you guys rock

[Guest guest]

hi. my name is jayadev, new to your club. it is

an honor to be among you.<br><br>so beautiful to see

so many occupied with the practice of yoga. i think

this must be one of the great benefits of this style

of practice, that it generates such spirited

interest. also happy to see such great good humor. as i

used to say at the ashram -- if i can't laugh you can

keep your f'ing enlightenment.<br><br>i have done some

practice in what has come to be known as the "ashtanga"

style and see how it is satisfying and lovely for so

many. have settled for most of life into sivananda

intrepretation of the ashtanga of raja yoga, as evolved through

pratice and further study of the sutras, pradipika, gita,

upanishads, etc. i find this complements well my practice of

jnana, karma, and bhakti yogas. and of course, it just

intuitively feels good.<br><br>love that now there are so

many styles proliferating in the west. when we get

down to it, the only relevant yoga path is the one we

each craft for ourself. different schools and teachers

can guide us in what they believe to be of greatest

benefit, but comes the time when the pupil learns to fine

tune, to tailor the esoteric way he or she alone must

follow to find that personal union with pure, eternal

consciousness. the clearer path to samadhi may not be in

accomplishment of one asana series or another, but in changing

adult diapers for a debilitated friend.<br><br>for now

the raja yoga portion of my sadhana is with other

men, naked, late at night. most are gay, some are

straight, all are lovely spirits well-focused on their

practice. emphasis throughout our sessions is on meditation

and achievement of effortlessness within the

postures. in this way our sadhana teaches to acknowledge

and then transcend self-identification with the body

and senses.<br><br>i am aware that "ashtanga" has

become like a trademark for a certain school of yoga,

its proponents regarding that word as descriptive of

specific asana series. but it is good to remember that

ashtanga refers to the eight limbs of raja yoga, the royal

path, as described by patanjali 2500 years ago or so,

and that he was summarizing information already

millenia old. the first seven limbs are but a general

means to the eighth, samadhi,

superconsciousness.<br><br>the sadhana section of the sutras, chapter 2,

specifically sutras 2.28 through 2.55, describes the ashtanga.

note there is no mention of "down dog" or "chaturanga"

or any other postures, all of which derive from

other teachers, other styles, other emphases, other

interpretations.<br><br>yes, i know, names and forms and who cares really. it

is good to remember that "ashtanga" refers to a

constellation of ideas that include surrender to the infinite,

contentment, doing no harm, and nonpossessiveness, that asanas

should be steady and comfortable, and are only mastered

by releasing all tension while focusing the mind in

meditation. if we are forcing and straining, hurting

ourselves, competing, we are creating many more obstacles

than we are dissolving, engendering more karma than we

are burning away, and putting the eighth limb of the

ashtanga, samadhi, so much further away.

[Guest guest]

hey jayadev: read about that nakkkeeedd ting in

windy apple. straight boys welcome as well?

kool<br><br>wish i said what you did. in fact thats the kernel of

what i think but ego goes where ever my tapping

fingers flow and i just skate around it all. reckon

pretty much anything that gets said at this group from

now on should be referred to your entry.<br><br>and

21 . . . pah, wisdom of youth, mutter. . .

<br><br>old git of sarf london <br><br>hari om tat sat

[Guest guest]

Midnight in Chelsea...candlelight,boah...men

only..."naked before the infinite",pah...most are

gay...hum...<br><br>But isn't all that somewhat testing to the

Brahmacharia aspect of Naked Yoga sadhana?

[Guest guest]

The whole name of this particular style of yoga is Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga, to

make a distinction with the Ashtanga of the Pajantali Yoga Sutras.

[Guest guest]

<<<<<The whole name of this

particular style of yoga is Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga, to make a

distinction with the Ashtanga of the Pajantali Yoga

Sutras.>>>>><br><br>"I teach only ashtanga yoga, the original

method

given in Patanjali's Yoga Sutra."<br><br>"This is the

original teaching, the ashtanga yoga method. I've not

added anything else. These modern teachings, I don't

know ... I'm an old man!"<br><br>"Vinyasa means

"breathing system." Without vinyasa, don't do asana. When

vinyasa is perfect, the mind is under control. That's the

main thing -- controlling the mind. That's the method

Patanjali described."<br><br>-- Sri K. Pattabhi Jois, Yoga

International magazine, January 1994

<br><br><a

href=http://www.himalayaninstitute.org/cgi-local//do.pl?form=viewstory&id=88

target=new>http://www.himalayaninstitute.org/cgi-local//do.pl?form=viewstory&id=\

88</a>

[Guest guest]

Seems kind of a leaping tautological description

of what Patajali "described," imo.<br><br>Maybe PKJ

can follow Prabhupada's lead and rename Yoga Mala

PATAJALI'S YOGA AS IT IS.<br><br>Patajali suggested all

kinds of techniques for stilling the mind. He said very

little about asana and vinyasa in the context of Jois's

interpretation of Astanga yoga.

[Guest guest]

thanks i.n.n.n.23 for your sweet confirmation.

just muddling through, doing the best we can with what

we have. please note your colleague is right in his

subsequent post. use of ">" symbol here means "greater

than," simply so y'all know i'm legally allowed to sign

contracts and hear about sex or whatever.

[Guest guest]

ah omboy, me at the rising of the morn, i write

without thought and certainly observation err. . . i

didnt notice the symbol >. probably would have

assumed you were under 21 as i always get that one mixed

up. its like the compass rose: 'never eat shredded

wheat' always help out there tho'.<br><br>i need no

number 23, i always take the 137 home. . . <br><br>ttfn