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SRF Walrus > SRF Teachings and Ideals > Hatha Yoga
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Shoulds Free Registered User (2/4/02 11:56 pm) Reply	Hatha Yoga Before I got the Lessons Master guided me to a Hatha Yoga Teacher. I learnt Hatha Yoga and Relaxation. The benefits were incredible. In a few months I was going deep inside, and my whole body began to heal. When I got the Lessons I found they communicated contempt towards Hatha Yoga and taught ineffective methods to relax the body. At the same time, I was soon overwhelmed with "you should dos." On top of that, the messages about being loyal to the teachings and to not practice anything else, did their work. I felt guilty and stopped all practices except the sadhana outlined in the lessons. I became the "good loyal devotee" they wanted me to be. To present a Yoga path to the world without including Hatha Yoga is irresponsibility. As the body gets older, the joints start giving you pains, the muscles become tense and weak. Relaxation becomes impossible and concentration declines. Hatha Yoga was designed by the Richis to increase concentration. It works not only with the muscles and joints so that you can relax better. It also works with the glands and brain -- increases blood flow, increases oxygenation and massages the glands. All this is conducive to increase concentration -- the most important tool to go deep in meditation. But SRF left Hatha Yoga out, and even communicated contempt towards it. Now that I do not believe SRF really represent Masters ideas I can say honestly that they made a TREMENDOUS mistake. Hatha Yoga is necessary. The richis were right, of course. Edited by: Shoulds Free at: 2/5/02 12:00:19 am
truth Unregistered User (2/5/02 5:25 am) Reply	hatha yoga I think that was different in the beginning, when PY let some of his disciples do public hatha yoga presentations. Also, the SRF magazine had practical hatha yoga articles in those times. Has anybody seen them?
Pig Ma Registered User (2/5/02 6:31 am) Reply	Re: hatha yoga What a great topic! With all that happened to me at SRF, I found myself in a transitional state that wasn't always comfortable. Unfortunately, I reached out to junk food and fast food for temporary comfort, and put on a few pounds. What became worse was the "slogging through life" feeling this brought on. The new year has always been a time of inspiration to change for me. For some reason, Bikram's yoga class kept being mentioned to me, and I decided to give this hot yoga (it is done in a well heated room) a try. It is a strange, torturous, wonderful session of 26 postures. What I liked best was walking into the studio and seeing Master's picture, along with one of his brother and Bikram. They also had the original AY for sale, and I thought, "I think I am going to like this place." So far I am doing a discipline of this 90 minute yoga session everyday for 100 days. Then I will evaluate it and decide whether I will continue to do this form of yoga in my sadhana. I now feel so invigorated (it's been 30+ days in a row already) and much more balanced. My body type loves the heat, and the sweat rolls off the body at each session. Master said it was good to get sweaty everyday, and perhaps 90 min. of getting sweaty is a bit much for some, but I am loving it. I think it will help me to transition smoothly from my job in law enforcement to my new life of working on my heavenly pension while living on my government pension. I recently became aware of much more I need to relax in order to be able to meditate. This class has been very helpful to me, as I am sure many forms of hatha yoga have been helpful to truth seekers everywhere.
Reporter Unregistered User (2/5/02 6:55 am) Reply	Looking When we really take the time to look, and not just use "wishful thinking", we find problems with so much of what SRF has told us. It is a shame what they have done to Yogananda's beautiful teaching. It won't stay that way. Off with their heads!
AumBoy Registered User (2/5/02 9:52 am) Reply	Relaxation Because of the indoctrination of the teachings, I had not looked at anything else except the teachings. Sometimes I had it has been extremely difficult and painful to sit for long periods in meditation. I would feel pain or twisting in my shoulder and not be able to find a comfortable position. About 4 or 5 weeks ago I bought a relaxation tape. It runs for about 45 minutes and then I do the techniques. The 2nd time I played the tape, I felt so expanded I was not even aware of my breath or body. Now when I sit to meditate, I sometimes immediately start feeling expansion before I even do any techniques and I need to force myself to remember the breath in order to do Hong Sau and Kriya. Relaxation is tremendously important and I am just learning this now. We need to find the key to relaxation that works for each one of us. Different temperments, different personalities will be attracted and motivated by different relaxation techniques.
Shoulds Free Registered User (2/6/02 12:12 am) Reply	Re: Relaxation Right on Aum boy. I have also found that withoutrelaxation meditation is just a torture chamber. And without Hatha Yoga, relaxation may become quite difficult. Which tape did you buy? if possible to know. It seems that we many of us are making progress in regard to relaxation and doing good spiritual work with the body. I have also found very valuable the relaxation and sitting posture advice given in the Lesson 3A/2002 here in the walrus.
