<![CDATA[Boca Raton, FL Yoga, Yoga Studio - Keshava Radha Yoga - Inspirations]]>Fri, 10 Nov 2023 20:05:20 -0500Weebly<![CDATA[The Practice of Hatha Yoga]]>Thu, 31 Aug 2017 23:29:28 GMThttp://keshavaradhayoga.com/inspirations/the-practice-of-hatha-yogaPicture
What are we actually doing when we go to the different poses? breathing in a certain way? keeping our mind Here and Now?
It is important to understand that while Yoga is very open to interpretations, it is a practice that has a definition, even a goal and has survived for thousands of years because it worked for humans at different times along our history.
When we go to the scriptures of Hatha Yoga (The physical practices on the path to unity=Yoga) 
a very important information can be found in the book Hatha Yoga Pradipika (Light on Hatha Yoga) in the very first verse the author points out that Hatha Yoga leads to Raja Yoga. It is a staircase to Raja Yoga (or the Royal Yoga, the Yoga of the mind). From here we understand that the goal of the practice of Hatha yoga is to master our mind, understand it and be able to quite it, so we could experience what's beyond it.
Therefore, to be advanced in Hatha Yoga means that you have developed this ability, your mind is clear, tranquil, relaxed and comfortable steady and still. These words sound familiar because this is also the definition of an Asana (posture). By moving into different postures maintaining this state in the body and mind it gradually becomes our second nature and this is our default state to function in life beyond the mat. 
A person can have a very flexible and strong body but if her mind is scattered, she suffers from mental instability and can’t concentrate her attention, she is a beginner. Another person can have a weak and tight body or even suffer from injuries but her attention is undisturbed, she can stay with her awareness at the present moment she is advanced in Hatha Yoga.  You could always evaluate your practice by your own experience. Growing awareness leads to joy a reasonless, undisturbed happiness that follows the practice means that you are on the path that leads beyond your mind.
See you in class ~​
]]><![CDATA[​The practice of Yoga]]>Tue, 23 May 2017 17:32:54 GMThttp://keshavaradhayoga.com/inspirations/the-practice-of-yoga
​The practice of Yoga starts to deepen when we realize it is not just the physical body that comes to practice. There are other parts that are moving and changing as well.
This is why the first step is to turn the attention inwards.
To not be tempted as much by external motions but to find what’s going on inside fascinating. On the mental level, energy level or any other realm you might come across going up or down this rabbit hole.
The path of yoga invites us to discover.
There are no prophets here the truth is available to be revealed by anyone who is curious enough.
Turn your attention inwards and see what you get?
To practice yoga is to invite the truth to be revealed through you.
 
]]><![CDATA[Every inhalation and every exhalation are a new opportunity to be led into the infinite silence.]]>Wed, 10 Aug 2016 20:19:09 GMThttp://keshavaradhayoga.com/inspirations/every-inhalation-and-every-exhalation-are-a-new-opportunity-to-be-led-into-the-infinite-silence<![CDATA[Like two golden birds perched on the selfsame tree]]>Wed, 23 Sep 2015 14:24:52 GMThttp://keshavaradhayoga.com/inspirations/like-two-golden-birds-perchedon-the-selfsame-treePicture
"Like two golden birds perched on the selfsame tree, intimate friends, the ego and the Self dwell in the same body. The former eats the sweet and sour fruits of the tree of life, while 
the latter looks on in detachment."

Mundaka Upanishad
]]><![CDATA[How Yoga Releases Inhibitions]]>Tue, 23 Jun 2015 21:48:01 GMThttp://keshavaradhayoga.com/inspirations/how-yoga-release-inhibitionsPicture
We all have an individual way to hold our body, our own unique movements.
Our body is the reflection of our subconscious, of our deepest stored memories and feelings.

When we go through difficult situation, strong feelings are created and these feelings manifest as a certain body posture which reflects: sadness, anger or stress.

