Launch of Yogacharya Alliance

We are pleased to announce the establishment of world’s first alliance of yoga practitioners who have already completed a 200 Hour Teacher Training Program and are now seeking to expand their practice beyond Asanas.

Background:

Indic Academy recently established a Center for Consciousness Studies and Inner Transformation (CCSIT) with a focus on developing and offering four advanced courses in Entrepreneurship, Executive coaching, Yoga and Vedanta.

At CCSIT we believe practice of Hatha Yoga is an important first step towards Well-being & Liberation. In addition to Asanas, one’s practice has to include other steps such as Mantras to Mindfulness, Sanskrit to Shastras etc. Such a holistic practice and study undertaken as a residential programme, combining the science of Ayurveda with the wisdom of Vedanta will bring about a complete inner transformation. A true Yogacharya – an authentic Yoga teacher, a scholar-practitioner of the science of well-being and a qualified seeker of liberation will then emerge.

As a prelude to launching our residential Yogacharya programme later this year, we are pleased to announce the launch of “Yogacharya Alliance” (YA) a global network of yoga practitioners, teachers, scholars and institutions who hold the ideal of a Yogacharya as a higher aspiration than a regular teacher training course. Membership of this alliance is only open who those who believe in

  • Honouring the roots and cultural context of the origins of Yoga
  • Upholding the physical, psychological, ethical, intellectual and spiritual integrity of Yoga practice and teaching
  • Offering authentic, immersive and transformative Yoga, training, products, services and experiences

Structure:

We bring together vast resources and experience through our global network of dedicated teachers, mentors, professionals, scholars and experts from multiple domains including Yoga shastra, Veda & Vedantic studies, Ayurveda, Wellness & Mindfulness, Therapy & Counselling etc.

As a first step to establishing the Yogacharya Alliance we extend an open invitation to all qualified yoga teachers who share the above vision and values to become members of this alliance.

As the membership of this Alliance reaches a critical mass it is envisaged a separate trust will be established with a seed capital contribution by Indic Academy. The said trust will be run independently and have its own governance structure. A few venerable members of the Yoga fraternity will initially be designated as honorary Yogacharyas and under their guidance a standard for evaluation and certification for a Yogacharya will be established. It is envisioned that this body will become a premier certification agency in the field of Yoga for the highest level of proficiency. All the students of Indic Academy’s CCSITs proposed Yogacharya programme will also have to be certified by this body.

Practitioners who seek to become members of this alliance may please write to us at namaste@indicayoga.com. Applicants will be informed of their admission as members of this Alliance after a review by our internal panel.

(Image courtesy https://www.pinterest.com/pin/503277327109581603/)

Upcoming Course titled YOGA-360 by Nrithya Jagannathan

INDICA YOGA

In Association With

Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandiram

Presents

A 2-Credit Certified Course titled

Yoga-360:  An in-depth immersion into the philosophy, practice & application of Yoga’

from 13thJanuary, 2021 to 14th April, 2021.

About INDICA YOGA

Indica Yoga is platform that offers diverse and inclusive Yoga that is authentic, immersive and transformative. We believe practice of Hatha Yoga is an important first step towards Well-being & Liberation. In addition to Asanas one's practice has to include Mantras & Mindfulness, Sanskrit & Shastras. Such a practice when combined with the science of Ayurveda and the wisdom of Vedanta brings about a complete transformation. We call this approach Asana+. Our Asana+ programs include talks, workshops, courses, retreats and festivals.

About KYM

Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandiram (ISO 9001:2015) is a world renowned centre for Yoga Therapy and Yoga Studies founded in 1976 by Sri TKV Desikachar, son and student of legendary Yogi Sri T Krishnamacharya. Recognized as a Leading Yoga Institute by the Yoga Certification Board (under MDNIY), the Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandiram is known for its one-on-one Yoga therapy interventions in the management of many illnesses. The KYM also offers intensive yoga teacher and yoga therapist training coursesapart from short-term programmes on a range of topics as well as options for personalized learning. The integration of the key teachings of the Yogasutra into the KYM teaching methodology is a unique hallmark of the KYM approach. The course conducted by the KYM is known for the high standards of teaching as well as for their adherence to authenticity of the tradition.

About the Course

Yoga is today a hugely popular discipline that has caught the fancy of millions across the world. While including practices of movements (asana-s) that are known to confer a wide range of health benefits, Yoga is more than just asana.

As a philosophy, Yoga holds its own with the ancient darsana-s, offering serious practitioners a viable pathway towards meditation and eventually, the means to kaivalyam. As a science of the mind, Yoga philosophy offers extremely insightful methods to understand both the limitations and the immense potentials of the human mind and also, shows us in a very pragmatic manner how to overcome these limitations in order to empower oneself from within. As a practice, Yoga integrates asana, pranayama, bandha, mudra, nyasam, mantra, bhavana, dhyanam and more, giving practitioners an array of powerful tools that address all the dimensions of the human system. From the perspective of a working professional, Yoga also offers powerful approaches to improve concentration, attention span and memory, thereby enhancing both efficiency and effectiveness.

This 30-hour course will offer a 360-degree perspective of multiple facets of Yoga as a philosophy, as a practice, as a system of health and healing and also as a science of the mind. Further, this course will explore the core principles behind the practice of Yoga. At the same time, it would provide a broad overview of the content covered at Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandiram's teacher training courses. The course is primarily designed to integrate the philosophy of the Patanjali's 'Yogasutra with practical lived experiences and correlate how and why the tools of Yoga are relevant in this day and time.

