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Sivananda Yoga Farm Blog

Raja yoga

Raja Yoga is the science of controlling body and mind. The asanas (body postures) and pranayamas (breathing exercises) from Hatha Yoga are an integral part of this yoga path. The main practice of Raja Yoga is silent meditation, where bodily and mental energies are gradually transformed into spiritual energy. Read more in Our Teachings section on Raja Yoga.

HOW TO MEDITATE IN DAILY LIFE

HOW TO MEDITATE IN DAILY LIFE

There are different definitions of meditation. One of the definitions, the classical way, is the definition according to Patanjali. According to Patanjali, meditation is at the seventh rung. That means seventh step of the eight steps ladder of yoga, a Raja Yoga system. That means you have to prepare yourself, in order for you to be able to be still. Yamas and niyamas are the two first rungs in Taja Yoga, guiding you to have proper behavior that will not bring about any kind of reaction, that will bring about peace.

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Why Meditate? Seeking beyond the Pattern of the Mind

Why Meditate? Seeking beyond the Pattern of the Mind

You need to understand why we meditate, then you can practice meditation for a long time and more seriously. The reason why we meditate, or we do yoga, is because in classical yoga, and yoga means meditation – meditation means yoga, there’s no separate thing. People think yoga means we’re doing some exercise and going to meditation is Zen meditation, or vipassana meditation or something separate. However, In the ashram,  everything we do is included in the word meditation, and everything is preparation for meditation. Everything is meditation, everything is preparing you for meditation.  

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Fear, Anxiety, and Stress

Fear, Anxiety, and Stress

Some countries are experiencing the COVID situation, they are in lockdown.  In some other countries, like in the US, it’s not currently locked down, but still the increase of COVID cases is very big and there is a different situation that creates anxiety and fear. 

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How to prevent future suffering?

How to prevent future suffering?

The topic of today is how to prevent future suffering. It is a very important topic because nobody wants to suffer. This teaching comes from the teaching in the Raja Yoga Sutras of Patanjali from 2,000 years ago, where Patanjali Maharishi explains the nature of the mind and how the mind works. He said: “Future suffering needs to be avoided”.

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Prana, Thoughts, Emotions and Immunity

Prana, Thoughts, Emotions and Immunity

Happiness, Health and knowledge requires energy. Lack of prana brings depression, stress and darkness. In this time of pandemic , it is critical to know how to increase prana, how to not loose prana and to prevent infection and diseases and how to heal.

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Yoga and Permaculture Ethics

Yoga and Permaculture Ethics

Living in positive relationship with everything and everyone around us is the foundation of yoga life and permaculture practice. In this article, we will examine the links between the ethics of both permaculture and yoga.

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Transforming Fear into Faith and Courage

Transforming Fear into Faith and Courage

Transforming Fear into Faith and Courage by Swami Sitaramananda 3 AUGUST, 2018 In Yoga philosophy, the teachers or wise people (the rishis) discuss about the relationship between the individual Self and the Absolute Reality.  They help us to understand the mysteries...

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Your Mind is Your Best Friend or Your Worst Enemy

Your Mind is Your Best Friend or Your Worst Enemy

You are the observer of the mind. You are the witness of the mind. The mind is not you. It is your instrument. It is your tool. It is like when you drive a car. You don’t say the car is me. The car is a tool. You can stop it, you can start it , you can park it, and you can leave it alone. Observe the mind. How to do it: you realize that the mind functions in a certain way. So you have to learn about the mechanics of the mind, how the mind works. Here is an article on 5 Practices to Keep the Mind Elevated.

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How to Avoid Unhealthy Habits

How to Avoid Unhealthy Habits

To keep our minds from falling into repetitive negative patterns, we make our minds so focused on positive thoughts that there is no space for a negative thought or habit to enter. Events happen so that we can be molded into a better person. When we are faced with a...

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What is the best method of meditation?

What is the best method of meditation?

What is the best method of meditation, e.g. best timing, duration, breathing, concentration, etc.? Swami Vishnu-devananda would say that it is not possible to teach someone how to meditate, any more than it is possible to teach them how to sleep. Sleep overtakes us...

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5 Practices to Keep the Mind Elevated

5 Practices to Keep the Mind Elevated

Yoga Psychology is different then normal psychology. It is the understanding of the mind in order to see through the mind and realize the Self.  Yoga Psychology and philosophy is based on the idea that the restless mind is an obstacle to happiness, and we need to...

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Overcoming Distraction And Restlessness

Overcoming Distraction And Restlessness

Q. What do I do when my mind is distracted? A. When the mind is distracted, it will bounce randomly from thought to thought and object to object. You will feel restless. Most of the time our minds are like this. The yogic advice in order to bring back focus and peace...

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