Yoga: find your way

For five thousand years of its existence in India and a hundred years of popularity in Europe and America, many different schools of yoga have been formed. How to find the most suitable one and what can ancient practices give us?

Yoga is associated with extraordinary physical abilities, intricate body positions, and a special breathing system. In fact, this bodily component is only a small part of it.

Like Ayurveda, yoga in India is a full-fledged discipline, which is taught in state-funded higher education institutions that issue a state diploma. According to Vasily Orekhov, who studied at the State University of Yoga in Puri, “Indians pay great attention to the study of the history of yoga and its primary sources, sacred texts. According to the theory of yoga, there are four main directions. Ashtanga yoga includes the development of the body and personality, that is, hatha yoga, more or less known in the West, meditation and concentration. Karma yoga is a yogic tradition in which the student tries to improve his karma through selfless service to people. Yang yoga – “the yoga of knowledge”, studies the primary sources of yoga, philosophical treatises and the works of great teachers. Bhakti yoga is actually service to God. Thus, by studying these four steps, a person gradually advances from asanas, the discipline of the body, through knowledge and discipline of the mind, to perfection, to merging with the divine.

Classical School of Hatha Yoga “The Body in Harmony with the Inner World”

Mindfulness and relaxation are key principles of hatha yoga. Each movement must be conscious – so yoga through the body includes our consciousness in the work. But the practice should not contain violence against the body, otherwise it can lead to injury. Here is how the head of the Moscow Center “Classical Yoga” Viktor Boyko comments on this: “In yoga, the principle of action by inaction, which in ancient China was called wu-wei, should work. Its essence is that the actions of yoga are consistent with human nature. Asanas are performed with the preservation of muscular, and then mental relaxation, to master it for a person of a Western warehouse is an extremely difficult task. But when a beginner learns to perform asanas without discomfort and pain, to slow down the habitual activity of thinking, achieving “silence of the mind,” miracles begin. The source on which the practices of the classical school rely is the ancient yoga sutras of Patanjali. The task of the “classics” is to strengthen the body and come to a harmonious existence in society.

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Viktor Boyko, Head of the Moscow Center “Classical Yoga”

Psychologies: What can the classical school of hatha yoga give to a modern person?

Victor Boyko: A modern resident of a metropolis is constantly exposed to the aggression of the external environment, and, as a rule, his health leaves much to be desired. Hatha yoga in its traditional form is a method of purification and restoration based on deep and complete relaxation. Regular practice of asanas makes it possible to eliminate accumulated stress, and also strengthens the body. Gradually, endurance and stress resistance are formed, his constant companions are peace of mind, a positive attitude, and physical health. Many problems go away on their own.

Yoga – is it freedom or discipline?

Staying in the field of yoga is, first of all, a daily practice, which means self-discipline. Hatha yoga is ideal for strong-willed people; for all other varieties of temperament and character in this subject, a competent mentor is needed.

Does yoga make you and your students happier?

Sooner or later, if the practice of yoga is properly organized, a person, waking up in the morning, begins to feel happy. Why? Just because! Because he is alive, healthy and his body is in harmony with the inner world of the soul. Achieving such harmony is the goal of traditional classical yoga. At the same time, this state, which in the ethics of yoga is called “samtosha”, or contentment with the existing, is the first stage of enlightenment.

Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga “Striving for Unlimited Freedom”

This is the most athletic style of hatha yoga, requiring a special preparation of the body. The great XNUMXth century yogi Shri Krishnamacharya is considered the first teacher of this trend. The tradition was continued by his disciple, K. Pattabhi Jois. In Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga, asanas are performed dynamically, “in a stream”, that is, one after another. Simultaneously with the movements, a special type of breathing is practiced – ujjayi. This branch of yoga also uses mula and uddiana bandhas, “energy locks” that redistribute energy in the body in order to awaken the kundalini. Each asana here corresponds to a certain direction of gaze, or drashti.

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Mikhail Konstantinov, director and teacher of the Ashtanga yoga center

Psychologies: What can ashtanga vinyasa yoga give to a modern person?