If this situation was very powerful or repeated itself many times, our brain, as a coping mechanism will create brain connections to help us deal with this type of situations that may arise in the future. This wiring of our brain will manifest as body postures which will become our permanent, unique posture and way of movement.
So we end up with a permanent sad, angry closed or stressed posture that just deepens over the years of our existence in our body.

One of the ways to deal with this vicious cycle is Hatha yoga.
Since the result of our stored subconscious memories are reflected in our body, in the way we move and hold our body, this amazing practice comes and says that if we learn to pay close attention to every posture and every fine detail of our movement, we could discover the tension in our mascles and by releasing this tension we release our brain connections that created that tension and eventually notice our old feelings and memories which are the source, the beginning of these inhibitions.

The main keys of the practice is the slow movement, attention and deep breath.

Moving slowly so we could pay close attention NOT to how far we go, but to the existence of tension. When tension is recognized we stop regardless of how far we moved. Then add a very important element: deep slow breathing that will eventually melt the tension away.

Compensation is another obstacle on our path to release tension. Compensation can not only lead to an injury but also cause us to avoid the real tension, it let us by pass the brain connection, that subconscious memory that could have been released if we have dealt with the tension.

Hatha yoga invites us on this journey inwards, handing us the tools of awareness and breath so you could discover and let go of these old inhibitions to simply live more joyful life.

]]><![CDATA[Balance]]>Fri, 12 Jun 2015 01:14:06 GMThttp://keshavaradhayoga.com/inspirations/balancePicture
The word "Hatha" consist of two words
Ha = Sun Tha = Moon. 
Balance is the game that we play here. 
Between stimulation and relaxation
Concentration and expansion
Energy ascending and energy descending 
And we ask you to turn your attention inwards and check how far you wish to go up and down the rabbit hole that balance pierce into the present moment.  
]]><![CDATA[Teaching Yoga]]>Thu, 02 Apr 2015 18:20:33 GMThttp://keshavaradhayoga.com/inspirations/teaching-yogaPicture
You can plan a yoga class as much as you want. But there, where you have this moments with the people who came to allow you to share your peace and get even more it is just the moment of the present. 
Yoga is a magic door to touch a being. It is an instant access to the place where they store their life, all condensed to their body cells and you are there to walk all their bodies and move together. 
Yoga is raw. 
Especially when it is slow. 
Especially when you can touch a place that was neglected for a long time. 
And the fluids of the spine warm up and new routes can be found. 
Endless possibilities in the unity of the present of the moment.
]]><![CDATA[Come to your senses]]>Wed, 03 Oct 2012 00:23:12 GMThttp://keshavaradhayoga.com/inspirations/come-to-your-sensesIf you come to your senses, you see things clearly and begin to act sensibly after a period of confusion and unwise behavior.
For example:
• It took him a while, but Bill has finally come to his senses and stopped drinking too much alcohol.
• Kerry says it's time we came to our senses and started treating our planet with the sort of love and care it needs.
The Hatha yoga promotes awareness it directs us to be in the body, to become aware to our body.
According to Yoga, our physical body (the skin, the muscles, the bones) is the first of five layers that we have which is called Annamaya Kosha (the food layer), the second layer is Pranamaya Kosha (the energy layer), the third layer is Manamaya Kosha (the mental layer), the forth is Vijnanamaya Kosha (the intuition) and the last one is Anandamaya Kosha (the bliss layer).
By promoting the awareness to the physical layer, and through experiencing the skin, bones, muscles, internal organs, etc. we open ourselves to a new feelings that are not coming from the physical layer but from the  energetical one, we become aware to Prana (energy). We continue our practice and step-by-step we come to realize the deferent layers that we consist of in the same way we experience our physical body. And as we become more and more aware and continue our journey from the physical body inward, we will come to  realize that we are much more then what we came to experience in the different  layers.
For a long time I could not comprehend the meaning of Pratyahara, the fifth step in the eight steps of Patanjali maharishi. Many instructions refer to the withdrawal of the attention from the external stimulation and focus  within. They explain that the senses are working but not perceiving anything from the outside, like when we are walking in the street emerged in thinking and we do not see our friends walking in front of us or we do not hear someone calling our name. We are fully absorbed in the thinking process but we still get home safely which means that the senses are working but we are not there…
Well, if we will take our experience from the Hatha yoga practice and the journey of developing awareness inward, we will understand the Pratyahara.
Coming to our senses is so important in this journey. We are not accustomed to be in our senses; not just to hear sounds but really listen; not just to gaze but to really see, watching carefully; not to smell occasionally but to deeply breathe the smells of life; not to eat while doing other things or while being absorbed in thoughts but really taste, to be in our skin (the sense of perception) and enjoy the touch of our clothes; enjoy the wind on our face… We will begin to open ourselves not only from the senses  out but also in, the sounds, smells and tastes sensations and visions that are not external but internal ones. And by becoming more aware to them we can start following them exactly like we do in the Hatha Yoga practice, with the body following your feelings, your sensations to a new reality, an internal one. This will lead us away from unconscious Pratyara and into living meditation.
OM Namaste. ]]><![CDATA[Relaxation as a door to meditation.]]>Wed, 15 Aug 2012 15:28:49 GMThttp://keshavaradhayoga.com/inspirations/relaxation-as-a-door-to-meditationGive yourself this time. Something we do not usually do. Give ourselves time to breathe deeply and slowly, to relax, and to be in the moment. Relaxation is so important, because if we go deep into the idea of relaxation it means death, death to our past and to all that we know.  When you are really relaxed, you sink in, you experience deeper until all that is left is the experience of the moment. Tension is contraction, is to live on the surface disconnected from the ground, from life, running fast from one thing to another. The quality of relaxation is to enable us to go deep into the moment, to relax into it. Tension is when you run after your past evens, and future planning. In relaxation you sink deeply into here and now. You become aware to things that although they are here and happening all the time, we are blind to them. Like the feeling of your clothes on your skin, your shirt and
pants.  Feel them, experience them. The external sounds that you hear now, the internal sounds. There are sounds not only of your mental talk. There are internal sounds, sound of your heart as it beats, sound of the air flows in and out. Breathe deep and slow and relax into the moment, go deep into the moment, feel the weight of the arms and the weight of the palms. Feel the weight of your body heavily on the ground, feel the weight of your head and the feeling of your shoulder blades pressing against your back. And if the relaxation goes deeper, you will be able to rest you
attention even only on one of all these experiences, only the feeling of the breath going deeply into the lower belly. Go deep into these feelings, into this experience. Relax into this experience of the movement of the lower belly,
expanding and contracting as you breath, go deep into the belly.

