Different types of yoga| Hatha yoga|Kriya yoga|Kundalini yoga

                             Different Types Of Yoga

Hatha Yoga-  Hatha yoga is an ancient technique for the physical and mental development of human beings. Hatha yoga is an important means to achieve raja yoga by balancing body, mind, and prana. The word Hatha is composed of the two words- "ha+ Tha". Here "ha" means hakara (i.e. Suraya savara) and "tha" means thakara (i.e. Chandra savara). Pingla Nadi (Right nostril) is Surya (Sun) Savara, Whereas Ida Nadi (Left nostril) is Chandra (Moon) Savara. Hatha yoga is the unification of Surya Savara and Chandra Savara. By the unification of Surya Savara and Chandra Savara,  the prana begins to flow in Sushumna Nadi.  And it helps in the awakening of kundalini shakti. In the Siddha Siddhanta Padhati, hatha yoga is explained as: "Hakara Kirtitah, Surysaya Thakara Chandra Uchayte Surya Chandra Masoyogada Hathayogo Numdhate" - means, Hakara is Surya Savara and Thakara is Chandra Savara.

To make the flow of prana into Sushumna Nadi by uniting Surya and Chandra Savara by means of yogic sadhana is hatha yoga. Hatha yoga is considered a tool to gain the raja yoga stage. Swami Sawatmarama says:" Kevala Rajayogae Hathavidhopadisayate"- means only to achieve Raja yoga here knowledge of hatha yoga is given.

In the Hatha yoga Pradipika, the four chapters of the text hatha yoga are explained by swami Sawatmarama.

These four chapters are-

• Asanas
• Pranayama
• Mudra
• Nadanusandhana

   Asanas - Maharishi Patanjali has described asanas called "Sathirsukhmasanam" which means to sit in a stable comfortable position. Asanas provide us healthier life, stability, lightweight. With the regular practice of asanas, we can make our bodies detoxified and purified.

Here are the fifteen asanas described in the Hatha yoga Pradipika.

• Virasana
• Gomukhasana
• Swastikasana
• Kurmasana
• Uttanakurmasana
• Dhanurasana
• Shavasana
• Mayurasana
• Matsayendrasana
• Siddhasana
• Padmasana
• Simhasana
• Bhadrasana
• Paschimottasana

1. Virasana-  It is a modern yoga exercise. In this asana different poses are applied.  ( Use good quality  YOGA MAT for daily exercise and asanas to keeping your stronghold on the surface and sort of insulation between the human body and the surface.)                       

• Hero pose(Virasana yoga mudra)- 

 Yoga Virasana (Hero Pose)

 Virasana is an ointment for tired legs at the end of the day. In yoga Virasana while sitting on the floor with knees bend, ensuring the spinal cord and face are inline and straight while the hands should rest on your knees. Ideally, all of your toenails touching the floor. It will give your lower body a more spacious feeling. Sit in this posture for 2-5 minutes. 

Do not tolerate knee pain and avoid it if have any knee or ankle injury. Do this under the supervision of an experienced instructor. 

    Benefits of hero pose-

• Increase flexibility in the knees.
• Increase circulation in the feet and legs.
• Stretches the feet, thighs, and ankles also.
• Improves the digestive system and helps to avoid the gas problem.
• Good therapy for high blood pressure and patient with asthma.

• Reclining hero pose(Supta Virasana).

Supta Virasana

Supta Virasana is a front opening pose, sit between your heels. Exhale breathing and lay down on the floor with the back support, extending your arms to stretch your chest and shoulder. have your back pain Roll up a towel or cloth and place it underneath the back before you lay down. Stay in this pose for 5 minutes. Then turn back your hands on your knees and come back to the hero pose and relaxed. 

In Supta Virasana another variant is Supta Ardha Virasana.

Supta Ardha Virasana

    Benefits of reclining hero pose-

• Helps to improve fertility in women
• Reduce the problem of menstrual discomfort or pain
• Helps to reduce intestinal gas and acidity problem 
• Strengthens the arches

2. Gomukhasana- Gomukhasana (Cow face pose) is a modern yoga exercise, also an asana of hatha yoga. Gomukhasana is a Sanskrit word that means cow face posture. It is a seated yoga asana. 

Gomukhasana

Sit properly with your back straight, bend your right leg and place your right foot under your left buttock. your left knee should be stack on your right knee. your left arm above your head and bend your elbow similarly to your right arm behind your back then interlock your both hands. Stay in this pose for 5-10 minutes then you exhale and release your arms.

