Sivananda Yoga
Encyclopedia
Sivananda Yoga, after teachings of Swami Sivananda
, is a non-proprietary form of hatha yoga
in which the training focuses on preserving the health and wellness of the practitioner. Sivananda Yoga teachers are all graduates of the Sivananda Yoga Teacher Training Course
, and students widely range in age and degrees of ability. Unlike Ashtanga Vinyasa
yoga's more athletic program involving Bandhas, Sivananda training revolves around frequent relaxation, and emphasizes full, yogic breathing.
, before the standard program of the 12 basic asanas. A session averages 90 minutes, and the traditional program may be followed flexibly by the instructor, allowing for some variation.
Swami Sivananda
Swami Sivananda Saraswati was a Hindu spiritual teacher and a proponent of Yoga and Vedanta. Sivananda was born Kuppuswami in Pattamadai, in the Tirunelveli district of Tamil Nadu. He studied medicine and served in Malaya as a physician for several years before taking up monasticism...
, is a non-proprietary form of hatha yoga
Hatha yoga
Hatha yoga , also called hatha vidya , is a system of yoga introduced by Yogi Swatmarama, a Hindu sage of 15th century India, and compiler of the Hatha Yoga Pradipika....
in which the training focuses on preserving the health and wellness of the practitioner. Sivananda Yoga teachers are all graduates of the Sivananda Yoga Teacher Training Course
Sivananda Yoga Teacher Training Course
The Sivananda Yoga Teacher Training Course provides training in Sivananda Yoga based on the yoga of Swami Sivananda. It was developed by Swami Vishnu-devananda, among the first yoga masters in the West to develop a training in 1969...
, and students widely range in age and degrees of ability. Unlike Ashtanga Vinyasa
Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga
Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga or Ashtanga Yoga is a system of yoga popularized by K. Pattabhi Jois, and which is often promoted as a modern-day form of classical Indian yoga...
yoga's more athletic program involving Bandhas, Sivananda training revolves around frequent relaxation, and emphasizes full, yogic breathing.
Method
The Sivananda training system aims to retain the vitality of the body and decrease chance of disease, by simply and naturally cultivating the body. The system philosophies are summarized in 5 principles.Five points of Yoga
- Proper exercise: Asanas
- Proper breathing: PranayamaPranayamaPranayama is a Sanskrit word meaning "extension of the prana or breath" or more accurately, "extension of the life force". The word is composed of two Sanskrit words, Prāna, life force, or vital energy, particularly, the breath, and "āyāma", to extend, draw out, restrain, or...
- Proper relaxation: SavasanaSavasana-Etymology:The name comes from the Sanskrit words Shava meaning "corpse", and Asana meaning "posture" or "seat".-Description:...
- Proper diet: Vegetarian. A yogic diet is encouraged, limited to sattvic foods, void of rajasic foods as well as tamasic foods
- Positive thinking and meditationMeditationMeditation is any form of a family of practices in which practitioners train their minds or self-induce a mode of consciousness to realize some benefit....
: VedantaVedantaVedānta was originally a word used in Hindu philosophy as a synonym for that part of the Veda texts known also as the Upanishads. The name is a morphophonological form of Veda-anta = "Veda-end" = "the appendix to the Vedic hymns." It is also speculated that "Vedānta" means "the purpose or goal...
and DhyanaDhyana in HinduismAccording to the Hindu Yoga Sutra, written by Patanjali, dhyana is one of the eight limbs of Yoga, ....
Classes
A session of training typically starts with every practitioner resting in Savasana, and begin with Kapalabhati and Anuloma Viloma, preceding rounds of Sūrya namaskāraSurya Namaskara
Surya Namaskara , known in English as Sun Salutation , is a common sequence of Hatha yoga asanas. Its origins lie in a worship of Surya, the Hindu solar deity...
, before the standard program of the 12 basic asanas. A session averages 90 minutes, and the traditional program may be followed flexibly by the instructor, allowing for some variation.
Further reading
- Swami Vishnu-devananda (1960) The Complete Illustrated Book of Yoga, Three Rivers Press, New York, ISBN 0517884313
- The Sivananda Companion to Yoga (1981-2000), Gaia Books ltd. Fireside, New York, ISBN 0684870002
- Yoga Mind and Body (1996, 2008), Dorling Kindersley, London, ISBN 0789404478
- The Sivananda Companion to Meditation (2003), Gaia Books ltd. Fireside, New York, ISBN 074324611X
- Yoga: Your Home Practice Companion (2009), Dorling Kindersley, London, ISBN 0756657296
See also
- YogaYogaYoga is a physical, mental, and spiritual discipline, originating in ancient India. The goal of yoga, or of the person practicing yoga, is the attainment of a state of perfect spiritual insight and tranquility while meditating on Supersoul...
- Hatha YogaHatha yogaHatha yoga , also called hatha vidya , is a system of yoga introduced by Yogi Swatmarama, a Hindu sage of 15th century India, and compiler of the Hatha Yoga Pradipika....
and Raja YogaRaja YogaRāja Yoga is concerned principally with the cultivation of the mind using meditation to further one's acquaintance with reality and finally achieve liberation.Raja yoga was first described in the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, and is part of the Samkhya tradition.In the context of Hindu... - HinduismHinduismHinduism is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. Hinduism is known to its followers as , amongst many other expressions...
- Swami SivanandaSwami SivanandaSwami Sivananda Saraswati was a Hindu spiritual teacher and a proponent of Yoga and Vedanta. Sivananda was born Kuppuswami in Pattamadai, in the Tirunelveli district of Tamil Nadu. He studied medicine and served in Malaya as a physician for several years before taking up monasticism...
- Swami Vishnu-devanandaSwami Vishnu-devanandaSwami Vishnudevananda was a disciple of Swami Sivananda, and founder of the International Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centres and Ashrams...
- Sivananda Yoga Vedanta CentresSivananda Yoga Vedanta CentresThe International Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centres is a non-profit organization named after Swami Sivananda and founded by his disciple Swami Vishnu-devananda...
- Sivananda Yoga Teachers' Training CourseSivananda Yoga Teacher Training CourseThe Sivananda Yoga Teacher Training Course provides training in Sivananda Yoga based on the yoga of Swami Sivananda. It was developed by Swami Vishnu-devananda, among the first yoga masters in the West to develop a training in 1969...