A Quote by David F. Swensen

Practicing yoga is a constant evolution. The Ashtanga system can appear very rigid, with its predetermined sequences, but actually there's great freedom within its structure. From the repetition, we learn to find depth in the minutiae of the actions and the wonder of breath and prana.
I've tried many other styles of yoga, but nothing has ever given me the same centeredness, energy, and internal balance that I feel when practicing Ashtanga Yoga.
Within a social structure, a familial structure, or a cultural structure of various kinds, there is a substitute for actual freedom. I mean, actual freedom is a very abstract notion; we have no idea what it means, except within a context - freedom to do what? So within these social structures, freedom becomes defined as power, your ability to make choices, and the power relationship within a family, any family.
The full ashtanga system practiced with devotion leads to freedom within one's heart.
I discovered yoga in Sydney during my 'chubby' phase at this school on the beach that taught ashtanga-hatha flow. I gradually moved towards ashtanga, going beyond the primary level, which is a feat in itself, and even did an internship as I thought I wanted to become a yoga teacher.
I'm really into the basic idea of Kriya Yoga. The breathing that goes on in Kriya. Other than that, it's just communicating with the universe and getting the inspiration for different kinds of breath. Basically, I'm into the movement of breath and the shapes of breath. The different kinds of sequences of breath. I like doing that a lot.
Yoga, an ancient but perfect science, deals with the evolution of humanity. This evolution includes all aspects of one's being, from bodily health to self realization. Yoga means union - the union of body with consciousness and consciousness with the soul. Yoga cultivates the ways of maintaining a balanced attitude in day to day life and endows skill in the performance of one's actions.
The human being is a self-propelled automaton entirely under the control of external influences. Willful and predetermined though they appear, his actions are governed not from within, but from without. He is like a float tossed about by the waves of a turbulent sea.
Ashtanga yoga is a well known practice for keeping yourself fit and healthy. Yoga is good for my body.
Prana, according to the Vedanta, is the principle of life. It is like ether, an omnipresent principle; and all motion, either in the body or anywhere else, is the work of this Prana. It is greater than Akasha, and through it everything lives. Prana is in the mother, in the father, in the sister, in the teacher, Prana is the knower.
The "Bhagavad Gita" is actually a very good text for yoga - the yoga of love, the yoga of action or karma, the yoga of understanding of intellect, and the yoga of reflection and meditation. I think it's a very important map for understanding the nature of consciousness.
I actually find something rewarding about that tension between satisfying myself and satisfying others. Because first of all, I can't provide my own structure, and that tension provides a structure for me to actually work within.
I wouldn't really worry to much about practicing the yoga of discrimination at this point in your evolution.
Basketball is an endurance sport, and you have to learn to control your breath; that's the essence of yoga, too. So, I consciously began using yoga techniques in my practice and playing. I think yoga helped reduce the number and severity of injuries I suffered. As preventative medicine, it's unequaled.
This grossness, physical love, which is actually the biological cooling system, is very essential. The prana feeds the tattvas and the tattvas create the rasa. Rasa means juices. The juices circulate and in that circulation the glandular system works and involves itself. And there's a place to bring it all to harmony.
Pranayama is the practice of breath control. The word prana refers not only to breath, but also to air and life itself.
I spent two weeks at the Sadhguru's [Jaggi Vasudev]. It was a wonderful experience. It was very different from what I normally do - earlier I used to do Ashtanga [yoga] all the time.
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