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| Some weeks after my restart in yoga I start to be comfortable in the easier asanas. This is the reason why I choose some harder asanas to practice (hard means they require more concentration to become comfortable).
I don`t think you need dozens of asanas every day.
What is the difference between an "easy" or a "hard" hatha yoga practice? What do you do to release more energy? If all techniques hatha yoga offers can be raised up to a next level, why just very few did this with pranayama, dhautis or mudras? Is the proper way to do this lost?
The ancient hatha yogis were able to store up as much prana as a shaolin monk, however, the required practice time for this must be 3+ hours every day  (including a long concentration).
What do you think about this?
How (if ever) do you intensify your practice?
Namaste
MD |
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| Mr. Dream,
I think the answer to your question lies at hand. First let me say That I don't think that "real hatha yoga" is lost. It's just that only a little handful of very passionate yogis are able to do that wonderstuff you're talking about.
>> the required practice time for this must be 3+ hours every day (including a long concentration). <<
Who, please tell me, who's got the time to do that???
>> How (if ever) do you intensify your practice? <<
Spending every bit of my spare time and the last drop out of my fuel tank to go to practice (if I feel like) I have to say: Never!
Just think, even without intensify your practice you'll become better and better with the time. You can spend the same amount of time for years and years and you'll learn more asanas and become more comfy with the ones you already know. No reason to intensify.
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| afroyogi - 2004-08-12 5:07 PM
Who, please tell me, who's got the time to do that???
Well, if you do 2 practices every day it`s possible I think.
Spending every bit of my spare time and the last drop out of my fuel tank to go to practice (if I feel like) I have to say: Never!
If you feel something you`ll probably try to find more time...practicing yoga isn`t like practicing any kind of sport.
Just think, even without intensify your practice you'll become better and better with the time. You can spend the same amount of time for years and years and you'll learn more asanas and become more comfy with the ones you already know. No reason to intensify.
It seems much more important to follow all techniques and rules, the asanas are just one step on the way.
MD |
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| Hi Dreamboy,
>> Well, if you do 2 practices every day it`s possible I think. <<
But that won't give you the intended 3+ hours of uninterrupted concentration.
>> If you feel something you`ll probably try to find more time...practicing yoga isn`t like practicing any kind of sport. <<
You got me (thx to my sucking english) wrong there. I meant that to be way more funny. Like 'I do everything for yoga, really everything, but only sometimes'. Also I'm not trying to find more time for yoga. time is my least concern. I think 5-6 classes every week is enough for me.
>> It seems much more important to follow all techniques and rules, the asanas are just one step on the way.<<
And again you got me wrong. All I wanted to say was how could I intensify my practice when I'm already giving it 100%. And why should I??? If one keeps on doing his practice he's going to get better without intensifying. I thought you wanted to know how YOU can manage to intensify your practice and my response was WHY?
I'm pretty happy with the amount of time and effort I'm putting into yoga generally. And once I'm back home I will most probably go on in the same manner. I know that asanas are only one step on the way but that's the level on which I am right now and comes the time I will make a step forward.
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| Hi Afroyogi
My original posting was a bit stupid and my english REALLY sucks, LOL. However, I found out that the only one to do yoga the real way is becoming a teacher myself.
I`ll stop asking questions now.
Namaste
MD |
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| Why stop asking questions??? Just becoming a yoga teacher doesn't mean you don't have questions more!!! In fact, some might argue that it leads to even more questions! At least different kinds, different issues to deal with. 
And in my opinion, becoming a teacher isn't necessarily the best route to take your practice deeper. Who likes a teacher who uses class time as THEIR private practice? I'd rather have an instructor walking around, tweaking and adjusting, and explaining! How can you really get to the depths of a practice (as a teacher) if you're busy telling everyone the next asana? |
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| Right Lora, one should never stop asking questions, never stop being curious. For buddhas sake, we're humans, if we stopped asking questions we would most probably still living on trees. Mr Dream, you write your english really sucks, so where are you from? So here we are, nearly having a fight and in fact all what happend was that we both just can't understand the other thx to poor english  |
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| Hello again
I`m living in Switzerland. In my case, the decision to stop asking questions seems to be a good one
The reason is that I`m studying this subject for a few years now but a teacher has to guide me trough the techniques.
Namaste
MD |
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| LoraB - 2004-08-24 4:42 PM
And in my opinion, becoming a teacher isn't necessarily the best route to take your practice deeper. Who likes a teacher who uses class time as THEIR private practice? I'd rather have an instructor walking around, tweaking and adjusting, and explaining! How can you really get to the depths of a practice (as a teacher) if you're busy telling everyone the next asana?
Hi Lora
Well, we`ve to practice very seriously during this teacher education. And as we`re supposed to teach the yogic techniques we`ve to learn them with all details. In this school, the teacher has to do what he explains and this calls for several yoga sessions every day (once you`re working as a teacher).
