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Yogatārāvalī
The ''Yogatārāvalī'' ("A String of Stars on Yoga") is a short yoga text of 29 verses from the 13th or 14th century, covering both haṭha yoga and rāja yoga (the yoga of Patanjali). It mentions the yogic sleep state of samadhi or yoganidra. The text was used by the author of the 15th century '' Haṭhapradīpikā''. The ''Yogatārāvalī's'' first verse is chanted by Ashtanga vinyasa yoga students, following Pattabhi Jois's practice, at the start of each class. The text leads up to the teaching that yoga brings "complete transcendence of the world and mind", uninterested in gaining siddhis (powers). Compared to earlier yoga texts such as the 12th or 13th century '' Dattātreyayogaśāstra'' and the 14th century '' Amaraugha Prabodha'', the ''Yogatārāvalī'' omits mention of mantra yoga, and treats hatha yoga as the only way to practice rāja yoga. It makes use of the three bandhas (locks) to attain kevala kumbhaka, a spontaneous suspension of breathing and mental activity. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Haṭha Yoga
Haṭha yoga is a branch of yoga which uses physical techniques to try to preserve and channel the vital force or energy. The Sanskrit word हठ ''haṭha'' literally means "force", alluding to a system of physical techniques. Some haṭha yoga style techniques can be traced back at least to the 1st-century CE, in texts such as the Hindu Sanskrit epics and Buddhism's Pali canon. The oldest dated text so far found to describe haṭha yoga, the 11th-century ''Amṛtasiddhi'', comes from a tantric Buddhist milieu. The oldest texts to use the terminology of ''hatha'' are also Vajrayana Buddhist. Hindu hatha yoga texts appear from the 11th century onwards. Some of the early haṭha yoga texts (11th-13th c.) describe methods to raise and conserve bindu (vital force, that is, semen, and in women ''rajas –'' menstrual fluid). This was seen as the physical essence of life that was constantly dripping down from the head and being lost. Two early Haṭha yoga techniques sought to e ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rāja Yoga
In Sanskrit texts, ''Rāja yoga'' (; राजयोग) was both the goal of yoga and a method to attain it. The term also became a modern name for the practice of yoga in the 19th-century when Swami Vivekananda gave his interpretation of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali in his book ''Raja Yoga''.Swami Vivekananda, ''Raja Yoga'', Since then, Rāja yoga has variously been called aṣṭāṅga yoga, royal yoga, royal union, sahaja marg, and classical yoga. Etymology and usage Rāja (Sanskrit: राज) means "chief, best of its kind" or "king". Rāja yoga thus refers to "chief, best of yoga". The historical use of the term ''Rāja yoga'' is found in other contexts, quite different from its modern usage. In ancient and medieval Sanskrit texts, it meant the highest state of yoga practice (one reaching ''samadhi''). The '' Hatha Yoga Pradipika'', for example, states that Hatha yoga is one of the ways to achieve Rāja yoga. Rāja yoga is discussed in the ''Yogatattva Upanishad'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Patanjali
Patanjali ( sa, पतञ्जलि, Patañjali), also called Gonardiya or Gonikaputra, was a Hindu author, mystic and philosopher. Very little is known about him, and while no one knows exactly when he lived; from analysis of his works it is estimated that it was between the 2nd and 4th centuries CE. He is believed to be an author and compiler of a number of Sanskrit works. The greatest of these are the ''Yoga Sutras'', a classical yoga text. There is speculation as to whether the sage Patañjali is the author of all the works attributed to him, as there are a number of known historical authors of the same name. A great deal of scholarship has been devoted over the last century as to the issue of the historicity or identity of this author or these authors. lists ten separate authors by the name of "Patañjali." Amongst the more important authors called Patañjali are: * The author of the ''Mahābhāṣya'', an ancient treatise on Sanskrit grammar and linguistics, based on t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Samadhi
