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Yogasopana Purvacatuska
The ''Yogasopana Purvacatuska'' (Marathi: योगसोपान पूर्वचतुष्क (in Devanagari script)) or ''Stairway to Yoga'' is a 1905 book in Marathi on hatha yoga by Yogi Narayana Ghamande. It describes and illustrates 37 asanas including Matsyendrasana and Sarvangasana, along with mudras such as Viparita Karani. It was the first and probably the only textbook on yoga to be illustrated with halftone plates. It was influential as the first illustrated yoga textbook to be printed. The book was transitional in several ways: from traditional secrecy to public access to hatha yoga's practices; from symbolic to naturalistic representation of the yoga body, its halftone engravings forming a halfway house between painting and photography; and from spiritual description to art. A transitional book The yoga scholar Mark Singleton observes that the publication of ''Yogasopana'' was in several ways a "key transitional moment" from medieval hatha yoga to modern yoga ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hatha 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] |
Half-tone
Halftone is the reprographic technique that simulates continuous-tone imagery through the use of dots, varying either in size or in spacing, thus generating a gradient-like effect.Campbell, Alastair. The Designer's Lexicon. ©2000 Chronicle, San Francisco. "Halftone" can also be used to refer specifically to the image that is produced by this process. Where continuous-tone imagery contains an infinite range of colors or greys, the halftone process reduces visual reproductions to an image that is printed with only one color of ink, in dots of differing size (pulse-width modulation) or spacing (frequency modulation) or both. This reproduction relies on a basic optical illusion: when the halftone dots are small, the human eye interprets the patterned areas as if they were smooth tones. At a microscopic level, developed black-and-white photographic film also consists of only two colors, and not an infinite range of continuous tones. For details, see film grain. Just as color phot ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Salabhasana
Salabhasana or Purna Salabhasana ( sa, शलभासन; IAST: ''Śalabhāsana''), Locust pose, or Grasshopper pose is a prone back-bending asana in modern yoga as exercise. Etymology and origins The asana's name comes from the Sanskrit शलभा "shalabh" which means "grasshopper" or "locust". The pose is not found in the medieval hatha yoga texts. It is included in Yoga Ghamande's 1905 '' Yogasopana Purvacatuska'', the first yoga manual with printed illustrations, uniquely as halftone plates. It is described independently in Swami Vishnudevananda's 1960 '' Complete Illustrated Book of Yoga'' in the Sivananda Yoga tradition, and by '' B. K. S. Iyengar'' in his 1966 '' Light on Yoga'', implying that it may have older origins. A similar pose was found in Western gymnastics in '' The Bagot Stack Stretch-and-Swing System'', 1931, though Mary Bagot Stack had visited India. File:Salabhasana in Yogasopana 1905.jpg, Salabhasana in '' Yogasopana Purvacatuska'', 1905 File:Sc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mayurasana
Mayūrāsana ( sa, मयूरासन) or Peacock pose is a hand-balancing asana in hatha yoga and modern yoga as exercise with the body held horizontal over the hands. It is one of the oldest non-seated asanas. Etymology and origins The name comes from the Sanskrit words ''mayūra'' (मयूर) meaning "peacock" and ''āsana'' (आसन) meaning "posture". Mayurasana is one of the oldest non-seated asanas used in hatha yoga; it is first described in the 10th century '' Vimānārcanākalpa''. The '' Vāsiṣṭha Saṁhitā'' 1.76-7 states that it destroys all sins. Description In this asana the body is raised like a horizontal stick holding the floor with both palms while the body is supported by the elbows. Variations Hamsasana (Swan Pose) is identical to Mayurasana except that the hands are placed with the fingers pointing forwards. Padma Mayurasana (Lotus in Peacock Pose) has the legs crossed as in Lotus Position. See also * List of asanas * Planche (exer ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dhanurasana
Dhanurasana ( sa, धनुरासन, lit=Bow pose, translit=Dhanurāsana) is a back bending ''asana'' in ''hatha yoga'' and modern yoga as exercise. Etymology and origins The name comes from the Sanskrit words धनुर (dhanura) meaning " bow", and आसन (āsana) meaning "posture" or "seat". A similar pose named Nyubjasana, "the face-down asana", is described and illustrated in the 19th century ''Sritattvanidhi''. The pose is illustrated in half-tone in the 1905 ''Yogasopana Purvacatuska'' and named Dhanurāsana, quoting the ''Gheranda Samhitas description. It is unclear whether the asana is medieval, as although the name is used, the intended pose might be the sitting Akarna Dhanurasana rather than this backbend. The account of Dhanurasana in the 15th century ''Hatha Yoga Pradipika'' is ambiguous about whether the pose is reclining or sitting, stating The 17th century ''Gheranda Samhita'' is similarly ambiguous, stating Dhanurasana is used in the classical I ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mahamudra (Hatha Yoga)
''Mahamudra'' is a hatha yoga gesture (mudra) whose purpose is to improve control over the sexual potential. The sexual potential, associated with apana, is essential in the process of awakening of the dormant spiritual energy (Kundalini) and attaining of spiritual powers (siddhi). Execution Pressure is exerted with the heel on the perineum. This zone is considered to be closely involved in the control of the vital and sexual potential. At the same time, the throat is compressed ( Jalandhara Bandha) activating the throat chakra (Vishuddha Chakra) - center of the akashic energies of void. Effect By activating the energies of akasha and simultaneously stimulating the energies of Muladhara Chakra, Kundalini awakens and raises through the central channel, Sushumna Nadi. The void is considered to be a substrate, an intermediary state in any transformation. Here it projects the lower energies up the spine, transforming them in spiritual energies instead. Thus Mahamudra is a gesture o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kukkutasana
