YOGA PHILOSOPHY DISCUSSION GROUP
Sharing sessions within a yoga peer community regarding the deeper reality discovered through your yoga practices.
Article for next discussion group
TBD
February 2007 Contemplation Theme
The Magic & Mystery of Ujjayi Pranayama
By Rama Berch, C.S.Y.T., R.Y.T.
You need to breathe. Especially if you have any aches or pains, any injuries or illnesses, if your mind is racing
much of the time or your anxiety and stress level is high . you need to do more breathing. Specifically, you
need to do more yoga breathing. Ujjayi Pranayama is taught at the beginning of every Svaroopa® yoga class
because it is the most important of yoga.s breathing practices. If you compare equal amounts of time in the
poses to doing the breathing practice, you get more benefit from Ujjayi Pranayama (ood-jaw-yee praa-naa-yaama).
The key is to gently narrow the inside of your throat, which exaggerates the sound of your breath so you can
hear it. As you slow down your breath and smooth out the flow, the sound becomes consistent and steady while
becoming quieter and quieter. The quiet sound of your breath is still audible inside, with the sound waves
traveling from the inside of your throat to your inner ears directly, through the interior spaces in your body. This
helps to draw your attention inward, while it soothes and calms your mind and nervous system. You can even be
making the Ujjayi sound now, as you read.
The most important element of Ujjayi Pranayama is the sound...
Download the rest of the article below.
much of the time or your anxiety and stress level is high . you need to do more breathing. Specifically, you
need to do more yoga breathing. Ujjayi Pranayama is taught at the beginning of every Svaroopa® yoga class
because it is the most important of yoga.s breathing practices. If you compare equal amounts of time in the
poses to doing the breathing practice, you get more benefit from Ujjayi Pranayama (ood-jaw-yee praa-naa-yaama).
The key is to gently narrow the inside of your throat, which exaggerates the sound of your breath so you can
hear it. As you slow down your breath and smooth out the flow, the sound becomes consistent and steady while
becoming quieter and quieter. The quiet sound of your breath is still audible inside, with the sound waves
traveling from the inside of your throat to your inner ears directly, through the interior spaces in your body. This
helps to draw your attention inward, while it soothes and calms your mind and nervous system. You can even be
making the Ujjayi sound now, as you read.
The most important element of Ujjayi Pranayama is the sound...
Download the rest of the article below.
October 2014 Contemplation: Unraveling: Tail-to-Top
by Swami Nirmalananda Saraswati & Vidyadevi Stillman
The universe is constructed in a spiral. The energy that becomes the atoms that become matter
moves in a spiral. You see the spirals in the sky: over 100 billion galaxies spiraling into existence.
From the macrocosm to the microcosm, it.s all spirals: consciousness even spirals into matter by
becoming your DNA.
First just enjoy the marvel of it! How incredibly beautiful! How incredibly powerful! How incredibly
Divine! Consciousness becomes everything by spiraling into contraction. You see it outside and
inside; your body, mind, emotions and even your spiritual process are based in the spiral. You can
even see the cyclical patterns in your life.
The spiral also shows up in your spine. Your spine unfortunately has a little curvy twisty spiral,
which becomes a side-to-side curvature called scoliosis. It.s created by the compression and the
twist in your spine, which starts at your tailbone. The core opening of Svaroopa® yoga lifts and
lengthens your spine, unraveling the twist just like you would unravel the twist in a garden hose by
lengthening it out. Any chiropractor or osteopath can explain how this improves the condition of
your internal organs, your nervous system, your Immune system, your breathing, your vision, etc.
Download the rest of the article below.
moves in a spiral. You see the spirals in the sky: over 100 billion galaxies spiraling into existence.
From the macrocosm to the microcosm, it.s all spirals: consciousness even spirals into matter by
becoming your DNA.
