All about Atma Yoga


	All about Atma yoga Where does Atma Yoga come from? What is Atma Yoga? What is power yoga? What is Kundalini yoga? Who is Atmananda Dasa (founder/director of Atma Yoga)? How were the sets created? How slow deep & restorative yoga works…
	Where does Atma Yoga come from? Atma Yoga is originally described in the ancient Sanskrit texts called the Vedas. Specifically, you can learn about Atma Yoga in Bhagavad Gita, Srimad Bhagavatam, Siva Samhita and some of the other Puranic and Upanishadic texts. Our current understanding of Atma Yoga comes from the lineage of yoga masters starting with Brahma going through Madhvacarya and most recently through Bhakti Tirtha Swami. Atma Yoga comes from a need to blend mystic and bhakti yoga in the modern age. In addition, Atma Yoga strives to raise the understanding of Yoga above the current misperceptions of Hatha Yoga. What is Atma Yoga? Atma Yoga is an ancient science. The essence of which is that you are not a body or a mind, but you are actually a soul. The soul is your eternal self which is an eternal person. This eternal person, who is normally in a state of confidence, wisdom and bliss, is sleeping. The goal of Atma yoga is to help awaken the spiritual being from within. For example, you can think in terms of awakening your angelic self, discovering the true meaning of your being, uncovering God’s plan for you, awakening the goddess within etc. How is it different from other yogas? Atma Yoga is different from other yogas because of it relies heavily on the psychological components of yoga described in the Vedas and primarily on it’s understanding of the false ego. Atma Yoga is positioned to help the student to overcome the false ego. When you come out of most yoga systems you’ll be more attached to your body but Atma Yoga is designed for the person who wants to become aware of their spiritual nature. What is power yoga? Power yoga is basically a derivative of flow or astanga yoga. It’s a continuous sequence of asanas. Asanas are not thought to be invented by a human but are the gift of Lord Siva, who originally described 8,400,000 poses. Of this knowledge, only a scant few remain. Power yoga is designed to improve the health of the spine, posture and lower back as well as to balance and strengthen the nervous system and focus the mind. When you improve the way energy flows in your body, you change the way your energy interacts with other people’s energy. What is Kundalini yoga? Kundalini yoga is a practice for mechanically rewiring the way energy moves through your body, through your chakras, and through your aura. This is accomplished through intensive kriyas (activities/exercises) which are combinations of asanas (yoga postures), pranayama (breathing techniques), mudras (gestures), bandas (energy locks), and mantras (sacred sound vibrations). It is considered a very fast acting yoga. It strongly conditions and strengthens the nervous system. It is a yoga for modern spiritual warriors. The origins of Kundalini yoga are ancient, said to be originated by Kartikeya, son of Lord Siva. They are secrets, only talked about recently. The full essence of it remains hidden. Preliminary descriptions of it can be found in the Gherad Samhita, Siva Samhita, and Kundalini Upanishad. Who is Atmananda Dasa (founder/director of Atma Yoga)? Atmananda Dasa began his yoga career at the age of 10 years old; first training in hatha and raja yoga and then receiving initiation at the age of 11 into the Bharati lineage of Shankaracharya. In the years to come he continued to receive instructions, training, or support from: HG Yogi Atcala HH Swami Rama of the Himalayas HH Swami Veda Bharat Sri Singh Sahib Yogi Bhajan In 1997 in Rishekesh, India at Sadhana Mandir he trained intensively under the supervision of HH Tri Danda Swami Jnajesvara Total training hours exceeded 500 Atmananda began teaching yoga in December of 1997 Total teaching hours exceed 4000 (as of mid 2005) Atmananda Dasa is currently 44 years old and working on a book entitled the hidden truth of yoga. He travels continuously around the world training yoga teachers. His training work was spiritually sanctioned by HH Bhakti Tirtha Swami. Additional reference can be obtained from: HH Devamrita Swami - Auckland, New Zealand HH Radhanatha Swami - Mumbai, India HH Sacinandana Swami - Abenteur, Germany HH Jayapataka Maharaja - Mayapur, India HG Ravindra Svarupa Prabhu - Philadelphia, PA, USA HG Druta Karma Prabhu - Los Angeles, CA, USA Atmananda Dasa is an ‘EXPERIENCED REGISTERED YOGA TEACHER’ (E-RYTsm) as registered with the Yoga Alliance. How were the sets created? The sets are handed down in a secretive tradition. The capacity to do this was given to him by his spiritual teacher, Bhakti Tirtha Swami. How slow deep & restorative yoga works… Slow deep poses help relieve the effects of chronic stress in several ways. First, the use of props provides a supportive environment for total relaxation. As well as the use of gravity for developing the experience of surrender. Second, each slow deep sequence is designed to move the spine in all directions. These movements illustrate the age-old wisdom of yoga that teaches well-being is enhanced by a healthy spine. Some of the slow deep stretch poses are backbends, while others are forward bends. Additional poses gently twist the column both left and right. Third, a slow deep restorative practice usually includes an inverted pose, which reverses the effects of gravity. This can be as simple as putting the legs on a bolster or pillow, but the effects are quite dramatic. Because we stand or sit most of the day, blood and lymph fluid accumulate in the lower extremities. By changing the relationship of the legs to gravity, fluids are returned to the upper body and heart function is enhanced. Psychobiologist and yoga teacher Roger Cole, Ph.D., consultant to the University of California, San Diego, in sleep research and biological rhythms, has done preliminary research on the effects of inverted poses. He found that they dramatically alter hormone levels, thus reducing brain arousal, blood pressure, and fluid retention. He attributes these benefits to a slowing of the heart rate and dilation of the blood vessels in the upper body that comes from reversing the effects of gravity. Fourth, restorative yoga alternately stimulates and soothes the organs. For example, by closing the abdomen with a forward bend and then opening it with a backbend, the abdominal organs are squeezed, forcing the blood out, and then opened, so that fresh blood returns to soak the organs. With this movement of blood comes the enhanced exchange of oxygen and waste products across the cell membrane Finally, yoga teaches that the body is permeated with energy. Prana, the masculine energy, resides above the diaphragm, moves upward, and controls respiration and heart rate. Apana, the feminine energy, resides below the diaphragm, moves downward, and controls the function of the abdominal organs. Atma yoga balances these two aspects of energy so that the practitioner is neither overstimulated nor depleted. All of this is of course magnified by the use of breath control, particularly by extending the exhalation.