For Whom?

It is open to all who seek to deepen their knowledge and understanding of the Yoga tradition. It is specially designed for the benefit of:

  • Yoga Teachers & Students
  • Yoga Therapists
  • All Yoga enthusiasts

Curriculum outline

Core areas covered will include:

  • The history and evolution of Yoga and why Yoga continues to be relevant
  • An overview of the fundamental Vedic principles underlying the study and practice of Yoga
  • An overview of core teachings of the Yoga sutra (covering essential aspects of all four chapters of the text)
  • Fundamental principles behind the practice of asana, pranayama and dhyanam
  • Fundamentals of yoga practice design (course planning)
  • Application of the tools of Yoga
  • Guided practices of asana, pranayama and dhyanam

Students of this course will

  • Acquire a broad understanding of all four chapters of the Yogasutra and its core teachings, with specific emphasis on the insights given by Sri T Krishnamacharya and Sri TKV Desikachar.
  • Acquire a broader perspective of Yoga beyond asanas.
  • Understand the KYM approach to integrating the philosophy and practice of Yoga.
  • Understand the fundamentals of course planning and the application of the tools of Yoga
  • Learn about significant contributions of Sri T Krishnamacharya and Sri TKV Desikachar in adapting the practice of yoga to suit individual needs
  • Learn to integrate these teachings in their day to day living

Course Includes

  • 14 Live, Interactive Zoom Sessions
  • 2 additional dedicated QA Sessions
  • Access to recorded sessions
  • Suggested Course Readings
  • 30 Yoga Alliance CE Credits
  • Certificate upon successful completion

Duration: A 2-credit (30 hrs) programme delivered over 1 Trimester from January 2021 to April, 2021.

Session details:

  • 1hr 30 mins Live session with faculty every Wednesday between 6.30 to 8.00 PM IST (one session per week)
  • 2 QA sessions

Course Dates:

  • January dates: 13*, 20, 27
  • February dates:03, 10, 17, 24
  • March dates:03, 10, 17, 24, 31
  • April dates: 7, 14

* Orientation Session

Session Recordings: Access to the recordings of all sessions will be provided

Platform: Zoom Webinar

Medium of Instruction: English

Assessment& Certification: Essay to be submitted at the end of the course for successful completion and certification.

CE with Yoga Alliance: This is a bonus for all Registered Yoga Teachers (RYTs) with Yoga Alliance as this course is eligible for 30 (non-contact) CE hours of Yoga Alliance.

Course Fee: Rs 7,500/- For Indian Residents & USD 125/- for International Students

Early Bird Offer: Rs 6,000/- & USD 110 (respectively) for registrations up to 25th December

Last Date for Registration: 03January, 2021. Prior registration compulsory to attend the course.

Registration: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1PLaCsuufKp81mdaYauBCN3sbFC1O3v_R8EmQ7RLuXcQ/edit

Payment Link: Will be sent to all registered participants.

Course Instructors

Smt. Nrithya Jagannathan, Chief Faculty

This course will be conducted by Nrithya Jagannathan, Director, KYM Institute of Yoga Studies, Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandiram, a student of Sri TKV Desikachar with over 18 years of experience. Nrithya Jagannathan is also the Editor-in-chief of KYM’s quarterly e-journal on Yoga and Yoga Cikitsa. A life member of the Indian Yoga Association, Nrithya is a member of the Standing Academic Accreditation committee of the Indian Yoga Association as well. She has traveled extensively representing the KYM at numerous events/seminars/workshops across the world.

Nrithya is trained in Vedic chanting as well. She is C-IAYT as well as ERYT-500 and YACEP. She is also Bharatanatyam dancer, teacher and choreographer, with many awards to her credit.

Dr. Vinayachandra Banavathy

Dr. Vinayachandra is the Director of Indica Yoga, a platform that offers authentic, immersive and transformative yoga experiences across the world. He holds a PhD on psychological insights in the Vedas from Pondicherry University, besides Masters’ in Sanskrit, English, Yogic Science and Applied Psychology. Vinayachandra is a dedicated teacher who travels across the world conducting courses, lectures and workshops on a unique blend of Yoga, Psychology and Sanskrit. His publications include a report on Standardization of Yoga Terminologies for WHO; a book co-edited with Dr. Anuradha Choudry titled ‘Perspectives on Indian Psychology’, published by Jain University Press, another book co-authored titled ‘Happiness: Indic Perspectives’, published by Development Foundation, besides a few articles, papers, booklets on Yoga, Indian Psychology, Culture and Spirituality.

Dr. Anuradha Choudry

Dr. Anuradha is a guest faculty at Indica Yoga. She is currently working as a joint Faculty at the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences and at the Rekhi Centre of Excellence for the Science of Happiness at the Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur. A multilingual Sanskritist, she works in the areas of Indian/Yoga Psychology, Philosophy and Culture and travels across the world to deliver lectures and conduct workshops on these topics for national and international organisations and events including the Annual Yoga Congress organised by the European Union of Yoga in Zinal, Switzerland. She has published in various journals and has co-edited and co-authored books titled 'Perspectives on Indian Psychology;' and 'Happiness: Indian Perspectives'; respectively along with Dr. Vinayachandra B. K. Last year, she was the recipient of the Excellent Young Teacher Award at IIT Kharagpur.

For more details and early bird offer please write to us at namaste@indicayoga.com with the course code ‘Yoga 360’ in the subject line.