First just enjoy the marvel of it! How incredibly beautiful! How incredibly powerful! How incredibly
Divine! Consciousness becomes everything by spiraling into contraction. You see it outside and
inside; your body, mind, emotions and even your spiritual process are based in the spiral. You can
even see the cyclical patterns in your life.
The spiral also shows up in your spine. Your spine unfortunately has a little curvy twisty spiral,
which becomes a side-to-side curvature called scoliosis. It.s created by the compression and the
twist in your spine, which starts at your tailbone. The core opening of Svaroopa® yoga lifts and
lengthens your spine, unraveling the twist just like you would unravel the twist in a garden hose by
lengthening it out. Any chiropractor or osteopath can explain how this improves the condition of
your internal organs, your nervous system, your Immune system, your breathing, your vision, etc.
Download the rest of the article below.
April 2008 Contemplation:What are the Differences?
by Rama Berch
You hear this question often, "What are the differences between your two sides?" There are many reasons your Svaroopa® yoga teacher asks this question, as she or he guides you through your class. Some of the reasons are about your body and some are not. While the question is about your body, much more is hidden within it.
I recently led an Advanced Teacher Training with 20 deeply committed teachers. When I asked what got them started in yoga, nineteen answered that they wanted help with physical pain or problems. One had a completely different reason, saying, “I wanted more out of life and thought yoga might offer it.” That meant 95% of them started because of pain, but I think the true percentage is actually higher. Most new yogis need and want specific physical changes, which Svaroopa® yoga easily provides. It’s easy to make changes in your body through our core opening yoga practice. It works so well because it addresses your problems directly – most of the problems that get people started in yoga are actually caused by core tension. Unfortunately, most exercise programs and yoga styles increase this spinal tension in the name of “core strengthening,” which actually increases the spinal compression and muscle tension that causes most people’s pain.It’s amazingly easy to get the needed changes, which is surprising for most new yogis, because you don’t have
to work hard to get results. In fact, you get more benefit when you are not pushing yourself. Efforting creates.
Download the rest of the article below.
I recently led an Advanced Teacher Training with 20 deeply committed teachers. When I asked what got them started in yoga, nineteen answered that they wanted help with physical pain or problems. One had a completely different reason, saying, “I wanted more out of life and thought yoga might offer it.” That meant 95% of them started because of pain, but I think the true percentage is actually higher. Most new yogis need and want specific physical changes, which Svaroopa® yoga easily provides. It’s easy to make changes in your body through our core opening yoga practice. It works so well because it addresses your problems directly – most of the problems that get people started in yoga are actually caused by core tension. Unfortunately, most exercise programs and yoga styles increase this spinal tension in the name of “core strengthening,” which actually increases the spinal compression and muscle tension that causes most people’s pain.It’s amazingly easy to get the needed changes, which is surprising for most new yogis, because you don’t have
to work hard to get results. In fact, you get more benefit when you are not pushing yourself. Efforting creates.
Download the rest of the article below.
January 2015 Contemplation:Dharma: Life Purpose
by Vidyadevi Stillman & Rukmini Abbruzzi
What is the purpose of life?. My internet search gave me 1 billion results. Amazing! There are a lot of
people asking this question. Many of them come to yoga classes. When you look around the room, there are many there who share your yearning to know and to fulfill the purpose of life. Yoga.s ancient teachings clearly describe the purpose of life, acknowledging its complexity by describing four goals of life. Swami Nirmalananda says, .You don.t have to pick just one of the four goals of life. You get to have all of them! In fact, your life will feel incomplete unless you have all four.. In the Ashram, every morning during sunrise we chant the Guru Gita in Sanskrit. One line of the text
says, .My purpose for chanting the Guru Gita is to attain the four goals of life: dharma, artha, kama and moksha.. Isn.t it wonderful that you can chant a text in Sanskrit for the purpose of realizing all four of the goals of life!
Dharma (dar-ma) = fulfilling your responsibilities
Artha (art-ha) = creating and utilizing wealth
Kama (kaa-maa) = enjoying pleasures
Moksha (mok-sha) = freedom, enlightenment
Download the rest of the article below.
