*NOTE - this workshop is for 2015 RA Yoga Teacher Training students ONLY
I'll be guiding RA's TT students through the foundational philosophy of yoga through the classic text of Patanjali's Yoga Sutras. Focusing on the first and second limb, the Yamas and Niyamas.
Why study the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali? Because, YSP is not just a manual on yoga philosophy, it is a manual on "life". Studying the 8 limbs will help us understand:
- How to live a life full of peace, harmony and fulfillment
- What is stress, what causes stress and how to manage it
- What causes suffering and how can we prevent it
- How to keep the mind calm and peaceful in the face of life's challenges
- What is the goal of life (and of yoga) and how to achieve that goal
- Does the practice of yoga only involves the practice of asana (physical postures) or is there more to this practice
- What is self-realization and enlightenment
The 8 limbs consist of:
- YAMAS (restraints or self-discipline) – our dealings with others
- NIYAMAS (personal observances) – our internal actions and behaviors
- ASANA (physical postures) – to develop health, strength and inner perception
- PRANAYAMA (breath work – guiding prana/life force through breath)
- PRATYAHARA (sense withdrawal, control of desire) – draw attention away from things (sense objects) and to silence/stillness
- DHARANA (concentration – focused awareness)
- DHYANA (meditation – sustaining awareness)
- SAMADHI (union, nirvana, bliss, enlightenment)
