Who Likes Yoga?!

[WalkerInTheWoods]

Is Yoga anything like Tai Chi? I have done some basic Tai Chi, but not Yoga. What is a good source to learn Yoga?

[Nagual]

I did some "gygmnastic" yoga; mostly stretshing stuff...  It was ok, except that I am not very flexible, so it was quite frustrating to be the only one not being able to touch his feet!!! []  And there were too many woman... I got scared... [:I][]  Also, there are "many" different types of Yoga: stretshing, breathing, holding postures, a mix of all...

I personaly prefer TaiChi... even if I am not really that fond of the martial aspect of it.  I mainly do it for fitness and energy raising/refining...  I also find it maybe a bit more balanced that other types of energy works; since you train your body too.  But it seems difficult to find a good TaiChi school these days, since many so called "masters" (some after 1 or 2 years of practice!) modified it so that it's not too demanding for the old people or made an external version of it...  By example, my teacher learned for 15 years before opening his school...

[jason]

I have been doing some very basic yoga stretching for the past little while.I'm getting pretty flexible now.[]

as far as the different types,I have no idea...

I read a book called 'kundalini yoga for the west'.there weren't any stretches in it at all![:O]I don't think I understand the spiritual aspects of yoga at all...

[Kazbadan]

Yoga is a life style, and a discipline for both body and mind.

If you wanna pratice Yoga, i would advice you Swasthya Yoga Shastra, from Master DeRose (from Brasil). It´s the most complete style, and a recompilation of the original techniques. It ´s given attention not only to the physical aspect that everybody knows, but also to meditation, relax techniques, breathing techniques, life style, and the reaching of Nirvana, It´s a very good style.

[ASunnieSpirit]

Thanks for postin' everyone

well Nagual your right about the women, but if any single guys are reading its an excellent way to hook up with people []

Ive been told that certain kinds of yoga are better for meditation so I guess I'll look into Swasthya.

Right now im just doing beginning yoga (the class doesnt specify what type it is) but we do streching, and alot of breath work (which i find very interesting) and we end it all with meditation.

im afraid i dont know much about Tai Chi either, but i think ive seen people at parks doing it.

[Anonymous]

I have tried yoga before and in many ways it is similar to kung fu, which I am training in. I notice the same patterns of energy from the stances and postures. I am going to start a special kind of qi gong in the spring- one that has exercises for each month out of the year. I can't wait. In some ways, it is very similar to yoga. Different positions, etc.

[alt0xFF]

Load of books on yoga. Knock yourself out. []
http://www.sivanandadlshq.org/download/download.htm

[Kazbadan]

Sunnie, Swasthia it´s not centered on meditation. It uses meditation too, but that´s not the center. Swasthya it´s more of a complete Yoga that contains all the important aspects of the yoga, without being superficial.

There yoga styles that center itself on meditation.

If you want meditation, maybe you will find much better material in budhist texts. Budhism uses meditation as a powerful tool to reach Nirvana, maybe you should check it out.

[ASunnieSpirit]

What do you mean by "superficial"
Does that mean that some kinds of yoga are fake?!

Im really intrested in Buddism, but Im sure my relatives would keel over if they thought i was engaged in "strange, non-christian religions"[xx(].

I think im going to do some more research, im glad we got that new religon forum. Do you think i should get "Buddism for Dummies"? []

[shadowdancer]

Namaste!
    hey there!  I have been practicing hatha yoga going on 5 years now.  []  I just recently got my 200hr certification [] and have been teaching yoga for almost 2 years.  i am really excited to hear talk of yoga!  Probably the best book on Hatha practice would be B.K.S Iyengar's "Light on Yoga"; it can be intimidating but if you don't have special needs, it's well worth it!  You definitely want to school yourself on the various physical styles of yoga in america today...power yoga(which is simply a vinyasa dominated hatha practice), viniyoga(same as power yoga but less aggressive physically) ashtanga yoga(this is coined as a purely physical style by an indian yogi named Patthabi Jois and is a very physically agressive style), iyengar(a physical style that uses lots and lots of static holding within the postures and is intense in its focus on the alignment and form of the musculo-skeletal structures within the postures) and then there is Bikram's yoga, named after Bikram Choudhury, a physical style which uses a specific set of postures(doesnt change)within a heated room(100+degrees), commonly called "hot yoga"....oh my gosh and then you have people who are trying to "hybridize" into abominations like "yogilates"(any practicioners here sorry if i offend)...anyway, as with tai chi, there are lots of teachers out there who have been practicing very little and now teach...heck, this has been one of my experiences!  every day i do question why i have been blessed with this...and i make it a point to my students that i am their students as well...be careful of frauds, they do abound in yoga as well.  A really good book that gives a very hip view of yoga is "Jivamukti Yoga" by a couple in NY who have spent long time in the scene.  Classic yogic text that you want to look into is the "Yoga Sutra(s)" by Patanjali.

As far as energy work goes, i have found yoga to be one of the most fruitful practices for myself, although i love more dynamic meditations as well, particularly martial arts.  Although, for pure BODy awareness, i find it second to none as a practical methodology.  for me, tai chi and qi gong brought me a deeper awareness of my chi, my aura and the energy field around me that is part of me...but yoga has really provided me more of a whole-body root...has helped me to become more aware of each mucsle and organ...and man, you just get so high!  k, enough for now!  namaste ya'll []

[Nagual]

quote:well Nagual your right about the women, but if any single guys are reading its an excellent way to hook up with people

I am a single guy!  I was trying to say that, being the only guy there, most woman seemed to think that I was just there to pickup one [], and were a little bit on the defensive...  But I tend to be a little paranoid sometimes... []

quote:Does that mean that some kinds of yoga are fake?!

Trust me, there are many fake everything out there; yoga styles included... [xx(]

[ASunnieSpirit]

Thanks very much for the yoga info shadow dancer, thats exactly what i wanted to findout!!!![]

My high class friend was telling me about this chain of yoga studios, i think they were called yoga 101, and that all the rooms were actually 101 degrees. I thought she was joking, but i guess you confirmed it [] anyways im not really for physical pain, its always been my perception that yoga is suppose to be relaxing...

and Nagual-
Im sorry to see that you scared the girls, but im sure they were impressed

[Radha]

I have practiced Iyengar off & on, and Kriya for several years.  I found I understood the purposes of yoga better once I had studied about the Rasayana sect.  They were involved with the deeper, alchemical aspects of inner work, and finally realized a value to having the body less resistant to inflows of prana.  They developed body work, which I believe evolved into hatha, but I have not seen that clearly documented.  Just my own opinion.  Once a person has the body to where it will not be a distraction, they can turn inward and benefit from art such as kriya and Bhakti.  The deepest effect Spiritually would be from Shabd Brahm Yoga also called Surat Shabd Brahm.  Later versions of yoga such as Radha Soami are quite powerful but would be better practticed with a sat guru available to assist.  Remember the goal of the art is to attain the state of Being called in India, Yoga.  Union with Source.  To that degree the Spiritual Being is the highest priority for training, the mind second and the body last.  However, as the rasa found out the body will distract if not cared for to some degree.
Naam,
Naam,

[ASunnieSpirit]

Im sure alot of people on this board have tried yoga so im just curious who does it and why they decided to take it.

I started taking Yoga b/c I felt it would help improve my chances of Astral projecting. It has proved to be quite beneficial in countless ways for me.
There are also lots of kinds of yoga and I would like to know what types of yoga are best for achieving different goals in the spiritual and physical.

Anyways I think yoga is pretty awesome though im sure some will disagree.[]