O Yôga | ceciliashiroma

Yôga is not what you think: it's much more interesting!

(Excerpt from the book, Basic Yôga Course Program, 7th edition - 2008, Mestre DeRose)

Everything that most people imagine Yôga to be, it is not. If you ask a well-informed friend to write ten different sentences to define and classify Yôga, it is very likely that out of ten he would get it wrong... at ten! But don't be disappointed: many Yoga practitioners would make similar mistakes. Get ready for big reveals!

1) Yôga is a masculine word.

You don't say " yóga ", as some Brazilian dictionaries want. Yôga is a masculine term, pronounced with a closed ô , written with Y and never with i . In this regard, read the unquestionable clarifications in the book Treatise of Yôga . Consult the Contemporary Portuguese Language Dictionary , from the Lisbon Academy of Sciences; the Encyclopedic Dictionary of the Verb ; and the Contemporary Portuguese Language Dictionary , by Porto Editora. All register Yôga with y and in the male gender. As for the caret, confirm its existence of the caret in the books Aphorims of Yôga , by Sri Purôhit Swami, Publisher Faber & Faber, from London; Hindú Philosophy Lexicon , by Kastberger, Editorial Kier, from Buenos Aires; and Poemas do Senhor (Bhagvad Gita translation) , by Vyása, Editora Assírio e Alvin, from Lisbon, accent whose presence is ratified by the Encyclopaedia Britannica .

2) The true Yôga, from over 2000 BC, was not mystic.

Mysticism constitutes a distortion that began to occur about 20 centuries after the emergence of Yôga and reached its peak in the medieval period. The development of the chakras, awakening the kundaliní, the acquisition of paranormalities, as well as the higher perceptions and states of consciousness that Yôga actually provides, are not supernatural at all. They are perfectly natural phenomena, and are within the reach of anyone with discipline.

3) Yoga is philosophy.

Although it produces expressive effects on health, Yôga is classified as a philosophy and not as a therapy as some mistaken authors declare.

The superlative benefits that Yôga provides are due to the fact that the practitioner is performing intelligent bodily techniques, training breathing, managing stress, overcoming sedentary lifestyles, learning to eat better, exploring their inner potential, etc.

It would be impressive if, with all this, health, energy and self-sculpting did not respond with a strong increase. But you shouldn't look for Yôga when you're sick, but before. Remember: Do Yoga before you have to . Swimming is also good for the spine and asthma, but it is not classified as therapy but as a sport.

4) Yoga energizes!

Don't confuse reducing stress with calming down. Karate also reduces stress but does not calm you down. In ancient Indian texts, Yôga is associated with the concepts of strength, power and energy. Never with calm or passivity. What happens is that a strong person, in general, has a more serene behavior, as he trusts his strength and does not need to assert himself, like someone who feels threatened. Yoga practitioners should not be calm, but strong and dynamic.

5) There are 108 modes.

In Brazil, we have more than 50 branches. Not all types of Yoga are good. Some are authentic, but others are false or misrepresented.

Yôga modalities are generally not compatible with each other. Whoever practices a Yôga should not mix it with another. You should look for one you can identify with and dedicate yourself exclusively to it, without mixing.

It is very important that you stick to one path. Whoever puts one foot in each canoe does not sail faster: he falls into the water! All roads lead to Rome, but you can only walk one at a time. Reflect well. It's time for you to decide if this is the path you want to take.

6) Yoga is strictly practical.

When you perform the techniques, that's Yoga. When you talk about them, it's not. All the theory that we put in our books or that other authors put in theirs are just collections of techniques, practical guidance, rules, terminology, comments, history, personal opinions, etc. Yoga is the practice. The theoretical foundation of Yôga is called Sámkhya. The Aurélio Dictionary confirms: Yôga is the practice of the Sámkhya philosophy . Study, tests and exams are necessary so that you know what you are doing and do it right.

7) Yoga is dynamic. It's beautiful. It is strong.