 

Two Short Term Research Fellowships on Yoga

Indic Academy (Indica Yoga) had invited applications for Short Term Research Fellowship on Yoga to study the academic and experiential learning landscape in the field of Yoga in the month of August 2020. The study intended to cove the horizon of Yoga programmes that are being offered by various academic/ semi-academic institutions and universities across the world. This would include courses and programmes that are available both online and in person training modules.

In addition to the academic programmes, the study would be examining the teacher training programmes and therapy certificate courses available in the market and the competen/professional bodies that certify these programmes and courses. Furthermore, the study would also look into various online repositories, platforms, aggregators etc. that offer courses and certifications in the field of Yoga. In summary, the study intends to arrive at a detailed mapping of all courses and training programmes available on Yoga in varied formats and modes.

We are happy to share we received an encouraging number of applications out of which the following two fellowships have been awarded after due selection process.

Mrs Auroshikha Rath

Auroshikha Rath is a seasoned wellness practitioner with a background in classical dance and over a decade of practicing, studying and teaching Yoga trained in the Shivananda Yoga Vedanta tradition. Her current interests lie in pursuing dance and propagating the deep-seated ancient knowledge of the Vedas through practice of yoga and vedantic philosophy. She also holds a Master’s degree from Leeds Business School, UK and is an upcoming author. She will be exploring the teacher training programmes, Continuous Education programmes, their course content, structure etc. along with a study of the certifying and professional bodies in Yoga across the world.

Mrs. Varalakshmi Venkatapathy

Varalakshmi is a Transdisciplinary researcher in Indic Health systems, Public policy analyst in the area of health & tech. She is pursuing her MSc Yoga from SVYASA, Bangalore. Mrs Varalakshmi will be exploring the academic programmes, certifications, degrees and diplomas in the field of Yoga offered by academic institutions across the world along with their course content, structure etc.

The Fellowship will be for a duration of two months starting from December, 2020.

Yoga Therapy and Ayurveda: The Meaning of Chikitsa by Pandit Vamadeva Shastri

[ This article is sourced from Dr. David Frawley's website: https://www.vedanet.com/yoga-therapy-and-ayurveda-the-meaning-of-chikitsa/]

YOGA THERAPY OR YOGA CHIKITSA

The Sanskrit term for therapy throughout its medical literature is Chikitsa, which literally refers to the application of consciousness (chit) or caring. Yoga Therapy is called Yoga Chikitsa.

Yet chikitsa as a specific term occurs rarely in traditional yogic texts. Yoga texts do mention disease as one of the main obstacles in Yoga practice, but do not make addressing disease in the ordinary sense of a medical system as the purpose of Yoga practice, which aims more at spiritual development.

CHIKITSA RELATIVE TO THE YOGA SUTRAS

Yoga Sutras is divided into four sections or padas, which each has a name. These are Samadhi PadaSadhana PadaVibhuti Pada and Kaivalya Pada.

  1. Samadhi Pada deals with the definition of Yoga as Samadhi or unity consciousness and how to achieve it. The definition of Yoga (YS.I.2) as chitta-vritti-nirodha or mastery of the movements of the mind, is traditionally regarded in the commentaries as a definition of Samadhi (note books of Swami Veda Bharati). Yoga is Samadhi. That is its first and foremost definition. This nirodha of the mind results in tada drashtuh svarupe avasthanam, or abidance in the Self-nature of the Seer (YS.I.3), referring to the Purusha or Atman. Yoga is control of the mind for the purpose of Self-realization or the liberation of Consciousness which occurs through samadhi. This is its subject matter.
  2. Sadhana Pada deals with the practice of Yoga, which is called sadhana or a way of realizing something. It begins with the three principles of Kriya Yoga or the Yoga of Action as tapas, svadhyaya and Ishvara pranidhana. Later it introduces the eight limbs of Yoga or Ashtanga, yamas, niyamas, asana, pranayama, pratyahara, dharana, dhyana and samadhi. These are stages to purify the mind to lead us to samadhi as the transforming power of consciousness.
  3. Vibhuti Pada deals with the powers and insights that arise from Samadhi in the broader sense of Samyama (combined dharana, dhyana and samadhi), including occult , healing and psychic powers as well as higher wisdom.
  4. Kaivalya Pada relates to Kaivalya, the natural Samadhi state of the Purusha beyond body and mind, Prakriti and the gunas, which is the goal of Yoga practices. It ends with defining Kaivalya much like the first pada describes the Seer. It says (YS.IV.34), svarupa pratishtha chiti-shakti, when the power (shakti) of Consciousness rests in its own nature. This is much like the statement of abidance in the Self-nature of the Seer, only the emphasize is on the power of the Seer, not simply the Seer.

The second section or Sadhana Pada also introduces the theory of the five kleshas or factors of suffering for the mind, which can be related to psychological and emotional pathologies in general and forms the basis for Yoga psychology one could say. Here we must remember that Yoga Sutras is more a text of meditation or Raja Yoga than one of physical practices or asana, so this psychological orientation makes sense here.

CHIKITSA IN AYURVEDA

The term chikitsa, h is very common in Ayurveda and occurs prominently in Ayurvedic texts, which contain a Chikitsa Sthana or section relating to therapy or treatment. Chikitsa usually goes along with a Nidana section or section relating to diagnosis, which in turn follows from the Ayurvedic view of body, mind, pathology and the disease process. Medical systems require a diagnosis as the basis for therapy and cannot work without them. Ayurvedic chikitsa is broad based and includes diet, herbs, massage, Pancha Karma, rejuvenation, even Yoga and meditation, extending from lifestyle factors to clinical treatment.

