour after and as much as one wants.

One cannot prescribe the quantity food to be taken, since men are not alike in size. 

The Yogis have discovered a technique in eating. 

Half the stomach should be filled with food; of the remaining space half is for water and the rest for gases, which are caused by the fermentation of food. 

If there is no space for gases they will press against the heart and choke it. 

If these cautions are not heeded people will feel uneasy after a heavy meal and there are instances of heart attack after taking food.

After taking food there should be a gap of three to four hours as that much of time is reqired for the digestion. 

If anything is eaten in between  then digestion becomes difficult. 

If this happens repeatedly then the power of digestion is impaired and troubles start. 

After all the stomach is a sensitive part of the body. 

Proper food at the proper time keeps the stomach in an excellent condition. 

It follows thus that there will not be any diseases. 

This is the road to happiness. ;)