Yoga Formon Facebook
Sign up for our Email Newsletter
Yoga is an ancient science and practice that seeks to harmonize the physical, mental and spiritual facets of our being. Yoga is a philosophy not a religion and embraces all religious and spiritual approaches and directions. It is a way of life that helps to eliminate stress and give you life skill tools. It uses physical movements and breathing exercises that bring you in touch with your body and mind. The Sanskrit word ‘Yoga’ means to yoke or join. It is also translated as union, and through this path we seek unification of the mind and the body, seeking to join our individual consciousness with a universal or divine consciousness.
Yoga strengthens the body creating a perfect balance between strength and flexibility. It opens the body, tones and stretches the muscles and cleanses the organs. Yoga balances the sympathetic and parasympathetic systems and equalizes the nervous and endocrine systems bringing health and balance to the body.
It develops awareness of the body and the emotions and allows the practitioner to develop perspective through witnessing our reactions on (and off) the mat. The poses and breathing exercises help shift energy and remove blockages that manifest as anxiety, depression tension, injury or illness. Yoga offers a holistic approach to balancing the varied elements of our being and through regular practice an organic evolution from physical to mental and ultimately spiritual well-being becomes possible.
The effects of a yoga practice on your life become evident through the initial sense of well being that the movements create. With continued diligence, a sense of awareness begins to evolve. Through this opening consciousness, the experience of subtle energies becomes possible. Ultimately the effects of yoga on our lives are to create balance, improved health, mental and emotional well-being, greater tolerance, patience and kindness. Inevitably the yogic path necessarily opens the heart and can offer clarity through the stilling of our minds. It creates connection with the self and all living things.
An open mind! A Yoga mat and comfortable clothes will be useful! Yoga is practised barefoot
Certainly not, although a flexible mind is helpful! Yoga works to develop flexibility but at the same time to create strength in the body. This is the balance we seek at a physical level.
No, yoga is done barefoot. Shoes are removed before entering the shala.
A shala is the yoga room, a sacred sanctuary where we practice. Shala comes from the Sanskrit meaning “school”. School is used in the context of a source of knowledge. We are humans attending the school of life. As such please enter the space in silence.
We avoid food in the system as the poses massage the internal organs. Food digesting can prove most uncomfortable during practice. In addition the digestive system will be activated by eating and takes up energy which is best directed to the energetical effects of our practice. In this way we can the free flow of prana without digestion taking our energy or proving a distraction. In addition many poses are inversions which brings food back in the opposite direction!
We try and generate heat during a practice and water serves to temper this heat. It also gives the body extra work to process which we try avoid.
Yes, but avoid inversions! We do not want the pelvis above the heart during the moon cycle. Also practice a gentle practice, particularly in the first three days of your cycle. Try and listen to the needs of your body. in Kundalini Yoga and Meditation, students will be guided as to which poses must be adapted to the moon cycle.
During the menstrual cycle, there is a downward flow of energy (apana) which is used in the process of elimination. To invert reverts this process which can cause menstrual problems as well as defeat the bodies attempts to eliminate.
Absolutely! If you have had a consistent practice before falling pregnant you can continue your practice with some adjustments. If you are new to yoga you should consult a medical practitioner beforehand. Try pregnancy yoga classes and restorative practices during your pregnancy. What are appropriate yoga practices will depend on your stage of pregnancy. Remember to always listen to your body!
This depends on what is appropriate for you and your personal circumstances. It is vital to maintain a regular practice. Once a week will be beneficial but twice or three times a week will show determined results physically, energetically and emotionally. A dally practice is a certain goal that can change your life completely! Remember there are many ways to create and develop a personal sadhana.
Yes! There are many different interpretations and forms of yoga. This means that you can practice a form of yoga that adapts to your body, health and state of mind as appropriate.
Yoga Form hopes to act as an umbrella for all varied forms of yoga from traditional and restorative hatha yoga to dynamic vinyasa to Kundalini Yoga and Meditation as taught by Yogi Bhajan. In offering these varied teachings and technology Yoga Form students are able to follow different local teachers and incoming international masters, each enriched by their interpretations and styles of teaching as well as have exposure to the many lineages that stem from yogic principle. This offers scope to listen to your body and to what the varying ebbs and flows in energy might demand. Yoga Form offers a choice in practices and an excellence in teaching.