Traditional Ayurveda includes Yoga as a therapy  as part of its Sattavajaya Chikitsa or therapy for increasing sattva guna, which is its main psychological therapy, reducing the psychological doshas of rajas and tamas, where the theories and practices of the Yoga Sutras fit in quite well. It regards Yoga as the means of eliminating spiritual suffering, not just physical or psychological suffering.

Chikitsa therefore is a primary term in Ayurveda and a secondary term in Yoga, which is more of a sadhana or spiritual practice. Ayurveda mentions Yoga as a therapy particularly in the context of yamas and niyamas as behavioral therapy for the mind. Yet Ayurvedic texts also mention the importance of mantras and honor deities of Ayurveda like Dhanvantari and also Lord Shiva, the Lord of Yoga.

REINTEGRATION OF YOGA AND AYURVEDA

For a Yoga Chikitsa or Yoga Therapy, the question arises as to what is the Nidana or diagnosis it is based upon? Modern Yoga Therapy rests more on modern medicine and is usually an adjunct physical therapy for diseases as diagnosed and treated by modern medicine. There is nothing wrong with that but it can obscure the traditional connection of Yoga therapy and Vedic chikitsa with Ayurveda. There is no traditional Nidana or yogic diagnosis apart from Ayurveda, which employs all methods of observation, touch, pulse and patient examination according to Vedic principles of three doshas, three gunas, five elements, five pranas, agni and Atman.

 For the best results in Yoga therapy we recommend not only a modern medical diagnosis of the conditions it is treating but also an Ayurvedic diagnosis. This connects Yoga Therapy with the broader group of Ayurvedic therapies, from diet and herbs to massage and Ayurvedic clinical methods. It adds considerations of the condition of body and mind according to the three doshas (Vata, Pitta and Kapha) and three gunas (sattva, rajas and tamas) of Vedic thought. It can also bring in Ayurvedic disease theories and stages of disease but also that of the Klesha theory of the Yoga Sutras.

This is what we are seeing in the new Yoga Therapy that is arising in India today that emphasizes treating all five koshas (body, prana, mind, intelligence and bliss), not just a physical or even psychological approach to Yoga and Ayurveda but threefold as body, mind and consciousness. Doshas and gunas are part of this examination.

 Such an integration of Yoga and Ayurveda is what we recommend in our books and courses on Yoga and Ayurveda, extending to integrating other Vedic approaches like Vedic counseling, Jyotish and Vastu into both Yoga and Ayurveda.

The Purpose of Yoga & What Stands in the Way by Ravi Ravindra

[Article sourced from Sri Ravi Ravindra's website: www.ravindra.ca]

In the Yoga Sutras 2.2 Patanjali states that the practice of yoga is for the purpose of cultivating samadhi and for weakening the kleshas (hindrances or obstacles).1 The various hindrances (kleshas) are ignorance (avidya), the sense of a separate self (asmita), attraction (raga), aversion (dvesha), and clinging to the status quo (abhinivesha).

One common lesson of all the scriptures and the teachings of the sages is that if I remain the way I am, I cannot come to the Truth or God or the Real. A radical transformation of the whole of my being is required. And a basic requirement of that transformation is freedom from my usual self, conditioned by all the social forces driven by fear and desire arising from self-centredness. Christ said, He who would follow me must leave self behind (Matthew 16:24). We see in the Yoga Sutras 3.3, Samadhi is the state when the self is not, when there is awareness only of the object of meditation.

Samadhi is a state in which the I does not exist as separate from the object of attention. It is a state of self-naughting, the state spoken of in Buddhism as akinchan, a state of freedom from myself or a freedom from egoism. There is no observer separate from the observed, no subject separate from the object. Samadhi is a state of consciousness in which there is a non-fluctuating and steady attention so that the seeing, the seer, and the seen are fused into one single ordered whole.

In samadhi seeing is without subjectivity. Attention in the state of samadhi is free attention, freed from all constraints and all functions. Attention in this state is not conditioned by any object, even subtle ones, such as ideas and feelings. Only knowledge gained in such states of consciousness can be called objective in the true sense of the word; otherwise, it is more or less subjective.

Avidya(ignorance) is the cause of all the other obstacles; it is defined as seeing the transient as eternal, the impure as pure, dissatisfaction as pleasure, the non-Self as Self. (Yoga Sutras 2.5). In the heart of the Indian spiritual traditions, koham? (Who am I?) is considered the fundamental inquiry because in general weidentify ourselves with the non-Self and take it to be the Self. According to all the sages in India, the basic source of our human predicament is ignorance of our own true nature. Everything else follows from this. Avijja parmam malam (ignorance is the great blemish), is a remark of the Buddha in the Dhammapada. It is inignorance that we mistake the transient for the eternal, the unsatisfactory as satisfactory, and the non-Self as Self. This leads to illusion, conflict, and suffering, to be free of which is the aim of yoga.

Since the root cause of the problem is ignorance, naturally, the solutionis real knowledge (jnana). This knowledge is of a radically different kind than scientific or philosophic or scriptural knowledge. There are several words to referto this special kind of knowledge: vidya (cognate with the English video, to see);jnana (cognate with gnosis); bodhi (the root, budh, of this word is the same as inbuddha, awake and discerning); prajna (insight). This insightful and direct perception is possible only when the mind is in samadhi. When the hindrances to the state of samadhi are removed, true insight into the nature of reality results.

