The history of yoga began about four thousand years ago. The first written records of her are in the Rig Veda. Indian guru Swami Sivananda (1887 - 1963) was born in southern India in the state of Tamil Nadu. He was originally a surgeon. But once he cured a vagabond monk who began to teach him yoga. After that, the doctor left for Northern India and in the city of Rishiken (in the world capital of yoga) found a teacher and mentor. For ten years he achieved spiritual enlightenment, and all the time the disciples went to him.
Swami Sivananda wrote about two hundred books and combined all the yoga teachings that were known in one - Sivananda Yoga. In 1957, he sent his beloved student Swami Vishnudevananda to the West - to the USA and Canada, telling him: "People are waiting."
Why do people do yoga
Previously, Westerners saw yoga as nothing more than a trick and laughed at a strange quirk. But the one who accepted it as a way of life begins to transform. Everything is renewed in him: attitude to the world, health, consciousness. There are no obstacles to doing yoga: age, illness, malaise are not an obstacle and a hindrance to classes.
Especially if
it is Sivananda
Yoga . The nature of work also does not matter. Yoga Sivananda treats a unified approach to life. If you perform only poses (asanas), then you can get only physical development. If you engage in controlled breathing, then this is self-medication. If you repeat only the mantras, then this is just a reading of prayers. And the inner power of yoga is revealed when these three approaches are combined. Then life becomes holistic and harmonious.
System features
Let's get acquainted with what Swami Sivananda developed. Yoga involves five steps:
- exercises (to everyone within his reach);
- proper breathing;
- the ability to relax;
- diet;
- positive, commendable thinking.
Sivananda Yoga focuses all exercises on strengthening the spine. This is her feature. This is of such great importance, because the spinal cord is located there. It has centers of the nervous system, which during exercise are actively supplied with blood, which carries food and oxygen. This effect persists until the next day, when the renewal and rejuvenation of the central nervous system occurs again. Asanas also massage internal organs, the result is their effective work. This does not happen all at once, but a positive result, a craving for classes and a good mood will come in two to three weeks.
Exercise breathing
It becomes deep, but not by itself. A person concentrates on this. It teaches you to control the mind.
Gradually, over time, he will completely submit to someone who regularly practices yoga.
Nutrition
Sivananda Yoga approaches this question more strictly than is customary in the West. It is assumed that the person will be a vegetarian. Immediately it becomes difficult for them. But interestingly, when a person has been practicing yoga for a long time, for about a year, he simply does not want to eat meat products, the body itself refuses them. This is how a person turns nonviolently into a vegetarian. This idea of non-violence permeates all the components of yoga.
Yoga philosophy
This is a healthy thinking that promotes a person to love all things, puts him on the path to rapprochement with higher spheres. But meditation should only be done under the supervision of a qualified teacher.
"Salutation to the Sun"
Surya Namaskar Sivananda Yoga or "Solar Exercise" is preferably performed in the morning and stand while turning to face the sun. Its full complex consists of twelve exercises, which are done in a certain sequence. Greeting to the Sun is designed to free the spine and prepare it for more complex asanas. In itself, it is a combination of yoga asanas with deep breathing. With its regular performance, gradually the deposition of fat on the abdomen will go away, the spine, arms and legs will become flexible. Muscles that were pinched and tight will become obedient and elastic. Bends back and forward bends alternate with each other, and this is done with deep breathing. If the body leans forward, the stomach is compressed and the air is pushed out by the diaphragm. Bending backwards - there is an expansion of the chest and, therefore, a deep breath.
In this way flexibility is developed and breathing, formerly superficial, is corrected. Asanas are not limited to this. Among them there are those that give strain to the arms and legs, in which blood circulation improves. This relatively simple exercise will allow a beginner to enter the world of yoga. It can be studied in books, with a group that practices yoga. There is a video tutorial conducted by Zap - an elegant, graceful harmonious girl who gives an explanation to each smooth movement, inhale and exhale. There will be no mistakes with her, because in yoga one must immediately correctly set the breath.
Zap invites
Having learned from the video tutorial open to all, to greet the sun, having well prepared the muscles, the spine and the whole body, you can plunge deeper into the world of breathing, movement, reflection and joy.
Sivananda yoga from Zap may be accessible to many who have thought and did not dare, considering yoga practices too complicated and exotic.
The charming leader will turn life around, showing that for any age there is a natural pleasure from the movements of obedient muscles and joints, as in childhood. Her instructional videos include warm-ups, asanas of basic and dynamic (for more advanced) levels, and complete relaxation. This moment should never be missed, since basically all people are clamped, you need to learn how to completely relax.
Mantras and proper breathing, as well as a detailed description and demonstration of asanas, will help to better master the exercises, learn to concentrate and make Sivananda yoga classes completely safe and effective.
Zap has been practicing yoga for seven years. Her video on the beach knows the whole world. Now she travels to the cities of our country and conducts classes abroad. Zap suggests starting classes from 15-20 minutes a day, but you need to exercise regularly. After they become a habit, you can start a full lesson of 1.5-2 hours at least twice a week.
And if you want quick results, then this scheme is useful: 15 minutes daily and 2 full lessons per week. The effectiveness of this approach will be felt immediately. You should be encouraged after each lesson, although even without such support you feel good after training, because this is another step forward.