''Samadhi'' (Pali and sa, समाधि), in Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism and yogic schools, is a state of meditative consciousness. In Buddhism, it is the last of the eight elements of the Noble Eightfold Path. In the Ashtanga Yoga tradition, it is the eighth and final limb identified in the ''Yoga Sutras'' of Patanjali. In the oldest Buddhist suttas, on which several contemporary western Theravada teachers rely, it refers to the development of an investigative and luminous mind which is equanimous and mindful. In the yogic traditions, and the Buddhist commentarial tradition on which the Burmese Vipassana movement and the Thai Forest tradition rely, it is interpreted as a meditative absorption or trance, attained by the practice of '' dhyāna''. Definitions ''Samadhi'' may refer to a broad range of states. A common understanding regards ''samadhi'' as meditative absorption: * Sarbacker: ''samādhi'' is meditative absorption or contemplation. * Diener, Erhard & ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hatha Yoga Pradipika
The ''Haṭha Yoga Pradīpikā'' ( or Light on Hatha Yoga) is a classic fifteenth-century Sanskrit manual on haṭha yoga, written by Svātmārāma, who connects the teaching's lineage to Matsyendranath of the Nathas. It is among the most influential surviving texts on haṭha yoga, being one of the three classic texts alongside the '' Gheranda Samhita'' and the ''Shiva Samhita''. More recently, eight works of early hatha yoga that may have contributed to the ''Hatha Yoga Pradipika'' have been identified. Title and composition Different manuscripts offer different titles for the text, including ''Haṭhayogapradīpikā'', ''Haṭhapradīpikā'', ''Haṭhapradī'', and ''Hath-Pradipika''. It was composed by Svātmārāma in the 15th century as a compilation of the earlier haṭha yoga texts. Svātmārāma incorporates older Sanskrit concepts into his synthesis. He introduces his system as a preparatory stage for physical purification before higher meditation or Raja Yoga. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Siddhi
In Indian religions, (Sanskrit: '; fulfillment, accomplishment) are material, paranormal, supernatural, or otherwise magical powers, abilities, and attainments that are the products of yogic advancement through sādhanās such as meditation and yoga. The term ṛddhi (Pali: ''iddhi'', "psychic powers") is often used interchangeably in Buddhism. Etymology ''Siddhi'' is a Sanskrit noun which can be translated as "knowledge", "accomplishment", "attainment", or "success". Method The ''Visuddhimagga'' is one of the texts to give explicit details about how spiritual masters were thought to actually manifest supernormal abilities. It states that abilities such as flying through the air, walking through solid obstructions, diving into the ground, walking on water and so forth are achieved through changing one element, such as earth, into another element, such as air. The individual must master '' kasina'' meditation before this is possible. Dipa Ma, who trained via the Visuddhim ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dattātreyayogaśāstra
The ''Dattātreyayogaśāstra'', (Sanskrit: दत्तात्रेययोगशास्त्र) a Vaisnava text probably composed in the 13th century CE, is the earliest text which provides a systematized form of Haṭha yoga under that name, and the earliest to place its yoga techniques under the name Haṭha. Three paths The ''Dattātreyayogaśāstra'' is the first text to describe and teach yoga as having three types, namely mantra yoga, laya yoga, and hatha yoga. All three lead to samadhi, the goal of raja yoga. Mantra yoga consists simply of repeating mantras until powers (siddhis) are obtained. Laya yoga dissolves the mind by methods such as raising Kundalini, though neither this nor the chakras are named in the text. Eightfold yoga The work teaches an eightfold yoga identical with Patañjali's 8 limbs that it attributes to Yajnavalkya and others, and as an alternative, ten exercises, later called mudras, that it attributes to teachers including Kapila. It c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Amaraugha Prabodha