Side note: I spent many hours by learning yoga for myself, but the advanced techniques have to be given by a real yogi IMO, and the yogic rules of living must be learned as well.
MD |
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| Well in many ways yes. The age of transmission from guru to student is much different now. We are in a different age. Our cultures are oriented around different centers. "Real" Hatha yoga must be recalled from spirit directly. Which is much clearer than from a guru. Guru's are still a neccesity for middle age and young souls, but it has a different context than the past. Intesity is not a time bound element. It all depends on the clarity of intent. I have been in states that had a level of intensity that goes beyond one life. If the individual intent can merge with the infinite field of intent there are no limits in space and time. The issues of authority are being processed in this age. Something not possible in the past. The science of yoga is about to be reawakened and with it an ability to express it, not just for the few initiates, but for a cultural and global scope not imagined before. Currently humanity is at a energetic low point, because of this issue of authority. We do not see what is eating our energy. All systems have a relationship between simplicity and complexity. As a system grows it takes on more complexity and diversity to the point were the simple core can not support it and the system goes into decay, till the death process gleans the core to find a even simpler core that is more embracing and can hold more energy or intensity. The guru's of the past are in your blood and bones, no need to follow the past. Join the age of the new warriors and fly into the wings of intent. |
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| MD:
I read your original posting. You are correct in your understanding. Hatha means Force. Forcing the Body with Mind is called Hathayoga. There is NO end to making it hard. Also, there is no end to number of poses. The classical text on Hathayoga, namely Hathayogapradipika states:
kevalaM rAjayogAya hathavidyopadiShyate. meaning HathaYoga Instruction is given ONLY (not for physical reasons as used by some, but I have no objection to that at all) for entrance into Rajayoga, the practice of Meditation.
Now, one may choose easy, limited, hard, infinite Hathayoga as they like and wish. But, doing Hathayoga, without Rajayoga is a NON-yogic practice.
Best Luck to you.
neel kulkarni
www.authenticyoga.org |
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Expert Yogi
Posts: 2479
  
Location: A Blue State |
In "Light on Yoga", BKS Iyengar remarks that the purely physical
practice of yoga is mere "acrobatics".
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| Hi kulkarrn
Isn`t it ha and tha?
Hatha yoga is all, there is no meditation without it, neither is there an asana without meditation.
I finally found someone who can teach me all this...and I`m very happy for that!
 tears of joy
Namaste
MD |
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| Brian,
I've read this posting a few times and have to surrender--what are you talking about? Specifically, "The issues of authority are being processed in this age. Something not possible in the past. The science of yoga is about to be reawakened and with it an ability to express it, not just for the few initiates, but for a cultural and global scope not imagined before. Currently humanity is at a energetic low point, because of this issue of authority."
Please don't misunderstand--don't mean to imply the problem is yours--I'm just not comprehending what you're getting across--I'm not grasping your cause and effect. |
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| >> ... not just for the few initiates, but for a cultural and global scope not imagined before <<
I guess that losely translates into: "Today Berlin, tomorrow the world!"
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| If you look at the history of man and the development of man, you have cultures that were based around silent knowledge or spiritual principles. These cultures were lead by a few powerful men who could achieve total stillness and silence and could bring meaning from this place. Knowledge is like gold. In that when you hand it out to a few it can take them to great heights. These leaders new if they handed it out to many it would not be sufficient to develop a person. So you had guru's and the guru's guru and if you were lucky enough you were directed to a teacher who was in the inner circle of the spiritual truths. Their was a hieararchy of transmission. And the goal was not to make it available to all but keep the truths pure for a time in the future. Those seers new it was not the time to open these energies, sense their was not a develop enough container in the society to hold it. Humanity developed and moved away from silent knowledge to the place of reason. And in the renaissance and industrial age we were lead by men who could keep their awareness fixed on pure reason. We have moved out of these ages and now are developing a global society, whether we like it or not. From great chaos is released great knowledge. That is what we have now. We have developed the container from pure reason that can hold the silent knowledge. The leaders of the world now are trying to keep the power of pure reason (or lucifer) in its hierarchy but once the global system is made integrated they would have made what will destroy them. A global network of the information age where the rapid interrelations between people around the world can be felt immediately and universal patterns can be seen. This acknowledgement by every man of our likeness and need to act universally is the reawaekening I was talking about. Those that are controlled,the masses, and those that control or those with authority, inner circles of silent knowledge and the inner circles of pure reason, is what I meant by issues of authority. We have unconscouisly given our authority to people outside of ourselves. In yoga it is the teachers and those that control those teachings. This issue of authority can be seen in every sphere of influence like health care, money, food, government, water, religion, psychology, ecology, etc. You have god given rights just by the lucky human birth. Rights the masses have never been allowed to REALLY have. The matrix movies show alot of these patterns very well. |
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"real" hatha yoga- is it lost?