Kukkutasana ( sa, कुक्कुटासन; IAST: ''Kukkuṭāsana''), Cockerel Pose, or Rooster Posture is an arm-balancing asana in hatha yoga and modern yoga as exercise, derived from the seated Padmasana, lotus position. It is one of the oldest non-seated asanas. Similar hand-balancing poses known from the 20th century include Pendant Pose or Lolasana, and Scale Pose or Tulasana. Etymology and origins The name comes from the Sanskrit words ''kukkuṭā'' meaning "cockerel" and ''asana'' (आसन) meaning "posture" or "seat". Kukkutasana is described in medieval hatha yoga texts including the 7th century '' Ahirbudhnya Saṃhitā'', revised from American Academy of Religions conference, San Francisco, 19 November 2011. the 13th century ''Vasishtha Samhita'', the 15th century ''Haṭha Yoga Pradīpikā'' 1.23, the 17th century '' Gheraṇḍa Saṃhitā'' 2.31, and the '' Bahr al-hayat'' c. 1602. Tulasana and Lolasana are not described in the medieval hatha yo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vriksasana
Tree pose or Vrikshasana ( sa, वृक्षासन, translit=vṛkṣāsana) is a balancing asana. It is one of the very few standing poses in medieval hatha yoga, and remains popular in modern yoga as exercise. The pose has been called iconic of modern yoga; it is often featured in yoga magazines, and practised in public displays such as for the International Day of Yoga. Etymology and origins The name comes from the Sanskrit words () meaning 'tree', and () meaning 'posture'. A 7th-century stone carving in Mahabalipuram appears to contain a figure standing on one leg, perhaps indicating that a pose similar to vrikshasana was in use at that time. It is said that sadhus disciplined themselves by choosing to meditate in the pose. The pose is described in the 17th century '' Gheraṇḍa Saṃhitā'' 2.36. More recently it has been called iconic of modern yoga; it is often featured in yoga magazines, and practised in public displays such as for the International Day of Yo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shirshasana
Shirshasana (Sanskrit: शीर्षासन, IAST: śīrṣāsana) Salamba Shirshasana, or Yoga Headstand is an inverted asana in modern yoga as exercise; it was described as both an asana and a mudra in classical hatha yoga, under different names. It has been called the king of all asanas. Its many variations can be combined into Mandalasana, in which the legs are progressively swept from one variation to the next in a full circle around the body. Etymology and origins The name Salamba Shirshasana comes from the Sanskrit words सालम्ब ''Sālamba'' meaning "supported", शीर्ष, ''Śīrṣa'' meaning "head", and आसन, ''Āsana'' meaning "posture" or "seat". The name ''Śīrṣāsana'' is relatively recent; the pose itself is much older, but had other names and purposes. Like other inversions, it was practised as Viparita Karani, described as a mudra in the 15th century ''Hatha Yoga Pradipika'' and other classical texts on haṭha yoga. Viparita Karani, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sophist
A sophist ( el, σοφιστής, sophistes) was a teacher in ancient Greece in the fifth and fourth centuries BC. Sophists specialized in one or more subject areas, such as philosophy, rhetoric, music, athletics, and mathematics. They taught ''arete'' – "virtue" or "excellence" – predominantly to young statesmen and nobility. In the present day, however, a sophist refers to someone who deliberately argues using fallacious arguments or reasoning, in order to mislead; see the section below. Etymology The Greek word el, σοφός, sophos, a wise man, label=none is related to the noun el, σοφία, sophia, wisdom, label=none. Since the times of Homer it commonly referred to an expert in his profession or craft. Charioteers, sculptors, or military experts could be referred to as in their occupations. The word has gradually come to connote general wisdom and especially wisdom in human affairs such as politics, ethics, and household management. This was the meaning ascr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded on August 10, 1846, it operates as a trust instrumentality and is not formally a part of any of the three branches of the federal government. The institution is named after its founding donor, British scientist James Smithson. It was originally organized as the United States National Museum, but that name ceased to exist administratively in 1967. Called "the nation's attic" for its eclectic holdings of 154 million items, the institution's 19 museums, 21 libraries, nine research centers, and zoo include historical and architectural landmarks, mostly located in the District of Columbia. Additional facilities are located in Maryland, New York, and Virginia. More than 200 institutions and museums in 45 states,States without Smithsonian ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chakra
Chakras (, ; sa , text=चक्र , translit=cakra , translit-std=IAST , lit=wheel, circle; pi, cakka) are various focal points used in a variety of ancient meditation practices, collectively denominated as Tantra, or the esoteric or inner traditions of Hinduism.Chakra: Religion Encyclopaedia Britannica The concept of the chakra arose in the early traditions of Hinduism. Beliefs differ between the Indian religions, with many Buddhist texts consistently mentioning five chakras, while Hindu sources reference six or seven. Early Sanskrit texts speak of them both as meditative visualizations combining flowers and mantras and as physical entit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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