The first outcome of avidya is asmita which is defined as the misidentification of the power of seeing with what is seen (Yoga Sutras 2.6). Asmita is the illusion that I am a separate self, isolated from the Whole, with my own ego-centered projects.

Asmitaliterally means I am this or I am that, thus separating the small self from the entire vast reservoir of Being, from Brahman (literally, The Vastness). The Self says I AMas in the very grand sayings of Christ, when he is in the state ofoneness with Yahweh (which in Hebrew means I AM). I AM is the way and the truth and the life (John 14.6). Ego says I am this or I am that, thus attaching itself only to a small portion of the Vastness.

Asmitais the result of the misidentification of the power of seeing, which is Purusha (or Atman), with what is seen, namely body-mind. The isolated self regards the vehicle (body-mind) as the real Self. In the movement from asmita (I am this) to Soham (I AM), from a limited self to the Self, from the identification with the body-mind to oneness with Purusha, the right order is discovered. The resulting insight is naturally full of truth, love, and joy.

It is important to remark that to be free of our attachment to the small self, or the ego, does not mean to be against it. Ego also has its place; it can be a good instrument when engaged in the service of the Self. Ego can be a good servant but disaster results when it becomes the master. When I am not connected with the Self or the Real I, ego takes over. As a Chinese classic puts it, When the lion isdeparted from the mountain, the monkey becomes the king. The subtle shift in the meaning of asmita from Sanskrit where it is close to self-assertion, to Hindi, where it is close to self-confidence, is a reminder of the need to find the right place of the ego.

The other obstacles are raga and dvesha. Raga is the attachment to pleasure; dvesha is the attachment to suffering. The natural tendency to wish to relive pleasurable experiences is understandable, but it is particularly odd that we are more attached to our suffering than to our pleasures. Moments of humiliation or situations in which we were ridiculed or made to feel small come back to us much more frequently and with a larger emotional force than the moments in which we were admired or looked up to. Experiences of suffering, especially psychological suffering, create deep grooves in our psyche, drawing attention to themselves quite mechanically and frequently. Nations can be attached to their past humiliations and sufferings, perpetuating a sense of victimization from generation to generation. No wonder that, among many other definitions of yoga in the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna says that Yoga is breaking the bond with suffering (Bhagavad Gita 6:23).

Freedom from the whole domain of like-dislike, and pleasure-pain is a very great freedom. Then we do what needs to be done, whether we like it or not. It is possible to say that the whole meaning of the exquisite symbol of the cross for a serious Christian lies precisely in this: even if something is disagreeable or unpleasant or will produce pain, if it is necessary according to a higher understanding, then one would embrace the suffering intentionally and submit oneself to the right action. The outstanding example of this is from Christ himself. On the eve of his crucifixion, he prayed to God in the Garden of Gethsemane,

Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass me by. Yet not my will but thine be done (Mark 14:36). Another hindrance to samadhi is abhinivesha. This is sometimes translated as a wish to continue living, but it is closer to a wish to preserve the status quo. Abhinivesha is what is technically called inertia in physics, as in Newtons First Law of Motion (also called the Law of Inertia) according to which a body continues in a state of rest or of motion in a straight line unless acted upon by anexternal force. Abhinivesha is the wish for continuity of any state and any situation, because it is known. We fear the unknown and therefore we fear change whichmay lead to the unknown. In fact, this fear results from an attachment to theknown, simply because how can the unknown, if it is truly unknown, produce fear or pleasure? In Phaedo, one of the dialogues of Plato, there is a scene in which Socrates has been given hemlock to drink and he is about to die. Some of his disciples are quite understandably very sad and are crying. Socrates says to them, You are behaving as if you know what happens after death. And furthermore, as if you know that what happens after death is worse than what happens before death. As for myself, since I do not know, therefore I am free.

Freedom from abhinivesha, from the wish to continue the known, is a dying to the self, or a dying to the world, or freedom from the self as mentioned earlier. It has often been said by the sages that only when we are willing and able to die to our old self, can we be born into a new vision and a new life. There is a cogent remark of St. Paul: I die daily (1 Corinthians 15:31). A profound saying of an ancient Sufi master, echoed in so much of sacred literature, is If you die before you die, then you do not die when you die.

What is needed is a dying to the old self, to allow a new birth, a spiritual birth. Dying daily is a spiritual practicea regaining of a sort of innocence, which is quite different from ignorance, akin to openness and humility. It is an active unknowing; not achieved but needing to be renewed again and again. All serious meditation is a practice of dying to the ordinary self. If we allow ourselves the luxury of not knowing, and if we are not completely full of ourselves, we can hear the subtle whispers under the noises of the world outside and inside ourselves. A great sage, Sri Anirvan, said that the whole world is like a big bazaar in which everyone is shouting at the top of their voice wanting to make their little bargain. A recognition of this fact can invite us to a true metanoia, a turning around, to a new way of being. Otherwise, abhinivesha, the wish which maintains the status quo, persists.

This wish for continuity is rooted in a search for security and for permanence. Abhinivesha, the wish to hold on to the past, keeps us in the momentum of time. Being present from moment to moment requires a freedom from abhinivesha, and that freedom brings us to a radiant presence where we can be free of the fear of dying or of living.