It is said that dawn or dusk are the most auspicious times to practice as the mind is more still. It is also good to find the same time each day for your sadhana (disciplined self practice). Most important is to keep practicing even if that means finding your own right time or attending classes in hours that suit you and your schedule.
Sadhana is a spiritual practice. With commitment and discipline a personal sadhana can be life changing. Sadhana might mean a physical practice but it can also mean meditation or mantra repetition (japa). The important thing is commitment and discipline to whatever sadhana you choose.
No, yoga is a philosophy and way of life. It stems from Vedic source but does not impose dogma or prescription on the practitioner. It is rooted in the essential understanding of the Oneness of all beings and reminds us of the interconnectedness of all as One. Yoga brings the practitioner closer towards the recognition of the Absolute/Love/Truth/the Divine or Higher Self and awakens one to our inherent creativity and inner power.
OM or AUM is considered a sacred symbol representing Truth, Source, Creativity, the Absolute, omnipotent, omnipresent, and the source of all manifest existence. It is said that the sound of OM is the sound of creation: first there was the Word and the word was OM.
Chanting OM allows you to connect with the essential core of being through sound (nada) and brings you at one with the Self. OM is a mantra that allows you through repetitive chanting to move into deeper states of consciousness.
Mantras can be interpreted to be effective as vibration, or more simply as sound, which may include verbal repetition, in the form of chanting, or internal mental repetition. Mantras divert the mind from basic instinctual desires or material inclinations, by focusing the mind on a spiritual idea.
A bija mantra is a sacred vowel to resonate with a chakra. Bija means seed and you can see the bija mantra as seed sound. Each chakra has its own bija-mantra. See chakras.
Japa is a spiritual discipline involving the meditative repetition of a mantra or name of God. The mantra or name may be spoken softly, enough for the practitioner to hear it, or it may be spoken purely within the recitor's mind. Japa may be performed while sitting in a meditation posture, while performing other activities, or as part of formal worship in group settings. Japa is usually performed with the use of a mala.
The word mala means garland and is a set of bead commonly used by Hindus and Buddhists usually made from 108 beads, though other numbers, usually divisible by 9, are also used. Malas are used for keeping count while reciting, chanting, or mentally repeating a mantra or the name or names of a deity. This practice is known in Sanskrit as japa.
Although there are a myriad of reasons given for the number 108, some say that 1 stands for God or higher Truth, 0 stands for emptiness or completeness in spiritual practice, and 8 stands for infinity or eternity.
Asana are poses or postures that make up the body of hatha yoga (the yoga of movement). Asana is intended primarily to restore and maintain a practitioner's well-being, improve the body's flexibility and vitality, and promote the ability to remain in seated meditation for extended periods.
Pranayama is the practice in which the control of prana is achieved (initially) from the control of one's breathing. According to Yogic philosophy the breath, or air, is merely a gateway to the world of prana and its manifestation in the body. In yoga, pranayama techniques are used to control the movement of these vital energies within the body, which is said to lead to an increase in vitality in the practitioner.
Prana is vital life force that exits in all living forms. It is the notion of a vital, life-sustaining force of living beings and vital energy, comparable to the Chinese notion of Qi. Prana is a central concept in Ayurveda and Yoga where it is believed to flow through a network of fine subtle channels called nadis.
Nāḍi ("tube, pipe") are the channels through which the energies of the subtle body are said to flow. They connect at special points of intensity called chakras. In Yoga, the three main channels of prana are the Ida, the Pingala and the Sushumna.
Ida is the left channel. Ida is white, feminine, cold, represents the moon and is associated with the river Ganga (Ganges). Originating in Muladhara, Ida ends up in the left nostril.
Pingala is the right channel. Pingala is red, masculine, hot, represents the sun and is associated with the river Yamuna. Originating in Muladhara, Pingala ends up in the right nostril.
Sushumna is the central channel and is associated with the river Saraswati. Running up the body from just below Muladhara chakra to Sahasrara chakra at the crown of the head.
Chakra is a concept referring to wheel-like vortices which, according to traditional Indian medicine, are believed to exist in the surface of the etheric body. The Chakras are said to be "force centers" or whorls of energy permeating, from a point on the physical body. There are believed to be seven major chakras.
The seminal source on yoga is said to be contained in the Yoga Sutra as codified by Patanjali sometime between 500 and 200 B.C. Contained in these 196 ‘threads’ is the essence of yoga, with strict guidance on its definition, practice, effects and ultimately liberation.