N is for Nidra
Yoga Nidra is a form of relaxation and translates as 'sleep of the yogis.' Using guided visualization and a systematic relaxation of the parts of the body, you enter a deep relaxation which many believe equates to three hours of normal sleep, if yoga nidra is practiced for 30 minutes. Ultimately, Yoga Nidra is a waking state of consciousness in which the yogi connects to Divine energy.
O is for Om
Om or Aum is the cosmic sound, the vibration of the universe, the mystic chant of God consciousness. When we pronounce Om we use the entire vocal range and it reverberates deep inside the throat. Om is known as the mother of all mantras. When we chant Om we are simply echoing the sound that reverberates through us.
You can try chanting Om on its own or Om Namah Shivaaya which is one of the most powerful Hindu mantras. Shiva was the first Yogi; practicing on a tiger skin rather than a yoga mat!
P is for Pranayama
Pranayama is breathwork. We use breath to channel and direct the flow of prana in the body. Opening up the lungs, getting oxygen pumping around the body, opening the heart - pranayama is the fuel of yoga. Some forms of pranayama are deeply relaxing; alternate nostril breathing brings balance; sitali pranayam where you breathe through the curled tongue is cooling for the body and works on inner anger; breathing with a whistle can create a powerful altered state of consciousness; breath of fire stimulates the pituitary gland.
"Yoga has brought me closer to myself. It's helped me realize the interconnectedness of the mind, body and spirit, in the Buddhist sense of the word. Yoga gave me the ability to calm down and has reinforced and grounded my own spiritual beliefs. When you are balanced and when you listen and attend to the needs of your body, mind, and spirit, your natural beauty comes out." Christy Turlington
Q is for Quiet
Quietening the mind is the path of meditation. Dhyana or meditation is a way of creating space, opening up to the bigger picture. Often doing yoga, pranayama or chanting creates a space for meditation, we have exhausted ourselves physically, released tension, gone beyond the chattering mind and for a few short moments you can sit or lie in stillness - bliss!
R is for Rishikesh
The World Yoga Festival happens every year in Rishikesh, India. Rishikesh sits on the banks of the Ganges in the north of India and in some ways has become the spiritual home of yoga. Yoga is an Indian tradition passed down through the ages, for 5000 years. To study yoga in India is a gift because you are going back to the roots of yoga. Traditionally in India, yoga gave an understanding of the spiritual side of life - the path of Self-realization.
S is for Sanskrit
Generally postures and techniques in yoga have a Sanskrit name which roots it firmly in the tradition of India. For example, Savasana is corpse pose, the main posture for relaxation in all forms of yoga. Sanskrit is the sacred language of India, Hinduism, Yoga and meditation. As well as the name of postures, often the words of mantras are in Sanskrit. One exception is Kundalini Yoga, which is from the Sikh faith and so the mantras are in Gurmukhi which is the sacred language of the Sikhs.
T is for Teacher
It is really important to find a teacher that you resonate with - someone that supports, but also pushes your body and your mind. A teacher is someone who can help you transform. In Kundalini Yoga, a teacher is supposed to poke, provoke, confront and elevate. Yogi Bhajan, who is the master of Kundalini Yoga, always said that he did not want to create students, but teachers.
"You have to understand your physical relationship with Infinite Energy and how you can tune in for your own purposes, so that you can have a healthy, happy, holy and wholesome life… You should be so contented that if you had to quit this planet, you would just say, ‘Thank You'." Yogi Bhajan
U is for Uddiyana Bhanda
Uddiyana Bhanda is the diaphragm lock. Pulling body locks or bhandas in yoga is a muscular contraction to create a channel for prana. The principle bhandas are Mulabhanda (root lock - contracting the muscles around the anus and genitals and pulling in the navel - to pull prana up from the lower chakras), Uddiyana Bhanda (diaphragm lock - pulling the diaphragm and abdominal muscles up and back - gently massages the heart) and Jalandhara Bhanda (neck lock - tucking the chin into the collar bone to allow energy/prana to move up to the brain).
V is for Vinyasa
Vinyasa means "breath-synchronized movement" and classes are often called Vinyasa Flow, this is because you flow from one movement to another with the breath. You move from one pose to the next on the inhale or exhale. It gets you in touch with your breath - prana. Breath is the fuel of yoga. Vinyasa encompasses many different styles, sometimes you have Ashtanga Vinyasa for example, working through ashtanga style yoga with the breath. There is not a defined sequence or set of postures, no single philosophy, so classes are quite relaxed and positively unpredictable.
W is for Well-being
Yoga enhances well-being, even after you have rolled up your yoga mat for the day. Yoga creates balance and harmony in your physical body and glandular systems; your mental body by clearing the mind of stress; your emotional body by unlocking stuck emotions and stresses from the mind and body and creates a clear sense of yourself and freedom for meditation.
X is for Xtreme Yoga!
For a non-yogi, lotus position is fairly extreme… Or some people would feel that hot yoga at 105degrees is extreme… but crossing the globe you can find yoga boxing, oh yes fusing yoga and boxing… yoga bootcamps with army style yogic circuit training… and apparently even nude yoga aerobics…
Y is for Yama
Yama is one of the eight limbs of yoga (ashtanga literally means eight limbs) or yoga sutras of Patanjali. Patanjali lived some time between 500 and 200 B.C. and most of what is known of him is legend. His words are still of profound importance now - he is the master of yoga and the sutras or lessons he gives form the spiritual discipline of yoga.
If the eight sutras are followed with dedication and devotion, they create physical, mental and emotional balance so that the yogi can maintain equanimity and grace in all circumstances.
Z is for Zen
Fusing yoga with Zen is the practice of no-mind. Dropping the mind, dropping comparison, no results, no expectations just yoga for the sake of it. Zen yoga is not done for health, it's not for enlightenment, but simply to do asanas and breathwork with totality. Performing asanas, pranyama and mudras with no analysis. You do not wonder why you do a particular asana, you are the asana, nothing but the asana. Zen yoga is not about balancing the chakras, raising Kundalini or becoming a flexible pretzel, Zen Yoga practices asanas for the sake of doing asanas.
"Zen Yoga is not a way of attaining enlightenment. You are already enlightened! How can you attain enlightenment if you are already enlightened? Zen Yoga is a way to realize that you are already enlightened. Shakyamuni Buddha himself became Buddha because of the benefit of yoga practice - just moments before he attained enlightenment, Buddhism did not yet exist, there was only yoga." Reverend Ryugen Watanabe