Ashtanga yoga

The Chrysalis Process is a holistic and transformational approach to your health and healing. Through a blend of the ancient health practices of Ayurveda, you will learn about your ʻdoshaʼ - your unique body composition.

1. Ashtanga Yoga The Eight Limbs of Yoga

2. 1. Yama (Self restraint, moral guidelines for human development) 2. Niyama (Observances, principles of morality) 3. Asana (yoga postures) 4. Pranayama (breath control) 5. Pratyahara (withdrawal of mind) 6. Dharana (concentration) 7. Dhyana (meditation) 8. Samadhi (suspension of mind in the goal)

3. YAMA 1. Ahimsa: Non-harm in thought, word and action. Not to inflict pain or hurt on anybody by thought, word or action, is Ahim’sa ’. 2. Satya : Benevolent truthfulness. The benevolent use of mind and words is Satya . 3. Asteya : Non-stealing. To renounce the desire to acquire or retain the wealth of others is Asteya . 4. Brahmacarya : Universal thinking. To keep the mind always absorbed in Brahma is Brahmacarya . 5. Aparigraha : Simple living. Not to accumulate more than you need for a reasonable standard of living. To renounce everything excepting the necessities for the maintenance of the body is known as Aparigraha . Also defined as non-accumulation of physical objects that are superfluous to our needs.

4. Niyama 1. Shaoca : Purity of mind and cleanliness of body.Shaoca is of two kinds - purity of the body and of the mind. The methods for mental purity are kindliness towards all creatures, charity, working for the welfare of others and being dutiful. Internal cleanliness depends on what we eat, and other things we ingest. 2. Santosa : Mental ease and contentment. Contentment with things received unasked for is santos’a . It is essential to try to be cheerful always. 3. Tapah : Social service. To undergo physical hardship to attain the objective is known as Tapah . Upava’sa (fasting), serving the guru (preceptor), serving father and mother, and the four types of yajina , namely. pitr yajina , nr yajina , bhu’ta yajina and adhya’tma yajina (service to ancestors, to humanity, to lower beings and to Consciousness), are the other limbs of tapah . For students, study is the main tapah . Social service. 4. Svadhyaya : Inspirational reading. To read uplifting books. The study, with proper understanding, of scriptures and philosophical books is sva’dhya’ya . Sva’dhya’ya is also done by attending group meditation regularly and having satsaunga (spiritual company), but this kind of sva’dhya’ya is intended only for those who are not capable of studying in the above manner. 5. Iishvara Pranidhana : To meditate on the Cosmic Consciousness. This is to have firm faith in Iishvara (the Cosmic Controller) in pleasure and pain, prosperity and adversity, and to think of oneself as the instrument, and not the wielder of the instrument, in all the affairs of life.

5. 3. Asana (yoga postures) The most important effect of asanas is on the endocrine glands which secrete hormones. If the secretion of any gland is too much or too little, then there will be an imbalance in the mind and a malfunctioning in the body. Asanas help to regulate these secretions. Asanas also keep the spinal cord flexible and strong, and they detoxify the organs. The Annamaya Kos’a is perfected through A’sanas .

6. 4. Pranayama (breath control) Pranayama works on controlling the vital energy. The vital energies are known as Vayus or “winds”. There are ten vayus in the human body which are responsible for the moving activities including respiration, circulation of the blood excretion of wastes, movement of limbs; etc. The controlling point of all these vayus is an organ known as Pranendriya . In pranayama there is a special process of breathing in which the pulsation of the Pranendriya becomes still and the mind becomes very calm. This helps meditation greatly. Pra’na’ya’ma perfects the Manomaya Ko’sa , (& Pranamaya Ko’sa ).

7. 5. Pratyahara (withdrawal of mind) Pratyahara means to withdraw the mind from its attachment to external objects. In Tantra the repetition of mantra is preceded by a process in which the meditator retracts his or her mind to one point. Pratyahara perfects the Atima’nasa Kos’a

8. 6. Dharana (concentration) Dha’rana ’ means the concentration of the mind at a specific point. In the basic lesson of Tantric meditation the aspirant brings his or her mind to a specific chakra which is his or her spiritual and psychic nucleus. This point is called the Ista Chakra. Dha’rana ’ is found in the first lesson of meditation, there is another form of Dharana known as Tattva Dharana in which the aspirant concentrates on the chakras and the specific factors controlled by the chakras. This lesson is important because it helps the meditator to gain control over the mental propensities governed by that chakra ( vrttis ), as well as to increase the concentration powers of the mind which is especially valuable in the other lessons of meditation. The Vijina’nmaya Kos’a is perfected through Dha’rana ’.

9. 7. Dhyana (meditation) Dhyana helps to perfect the most subtle layer of the mind and leads the person to the final step of Ashtanga Yoga which is samadhi . When Tantric teachers from India first brought Dhyan meditation to China it became known as Chan, when brought to Korea it was known as Den, and finally to Japan it became known as Zen. The Hiran’maya Kos’a is perfected through Dhyana .

10. 8. Samadhi (suspension of mind in the goal) Samadhi is the absorption of mind in the Supreme Consciousness. There are two main types of samadhi , nirvikalpa and savikalpa . Savikalpa is a trance of absorption with distortion or qualification. In savikalpa samadhi the person has the feeling that “I am the Supreme Consciousness”, but in nirvikalpa samadhi there is no longer a feeling of “I”. The individual consciousness is totally merged in the Cosmic Consciousness. “when his or her mind merges in universal mind, this state is called savikalpa samadhi ”. Samadhi can also be attained through intense devotion, sometimes this is called Bhava Samadhi. The Soul is accessed only through Dhyana Samadhi.

11. Art and design by Aaron Staengl Copyright © 2015 All Rights Reserved www.ayurvedaposters.com Text adopted from Shrii Shrii Anandamurti , & AC Dada Vedaprajinananda Avt . http:// www.anandamarga.org