Yoga

Swami Venkatesananda is travelling around New Zealand giving lectures on the yoga sutras and the Bhagavad Gita. He is a fascinating man and gives to yoga a reality often lost by soma of its advocates. His lectures on the yoga sutras (yoga philosophy) retained the simplicity that Patanjali set down C. 300 BC and yet he directed them at the age we live in today. He believes we make our lives far too complicated and stresses the need to discover a more simple life. "Meditation sitting in front of a blank wall is only for the stupid." Swamiji took a group for pranayama in the gymnasium. Pranayama is the discipline of the life force. It is derived from 'prana' meaning energy and 'yama' meaning discipline. There are eight pranayamas; bhastrika, bhramari, Kapalabhati, murchchha, sitali, sitkari, suryabhedana and ujjayi. They involve cooling, cleansing and retention of the breath. The asanas, (postures) and pranayama make the two limbs of Hatha yoga which is the initial path in all yoga. It aims at developing an awareness and control of the body and it is a practice for dharana (concentration) and, dhyana (meditation). These last two lead to samadhi which is the state of super-consciousness.

All beginners welcome.