Patanjali says, These subtle kleshas can be overcome by pratiprasava--reversing the natural flow and returning to the source. Their effects can be reduced by meditation (Yoga Sutras 2.10-11). Pratiprasava, the reversal of the natural flow, is required. It is the reversal of the natural outward tendencies of creation. Sincethe usual tendency of the whole of creation, therefore also of our mind, is outward,in order to move towards the center a reversal is needed, a turning around, ametanoia.

It is also possible to say that the spiritual practice of yoga, although opposed to the lower nature (or animal nature) in human beings, is in harmony with our higher nature (or spiritual nature). What we ordinarily regard as natural is what is usual and habitual with us. Our automatic habitual postures, thoughts, and feelings aremanifestations of our ordinary state of consciousness, of a state of sleep or of mechanicality. It is through an impartial self-study (svadhyaya) that we become aware of the enormous strength of these tendencies which we need to struggle against as a part of self-discipline (tapas). We can appreciate the force of the tendencies of our lower ordinary nature during meditation where the distracted nature of our mind which runs after one association and then another is obvious. As we persist in practice (abhyasa), we can gradually acquire an attitude of detachment (vairagya) towards these distractions. As we identify ourselves lessand less with these tendencies, realizing that they do not represent our real identity, we can become freer and freer of them. The force of the kleshas can diminish in meditation as we practice dying to our ordinary, habitual self, and orient ourselves to deeper aspects of our being.

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1 Please see R. Ravindra, The Wisdom of Patajalis yoga Sutras: A New Translation and Guide, Morning Light Press, Sandpoint, Idaho, USA, 2009.

Essentials of Yoga Tradition and Philosophy

A 2-Credit Certified Course on

Essentials of Yoga Tradition & Philosophy

15th October, 2020 to 14th January, 2021

About Indica Yoga

We are a platform that offers diverse and inclusive Yoga that is authentic, immersive and transformative. We believe practice of Hatha Yoga is an important first step towards Well-being & Liberation. In addition to Asanas one's practice has to include Mantras & Mindfulness, Sanskrit & Shastras. Such a practice when combined with the science of Ayurveda and the wisdom of Vedanta brings about a complete transformation. We call this approach Asana+. Our Asana+ programs include talks, workshops, courses, retreats and festivals.

Why a course on Essentials of Yoga Tradition & Philosophy?

In the context of the ever-increasing popularity of Yoga in a globalized world, the need to revisit the fundamental teachings of Yoga Philosophy becomes imperative to preserve the authenticity of the tradition and the integrity ofits deep transformative practices.

Keeping in tune with Indica Yogas commitment to uphold authentic, immersive and transformative Yoga teachings and experiences, this course on Essentials of Yoga Tradition & Philosophy has been specially designed by the best of scholar-practitioner-teachers from India and the world focusing on the quintessential aspects of the Yoga tradition its origins, evolution, texts, practices, complimentary systems and contemporary discourses.

For Whom?

It is open to all who seek to deepen their knowledge and understanding of the Yoga tradition. It is specially designed for the benefit of:

  • Yoga Teachers & Students
  • Yoga Therapists
  • All Yoga enthusiasts
Curriculum outline
  • History of Yoga
  • Etymology & Definitions of Yoga
  • Overview of texts Upanishads, Bhagavad Gita, Patanjalis Yogasutra & Hathayogapradipika
  • Schools and streams of Yoga
  • Life & teachings of modern spiritual masters
  • Introduction to Sanskrit
  • Introduction to 6 philosophical systems (Shad-darshanas)
  • Introduction to the Complimentary systems of Ayurveda & Vedanta
  • Modern discourses on Yoga
  • Current research in Yoga
Students of this course will
  • Learn to appreciate the origin and development of Yogic thought and practices from ancient to current times
  • Be able understand and engage with the seminal texts of the tradition in their original form
  • Be able to trace the evolution Yoga philosophy from Vedic, Tantric and other important sources
  • Understand the core concepts and frameworks of Dharma, Karma, Purushartha, Triguana, Sharira, Prana, Kosha and Shad-darshanas which are integral to the Yoga tradition
  • Learn to appreciate the need and importance of Sanskrit in getting to the roots of the philosophical concepts and practices
  • Understand the different approaches, lineages, schools and practices which are part of the greater tradition of Yoga
  • Understand the relationship of Yoga with pluralistic traditions and mono-theistic religions
  • Acquire a broader perspective of Yoga beyond postures
  • Become familiar with Yoga psychology as a pathway to self-knowledge and transformation
  • Learn to integrate these teachings in their day to day living
Course Includes
  • 14 Live, Interactive Zoom Sessions
  • 2 additional dedicated QA Sessions
  • Access to recorded sessions
  • Suggested Course Readings
  • 30 Yoga Alliance CE Credits
  • Certificate upon successful completion

Duration: A 2 credit (30 hrs) program delivered over 1 Trimester from October 2020 to January 2021.

Session details:
  • 1hr 30 mins Live session with faculty every Thursday between6.30 to 8.00 PM IST (one session per week)
  • 3 QA Sessions: Saturdays 31stOctober; 28thNovember & 19thJanuary between 6.30 8 PM IST
Course Dates:
  • October: 15*, 22, 29
  • November: 5, 12, 19, 26
  • December: 3, 10, 17, 24, 31
  • Jan, 2020 7, 14

* Orientation Session

Attendance: 60% attendance compulsory for certification

Session Recordings: Access to the recordings of all sessions will be provided

Platform:Zoom Webinar

Medium of Instruction: English

Assessment & Certification: Essay to be submitted at the end of the course for successful completion and certification.

