Ananda Yoga Palo Alto

06/10/2022

★★Exploring the Essence of Ananda Yoga★★
Pauses
★★★★
Why do we pause in a “neutral” pose between “active” poses? It certainly runs counter to most of the Hatha yoga we see today, in which asanas (postures) are not held very long, and the pauses between asanas are brief or nonexistent!
Swami Kriyananda said “Ours is a path of constantly coming back to the center, to the spine. That’s the core of it, and you can’t do that if you’re always moving from one asana to the next. The time between poses is very important.”
So the pause is not just to rest. It’s to move toward the goal by working with energy and consciousness to assimilate the benefits of the preceding pose....
..Continued below...

★★Exploring the Essence of Ananda Yoga★★

Pauses
★★★★
Why do we pause in a “neutral” pose between “active” poses? It certainly runs counter to most of the Hatha yoga we see today, in which asanas (postures) are not held very long, and the pauses between asanas are brief or nonexistent!

Swami Kriyananda said “Ours is a path of constantly coming back to the center, to the spine. That’s the core of it, and you can’t do that if you’re always moving from one asana to the next. The time between poses is very important.”

So the pause is not just to rest. It’s to move toward the goal by working with energy and consciousness to assimilate the benefits of the preceding pose.

What About Affirmations?
★★
If there’s one thing that’s unique about Ananda Yoga, it’s asana affirmations. The center of Ananda Yoga is the way in which it helps our meditation and our stillness.

"Remember your state of consciousness while doing the poses is a very, very important part of the poses. Because finally speaking, these poses are intended to change your whole being. That being is radiation outward from within. What you are within, that you will be without." - Swami Kriyananda.

An affirmation is not an attempt to define (and therefore limit) our experience of an asana; it’s a tool for attuning ourselves to the essence of the asana. In the beginning, we might simply repeat it over and over, trying somehow to “catch the wave.” But our use of the affirmation will evolve as our practice deepens.

The Ultimate Criterion
★★
Above all, the essence of Ananda Yoga is the vibration of Paramhansa Yogananda. Each yoga tradition is a “specific ray of divine grace.” In Ananda’s case, that ray comes through Yogananda. Kriyananda drew upon that ray in order to develop Ananda Yoga. It doesn’t matter whether you are a disciple or not. Great Masters will aid anyone who calls upon them. If you really want to feel the essence of Ananda Yoga, call upon Paramhansa Yogananda. Ask for his guidance, and try to tune in to his consciousness.

04/14/2022

The spine is often referred to as The River of Life.

The majority of yoga postures help with developing awareness of the spine and with increasing the flow of energy within it.

Padahastasana helps to lengthen and open the spine. When we do this pose with sensitivity, we can become more aware of this flow of energy.

"Ananda Yoga for Higher Awareness."

01/21/2022

Child pose is deeply relaxing and calming for the mind (in the image a Restorative version).
As you enjoy it, silently affirm (and feel):
“I relax from outer involvement into my inner haven
of peace.”

12/05/2021

"I relax and cast aside all mental burdens."

- Ananda Yoga Affirmation

11/04/2021

"The secret of success in yoga is relaxation, not strain. Relax into poses. Don't force yourself into them."

Swami Kriyananda
Art and Science of Raja Yoga

08/27/2021

All creation is governed by law. The ones which manifest in the outer universe, discoverable by scientists, are called natural laws.⁣
⁣
But there are subtler laws ruling the realms of consciousness which can be known only through the inner science of yoga.⁣
⁣
~ Swami Sri Yukteswar, 𝘈𝘶𝘵𝘰𝘣𝘪𝘰𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘱𝘩𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘠𝘰𝘨𝘪⁣
⁣
⁣

08/27/2021

Using your body it is easy to change our psychology

"It is difficult to change one’s mental outlooks. It is difficult even to view them objectively.
To change oneself physically, however, in such a way as to influence the mind to adopt a similarly reformed outlook is a relatively simple undertaking. Harmonize the body, and it will be easier to harmonize the mind. This principle is fundamental to the science of hatha yoga. And it applies, in varying degrees of subtlety, to all levels of yoga teaching."

- Swami Kriyananda



"It is difficult to change one’s mental outlooks. It is difficult even to view them objectively.
To change oneself physically, however, in such a way as to influence the mind to adopt a similarly reformed outlook is a relatively simple undertaking. Harmonize the body, and it will be easier to harmonize the mind. This principle is fundamental to the science of hatha yoga. And it applies, in varying degrees of subtlety, to all levels of yoga teaching."

- Swami Kriyananda

08/21/2021

"One of the goals of the yoga postures, similarly, is to reach a point where one's every movement expresses the same grace as he expresses through the practice of the postures themselves. That is to say, the yoga postures should lead one out of the narrow confines of a specific group of poses to the realization that all of his movements can in a sense be yoga postures."

- The Art and Science of Raja Yoga
By Swami Kriyananda

08/21/2021

Yoga Day and Night

"He is practicing hatha yoga not only when he moves into some anciently prescribed position, but even when he gets up out of bed, greets a neighbour on the street, or lifts a cup of tea to his lips. His every smile will be a yogic mudra, awakening energy that conveys itself as joy to all who behold him."
- Swami Kriyananda

08/04/2021

“I attune my will to the Source of all power.” —Yoga Affirmation for Warrior Pose in Ananda Yoga. ☀️ The world needs more spiritual warriors. The world needs more yoga.