Try to maintain your relaxation as you align your spine. Try to give a few moments to relax and feel your back and spine. Try to feel as if you are aligning the vertebrae of your back, like pearls one on top of the other. From the base, vertebra by vertebra, feel how you placing them one on top of the other. The lower back on the sacrum, middle back on lower back, upper back on middle back, neck on upper back. Try to feel your spine. The entire length of your spine and then stay still and relax. Breathe deeply and slowly into the belly and give yourself these few moments of stillness, peaceful stillness. Breathe deep and slow into the belly and be in the moment. Feel there is nothing to take you from this moment, no thoughts, no sounds, no feelings; nothing can take you out from this here and now, this stillness of the moment. Nothing can move you. 

You can realize Asana when there is no desire in your mind. When there is nothing that you are obligated to do, when you accept the moment completely, as it is. Without rejecting it. Just stay and enjoy. 

OM.

]]><![CDATA[Recommendation before starting your Hatha yoga practice]]>Wed, 30 May 2012 15:58:01 GMThttp://keshavaradhayoga.com/inspirations/recommendation-before-starting-your-hatha-yoga-practiceBefore starting your Hatha Yoga practice take a moment to forget yourself. Start with forgetting your name then forget anything you were told about yourself, see it as a process of dissolving. Your past and memories, allow  everything to fade away, just for these few moment, forget your family, friends, country and anything you know about yourself, it is only for a few moments, nothing to be afraid of…
And then all that remains is the body, the time now and the place here. 
In this state of being, start your practice.]]>