Yoga / Ashtanga Yoga.

(See also: Yoga / Ashtanga Yoga. ,Yoga, Yoga Dictionary)

Ashtanga Yoga: A Yoga regimen commonly know as "Power Yoga", Ashtanga is a flowing practice in which the postures are linked together and are always done in the exact same sequence.

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Ashtanga yoga:

Eignt-fold discipline of yoga to destroy ignorance and reach the state of communion with Self. As taught by Patanjali.

(See also: Ashtanga yoga , Body Mind and Soul)

ASHTANGA: Eight limbs. ASURIC: Demoniacal.

(See also: ASHTANGA ,Yoga, Yoga Dictionary)

Ashtanga yoga:

the eight fold path of yoga as outlined by Patanjali: yama, niyama, asana, pranayama, pratyahara, dharana, dhyana, samadhi

(See also: Ashtanga yoga ,Yoga, Yoga Dictionary)

raja yoga: (Sanskrit) "King of yogas."

Also known as ashtanga yoga, "eight-limbed yoga." The classical yoga system of eight progressive stages to Illumination as described in various yoga Upanishads, the Tirumantiram and, most notably, the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali.

The eight limbs are as follows.

1)    yama: "Restraint." Virtuous and moral living, which brings purity of mind, freedom from anger, jealousy and subconscious confusion which would inhibit the process of meditation.

2)    niyama: (Sanskrit) "Observance." Religious practices which cultivate the qualities of the higher nature, such as devotion, cognition, humility and contentment- giving the refinement of nature and control of mind needed to concentrate and ultimately plunge into samadhi.

3)    asana: "Seat or posture." A sound body is needed for success in meditation. This is attained through hatha yoga, the postures of which balance the energies of mind and body, promoting health and serenity, e.g., padmasana, the "lotus pose," for meditation. The Yoga Sutras indicate that asanas make the yogi impervious to the impact of the pairs of opposites (dvandva), heat-cold, etc.

4)    pranayama: "Mastering life force." Breath control, which quiets the chitta and balances ida and pingala. Science of controlling prana through breathing techniques in which lengths of inhalation, retention and exhalation are modulated. Pranayama prepares the mind for deep meditation.

5)    pratyahara: "Withdrawal." The practice of withdrawing consciousness from the physical senses first, such as not hearing noise while meditating, then progressively receding from emotions, intellect and eventually from individual consciousness itself in order to merge into the Universal.

6)    dharana: "Concentration." Focusing the mind on a single object or line of thought, not allowing it to wander. The guiding of the flow of consciousness. When concentration is sustained long and deeply enough, meditation naturally follows.

7)    dhyana: "Meditation." A quiet, alert, powerfully concentrated state wherein new knowledge and insight pour into the field of consciousness. This state is possible once the subconscious mind has been cleared or quieted.

8)    samadhi: "Enstasy," which means "standing within one's self." "Sameness, contemplation." The state of true yoga, in which the meditator and the object of meditation are one.

See: yoga, asana, samadhi, raja yoga.

(See also: Raja Yoga , Hinduism, Body Mind and Soul)

Niyama:

rule; there are 5 rules described in the Ashtanga Yoga of Patanjali.

(See also: Niyama ,Yoga, Yoga Dictionary)

RAJA-YOGA: A system of Yoga generally taken to be the one propounded by Patanjali Maharishi, i.e., Ashtanga Yoga. Yoga/Ashtanga Yoga.

(See also: RAJA-YOGA ,Yoga, Yoga Dictionary)

Samadhi:

the final stage of ashtanga yoga in which concentration becomes one with the object of concentration; supreme union.

(See also: Samadhi ,Yoga, Yoga Dictionary)

shad darshana: (Sanskrit) "Six views or insights; six philosophies."

Among the hundreds of Hindu darshanas known through history are six classical philosophical systems: Nyaya, Vaisheshika, Sankhya, Yoga, Mimamsa and Vedanta.

Each was tersely formulated in sutra form by its "founder," and elaborated in extensive commentaries by other writers. They are understood as varied attempts at describing Truth and the path to it. Elements of each form part of the Hindu fabric today.

-       Nyaya: "System, rule; logic." A system of logical realism, founded sometime around 300 bce by Gautama, known for its systems of logic and epistemology and concerned with the means of acquiring right knowledge. Its tools of enquiry and rules for argumentation were adopted by all schools of Hinduism.

