A Healthy Chick Moment of Yoga: Four Paths of Yoga

Yoga means Union. Union between the individual self and the Universal Self; union between Body-Mind-Spirit. Yoga is not just a system of physical exercises. It is a classical system of personal development of body, mind, spirit. There are four main paths to attain this Union which brings health, happiness and peace of mind: Karma Yoga, Bhakti Yoga, Raja Yoga (Hatha Yoga) and Jnana Yoga. Each path is suited to a different temperament or approach to life. All the paths lead ultimately to the same goal. The lessons of each path need to be integrated if true wisdom is to be attained.

1. Karma Yoga, The Path of Action

By acting selflessly, without thought of personal gain or reward, and by detaching from the fruits of actions and instead offering them to God, the Karma Yogi purifies the heart and sublimates the ego.

2. Bhakti Yoga, The Path of Devotion

Through prayer, worship and ritual, the Bhakti Yogi surrenders to God, channeling and transmuting emotions into unconditional love or devotion. Chanting or singing the praises of God form a substantial part of Bhakti Yoga.

3. Raja Yoga and Hatha Yoga

This path is often called Ashtanga, or eight-limbed yoga. It is the path of body, breath and mind control, and meditation. Hatha yoga is part of Raja yoga. It offers a systematic method for controlling the waves of thought. The chief practice of Raja Yoga is meditation. When body and energy are under control, meditation comes naturally.

4. Jnana Yoga, The Yoga of Knowledge

This is vedantic meditation and self-enquiry. Requiring tremendous strength of will and intellect, the Jnana Yogi uses intellect to inquire into his or her own true nature and into the nature of reality. Before practicing Jnana Yoga, the aspirant needs to have integrated the lessons of the other yogic paths - for without selflessness and love of God, strength of body and mind, the search for self-realization can become mere idle speculation.

Keep it Fresh!

- Lauren

5 Principles of Yoga

I was first introduced to yoga when I was 13 years old. I was taught Sivananda's classic sun salute by my Uncle who's a gym teacher and would practice it each morning when I would wake up and also before my swim practices or meets. When I left for college my college yoga teacher was a Sivananda trained teacher who expanded my knowledge of all that yoga had to offer with the Sivananda Companion to Yoga book which was and always will be my yoga bible! The 5 principles of yoga that Swami Sivananda emphasizes made so much sense to me then and only furthered my study and practice of yoga (hence the reason I'm a yogini and teacher now!), and I'd love to share them with you.

Sivananda is one of the world's largest schools of classical yoga. It's follows a set system of asanas, pranayama and meditation with an emphasis on healthy living principles. The mantra of Sivananda yoga is 'simple living and high thinking.' According to Sivananda tradition, the body is a carrier for the soul. This metaphor extends into the 5 Principles of keeping the body healthy throughout it's lifetime. The Sivananda school of yoga devised these points to help encourage yoga practitioners to better understand and embrace all the integral elements essential in order to keep healthy, balanced and centered.

The Essential Practice: Serve, Love, Give, Purify, Meditate, and Realize.

1. Proper Exercise (Asanas)
The modern lifestyle does not provide natural motion of muscles and joints. Because of insufficient muscle length (flexibility) and muscle strength our bodies develop disease and discomfort over time. Our physical body is meant to move and exercise. Proper exercise should be pleasant to the practitioner while beneficial to the body, mind and spiritual life.

2. Proper Breathing (Pranayama)
Most people do not utilize the optimum capacity of their lungs. Yoga teaches us how to use the lungs to their maximum capacity and how to control the breath. Proper breathing should be deep, slow and rhythmical. This increases vitality and mental clarity, while eliminating stress and tension.

3. Proper Relaxation (Savasana)
Because of the fast-paced life styles most of us live combined with external stimuli, we are continually switching our bodies into the classic "fight or flight" syndrome. Stressful situations arise, we tense up, the situation passes and we continue to carry the stress and tension. Over time, this has a tremendous cumulative effect. Yogis of yore devised very powerful techniques of deep relaxation. By relaxing deeply all the muscles the Yogi can thoroughly rejuvenate his nervous system and attain a deep sense of inner peace.

4. Proper Diet (Vegetarian)
Besides being responsible for building our physical body, the foods we eat profoundly affect our mind. For maximum body-mind efficiency and complete spiritual awareness, Yoga advocates a vegetarian diet. This is an integral part of the Yogic lifestyle. (*While I am a vegetarian, I do NOT encourage this diet to all. Everyone has different dietary needs and while the vegetarian diet is pure and beautiful, it may not be practical for some.)

5. Positive Thinking and Meditation (Dhyana)
This last point is the most important point of all. We become what we think. Yoga teaches us to entertain positive and creative thoughts which contribute to vibrant health and a peaceful, joyful mind. The mind will be brought under perfect control by regular practice of meditation.

Keep it fresh!
- Lauren

Sivananda Ashram

Serve. Love. Give. Purify. Meditate. Realize.
I've finally been able to upload my pictures from my beautiful trip to the Sivananda ashram in Paradise Island, Bahamas. It was one of the best trips I've ever been on and I look forward to visiting there time and time again. Please check out my pictures here to see more of the ashram (make sure to press slideshow, then click on show details to read my comments).

About a decade ago, I was blessed to have a yoga teacher at FIT who was Sivananda certified and she introduced me to this lovely philosophy. Living in the city then, I was literally a few blocks away from the Sivananda center on 24th st. so I was fortunate enough to frequent there often for yoga classes and vegetarian meals. It's the one philosophy of yoga I feel most connected with. My Sivananda book that I purchased back in my NYC days has been my bible still to this day.

Sivananda yoga focuses on the 5 points of yoga:
1. Proper exercise (asanas)
2. Proper breathing (pranayama)
3. Proper relaxation (savasana)
4. Proper diet (vegetarian)
5. Positive thinking (vedanta) & meditation (dhyana)

I booked my trip to the Sivananda ashram for 10 days of relaxation, reflection and studying and I was able to do all of that. I filled a whole journal of thoughts and read 3 books! It was exactly what I needed. I practiced yoga 4 hours each day (2 hour class in the morning, 2 hour class in evening) on docks looking out to the water. There was beauty everywhere. I feel stronger than ever and completely blissed out from the whole experience. It reminded me of my love for yoga but I totally did NOT want to come home!

The food was definitely one of the highlights of staying there. Awesome sattvic (pure, clean and wholesome) vegetarian food was served two times a day and I always ate looking out at the water.

Towards the end, Mother Mayatitananda came to give a 3 day course on Living Ahimsa. She initiated us with a vow of ahimsa, a sanskrit word which translates to nonviolence through your thoughts, speech and actions towards all living beings. As a yogi, I have practiced ahimsa for years, but I am human so my thoughts and speech still need a lot of work! I'm excited for this vow and am confident that I can stick to it as best as I can. Being in Mother's presence is always a blessing. Meditating with her was so powerful and the fact that I was able to catch this course in Paradise Islands was so amazing!

Please check out my pictures when you have a chance. I would love to share the beauty I experienced with you!

Om Namah Shivaya-

Keep it fresh!
- Lauren