Mikhail Konstantinov: With the correct practice of Ashtanga Yoga, a person can solve many basic problems. Namely, to improve your body and finally feel it as a delightful and obedient instrument for the development of the spirit, and not as a piece of flesh that constantly creates problems for us. Gradually, the regular practice of Ashtanga Yoga calms our mind and makes us more conscious beings who can fruitfully interact both with the world and with ourselves.

Yoga – is it freedom or discipline?

Yoga is the strictest discipline of the body, mind and spirit, the result of which is unlimited freedom. But we still have to get to this, because the efforts that need to be made, as they say in one of the ancient sources on yoga, are truly terrifying! Very, very few people are able to follow the path of yoga (if, of course, we keep in mind its traditional, holistic understanding, and not just a set of physical exercises for weight loss).

Does yoga make you and your students happier?

A yoga practitioner is no doubt happier than most people. The state of harmony and balance becomes predominant in his life. Beginners who are just beginning the practice of yoga quickly begin to feel better both in terms of health and in terms of peace of mind.

But for a Westerner, the concept of “yoga” is associated primarily with exercises and breathing practices, that is, with hatha yoga. The main categories of hatha yoga are asana, pranayama, yama and niyama. Asanas are physical exercises or certain positions of the body, pranayama is the control of breathing. And yama and niyama are the beginnings of yoga ethics and the spiritual path. The term “pit” can be translated as “humility”. The components of the pit are five: harmlessness, truthfulness, non-covetousness, abstinence and generosity. Niyama is limitation or self-restraint, including the practices of purity, contentment, asceticism, self-study and devotion to the highest. The principles of working with the body used in hatha yoga are used in most of the most popular yoga movements in Europe and America, and the main elements of fitness yoga were borrowed from here. Many Indian gurus agree that it is necessary to start with the body, because in order for the vessel – our body – to be filled with some content, it must first be burned and tempered. We asked our experts representing four schools of hatha yoga to tell us what are the specifics of the most popular yoga styles.

Iyengar School “The Garden to Cultivate Every Day”

At the beginning of his journey, Iyengar adhered to the principles of his teacher, the guru of Sri Krishnamacharya, requiring from the practitioner the will, discipline and good physical data. Over time, he came to understand that it is important to attract everyone who needs its miraculous power to yoga, regardless of age and state of health. He came to the conclusion that even with very slow performance of asanas, active internal work takes place in each of these positions of the body. Iyengar yoga is considered one of the softest, a lot of devices are used here: pillows, rollers, blankets, which are placed under the back, hips, head, legs, so that the practice is as comfortable as possible. “Iyengar yoga is suitable for people who want to improve themselves and the life around them, trying to understand the cause-and-effect relationships of what is happening,” says Elena Ulmasbayeva, a practitioner of Iyengar yoga. “People with such aspirations are able to practice regularly, go from simple to complex, make efforts to become better.”

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Elena Ulmasbaeva, director and teacher of the Moscow Iyengar Yoga Center

Psychologies: What can Iyengar yoga give to a modern person?

Elena Ulmasbayeva: Health and wellness. The ability to build harmonious relationships with the outside world and find their place in it. Conscious transformation of the body, combined with the right direction of the mind, leads to personality changes. A person’s attitude changes. The maturity of behavior and actions comes.

Yoga – is it freedom or discipline?

Human nature is a garden to be cultivated every day. That is why discipline is very important at the beginning of yoga practice. To get rid of internal contradictions and eventually come to a state of harmony, you need to work, work on yourself. Regular practice is necessary for the changes to become sustainable, so we come to inner freedom. When a person finds inner harmony, the need for strict discipline most likely disappears.

Does yoga make you and your students happier?

What makes me happier is not the daily practice of yoga itself, but the changes that occur as a result of this practice. Now, after many years of practice, I feel that I can spend much less time on practice, and the state of peace and harmony (which for me is identical to happiness) remains stable. I see how people who start doing yoga become better, how positively their lives change.

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