Well-Being

Yoga is an ancient Indian art for effectively promoting health and well-being for an individual. This is achieved through physical exercise, breathing exercises and meditation. Though yoga preaches a specific style of living for ensuring complete harmony of the mind and body, Yoga is not a religion and fits well with anyone’s religious or spiritual practice.

Yoga helps avoid stress and also helps build the body immunity, thus making the person more resistant to various diseases. There are numerous styles of Yoga like Hatha Yoga, Power Yoga, Kundalini Yoga etc, however, the Hatha Yoga is the most popular one.

At the core of a person’s physical well-being is his breath as that’s the most frequently performed activity every day. Breathing consists of inhalation, retention and exhalation and they need to be controlled. Pranayama in Yoga teaches how to control one’s breath, thereby offering several benefits, which includes improved heart functioning.

The various Asanas originally served as postures used by the Indian Yogis for prolonged meditation. The breathing should be controlled and not chaotic while performing these postures (now-a-days described as Exercises). These postures help build body flexibility and immunity.

Yoga can be practiced by everyone. However, do not practice any of the Yoga Asanas or breathing exercises without direct instructions from a Yoga expert.

Yoga for Well-Being Program

Svastha Yoga

Dates: 3rd to 14th January 2011

Program Fee: $650/- or equivalent value in Euro

"SVASTHA," in Sanskrit, means "well-being." The traditional Indian approach to health views the human being as a composite whole comprising multiple interdependent dimensions. Health in the perspective of yoga is a state of not just physical and physiological well-being, but more importantly, emotional and psychological well-being. This two-week intensive aims to give participants an orientation to the applications of yoga and its significance as a powerful complementary healthcare system. This program brought to you in collaboration with Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandiram includes:

• Practices of Asana and Pranayama
• An overview of how yoga looks at health and illness
• A discussion on the modern medical view of health and healing
• Yogic Anatomy - the model of the nadi-s and cakra-s
• An orientation to basic Ayurvedic principles of health and well-being
• Tools that lead us towards holistic well-being
• Reflective meditative practices to heal from within

Mantras & Meditation

Dates: 6th December to 17th December 2010

Dates: 6th December to 17th December 2010

Program Fee: $600 /- or equivalent value in Euro

Among the numerous tools that can be used in asana, pranayama and meditation, is sound. Sound at its fundamental level has the power to enable transformation at every dimension of the human system. This two-week intensive explores the nuances of mantra-s and their applications in evolving meditative practices.

The program designed by Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandiram includes:

• Powerful practices of Asana and Pranayama integrating the use of sound
• An introduction to mantra-s, their meanings and purpose
• A discussion of the stages involved in the practice of mantra-s
• How meditation works
• Theoretical principles of meditation with reference to Yoga Sutra and other classical texts
• An overview of the components of meditation, the types of meditation and evolution of a meditative practice
• Application of mantra in constructing a meditative practice
• Meditative practices that integrate the theoretical study that is a part of this program

Antaranga Sadhana

Journeying Within to Reach Out - A Two Week Intensive Meditation Program

Dates: 28th February to 11th March 2011

Program Fee: $600/- or equivalent value in Euro

While asana and pranayama are the only tools of yoga that may actually be taught and practiced, their sustained practice leads us to the larger goal of yoga – the refinement of the mind through meditation. This two-week intensive program from DLL and KYM attempts to unravel some of the intricacies and nuances of practices that lead the student towards a meditative state of mind, in order to create the right mental environment for the experience of meditation. This program includes:

• practices of asana and pranayama as preparation for meditation
• Theoretical foundations for the antaranga sadhana - dharana, dhyana and samadhi from Yoga Sutra and other Classical Texts Yoga Sutra on Antaranga Sadhana-s
• Principles of Meditation
• The process of meditation
• Planning and structuring a meditative practice
• Effects of Meditation based on references from classical texts
• Applications of Meditation
• Leading a student towards meditation

Hata Yoga

“Hata Yoga is the science of using the body to prepare oneself for the ultimate possibility.”- SADHGURU

Hata Yoga, a 2-3 day residential program at our Isha centers, is an opportunity to learn Surya Namaskar (Sun Salutation) along with a series of asanas (yoga postures). The program does not require any previous experience in yoga, nor particular physical agility. Participants need not have gone through any previous Isha Programs. In this one-time program, the postures are imparted in depth, enabling you to continue to practice them at home. Isha Hata Yoga is far beyond being a mere physical exercise, or simply bending the body. This comprehensive set of asanas is scientifically designed in such a way that through regular practice, one can attain to a certain mastery over body and mind. Isha Hata Yoga not only improves health and well-being, but also brings the necessary balance within oneself to experience higher levels of energy. As a preparatory step for other Isha Yoga practices, it significantly enhances the experience of kriyas and meditation.