The science of yoga is filled with Sanskrit vocabulary. Teachers and practitioners of yoga, Ayurveda, or meditation can benefit from learning how to pronounce Sanskrit with correct breath, resonance, rhythm and tongue position. The class will read transliterated text (English letters with diacritical markings) alongside the original script.

Each asana name has its own pronunciation and rhythm. Experiencing the energetic vibration of the posture through its sound adds a new dimension to it. Many asana names have stories behind them, and others follow the natural posture of animals or insects. After a slide show presentation, we will flow through a sequence of postures, pronouncing each name and learning the component words while holding the posture.

How we interact with others affects our heart-mind and those around us. Cultivating ethical behavior is essential for a civil society to flourish. Part and parcel with healthy social relationships is taking care of oneself.

The last three niyama-s (personal practices) make up a synergistic triad of tools that support the other limbs of yoga, and are necessary for bringing about real, lasting change and cultivating an inner orientation. Refining and unblocking the body and breath prepare us for our journey inward.

Focusing our attention in a single place centers our heart-mind, ending outer sensory distractions and moving us deep into our inner light of awareness. The final four limbs cultivate a sattvic heart-mind and a higher state of consciousness.

Sanskrit has been chanted in India continuously for at least 6000 years. Many different styles of chanting have developed, including Vedic, bija mantra, shloka, stotra and kirtana. You will experience the different vibrations of each style while chanting verses from the Rig Veda, Yoga Sutras, Shankaracharya and the Bhagavad Gita.

Mantra is a vibration that produces an energetic effect. They can range from tiny, single-syllable seed mantras whose effect is quite specific, to large shloka verses that produce a more general effect. We will practice many different kinds of mantra, and unpack their constituent sounds to discover how they work.

Tap into the power of Vedic sound by chanting certain mantras exactly as they have been done for thousands of years. Pay homage to earth, water, fire, air, space, sun and moon which support, nourish and influence us every day. This is the oldest system of organized chanting and has been used to preserve the Vedas orally for millenia. Up to three Vedic verses will be taught and practiced.

Ayurveda is a profound system of wholistic medicine from India dating back at least 5000 years. Treating every person as a unique blend of qualities, Ayurveda emphasizes the prevention of disease through a diet and lifestyle appropriate to each individual’s unique physical and mental constitution. We will translate many shlokas directly from Ayurvedic texts.

    * Samkhya philosophy of creation and emergence of the 5 elements
    * 6 tastes, 20 attributes (ex. hot/cold) and 3 doshas
    * how to determine your physical and mental constitution
    * healthy daily habits

Continuation of Ayurveda 1

Topics covered include:

• subdosha locations, functions, etc.
• the seven tissues (dhatu-s), how they form from food
• process of digestion
• stages of disease

The Samkhya view of creation is based upon a conscious witness (the seer) which pervades the unconscious manifest world (the seeable). Ayurveda, the Yoga Sutras and the Bhagavad Gita all originate from Samkhya. We will chant and translate original Sanskrit verses from the Sankhya Yoga Karika, then discuss them to see how this philosophy can be practically applied in everyday life.

Where did yoga come from? What is the larger context of yoga? Yoga originally derives from the shruti (“heard”) wisdom elucidated in the Vedas and Upanishads. A chronological tree shows how the various aspects of yogic thought are related and all stem from the 4 Vedas. Where do Sanskrit, mantra, tantra, Samkhya, Ayurveda, Bhagavadgita, Ramayana etc. all fit in? We will explore the interconnected web of sciences, philosophies and religions cultivated for millenia in India.

What exactly is yoga? Various texts describe yoga in different yet related ways. The structure and content of primary yoga texts such as the Hatha Yoga Pradipika, Gheranda Samhita, Shiva Samhita and others will be compared and contrasted.

What is a nadi, a cakra, the kundalini shakti? Using verses from the Hatha Yoga Pradipika we discuss the theory of awakening the dormant kundalini and how it flows upwards through the sushumna nadi. Each cakra has a primary seed sound and several secondary sound petals which energize it. We then apply the theory by chanting and resonating the seed and petal sounds from the root chakra through the crown, focusing our attention and breath at the location of each cakra.

The Yoga Sutras, Bhagavad Gita and Ayurveda are all based on the Samkhya philosophy which describes these three energetics that are present in every aspect of the material world. How do these principles apply to the mind, action and nutrition? Understanding these gunas sheds light on the yogic world-view. Original Sanskrit verses will be chanted, translated and discussed.

The natural principles of Ayurveda are integrated into certain systems of yoga. This synergistic combination provides powerful tools for radiant health and personal self-development. Just as diet and lifestyle can be tailored to one's individual constitution, so too asana and pranayama can be adapted to one's unique body, breath and mind. Through lecture, discussion and yoga practicum, students will learn and experience how to ascertain their current state of health, consciously set intentions and then make appropriate choices. Ayurvedic nutrition and lifestyle as well as principles for adapting yoga practice to the individual will be covered, drawing from Sanskrit texts such as the Ashtanga Hridayam, Yoga Sutras and Yoga Rahasya.