Successfully Travel the Path of Life

Our journey through life can be compared to traveling through a vast and varied landscape full of all kinds of wonders, enjoyment, dangers, suffering, heartache, light and darkness, clear and cloudy skies.

On our journey we come across many different people and other living entities, all kinds of landscapes, experiences, challenges, fearful, comfortable and happy situations. Sometimes things go our way and sometimes they don’t.

There are times in our lives when it feels like we are walking through thick mud and everything is a hardship, while at other times life is like skipping through flowery meadows where the sun is warm and the breeze refreshing. Sometimes we feel confident that we know where we are going and what direction to take in life, while at other times we feel confused about what direction we should take.

So what does life’s journey have to do with yoga? After all isn’t yoga just a type of physical exercise? Absolutely not! It is an enlightening path that helps one successfully travel the path of life itself. A path that offers a refuge from the storms of life; a path where the rugged mountains become small easily climbed hills; a path that enables us to integrate, harmonize, and surcharge with deep meaning and purpose, every aspect of our life, even the seemingly mundane.

The first step in one’s yoga wisdom journey is to understand the yoga view of the self, to understand our essence and thus answer the question, “Who am I?”

According to the yoga view of the self, you are made of an energy completely distinct from matter. You, the self (known as atma), are an indivisible unit of the element known as life. Your body is made of the element matter, but you, the atma, are a spark of the element life. So the answer to the question “Who/what are you?” is: You, the self, are a particle of the element life. You are presently within a material body. You are temporarily possessing and using that body.

With an understanding of the yoga view of the self, the yoga practitioner can begin to apply yoga’s ancient wisdom for modern living.

For a person who cultivates yoga wisdom or true knowledge, the results are inner peace, satisfaction, patience, respect for others, freedom from envy, compassion, joyfulness, remembrance of one's spiritual identity, freedom from the fear of death, freedom from anxiety and depression, and so on.

Yoga’s ancient wisdom thus provides practical answers to the personal and social issues of today such as racism, sectarianism, hatred and conflict, fear of death, the causes of crime, finding real love, how to have a peaceful, progressive society, etc.

Our best wishes for your personal spiritual journey. If we can assist in any way, please don’t hesitate to contact us.

The Real Meaning of Yoga

Harmony in Body, Mind & Soul

The aim of the different yoga processes is to ultimately help the individual achieve complete harmony in body, mind and soul. The different systems of yoga have techniques and practices ranging from physical postures (asanas), to the deepest stages of meditation, all aimed towards helping a person achieve optimum physical, mental and spiritual well-being.

The process of yoga can be seen as a ladder, with the starting rung of the ladder being Hatha yoga asanas and the top of the ladder being Bhakti yoga. An individual can simultaneously apply all or part of these processes in their life in an holistic, integrated fashion.

Hatha Yoga: A preliminary system of physical and breathing exercises, beginning with postures or asanas that aim to bring about harmony between the physical body and the breath. Asanas and Pranayama (breath) clear the subtle energy channels enabling the practitioner to increasingly experience the life force within their body. It is the most well-known of all the yoga systems in the west.

Jnana Yoga: The cultivation of transcendental knowledge. The aim of Jnana Yoga is to bring about realization of one’s spiritual essence, and therefore harmony (through understanding) between the individual atma (soul) and his mind, body and the world. It is also meant to help the atma realize that he is part and parcel of the Supreme Atma and therefore needs to achieve harmony with the Supreme Atma.

Karma Yoga: Yoga in action - work done in a spirit of selfless loving service. It is the path of real happiness and freedom. Karma yoga means serving the Whole rather than just living for oneself. Living a life of Karma yoga means to see oneself as a servant, not master; as a caretaker of others and the environment, not an exploiter. It is meant to purify one’s heart so that one’s natural spiritual love for the Supreme Atma will blossom.

Bhakti Yoga: The apex of yoga and the ultimate goal of life is to achieve pure Bhakti, or Spiritual Love. Such love for the Supreme Soul results in a state of harmony, bliss, knowledge and eternality.

The Goal Of Meditation

Meditation

People today are turning to meditation for many reasons: to find relief from the stress and anxiety of their daily lives; to find some peace after some traumatic event they may have experienced; looking for a deeper understanding of the self and the purpose of life; to reconnect with their inner spiritual nature and source.

Actual meditation means to take our focus away from the material dimension and place it on the spiritual dimension. Being spiritual in essence, this spiritual connection is what most of us are missing in our lives. The easiest way to experience our spiritual connection in this day and age is to engage in Mantra meditation.

Mantra Meditation: ‘Man’ means mind and ‘tra’ to take away from. By focusing the mind on a Mantra or Transcendental sound, we can take our focus away from the material dimension and connect to the spiritual dimension.

True Mantras are not material sound, they are authorized by scripture and invested with all the potency of the spiritual energy. Mantras are made up of the names, qualities and activities of the Supreme Being.

There are no hard and fast rules for hearing and repeating these mantras. Mantra meditation can be practiced quietly alone, with a group of friends or family, or in a large congregation. It can be practiced any where at any time, while walking along the beach or through a nice park, driving in the car, waiting in the bus line, while at home, school or work.

It is non-sectarian, people of all denominations can get together and sing the names of the Supreme that they are comfortable with according to their faith or culture. It is a time old practice and is available to young and old alike. It is the recommended process for self-realisation in this day and age.