How Practicing Asanas Can Help You Reach Your True Potential

The founder of Iyengar Yoga and Kundalini Yoga, Patanjali Yoga, has given us many guidelines on achieving a state of personal enlightenment. The first step is to practice yoga regularly. Iyengar Yoga and Kundalini Yoga are especially effective for calming the mind and preparing the body. Yoga has been practiced for thousands of years, but more recently the West has embraced it as an alternative form of exercise. The goal is to connect with one’s true self, and this can be achieved through regular meditation and spiritual prayer, but also through daily yoga practice.

What is Iyengar Yoga?

Iyengar Yoga is a blend of vinyasa, flow, power, and traditional Asian styles such as Hatha Yoga. If you’re interested in attending a class at an Iyengar Yoga or Kundalini Yoga studio, it’s important to choose a teacher with the proper accreditation. This will ensure that the Iyengar Yoga and Kundalini Yoga classes that you take will provide the highest level of instruction. The following is a brief description of each of the styles.

Vinyasa yoga classes combine gentle flowing movements, acrobatics, and calisthenics, and they’re a good fit for beginners. Vinyasa is sometimes called Power Yoga, because it combines asanas (poses) with breathing. There are typically 15 hours of class time, which is a long duration when you consider most other forms of yoga classes. However, most yoga students don’t feel exhausted during Vinyasa. They often feel energized the whole time and end up looking forward to their next class!

Hatha yoga, or power yoga, is a style of Vinyasa Yoga that uses poses (asanas) and deep breathing to reach a state of deep relaxation and spiritual consciousness. Like many other yoga styles, Hatha focuses on meditation, but it also uses meditation in conjunction with poses to reach a spiritual state of peace. During Hatha yoga, you’ll be taught not only how to meditate correctly, but how to visualize your goals as well. Power yoga teachers may incorporate yoga elements of both Vinyasa and Hatha Yoga into their classes, but most focus primarily on Vinyasa. You’ll be taught proper posture, the basics of chanting (dharani), and specific exercises that stretch and tone your body.

Power Yoga Exercises

Power yoga exercises can be challenging, even for experienced yogis. Beginners may find it difficult to engage their muscles and connect the right muscle groups. Power yoga can often be practiced on the right side, since the left leg is usually placed straight above the heart. Beginners may feel a bit unstable while practicing yoga exercises, since the weight of the torso and the tension in the muscles can pull down on the left leg. In this position, the practitioner must consciously relax all tensions in the abdomen and other back muscles, including the left leg. Once the left leg is fully relaxed, the pose can be repeated on the opposite side.

When you practice yoga, you are able to connect the mind, body, and spirit, making you more in touch with your true self. The physical aspect of yoga, such as the emphasis on building strong muscles, is intended to bring about physical health, but the mental aspects include improving one’s attitude, finding peace, and relaxing the mind. Connecting your inner self to the outside world allows you to create happiness, rather than suffering. When you practice yoga on a regular basis, you begin to realize that you have an innate ability to create happiness.

As you learn to relax and concentrate on your breathing, the meditative process begins to open up more possibilities for you. When the stress in your life is lessened, you will also be able to focus more attention and energy on solving the problems you are facing on the inside. In order to achieve this state of inner enlightenment, you must have a clear vision of what you want to do and how to get there. By meditating on the inner planes, you will be able to concentrate on using your mind to unlock the doors to enlightenment.

Conclusion

If you wish to study yoga, either for its spiritual benefits or as a means of relaxation, Iyengar Yoga and Kundalini Yoga are some of the best styles to work with. Through specific asana sequences, many students have achieved enlightenment. During asana classes, you will have access to Iyengar Yoga and Kundalini Yoga teacher training by experienced teachers. In order to awaken the soul and connect with your true self, it is imperative that you master the asanas, pranayama, asana, mudras, and kriyas. Through the power of asana practice, one can transform his or her physical, emotional, mental, intellectual and spiritual being and ultimately reach enlightenment.