Amitaay Yoga

What Is Yoga?

“I think it is better I tell you what is not yoga. So much misinterpretation of the word has happened that speaking about what is not yoga is more relevant. Standing on your head, holding your breath or twisting your body is not yoga. Yes, these are various yogic practices, but when we say “yoga” we are referring to a certain state—a certain way of being. The word “yoga” means union.

Yoga means to unite the limited with the unlimited. - Sadhguru

Union means you begin to experience the universality of who you are. For example, today, modern science proves to you beyond any doubt that the whole Existence is just one energy manifesting itself in various forms. If this scientific fact becomes a living reality for you and you begin to experience everything as one, then you are in yoga. Once you experience yourself as everything, or everything as yourself, after that nobody has to tell you how to be in this world. If you experience all the people here as yourself, does anybody have to teach you morals as to how to be? Does anybody have to tell you “don’t harm this person, don’t kill this person and don’t rob this person?” So when you are in yoga, you experience everything as a part of yourself, and that is mukti; that is ultimate freedom.

Yoga is a science. Yoga has nothing to do with any particular religion. As there are physical sciences to create external wellbeing, yoga is the science for inner wellbeing. This yogic science is of utmost importance now, like never before, because today we have tremendous power in our hands. With modern science and technology, tomorrow if we want, we can flatten a mountain or city. When we have this much power in our hands, it is very, very important that we have an inner sense, an awareness of life, and that we experience life and everyone as part of ourselves. Otherwise, we can create a calamity for ourselves and the world around us—which right now we are doing to some extent. This has happened only because we have attended only to the external science. We have never looked at the inner science within us. Just as there is an external science to create external wellbeing, there is an inner science to create inner wellbeing.

Yoga can be transmitted on many different levels. One is towards one’s physical and mental wellbeing which includes health and other aspects. Or it could be transmitted as a tool for ultimate wellbeing; in the sense, you can use this system as a stepping stone to go beyond. If you want, you can use this yoga just to get rid of your backache or you can use this yoga to get better mental focus and a little peace of mind and happiness in your life, or you can use this yoga as a way of climbing up to the highest possibility within yourself.

Using yoga just for health is not wrong, but it is a crime, because it can be a ladder to the divine. It is a way of approaching the Creator through the Creation. It can take you to places where you have never imagined. It is my wish and blessing that you should know the joy of being truly well, not just physical wellbeing, but to know and exude wellbeing in all dimensions of your existence.”

What Is Hatha Yoga?

“Essentially, once we use the word “yoga” attached to anything, it indicates in the tradition that it is a complete path by itself. “Hatha” has the word “yoga” attached to it because Hatha Yoga is a complete path by itself. If it is a complete path by itself, how it should be approached is the question. If it was just a simple practice, you can approach it one way. If it was an exercise you could have approached it another way. If it was an art form it could be approached another way. Or if it is just entertainment, it could be approached another way.

I am using all these examples because all these things have been said about yoga, and they are still in usage in today’s world. People say “recreational yoga,” “health yoga”- people are referring to it as an art form. They think they are doing a service to yoga by saying it is an art form. No. The moment you attach the word “yoga,” it indicates it is a complete path by itself.

In most Indian languages, in common usage, the word “hatha” means being adamant. This is the quality that you will need. Your body says, “Enough, I had it.” But you are adamant. This is Hatha Yoga. Your mind says, “I give up, I can’t do this anymore.” But you are adamant, you simply do it. We want to take the physical form beyond its present levels of limitations. In a way, Hatha Yoga means you want to make your comfort zone universal. Right now, for most people, their comfort zone is a very small band. If you make your comfort zone universal, wherever you are, however you are, you are at ease. If I make you stand on your head, you are still at ease. Hell will not work for you; you are adamant enough to frustrate the devil.

So Hatha Yoga is about creating a body which is not a hurdle in one’s life. The body becomes a stepping stone—not a hurdle, not a roadblock—in one’s progress of blossoming into his ultimate possibility.”

5 Distinct Yoga Practices are Offered

1. Upayoga

   
   is a simple yet powerful set of 10 practices that activate the joints, muscles and energy system, bringing ease to the whole system.

2. Angamardana

   
   is a series of 30 processes to invigorate the body, and reach peak physical fitness and mental health.

3. Suryakriya

   
   is a potent 21-step yogic practice of tremendous antiquity, designed as a holistic process for health and inner wellbeing.

4. Yogasanas

   
   are a set of powerful postures through which one can elevate one’s consciousness and manipulate energies.

5. Bhuta Shuddhi

   
   means “purification of the elements,” and is a process of purifying the 5 elements within the human system.

Upcoming Hatha Yoga programs

The Sacred Science of Yoga

Initially, yoga was imparted by the Adiyogi (the first yogi), Shiva, over 15,000 years ago. It was Adiyogi who introduced to humanity the idea that one can evolve beyond one’s present level of existence. He poured this knowing into the legendary Sapta Rishis, or “seven sages,” who carried this powerful yogic science to various parts of the world, including Asia, ancient Persia, northern Africa, and South America. For generations, countless masters, holding it above their own lives, have passed on this sacred thread of knowledge without a single distortion.

“The word ‘yoga’ literally means ‘union.’ When you experience everything as one in your consciousness, then you are in yoga.” ‐ Sadhguru

Classical yoga comprises various methods to elevate and purify one’s energies and raise one’s perception to its peak. Today, however, the refined tools of classical yoga have been largely lost or grossly distorted due to socio‐cultural misunderstandings that have accumulated over many centuries. Only in a very few places, the classical system endures with its full vibrancy and sanctity. Moreover, access to this system has been traditionally reserved for the bold seekers and monks who devote their entire lives to spiritual sadhana and austerity.

It is Sadhguru’s vision to revive this ancient science in all its purity and make it available to every individual. As a step towards realizing this vision, he has devised the Hatha Yoga Teacher Training Program. Here, Hatha Yoga will be taught not just for theoretical understanding, but as a living experience. Upon completion of the program, trainees will have the privilege and fulfillment of bringing this knowledge to many more.