Yoga Sadhana

It is important to understand why you are practising Yoga. Many people practice yogic discipline but have no real purpose in mind. Some have little or no understanding of the potential of the practices and as a result of loose interest after a short time and abandon their practice.

Yoga Sadhana is a very intricate subject and is not easy, to sum up in just a few sentences. Nevertheless, there are some fundamental ideas that you should consider if you are serious about the practice.

Yoga Sadhana is the practices or actions that you have chosen or been given by your teacher, solely for your spiritual growth. Now, this does not have to be your conventional set of practices such as Asanas (postures), Pranayama (breathing practice) etc. It can be whatever sustained action or practice you do to support your spiritual growth. Sadhana in and of itself is an act of devotion and therefore is not limited to any particular set of practices; however, it usually does include some of them.

Some Yoga Sadhana’s do not include the classic practices as we have been taught. An example is a yoga practice called Karma Yoga which is the practice of selfless service. In karma yoga, all your labour and the fruits of your labour are offered or dedicated to God or one’s chosen deity with little personal attachment. This form of yoga is said to be the fastest way to work off your karma and is a valid form of Sadhana. We will not discuss karma now because it would take a very long time.

We also have Bhakti Yoga which is the Yoga of devotion. This kind of yoga requires a focus for your devotion that is usually in the form of a guru, a deity or God. Bhakti does not have to involve any Asanas, Pranayama or any other kind of practice. It is mostly singing devotional songs, meditating and praying. Bhakti can also include selfless service and charity if done with devotion.

There are many forms of Yoga that do not involve the practice of Asanas and Pranayama, etc. We can now understand the words Yoga Sadhana to mean, the methods or practices that you have chosen or been given to you, they are also done consistently over a long period of time purely for the purpose of spiritual development. For a true Yogi, his or her whole life becomes their Sadhana. Every action they do whether eating, sleeping, breathing or working is a dedication and celebration of their ongoing spiritual quest. There will be no situation in life no matter how difficult or turbulent, that could deter a Yogi from his/her life’s purpose, his/her Sadhana.

Suggestions for Practising Yoga Sadhana

The best time for doing Sadhana or any yoga practice is in the early morning before dawn. This time is known by the yogis of the past as “Brahma Muhata” God’s time. This is by far the best time of the day because the atmosphere is very quiet and calm. The body and mind have rested overnight and there is, less noise and disturbances to distract you.

If this time is not available for whatever reason then other times that suit your lifestyle should be chosen for your practice. For best results try to do your practice at the same time every day thereby helping you develop good patterns for sustained practice.
If you are creating your own set of practices or Sadhana, then there are a few things to consider; first, try to be realistic about how much time you can devote to your practice. It is better to do a little each day rather than do a lot every now and then. Do not design a set of practices that take three hours when you only have an hour to spare. You might only be able to practice two or three mornings a week for a period of half an hour or at mid-morning after your night shift. Nevertheless, try to set aside this regular time.

Balance Your Practices

One of the most important things to learn about Yoga practice and teaching is to adjust your practices. Here are some simple rules to follow when doing regular yoga practice.

When doing a forward bend or series of forward bends follow them by at least one good backwards bend. Backwards bends should be followed by forward bends.
What you do in one direction you do in the other direction and what you do on one side you do on the other side. All asanas have counter-poses and if used with common sense should prevent energy imbalance and reduce the risk of injury.

The Yoga session itself should be balanced and include all the major groups of stretches. For example, always try to include dynamic asanas, forward bends, backwards bends, sideway bends, twisting and balancing asanas, breathing practice and meditation.

The way in which you combine the asanas will come as a result of your experience. You will need to understand the effects of each asana and the results of combining different asanas.

One general rule with asanas is to start with warm-ups, then move into dynamic asanas, then to the rest of your program, moving towards the more static postures. Try to bring the energies into a composed state ready for the following Pranayama practices.

Correct Breathing

Never forget your breath when doing asanas. The breath is as important as the asana itself.

Think of the breath as though it is controlling the movement, and that you cannot move correctly unless the breath is in rhythm with the movement.
There are a few things to remember about breathing with asanas. Try to keep the breath flowing in and out in an easy rhythm. Make the incoming breath equal to the outgoing breath. Changing over between in and outgoing breaths should be as smooth as possible without any jerkiness. Most of the breathing for asanas is done mainly from the abdomen or at least started from the abdomen.

There are some general rules for breathing with asanas. They do have some exceptions but not many, so they can, for the most part, be followed.
With forward bending breathe out as you are moving completing the exhalation when the asana has reached the end of its travel.

With backwards bending the breath should be drawn in as you undertake the movement, and be fully in on its completion.

Twisting exercise requires you to exhale when entering the twist then inhale when returning to the centre and exhale twisting to the other side.

The amount of breath inhaled will change according to the asana you are doing, some require a shallow breath and some need almost a complete breath.

Sometimes it is necessary to take your breath in completely before starting a backwards bend, an example is (dhanurasana) the full bow pose. One very important thing is to feel what is happening. Remember if something is not feeling right change it until it does, it is your body and it will react in a unique way to each practice.

It is worth noting that most people have very poor coordination between breath and movement. The breath is generally too shallow and too high in the chest creating excessive tension in the shoulders and neck.