chuckle Unregistered User (2/7/02 5:09 pm) Reply	SRF and Hatha Yoga I agree with all the things said about the benefits of Hatha Yoga, but I'm a bit taken aback to see Shoulds Free claiming that the Lessons express "contempt" for Hatha Yoga. I've never seen this, and I'd like it if someone can point this out to me. Lesson 3A and the first Kriya Lesson, K-1, both say some quite positive and encouraging things about Hatha Yoga. The first three steps of the Lessons contain a number of Lessons which discuss physical and mental relaxation, offering a variety of techniques. If they don't work for you, that's fine. If you find something else that does, wonderful! "Truth," you're right that the older magazines from the 1940s and 1950s had articles on Hatha Yoga. If I recall correctly, the earlier articles were written by Rev. Bernard and the later ones were written by Br. Abhedananda who was a doctor before entering the ashram. The articles by Abhedananda were expertly written, I thought, and are among the best I've ever seen. He also posed in the pictures, and the poses were well demonstrated. I wish SRF would re-publish those articles. There used to be--and maybe there still are--asana classes at the Hollywood temple, held downstairs in India Hall. There used to be--and maybe there still is--a hatha yoga studio just down the street from the Encinitas temple. I'm told a number of devotees used to go there, and were never discouraged from going by any SRF ministers. The Energization exercises, while they aren't same as hatha yoga, confer some of the same benefits. One of the benefits of the EE that is seldom emphasized is the stretching component. They do provide some basic stretching to most joints in the body when they are done carefully and correctly. My own experience has shown me that they have helped a great deal in attaining and maintaining suppleness in my body, and in promoting relaxation. I think that any physiotherapist would be impressed with the overall routine of the EE. If there's any shortcoming to the EE in terms of stretching, it's that the postures aren't maintained as they are in hatha yoga and more modern stretching exercises. Still, I think a physiotherapist would find much to recommend in the EE. And I also fervently hope SRF will produce a video of the Energization exercises! That should have been done years ago. If others find different methods of achieving physical and mental relaxation, all power to 'em! Whatever works for you, as AumBoy so eloquently said.
premdas Registered User (2/8/02 11:22 am) Reply	Re: Hatha Yoga I am a Yoga teacher (12 years) and advanced Kriyaban, and a monastic member of A.n.a.n.d.a devoted to Master. I don't see a contradiction between hatha yoga and Master. We devotees in Nevada City have effectively combined the practice of Hatha Yoga in the greater context of Raja Yoga with Master's core teachings. We teach and practice with hundreds of students, many receiving teaching certificates in this tradition of Master. No Problem! We just keep the emphasis on the inner experience and the subtle forces of the spine, and how the combination of asana and pranayam benefits meditation. Almost all students who come for our hatha programs (for weekends or up to one month) develop an appreciation for and understanding of the path of self-realization, if not also becoming disciples of Yogananda. We are spread over the whole USA and throughout Europe. I and others at The Expanding Light just outside of Nevada City in Northern CA. offer sadhana 3 times daily: energization, hatha yoga, chanting and meditation, Yogananda's healing prayers. If you want more info on how this works (it does), visit the web site: www.expandinglight.org Namast�, Premdas Edited by: premdas at: 2/8/02 11:47:14 am
Pig Ma Registered User (2/8/02 9:08 pm) Reply	Re: Hatha Yoga Premdas, one of the things I liked best about my visit to "A" was how we did the EE's and then yoga asanas. It made meditation so much better. I think it is a big reason why so many people have such a good response to their efforts while visiting there.
premdas Registered User (2/8/02 9:55 pm) Reply	EE's & Hatha Yoga I find Energization Exercises THE MOST HELPFUL PRANAYAM for the practice of Hatha Yoga/Asanas. It also helps me attune to Master: I imagine him doing them through me, with vigor and willpower! Joy to you, Pig Ma! Looking forward to your next visit. OM, Premdas
Free Unregistered User (2/11/02 8:50 pm) Reply	Amrita Lesson S-1 P-3A, page 5 says "6. Practise of the Self-Realization Fellowship Energization Exercises-- and also certain yoga asanas (body postures)-- is beneficial in preparing the body for deep meditation." However I was told by an SRF telephone counselor that "hatha yoga has no place in this practise." Why do you think there is such a discrepancy? I do know that Don Walters often was asked to demonstrate hatha yoga postrues to Guruji's guests. I believe there may even be an old book, once published by SRF, on hatha, with illustrations of Don so demonstrating. Maybe Premdas can confirm this?
premdas Registered User (2/12/02 10:37 pm) Reply	SRF & Hatha Yoga Dear Free, I believe K said that he and another monk/minister worked together in the 50's to write articles with demonstration photos for the SRF magazines, where they appeared. No book to my knowledge was published by SRF. In the late 60's/early 70's, K rewrote the info and published his first book specifically on hatha yoga. Some of us have copies of those early editions. By the way, I participated in on-going hatha class at HOLLYWOOD TEMPLE in the mid-90's, led by a Indian gentleman. Are these classes still around? My impression when I was SRF-ing, was that as a devotee of our path, hatha techniques as taught by so many different schools/traditions, could possibly lead me in different directions than the techniques of Hong-Sau and Kriya. While I remain a teacher of Hatha, I do so as an adherant of Raja Yoga and of Master's tradition; I believe to understand where SRF's concerns come from and very generally would agree with them , except they seem to not allow for the exceptions which come especially to those deep and truthful seekers calling upon our specific guru. Hatha yoga has never been misleading for me in my attunement w/PY, it has in fact helped. The difficulty SRF faces with their generalities in this matter is that their comments/direction normally comes from impersonal communications through letters or publications and only rarely from direct personal interactions. While where I live and serve, we do not emphasize Hatha, we offer it as another way/technique to quell the nerves and redirect energies upward to the medulla and spiritual eye. By the way, I find it helpful for me to combine H/S w/diaphramatic breath when practicing most asanas. Did you know that Master's brother, Bishnu (Bengali for Vishnu) Ghosh, was one of the earliest and successful of the Indian hatha yogis to popularize and promote Hatha in India and the US? One of his students was/is Bikram Choudry (sp?). So....does it seem Master was against this form? Again, I think attunement is the issue again. Are we offering our practice to God & guru? Does the practice reinforce and benefit our sadhana? In Master's Joy, Premdas
Rei Beyrut Registered User (2/14/02 11:04 am) Reply	Re: SRF & Hatha Yoga Can you recommend any good Book about Asanas? I desperately long to be able just once in my life to sit comfortably in the Lotus posture. What can I do about it? It always wrecked my nerves to see Westerners wanting to meditate deeply just sitting on a normal chair, like "for little boys"..

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