‘Yoga’ means union with God.
The state of yoga could be defined as heaven on earth or Christ consciousness. The spiritual and physical science of yoga is meant to promote consciousness whereby the yogi ‘can see the miracles unfolding’ or be ‘enlightened’. This space is the goal of life. All of us are searching for this peaceful existence also described as the state of ‘not needing anything.’ In the classical yoga practice, there are eight steps that are simple but easy to forget. They are as follows:
1) The Yamas (Social restraints). There are five practices and they mirror the ten commandments or restraints in all religions.
- Ahimsa: non-harming
- Satya: non-lying
- Asteya: non-stealing
- Bramacharia: control of sexual harm
- Aparigraha: non-greed
2)The Niyamas (observances)
- Saucha: Cleanliness
- Santosha: Contentment
- Tapas: hard work dedication
- Swadhyaya: self study (any scripture will do)
- Ishwara pranidhana: Give all actions to God. Also thought of as all actions to servicing mother earth and all living species.
3) Asana: Physical practice of yoga. Asana means seat. All poses should be steady and joyful. This is the physical practice you see in studios. Smile and breathe every pose.
4) Praniyama: Science of life-force or breath control. Practice of making the holy breath your soundtrack.
5) Pratihara: withdrawal of senses
6) Concentration
7) Dharma meditation
8) Samahdi: State of yoga union with God
I’m sitting here on vacation with my children teaching them these simple practices. Finally I tell them, ‘we are all practicing yogis like it or not. We are all moving toward God. Some faster than others. These practices, like the sciences of all major religions speed up our evolution.’
Since I haven’t blogged since I left I thought I would share them with globabgrind.com
Enjoy!