CE with Yoga Alliance: This is an additional benefit for all Registered Yoga Teachers (RYTs) with Yoga Alliance as this course is eligible for 30 (non-contact) CE hours of Yoga Alliance.

Course Fee: Rs 6,500/- For Indian Residents & USD 100/- for International Students

Early Bird Offer: Rs 5,000/- and USD 90/- respectively for registrations upto 4thOctober

Last Date for Registration: 12thOctober, 2020. Prior registration compulsory to attend the course.

Registration:https://forms.gle/HkVQYcqJ4Y5RwLj48
Payment Links:Will be provided in the mail.
Course Instructors
Dr. Vinayachandra Banavathy

Dr. Vinayachandra is the Director of Indica Yoga, a platform that offers authentic, immersive and transformative yoga experiences across the world. He holds a PhD on psychological insights in the Vedas from Pondicherry University, besides Masters in Sanskrit, English, Yogic Science and Applied Psychology. Vinayachandra is a dedicated teacher who travels across the world conducting courses, lectures and workshops on a unique blend of Yoga, Psychology and Sanskrit. His publications include a report on Standardization of Yoga Terminologies for WHO; a book co-edited with Dr. Anuradha Choudry titled Perspectives on Indian Psychology, published by Jain University Press, another book co-authored titled Happiness: Indic Perspectives, published by Development Foundation, besides a few articles, papers, booklets on Yoga, Indian Psychology, Culture and Spirituality.

Dr. Anuradha Choudry

Dr. Anuradha is aguest faculty at Indica Yoga. She is currently working asa joint Faculty at the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences and at the Rekhi Centre of Excellence for the Science of Happiness at the Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur. A multilingual Sanskritist, she works in the areas of Indian/Yoga Psychology, Philosophy and Culture and travels across the world to deliver lectures and conduct workshops on these topics for national and international organisations and events including the Annual Yoga Congress organised by the European Union of Yoga in Zinal, Switzerland. She has published in various journals and has co-edited and co-authored books titled 'Perspectives on Indian Psychology;' and 'Happiness: Indian Perspectives'; respectively along with Dr. Vinayachandra B. K. Last year, she was the recipient of the Excellent Young Teacher Award at IIT Kharagpur.

For more detailsand early bird offer please write to us at namaste@indicayoga.comwith the course code EYTP in the subject line.

A Brief Report of the 41-day-long Global Festival of Yoga: Celebrating Wellness from 21st June to 31st July, 2020

Indica Yoga, a platform of Indic Academy, offers inclusive and diverse forms of Yoga training and experiences that are authentic, immersive and transformative. It had recently organized the worlds first online Global Festival of Yoga: Celebrating Wellness for 41 days starting from 21st June up to 31st July, 2020. This soulful immersion included interactions and practice with several Yoga Experts consisting of leading Scholars, Practitioners, Researchers and Artists from around the globe.

The global festival was organized and delivered in collaboration with national and international associations including Indian Yoga Association (IYA), European Union of Yoga (EUY), Global Peace Initiate of Women (GPIW) and Center for Soft Power (CSP) as major partners and a few other organizations like Ritambhara Ashram, Ritambhara Wellness, Vyasa Houston and Vyasa Singapore.

The primary purpose of the festival was to celebrate the ancient yet timeless spirit of Yoga to rediscover and celebrate wellness. This global festival was also curated to serve as a platform for connecting with authentic teachings that will explore different facets of Wellness through a convergence of Spirituality and Science; Philosophy and Practice. The other objectives included

  • Celebrating yogic wisdom, traditions and practices on a global scale
  • Building synergies between Science and Spirituality, Philosophy and Practices that enhance human wellness and happiness
  • Exploring techniques, technologies and practices of Yoga for promoting individual, social and collective well-being
  • Connecting the global communities committed to a conscious living

In this backdrop a series of talks, panel discussions, philosophical and scientific presentations, practice & experiential sessions on varied dimensions of Yoga were planned three times a day i.e. Morning (7.00-8.30 AM IST), Noon (11.30 AM 01.00 PM IST) and Evening (7.00 8.30 PM IST). These sessions catered to different time zones including the Far East, Indian, European, Eastern & Western (American) time zones.

To summarize the global celebration of Wellness, the Festival hosted 112 sessions in total featuring about 124 experts, teachers, artists, doctors, scientists and researchers representing diverse traditions and practices of Yoga. About a third of them were purely practical sessions including asana, pranayama, meditation, yoga nidra, bhajan & kirtans etc. which were offered by leading practitioners bringing many forms of yoga practices on one platform. Further, the presenters, the best of the Yoga community across the world were from 25 different countries from the Bahamas to Turkey; from Ireland to Singapore. The high powered list of eminent speakers and practitioners included Ravi Ravindra, Sraddhalu Ranade, R. Nagarathna, Gabi Gillessen, Dena Merriam, Francois Lorin, Rudolphe Milliat, Andre Reihl, Eddie Stern, Raghu Anantanarayan, Acharya Mangalananda, Ramakanth Gundecha, Frederick Travis, Sampadananda Mishra, Krishna Das, Stephen Parker (Stoma), Subhash Kak, Matthijs Cornelissen, James Boag, N. V. Raghuram, Naveen K. Visveswaraiah, K. Ramasubramanian, Jozef Keikens (Narayana), Ganesh Mohan, Saraswati Vasudevan, Bina Mirchandani, Nrithya Jagannathan, Krishnaphani Kesiraju, Lorenzo Cohen, Ananda Balayogi Bhavanani, P. P. Chakrabarti, Anuradha Choudry, Vinayachandra Banavathy, Zoltan Cser, Smitha Mallaiah, Yogi Maheshwara, Geza Timcak, Ravi Mantha, Rajiv Vasudevan, Chanchalapathi Dasa, Chef Manjith Sigh Gill, Zolatan Cser, Gauranga Das, Alan Wallace, Jacques Vignes and may more. For the whole list of resource persons please refer to (https://www.indicayoga.com/events/month/2020-07/)

