Foreword
The ancient spiritual subject of Yoga, which serves every aspect of the human being, is a blend of Art, Science, Ethics, Religion, Philosophy and Technology. For a subject to be deemed a Science, two main characteristics need to be present: i. It should be systematically presented, allowing for an organised approach to learning and studying. ii. It should comprise theory as well as practicals complementing each other in the process of learning and studying. The practical aspects of a science like chemistry, would be conducted in a laboratory as an experiment and it would be futile if not dangerous, to undertake such an experiment without the theoretical knowledge of the chemicals and substances used. Similarly, on a higher hierarchy, the theory of yoga too needs to be clearly understood before entering the laboratory of the vast microcosm of the body, mind, breath and senses. Towards this end, a sadhaka needs to be initiated into the systematized teachings derived from experimentation, observation, analysis and study. This book seeks to highlight the connection between theory and practical teachings as conducted at the RIMYI. When a beginner is inducted into the practice of Yogasanas, he/she is taught the technicalities of how to strike the posture on the physical and skeletal muscular plane. At this stage a student merely learns how to 'position' the various parts of the body like the limbs, trunk and head in the asana. But this is not the end. One needs to go still further after this 'positioning' to create a 'condition' in the embodiment which is the next step and the most vital, as it is this internal conditioning which makes an asana a 'Yogasana'. Here the sadhaka learns to unite one part of the body with another part of the body, the body with the mind, the body with the breath and senses, also the breath with the mind and senses and this takes one into the inward journey which makes the practice of Yoga a Svadhyaya (self-study). It is this unification which justifies the definition of the word Yog which means, 'to unite'. Merely doing an asana by the body, through the body and for the body is not Yog. Yogasanas are to be done by the body but for the mind, for the psyche, for the consciousness and for the culturing and refinement of a human being. Since Yoga is Meditation, the Science of Yoga is capable of lifting man from the mundanity of life and transporting him to the zenith of the Yogic state which is Samadhi. The whole manifest creation whether gross or subtle is Panchabhautic or Elemental. The five gross elements which are the Panchamahabhutas namely Prithvi (earth), Ap (water), Tej (fire), Vayu (air) and Akasha (ether) are the five elements which constitute all that is manifest, either gross or subtle. Since the human body too is a manifestation, it is also constituted by these five elements. Yoga is a science which expounds this reality and has a technique which can work on the five elements and their manipulation in the human embodiment. The asanas greatly contribute towards this elemental management in the human body and this book describes the practical aspects of how this elemental management can be carried out. The various paradigms of practice presented herein, are based on theorems which are like pillars constituting the various concepts which one needs to apply and practice. These theorems would then give a direction to one's practice. When a theorem is properly understood, one could introduce riders to those concepts, as in geometry, thereby allowing for various permutations and combinations to emerge for the understanding and evolvement of the sadhaka.
Asana (103)
Bhakti Yoga (22)
Biography (53)
Hatha Yoga (100)
Kaivalyadhama (58)
Karma Yoga (32)
Kriya Yoga (89)
Kundalini Yoga (60)
Massage (2)
Meditation (357)
Patanjali (146)
Pranayama (72)
Women (33)
Yoga for Children (12)
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