August 2014 Contemplation: Yoga for Every Body
by Swami Nirmalananda Saraswati & Rukmini Abbruzzi
Svaroopa®Yoga Everybody can benefit from yoga. Svaroopa yoga in particular is great for every body. Each
pose is customized to individual body needs, thus meeting you where you currently are. When
you work with your body as it really is, especially targeting your spine, deep tensions melt and
your vertebrae decompress, so blood, oxygen and your body.s own healing energy (prana)
bring new life into areas that need it. You are renewed, relaxed and revived, from the inside
out. This feels so good!
Feeling good is important, one of the reliable results of our practice; it is a pleasurable
experience of being in a body. This is what most new yogis come in looking for. Yet this
pleasurable result is not the transcendental bliss that Svaroopa® yoga promises. Pleasure is a
superficial result; yoga.s true goal is much deeper. The goal is the constant experience of inner
peace and more, an inner ease and a wellspring of joy that is more fulfilling than mere pleasure
This is called "svaroopa,"meaning," your own true form," which is your own Self as
Consciousness-Itself. (Download the rest of the article below.)
by Vidyadevi Stillman & Rukmini Abbruzzi
What is the purpose of life?. My internet search gave me 1 billion results. Amazing! There are a lot of
people asking this question. Many of them come to yoga classes. When you look around the room, there are many there who share your yearning to know and to fulfill the purpose of life. Yoga.s ancient teachings clearly describe the purpose of life, acknowledging its complexity by describing four goals of life. Swami Nirmalananda says, .You don.t have to pick just one of the four goals of life. You get to have all of them! In fact, your life will feel incomplete unless you have all four.. In the Ashram, every morning during sunrise we chant the Guru Gita in Sanskrit. One line of the text
says, .My purpose for chanting the Guru Gita is to attain the four goals of life: dharma, artha, kama and moksha.. Isn.t it wonderful that you can chant a text in Sanskrit for the purpose of realizing all four of the goals of life!
Dharma (dar-ma) = fulfilling your responsibilities
Artha (art-ha) = creating and utilizing wealth
Kama (kaa-maa) = enjoying pleasures
Moksha (mok-sha) = freedom, enlightenment
Download the rest of the article below.
August 2014 Contemplation: Yoga for Every Body
by Swami Nirmalananda Saraswati & Rukmini Abbruzzi
Svaroopa®Yoga Everybody can benefit from yoga. Svaroopa yoga in particular is great for every body. Each
pose is customized to individual body needs, thus meeting you where you currently are. When
you work with your body as it really is, especially targeting your spine, deep tensions melt and
your vertebrae decompress, so blood, oxygen and your body.s own healing energy (prana)
bring new life into areas that need it. You are renewed, relaxed and revived, from the inside
out. This feels so good!
Feeling good is important, one of the reliable results of our practice; it is a pleasurable
experience of being in a body. This is what most new yogis come in looking for. Yet this
pleasurable result is not the transcendental bliss that Svaroopa® yoga promises. Pleasure is a
superficial result; yoga.s true goal is much deeper. The goal is the constant experience of inner
peace and more, an inner ease and a wellspring of joy that is more fulfilling than mere pleasure
This is called "svaroopa,"meaning," your own true form," which is your own Self as
Consciousness-Itself. (Download the rest of the article below.)
| 0702_magic___mystery_of_ujjayi.pdf |
| 1410_unraveling-tail-to-top.pdf |
| 0804_what_are_the_differences.pdf |
| 1501_dharma-life_purpose.pdf |
| yoga_for_every_body_1408.pdf |
| 1409_deceptively_easy-amazingly_powerful.pdf |
| 1406_a_yogic_body.pdf |
| 1407_from_the_inside-out.pdf |
| 0909_cultivating_community.pdf |
All the above articles are Copyright © 2015 S.T.C., and can be found at http://svaroopa.org/contemplation-articles