The Festival also included about 12 panels of conversations and dialogues on significant themes like Yoga & Human Unity; Yoga & Mystical traditions of the world; Dharma, Yoga & Economic Well-being and Yoga & Unity with Nature: Perspectives from Indigenous Environmentalism, that were specially curated by GPIW for event with a special panel on Wellness in workplace by experts from the Rekhi Centre of Excellence for the Science of Happiness, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur.

This, first of its kind, online Global Festival of Yoga witnessed the participation of about 10,000 active seekers who had registered for the event while each session was well attended by about 150 to 250 enthusiastic participants. The recordings of the lectures that were delivered on this occasion, available on the Indica Yoga YouTube Channel (https://www.youtube.com/c/IndicaYoga), form part of an invaluable repository of rich archival material on Yoga to enlighten any genuine seeker on the yogic way.

The Global Festival of Yoga was curated by Dr. Anuradha Choudry and Dr. Vinayachandra Banavathy.

Neuroscience & Vedic Sciences Explore the Same Reality, the Underlying Laws of Nature: Dr Fred Travis

Dr Fred Travis is the best person to explain to us what happens to our brains when we meditate. As laymen we all know we feel calmer, more with ourselves and the world, but as a neuroscientist, he will tell us about the electrical patterns that emerge in our brain causing this sense of peace.

 

Dr Travis current research includes the Physiology of enlightenment that dawns through regular meditation practice and also the effects of listening to traditional chanting of the Veda and Vedic Literature. The inevitable question that comes to ones mind is how can neuroscience explain the genius of rishis like Maharishi Mahesh Yogi who intuited much of their knowledge?

He replies, Neuroscience and Vedic science are exploring the same reality -underlying laws of nature. These are captured in modern experiments and experienced by practice of Vedic Technologies. Science and Vedic Science are two angles to look at the same reality, and so understandably would yield parallel insights.

Asked if there are things that we experience through yoga and meditation which cannot be explained through Science, he says, A limited model would give a limited picture. A full model of science that includes the idea that Consciousness is primary can explain results of Yoga and Meditation.

As a youngster, Dr Travis used to work as a stage manager in a theatre group. The troupe would perform at Massachusetts in summer and tour around the countryside in fall, winter and spring. He was in charge of props, lights and the entrances and exits. In one interview, he says that Some days it was really easy to do. Its like I walked in and the whole plan was there; I just had to go through the steps. Other days it was like walking through mud.

He tells Indica Yoga that seeing this variation in potential, he wanted a meditation practice that would ensure that there were many more good days. I noticed that some days I was more alert, creative and happy than other days. I wanted a meditation that would enliven my full mental and spiritual potential. I started Transcendental Meditation and I filled all of these desires.

What is it that makes meditation special? Are there other activities which create a similar good unlocking of potential feel? Musicians have talked about experiencing it during intense moments and so have sports persons extremely focused on goals.

Interestingly, Dr Travis graduate programme was the impact of TM on creativity. While researching a group of students, one a trial group exposed to TM and another which was not, he says in an interview to Tmhome.com that in creative problem-solving, you really appreciate what transcending does. Without transcending it is hard to think outside of the box. The box is the problem space. Without transcending, youre stuck in the box, youre stuck in the words and concepts and problems which are there and you dont have the broad awareness to see outside of that. And when you transcend every day you step outside of that box; you step outside of time and space, outside of body sense, and you are just awake, youre alert. And when you bring that quality of the mind back to whatever you are doing, you see the world completely differently.

He adds, Every experience affects the brain. Meditations are different and so affect the brain differently. Experience of Yoga during Transcendental Meditation enlivens global alpha brain coherence. This is not seen in other meditations.

He will be speaking at the Indica Yoga's Global Festival of Yoga: Celebrating Wellness on how Transcendental Meditation is different from other kinds of meditation. Meditations involved different degrees of effort and control of the mind. Focused arousal meditations require most effort; TM requires least effort. Please check here for details of his session.

In his earlier research, he had pointed out issues with the medical tools available to assess neural activity under meditation, including the obstructive impact of the noise from MRI machines. Neural imaging has grown since 1990. You need to subtract meditation images from control images to remove effects of the loud noise on the final images, he says.

Scholars have debated whether Yoga and Meditation are an art or a science? Do they involve the right side of the brain or the left? Says Dr Travis: They activate both sides of the brain. Yoga and meditation activate deep subtle levels of mind and body. But since we are a whole being, effects of these practices can be seen with current measures.

Transcendental Meditation is a powerful tool for transformation. As to how it has changed his life, Dr Travis says, Before I started TM I looked around and saw a changing world around me. It lacked a basis and lacked any current model that would integrate the various streams of experience. Transcending during TM practice has given me the experience of the field of Being that is outside of change, and supports and guides the various streams of activity. This has simplified life and made life meaningful.