The ''Amaraugha Prabodha'' (Sanskrit: अमरौघप्रबोध) is a 12th century Sanskrit text on hatha yoga, attributed to Gorakshanath. Its close connection with a Vajrayana text, the ''Amritasiddhi'', implies a Buddhist origin for the practice of hatha yoga. Yoga text The ''Amaraugha Prabodha'' is a 12th century Shaivite Sanskrit text on hatha yoga, attributed to Gorakshanath. It is closely related to the 11th century ''Amritasiddhi'', a Vajrayana Buddhist work, describing the same physical yoga practices, but adding Shaivite philosophy, subsuming hatha yoga under raja yoga, and reducing the use of Vajrayana terms. The ''Amaraugha Prabodha'' is the earliest text that combines hatha yoga with raja yoga. It was likely used by Svatmarama when he wrote the 15th century ''Hatha yoga pradipika''. The text defines hatha yoga as the type of yoga, as distinct from mantra A mantra (Pali: ''manta'') or mantram (मन्त्रम्) is a sacred utterance, a numi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mantra
A mantra (Pali: ''manta'') or mantram (मन्त्रम्) is a sacred utterance, a numinous sound, a syllable, word or phonemes, or group of words in Sanskrit, Pali and other languages believed by practitioners to have religious, magical or spiritual powers. Feuerstein, Georg (2003), ''The Deeper Dimension of Yoga''. Shambala Publications, Boston, MA Some mantras have a syntactic structure and literal meaning, while others do not. The earliest mantras were composed in Vedic Sanskrit in India. At its simplest, the word ॐ (Aum, Om) serves as a mantra, it is believed to be the first sound which was originated on earth. Aum sound when produced creates a reverberation in the body which helps the body and mind to be calm. In more sophisticated forms, mantras are melodic phrases with spiritual interpretations such as a human longing for truth, reality, light, immortality, peace, love, knowledge, and action. Some mantras without literal meaning are musically uplifting an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bandha (yoga)
A bandha ( sa, बंध) is a kriyā in Hatha Yoga, being a kind of internal mudra described as a "body lock," to lock the vital energy into the body. ''Bandha'' literally means bond, fetter, or "catching hold of".Iyengar, 1976: pp.435–437 Maha Bandha ("the great lock") combines all the other three bandhas, namely: * Mula Bandha, contraction of the perineum * Uddiyana bandha, contraction of the abdomen into the rib cage * Jalandhara Bandha, tucking the chin close to the chest In Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga, these three Bandhas are considered to be one of the three key principles of yoga practice. ''Mula bandha'' ''Mūla bandha'' is a primary ''bandha'' in traditional yoga. The earliest textual mention of ''mūla bandha'' is in the 12th century Shaiva Natha text '' Gorakṣaśataka'' which defines it as a yogic technique to achieve mastery of breath and to awaken the goddess Kuṇḍalinī. Etymology Mula Bandha (Sanskrit: मूल बंध) is from ''Mūla'', meaning various ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kevala Kumbhaka
''Kumbhaka'' is the retention of the breath in the yoga practice of pranayama. It has two types, accompanied (by breathing) whether after inhalation or after exhalation, and, the ultimate aim, unaccompanied. That state is ''kevala kumbhaka'', the complete suspension of the breath for as long as the practitioner wishes. Breath retention The name ''kumbhaka'' is from Sanskrit कुम्भ ''kumbha'', a pot, comparing the torso to a vessel full of air. ''Kumbhaka'' is the retention of the breath in pranayama, either after inhalation, the inner or ''Antara Kumbhaka'', or after exhalation, the outer or ''Bahya Kumbhaka'' (also called ''Bahir Kumbhaka''). According to B.K.S. Iyengar in ''Light on Yoga'', ''kumbhaka'' is the "retention or holding the breath, a state where there is no inhalation or exhalation". ''Sahit'' or ''Sahaja Kumbhaka'' is an intermediate state, when breath retention becomes natural, at the stage of withdrawal of the senses, Pratyahara, the fifth of the eight ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