Much of the problem that causes this condition is emotional tension stored in the abdominal area. It is important to learn to relax the abdominal area and allow the breath to flow in its natural rhythm.

For general health and vitality, you should breathe mostly from the abdominal area. This will help to release a lot of emotional tension stored there and in turn, allow the whole body to function better.
The breath is one of the easiest ways to gain control over your Prana (Lifeforce) and that is why Yoga places so much emphasis on breathing practices and monitoring breath rhythms.

Pranayama (Breathing Practices)

Pranayama means to discipline your prana and bring it under your control and to be able to direct these life forces both inside and outside of your body. This ultimately will give you mastery over the physical, emotional and mental bodies.

In the beginning, it is advisable to practice lots of Bhastrika (Bellows breathing) to develop the lung capacity and clean out any toxins, strengthen the diaphragm and purify the whole body. Bhastrika will also help compose your emotions and give you more vitality.

Nadi Shodhana (alternate nostril breathing)

This is another important practice to include in your Sadhana. A simple ratio of 1,2,2,1 to start with, will help you gain control over your respiration and train the body to use the blood gases more efficiently. One thing to note is often when doing Nadi Shodhana the body can get very hot even on a cold day, this will lessen as you body adapts to the different use of oxygen.

One should develop the Pranayama practice in stages over some years with a lot of patience, moving from one level to the next.

The short and long term effects of practising Pranayama will become understood to you through your experience. One thing is for sure and that is you MUST have your prana under YOUR control, and be able to direct and focus it in order to develop and function in higher states of consciousness!

Please do not underestimate the importance of Pranayama in your daily practice. In time it will transform and empower you and make it more lightly for you to reach those states of awareness you desire.

Hatha Yoga, Cleansing Exercises

One of the most beautiful things to come out of yoga is its ability to treat most physical ailments. That is not to say that other methods should not be used where needed, but if Yoga practices can help then they should be employed. You will find no bad side effects from Yoga therapy and if used correctly, in time it can treat a very wide range of disease and illness, some of which there is no other successful treatment.

Unfortunately, most people come to yoga after finding nothing else has worked for them and there is nothing else left to try. It may also be that by this time the person may have finally decided at a subconscious level that they no longer need or want the condition and are ready to let go of the symptoms.

We must never forget that the beliefs, thoughts, feelings and attitudes when it comes to the health of our body play a significant role. Great results can be achieved if one believes in the therapy.

There are many things that can influence health such as your genetics, karma and past impressions. It is unwise to use this as an excuse for holding on to any condition that inhibits your functioning in this life. It is sometimes a good thing to explore these karma’s and impressions if that is your way. But never use them as justification and say “well that is my karma.” It is just like saying; I will not take the responsibility for my condition; it is not my fault and thereby denying yourself of the inherent power to change your reality and alter the conditions.

Now back to the subject or Hatha Yoga. In modern days Hatha Yoga in known to include asanas and Pranayama etc. Originally it was a particular system of yoga used for purifying the body and mind and eliminating toxins from the body. Hatha Yoga has since become quite generalised to the point where most yoga practitioners believe they are practising Hatha Yoga.

There are numerous practices in Hatha Yoga, but only a few of them apply to our western culture.

Here are some important Hatha Yoga practices to remember. I believe these practices can be of great benefit in our present lifestyle:

Jala neti:

Cleansing the nasal passages with warm saline water.

Kunjal: Cleansing the stomach by drinking a large amount of warm saline water and then regurgitating it.

Shankha Prakshalana: Cleansing the entire digestive system from mouth to anus, by drinking the same warm saline water and progressively doing a series of exercises to force the water through the system.

Fasting: Believe it or not, fasting is a Hatha Yoga practice for purifying the body and making the mind one-pointed.

Nauli: A practice of drawing in the abdominal muscles, isolating the abdominal rectus muscles and churning them from side to side and around in circles. Nauli is a very powerful practice it will stimulate massive amounts of energy in Manipura Chakra and consume any toxic matter in the digestive system, also it will give you a lot more energy and stabilise your emotions. Nauli is not easy to learn and can take months of practice to be able to do it.

These practices were formulated many thousands of years ago when there was no access to medical technology or doctors. The yogis developed these as a way of keeping the body healthy or helping the body to heal itself when it was sick.

Kriya Yoga: Kriya Yoga is a very powerful system of yoga and should be taught by a person who has had extensive experience. Even though Kriya Yoga is the fastest and most powerful form of Yoga it can only by used successfully when the person is ready for it. In order to derive the maximum benefits from the Kriya practices, one needs to have done their asanas and Pranayama for some time and have some experience with Mudras and Bandhas. Dietary restrictions also apply in order to refine the prana and focus the mind. It is strongly suggested if you intend doing Kriya Yoga as a Sadhana that you do it under the guidance of a teacher and be prepared to make it the primary focus of your life for a while. Kriya Yoga is not for everyone; some people are just not suited to it and are better off doing something they feel comfortable with. Whatever type of Yoga you choose it is good to know your options and then you can gain the maximum for your practice. As the years go by so do your needs for Yoga change and the type of exercise you require, also changes.

In general, one who practices Yoga in a balanced way and does so over many years will find they suffer from far less physical, mental and emotional problems. They will have a calmer and more peaceful disposition than those who do not practice and will be robust and steady in the face of adversity.