CenteringOne thing I like to do when I start a yoga session, either by myself or when I’m teaching, is, beginning with centering. I find that centering is important. I like to begin with sighs and releasing breathe. And close my eyes. I tell myself to leave the worries and troubles and concerns outside at the door.
Agni Yoga is a synthesis of all yoga paths, particularly Karma Yoga, Bhakti Yoga and Raja Yoga. Agni is the Sanskrit word for Fire, the Creative Fire of the Cosmos, the Fire that is seen in varying degrees at the foundation of all Yogas. As such, it is the Yoga of the coming Fiery Epoch which has been predicted in all the ancient Hindu scriptures. Agni Yoga is also referred to as the Teaching of The Maitreya, the next World Teacher, and the Teaching of the Heart, as it is the Heart Center which is the repository of this Fiery Synthesis of Yogas.
Yoga Nidra is the technique of Psychic Sleep, or the Sleep of Awareness, also known as the Yogi’s Sleep. It is an age-old practice from the Tantras which has been re-discovered and developed for modern people and is now being taught all over the world in many different spiritual and non-spiritual guises. Originally, it was discovered and developed by the Yogis as a way of transcending sleep.
The subject of Pranayama is a broad aspect of Yoga which could hardly be explained fully in these few pages. It is a complete and comprehensive science in its own right, which needs years of dedicated practice to perfect. However, there are a few elementary pranayama techniques which should be included in every yoga class, and these will be outlined in the course.
Yoga today has the reputation of most people that it is a form of exercise. This is because, in the earliest days of its migration into the west, it was promoted as part of the “body beautiful” and “fitness craze.” Also, the bodily postures and contortions of skinny little Indians were seen as the most photogenic and outrageous aspects of yoga.