An Interior Itinerary E-Book

Florence Botto

• Herausgeber: Books on Demand
• Kategorie: Ratgeber
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 54

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2016

Beschreibung

Just as a fate of our planet is bound by the behavior of mankind, our own fate is bound by our attitude. Today, man is conscious that he holds the key to this well-being and that this key may be obtained through diligent practice of yoga. This book will appeal to teachers, beginners and experienced students who wish to mindfully live their yoga sessions in order to retain maximum benefits.

Leseprobe

SUMMARY

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

FOREWORD

INTRODUCTION

C

HAPTER

1. THE PRINCIPALS OF TEACHING

YOGA

C

HAPTER

2. THE BENEFITS OF

YOGA

YOGA

, AN ODE TO NATURE

YOGA

, METAMORPHOSIS OF THE BODY’S EXPERIENCE

YOGA

, AN ELIXIR OF LONG LIFE

YOGA

, A PATH TO THE AWAKENING OF CONSCIOUSNESS

CONCLUSION

REFERENCES

GLOSSARY

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to specially thank Géraldine Dutruel and Amrita for proof reading this manuscript.

FOREWORD

Let us observe with joy and emotion as often as possible the gift of life that constantly manifests itself in the three kingdoms of nature, so that our time on this planet may be a source of infinite inspiration.

Let us achieve strength of wisdom by creating harmony all around us and in all we do, in order to reveal with elegance the noblest aspect of our role as humans.

Let us explore, with the energy of yoga, the mystery of life; that part of the enigma may be unveiled to us: that we may meet our inner being and complete what remains of our existence.

INTRODUCTION

Just as the fate of our planet is bound by the behaviour of mankind, our own fate is bound by our attitude. Today, man is conscious that he holds the key to his well-being and that this key may be obtained through diligent practice of yoga. Now, more than ever, yoga has its place in our society.

Yoga as an exceptional heritage.

To understand yoga, we need to look at its history and retrace its roots. Yoga is mentioned in many ancient fundamental texts, such as the Upanishads, the Bhagavad-Gita (which is one of the principal sections of the Mahabharata), and the Yoga-Sutras of Patanjali. References can also be found in the Gheranda Samhita, the Hatha Yoga Pradipika and the Shiva Samhita.

Yoga as a universal language.

The discipline of yoga has become very popular with people of all ages, genders and occupation, regardless of belief, religion and nationality. The fact that interest is expected to continue to rise illustrates with striking intensity that this ancient practice passed down through the generations will never be lost.

Yoga as a benediction.

Yoga is practiced with the body, the heart and the soul, as Yogananda explains: “Yoga is an art as well as a science. It is a science, because it offers practical methods for controlling body and mind, thereby making deep meditation possible. And it is an art, for unless it is practiced intuitively and sensitively it will yield only superficial results.”(1)

A yoga class is a privileged moment during which we celebrate this sacred heritage and can benefit from its noble qualities. It is a journey in the vast universe of the inner Self and goes far beyond awareness of oneself, of others or of our surroundings: it is an invitation to respect, in the broadest sense of the word. It is a way of being.

CHAPTER 1. THE PRINCIPALS OF TEACHING YOGA

Teaching yoga is a privilege, and for a class to be perfectly measured, it must be planned with great care. For an instructor, yoga is an art that is practiced intensely in the knowledge that a session is constructed as the body is constructed. For the student (sadhaka), each lesson is a precious moment, a benediction that is welcomed with great willingness as it is not imposed and remains a personal choice. Each class is a moment entirely devoted to the Self, an adventure that goes beyond imagination.

A yoga session always has beneficial effects and results in a sense of wellbeing.

The following steps are important for maximum benefits:

1- Prepare a class with intelligence. To become a yoga instructor we need to live and breathe the spirit of yoga. This requires: 1) technical competence and persistent practice, 2) impartial assessment of training and discernment when it comes to comments that are read or heard. We cannot rely on simply informing participants of the risks and benefits of a posture without prior observation of effects on oneself and on our students. 3) Diligent and in-depth study of fundamental texts is also necessary.

2- Be creative. For learning to be a gentle and progressive experience for all, we must arrange the dynamics of a lesson by adapting instruction according to our students and their many differences (level of training, physical condition, motivation, any handicaps or illnesses.) Indeed, all participants (whether they are beginners or more advanced learners) cannot progress in one fell swoop, especially as each person will perceive the lesson differently according to his constitution, individuality, his favourite postures, his own manner of comprehending the session, etc. So, to be able to take into account each person’s needs, the following steps will be helpful when planning, or even during a class.

Don’t be afraid to mix

yoga

with other disciplines

, but take care not to popularize it. A good warm up for stiff joints will be appreciated by those who get little exercise during the week or may have experienced physical inactivity for some time.

Be flexible in your class planning and vary your approaches

to bring difficult postures within students’ reach. Beware of over-zealous beginners; these students need help in measuring their efforts to avoid injury or over-exertion. For participants to get the very best from a class, propose several variants of postures and encourage them to choose and appropriate the posture they feel most comfortable in. It’s important to note that the beginner

yogi

mustn’t aim for a high technical level but rather a correct precision of postures, and take into account any physical boundaries they may have. This is why an instructor should open a class with variants of the simplest postures; it enables us to judge whether the basics have been correctly integrated. Pay particular attention to the position of the spine.

Use improvisation

as the best classes are those suggested by students. This means reducing the number of postures to respect each individual’s rhythm; favour quality over quantity.

Aim for a method that can be used unassisted

to encourage practice outside class. This is advised in the two following cases: 1) when the rhythm of group sessions is elevated but a student still wishes to keep up and practice that style of

yoga

, 2) when keen learners are unable to attend regular group classes due to a busy lifestyle, but still want to practice daily.

3- Reveal the rich complexity hidden by apparent simplicity.