-       Vaisheshika: "Distinctionism." From "vishesha," differences. Philosophy founded by Kanada (ca 300 bce) teaching that liberation is to be attained through understanding the nature of existence, which is classified in nine basic realities (dravyas): earth, water, light, air, ether, time, space, soul and mind. Nyaya and Vaisheshika are viewed as a complementary pair, with Nyaya emphasizing logic, and Vaisheshika analyzing the nature of the world.

-       Sankhya: "Enumeration, reckoning." A philosophy founded by the sage Kapila (ca 500 bce), author of the Sankhya Sutras. Sankhya is primarily concerned with "categories of existence," tattvas, which it understands as 25 in number. The first two are the unmanifest purusha and the manifest primal nature, prakriti - the male-female polarity, viewed as the foundation of all existence. Prakriti, out of which all things evolve, is the unity of the three gunas: sattva, rajas and tamas. Sankhya and Yoga are considered an inseparable pair whose principles permeate all of Hinduism.

-       See: prakriti, purusha.

-       Yoga: "Yoking; joining." Ancient tradition of philosophy and practice codified by Patanjali (ca 200 bce) in the Yoga Sutras. It is also known as raja yoga, "king of yogas," or ashtanga yoga, "eight-limbed yoga." Its object is to achieve, at will, the cessation of all fluctuations of consciousness, and the attainment of Self Realization. Yoga is wholly dedicated to putting the high philosophy of Hinduism into practice, to achieve personal transformation through transcendental experience, samadhi.

-       See: yoga.

-       Mimamsa: "Inquiry" (or Purva, "early," Mimamsa). Founded by Jaimini (ca 200 bce), author of the Mimamsa Sutras, who taught the correct performance of Vedic rites as the means to salvation.

-       Vedanta (or Uttara "later" Mimamsa): "End (or culmination) of the Vedas." For Vedanta, the main basis is the Upanishads and Aranyakas (the "end," anta, of the Vedas), rather than the hymns and ritual portions of the Vedas. The teaching of Vedanta is that there is one Absolute Reality, Brahman. Man is one with Brahman, and the object of life is to realize that truth through right knowledge, intuition and personal experience. The Vedanta Sutras (or Brahma Sutras) were composed by Rishi Badarayana (ca 400 bce).

See: Brahma Sutra, padartha, tattva, Vedanta, yoga.

(See also: Shad darshana , Hinduism, Body Mind and Soul)

A Dictionary of Spiritual Terms. From Acupuncture to Zoroaster.

Please note that all words in grey, like "yoga", "enlightenment" or "kundalini" are hyperlinked to archives further explaining the term. At the corresponding archive you will also find articles related to the term.

Ahimsa:

non-violence, non-injury - one of the yamas of ashtanga yoga

(See also: Ahimsa ,Yoga, Yoga Dictionary)

Raja-yoga

understanding of the form of the absolute within many forms, realized through the practice of the eightfold yoga system (ashtanga-yoga).

(See also: Raja-yoga , Bhakti, Bhakti Yoga, Bhakti Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul)

niyamas

The eight secondary regulations observed from the start of the ashtanga-yoga system.

(See also: niyamas , Bhakti, Bhakti Yoga, Bhakti Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul)

pratyahara

In the ashtanga-yoga system, the practice of withdrawing the senses.

(See also: pratyahara , Bhakti, Bhakti Yoga, Bhakti Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul)

pranayama

The breath control exercises in the ashtanga-yoga system.

(See also: pranayama , Bhakti, Bhakti Yoga, Bhakti Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul)

Power Yoga (Ashtanga): Astanga yoga or a variation thereof. Power Yoga includes ujjayi and a series of postures designed to effect therapeutic bodily alignment and to release stress, tightness, and toxins from the body-mind.

(See also: Power Yoga , Body Mind and Soul, Alternative Health, Alternative Health Dictionary)

Patanjali:

author of the Yoga Sutras and preacher of the eight-fold (ashtanga) yoga

(See also: Patanjali ,Yoga, Yoga Dictionary)

Dhyana: Meditation. The seventh limb of the Ashtanga or Raja Yoga system.

(See also: Dhyana ,Yoga, Yoga Dictionary)

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