  Benefits of gomukhasana-

• Stretches of arms, ankles, shoulder, armpits, and chest also.
• The flexibility of your body.
• Helps to make your body in a correct posture.
• Beneficial for office working ladies to relax the body.

3. Swastikasana- Swastika is a Sanskrit word that means auspicious (Good fortune). It is a meditation or sadhana posture.

Swastikasana

 

Sit properly on the asana, straight your back, and spread out both legs in front of you, Fold your both leg on top of another leg. your knees should firmly touch the floor in this position and you feel relax, so maintain yourself in this position. place both hands on both your knees. turn your index finger and put the thumb on it, relax the other three fingers. Close your eyes and concentrate your mind on yourself. Control your breathing and slowly exhale. Stay in this pose for 10-15 minutes in beginning after that you can increase the time.

    Benefits of swastikasana-

• Best position in meditation and sadhana.
• Helps to relax your mind.
• Increase your concentration power.
• Suitable and best asana for every age group.
• Helps to release stress and anxiety.

4. Kurmasana- Kurmasana is a tortoise (Turtle) pose. This pose helps to strengthen the human back, In this pose sit on asana, and your legs straight in front of you. Spread your leg less than ninety degrees and place your shoulder under your knees, keeping both hands out. Move your hands back behind you and palms up. Rest in this pose for 2 minutes, you can increase the time if you are comfortable.

   Benefits of Kurmasana-

• Increase our back strength.
• Increase our body flexibility.
• Improve our digestion system. 
• Hand and shoulders strength increase.

5. Uttanakurmasana- Uttanakurmasana is a Inverted tortoise pose. Uttanakurmasana comes from a Sanskrit word, which means kachuaa asana. It is a stretching exercise, which helps to open out our thighs, back, and shoulders. In this asana sit in vajra asana pose, hips should be rest on your heels 

What is yoga?- Its origin and modern yoga

Yoga- Its origin and modern yoga 

Yoga is derived from the Sanskrit word "Yuj" to unite. Yoga is the practice of uniting all mental power with the spirit of the universe. Yoga is the practice of controlling our mind and body that involves breath control for health and relaxation. "Na Tasya Rogo Na Jara Na Marityu Prapatsya Yogaganimay Shriram" These lines describe the importance of yoga and it is mentioned in Svetasvataropanishad.

In our holy book Bhagavad Gita, yoga is- "Yogah Karmasu Kausalam Samatvam Yoga Uchyate" Whatever the result, the karma yogi receives the results as Prasada, a gift from the divine.

According to Maharshi Patanjali yoga is- "Yogschittavrittinirodhan" Here Chittavritti means mental modification and Nirodhah means mental control.

The father of yoga is Maharishi Patanjali and the father of modern yoga is Tirumalai Krishnamacharya. Patanjali yoga sutra is the most ancient systematic text of yoga. Lord Shiva is conceived as the first teacher of yoga. Who founded the practice of yoga some 15000 years ago, from Uttarakhand (India). It is also mentioned in the Puranas and Vedas.

Ashtanga yoga components

Ashtanga yoga is described in Darshanopanishad. It is an ancient practice that leads to a deep connection with our spirit or atman. Maharshi  Patanjali (Ancient times great spiritual leader) was the founder of classical yoga philosophy. Who considered yogic techniques in the yoga sutras to follow in our daily life to lead an ethical life. The word yoga was first mentioned in rig Veda in hymns and mantras called mandalas. "Mantro Layo Hatho Rajayoganta Bhumika Karmata" This line about the types of yoga is mentioned in Yogasikhopanishad. In the Patanjali yoga sutras, Maharshi Patanjali tells of about eight components of yogic sadhana called Patanjali ashtanga yoga. These eight limbs of yoga are:

1. Yama
2. Niyama
3. Asana
4. Pranayama
5. Pratyahara
6. Dharna
7. Dhyana
8. Samadhi

In the Patanjali yoga sutra, Maharshi Patanjali described five states of mind called "CHITTA BHUMIS" in these different stages human behaves differently. These stages are: 