If, eventually, someone supposes that Old Yôga didn't have choreographies and that it was this author who introduced them, we must correct the concept (so that it doesn't become prejudice): what we did was to rescue an old structure, which was almost lost.

Want an example? Surya namaskára. It is considered one of the oldest sets of organic Yôga techniques, dating back to the times when primitive man worshiped the Sun. For the súrya namaskára, greeting to the Sun , is the most eloquent example of the existence of what we call choreography, within of ancestral Yoga.

the surya namaskára is the only choreography still existing in the collection that Hatha Yôga inherited from the past Yôgas, since Hatha is a modern Yôga, which emerged in the 11th century of the Christian era and lost almost all of its initiatory tradition.

Therefore, what we now call choreography already existed and was a very remote practice. It is currently little known for being practically extinct.

As for seeming to dance, let us not forget that the creator of Yôga, Shiva, was a dancer and was immortalized in mythology with the title of Natarája (King of Dancers).

As a complement to this explanation, watch the DVD of the SwáSthya Performing Arts Company .

8) Yôga is for adults and young people.

Not just chronologically, but biologically young. This gives some hope to the more mature, as, regardless of age, a young person may be less fit than an older person.

However, the conception that Yôga can be used for the elderly is wrong. Only if the practitioner is in excellent physical shape. It's not Master DeRose who says that. He is the Hindu physician and Yôga Master, deceased half a century ago, considered the greatest authority on Yôga in India, with more than 300 books written on the subject: "The best period for Yôga Abhyasa (the practice of Yôga) is in the 20s at 40 years of age" (book Kundaliní Yôga , Master Sivánanda, Editora Kier, Buenos Aires, p. 81).

" Yoga requires full vitality, energy, strength and strength. Therefore, the best period for Yoga Abhyasa is from the 20 to the 40 years of age. Those who are future and healthy can carry out yogic practices even after the 50 years of age. "

He was about 70 years old when he published this. Therefore, it was not DeRose who introduced this criterion. DeRose was noted for being faithful to the oldest tradition which is ignored by a large part of the public. By ignoring the true image and true purpose of Ancient Yôga, some people assume that DeRose is introducing something new. It's the opposite: he is rescuing the oldest, therefore, most authentic proposals of Yôga.

An authentic Ancient Yoga is very strong for elderly or infirm people. Its simplification will constitute, at best, mutilation. And in some cases, a deception.

I do not want to declare that adapted techniques will necessarily be unadvisable. Absolutely. Depending on the competence of the instructor, they can be beneficial. Only, in that case, they would need to have another name since Yôga must lead to a clearly defined goal, the samadhi, which is not provided by such simplified programs. The deception, then, would consist in announcing that the practices are Yôga practices when, in fact, they are not.

At this point, it is convenient to know the most accepted definition of Yôga in the world to designate any type of Yôga:

Yôga is any strictly practical methodology that leads to samadhi.

When DeRose proposed this definition, in 1960, it was difficult to understand, as it was only published in Brazil, where, at the time, yoga instructors had very little culture. From the eighties onwards, DeRose started giving courses in Europe and India, promoting our proposal in these other places. Then she was quickly understood and accepted as the one who could say, with the fewest words, what Yôga was generically, in order to serve any branch or line. Regardless of the general definition, for all modalities, each type of Yôga has its own particular definition, relating to its specialization.

9) In India, Yôga is for men.

In the West, women are very well accepted, but it is necessary to know that, in India, in many schools, only men practice Yôga. In those entities, for every hundred practitioners, we find at most one Indian woman. Many ashrams just don't accept them. "Yôga is something for men", justify ees. You only meet more women - and even running the school! - in establishments with a tantric foundation or Shakta influence, which are few.

In our case, we follow the oldest tradition, Dravidian, which was matriarchal. Therefore, we have many women integrating the body of practitioners, instructors and directors. Those who tend to like the method the most are dynamic and independent women, businesswomen, executives, liberal professionals, university students and sportsmen.

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