• Ksipta (Agitated, Wandering)- In this state rajas guna is dominant in a person and he seeks the objects pleasurable to his body and sense. The person remains busy in orgy during this stage. It is the lowest state of mind.  Most of the people living in this universe have this type of condition. In this state mind is restless, disturbed, jumping from one idea to another idea fastly and the person becomes a victim of anger, raga, Davesha, violence, jealously, anxiety, sensuality,  depression, and sorrows.
• Muddha (Dull, Confused)- In this state tamas guna is dominant in a person. In this state of mind is lethargic, dull, and listless. During this stage, a person is full of ignorance, delusion, fear, and depression.
• Vikshipta (Sincere, Spiritually committed)-In this state, Sattva Guna is dominant in a person, but not completely. The Vikshipta mind is occasionally steady or focused. Often, the mind is distracted in this state. Sometimes rajas Guna again becomes dominant and the senses get attracted towards pleasurable objects.
• Ekagra (Concentrated,  Evolved)-In this state of mind sattva guna is completely dominant. The mind is relaxed and fully concentrated. This state can diminish the kleshas. During this stage, the mind is one-pointed and focused. The one-pointed mind is able to begin the real practice of yoga meditation, which leads a person towards samadhi.     
• Niruddha (Restrained, Pure consciousness)-In this state, all the types of Vrittis get diminished and no new samskaras can arise. If this state is maintained for a long time, one is able to attain the state of final liberation. During this state, the mind is regulated controlled, and mastered.  

Five states of mind

Modern yoga- Modern yoga is focused on the physical practice, to maintain our body and physical fitness. It is derived from hatha yoga and we practiced different types of poses taken from the western culture also. Modern yoga followed by Swami Vivekananda, with his Navavedanta based philosophy, and T. Krishnamacharya with his Gymnastic Philosophy. 

Swami Swatmaram is the author of the text- Hathayoga Pradipika. His life period is in the 14th century.

Modern Yoga Guru and their Philosophy about yoga-

• Swami Dayananda Saraswati- Advaita philosophy
• Swami Vivekananda- Navavedanta philosophy
• Swami Madhavacharya- Dvaita philosophy
• Swami Ramanujacharya- Vishishtadvaita
• Sir Aurobindo- Internal yoga (supramental yoga)
• Swami Kuvalayananda- Scientific study of yoga
• Swami Yogananda- Self-realization, Kriya yoga

Modern yoga

 Modern yoga is related to a very important concept, called "personality". Personality word is obtained from the Latin word persona, which means the aspect of someone's character that is presented to or perceived by others. Yoga plays a very important role to control our emotions. It generates positive emotions by principles of Yama and Niyamas, controls negative emotions, and gives us emotional stability. Personality comes through a better lifestyle and a better lifestyle, which we can achieve through following a yogic lifestyle. The main components of a yogic lifestyle are-

1. Aachar
2. Vichaar
3. Aahar 
4. Vihaar 
5. Vayvahaar

Personality is not only an outer look, it is our identity. We can consider a better personality through some points-

• The slimness of our body.
• Our emotional intelligence.
• Grace in our talk, walk, looks, etc.
• Our characteristics and our behavior.
• Brightness and glow of our skin.
• Freedom from disease and our energy level.
• Our confidence, development, communication, and language speak ability. 
• Our positive thinking towards our life, liveliness, peace, and controlling power of our emotions.  

Personality

So, here we discussed points of a good personality, now let us first know about the benefits of yoga practice. how yoga practice is beneficial for us.  

• Yoga practice reduces muscle tension. 
• During the practice of yoga, oxygen consumption is reduced.
• In the yoga practice, the metabolic rate is reduced.   
• The regular practice of yoga stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system.
• The daily practice of yoga conserves energy.
• With regular practice of yoga, our body doesn't need much more food.
• In yoga practice, the respiration rate falls down.
• Yoga practice helps in balancing the secretions of the endocrine system and develops the stamina of the body.
• The practice of yoga purifies our body,  mind, and soul and controls our emotional intelligence, making it positive.
• The body temperature falls down in the yoga practice because it gives peace to our body, mind, and soul.
• In yoga practice, oxygen is received by all the organs of the body and it is beneficial for our heart system. 
•  Yoga practice increases the flexibility of the muscle and yoga practice also increases the awareness, alertness, and consciousness level of our mind.
• Yoga practice includes physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual development and in the yoga practice, the fatigue is reduced.

yoga 

Yoga is an art to live life peacefully, healthy, and disease-free. In the modern world, if we want to avoid hypertension, anxiety, and unstable life, everyone should make yoga a part of our life.