Vijnana Yoga
Vijnana Yoga is a practice of mind and body that combines simplicity and precision in posture and breath. It cultivates inward focus and understanding, in order to skillfully unfold from within - both in the postures and in the world.
VijnanaYoga is rooted in the teachings of Sri Krishnamacharya, the great and respected teacher of Pattabhi Jois, B.K.S. Iyengar and T.K.V. Desikachar.
The yogic concept of Vijnana – understanding from inside – expresses the spirit of this practice and its guiding principles. According to the great Vedanta philosopher Sankara, vijnana is a deep understanding or knowing that cannot come about merely through outer knowledge that we receive through a teacher, or a spiritual textual tradition. Rather it is an inner clarity that is revealed through personal experience.
“The awareness and conviction that fire exists in wood is jnana (knowledge). But to cook rice on that fire, eat the rice and get nourishment from it is vijnana.”
— Sri Ramakrishna
Vijnana yoga is based on 4 principles: meditation (silent sitting), pranayama (breathing exercises), asana(postures) and study of the written tradition of yoga.
The yoga practice coming from such inner knowledge and clarity allied to the guiding principles – relaxing the body, quieting the mind, focusing through intent, rooting, connecting, awareness of breathing and expanding – allows us to go deeper inside and from that place, we see, feel, understand and act skillfully.
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“Vijñāna, - the act of distinguishing or discerning, understanding, recognizing, intelligence, knowledge, skill, art, science.”
Monier Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary, p. 961
“Verily, different from and within the sheath consisting of mind (manas) is the atma consisting of vijñāna (understanding). This has the form of a person…
Faith (śraddhā) is its head,
Order (rta) is its right side.
Truth (satya) is its left side.
Yoga is its body.
The Great Intelligence (mahat) is its lower part, the foundation.”
Taittrīya Upanishad II.41
“At the stage of mind (manas), we accept authority which is external. At the stage of vijñāna, internal growth is affected. We develop faith, order, truthfulness and union with the supreme.”
Extract from S. Radhakrishnan’s commentary on the Taittrīya Upanishad
“As directly as the physical vision sees and grasps the appearance of objects, so and far more directly does the gnosis (vijñāna) sees and grasps the truth of things.”
Śri Aurobindo, The Synthesis of Yoga, page 463
The Vital Principles
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With an exhalation relax the body. Release the tension. With the next inhalation look at the body from within and relax. The body should be stable and quiet. Don’t try to be straight, but do not collapse the frame of the skeleton. Just relax from within.
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Whether we are concentrated, dispersed or nervous; happy sad or angry; afraid, tired or energetic, the eyes, at the back of the head will catch the inner mood, the state of mind. We observe ourselves and practice from an inner silence. Empty mind intensifies itself in practice.
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Now that the mind is stable and quiet in Sitting, Pranayama or Asana the mind reflects itself in the practice; the body awaits the practice; the heart embraces the practice with all its might. With each breath there is an intensification of intent and a sharpening of its direction. By visualizing ourselves sitting, breathing or moving, or by imagining another person in that practice, we devote ourselves wholly to it. With each pose we reaffirm our intent.
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Let the weight of the body sink into the place touching the ground. The weight pressing down, feeling the power of that movement in the whole body. As rooting is mastered, the body becomes light and moves without effort.
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Always be conscious of two opposite directions that are connected to each other. To go up, go down. To go forwards shift to the back. Whishing to expand comes from the core. The first direction is the arrow, the second the bow; what binds them together is connecting. Like a chain. The more each part is distinct the more the connection between them – the body moves in oneness.
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Be aware of inhaling and exhaling. Connect to the world and give yourself to the earth. Inhale elongate, exhale root. Inhale widen exhale steady and connect. At times the breath is sweet and soft, sometimes deep and long. The breath is always present.
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When there is rooting while exhaling, inhaling brings about elongation and widening. Or perhaps the elongating and widening, that occur as a result of rooting, allowing for inhalation. When elongating and widening occur, there is no sagging or friction in the joints, no effort in the muscles. The skeleton shields its coverings; the coverings create space for the skeleton. Thus the body moves about – relaxed and connected – one.
All the principles coexist and need to be applied at all times, yet it is difficult to oversee their functions simultaneously. In order to deepen our understanding of the principles, we need to choose one that attracts us and works with it constantly until it is mastered. Many times we can work with one principle for a few years until they become our second nature. But it is only when all the principles coexist together that the practice is whole. Therefore when we practice and feel ‘stuck’ we need to look carefully and find which principle is neglected and revive it.
The principles are an outcome of many years of practice. When this practice was done (and still is) daily, carefully, with full awareness, with a lot of repetition and attention, these are the conclusions that Dona Holleman and Orit Sen-Gupta came to and described in their book “Dancing the Body of light”.
“In our Vijnana yoga way of practicing, I am no longer breathing, I am “being breathed” by a larger breath of life. Without boundaries, I am not moving. Rather I am being moved in ways that are incredibly delicious, refreshing, supportive and non-personal.”
— Teresa Caldas
How we teach Vijnana Yoga
Yoga has to be transmitted in a very personal, almost intimate way. The knowledge, the feeling, the understanding is transmitted directly from body to body. Our bodies understand just by looking, by carefully observing.
The yoga postures are practiced and explained for students of all levels.
The study of anatomy and the anatomy of movement are important and very much taken into consideration. But eventualy one understands that it is not the physical power that allows us to practice some of the complicated postures, but something that comes from the inside when the body and the mind are calm and relaxed, and when we are in harmony with ourselves and the outer world.
The students needing more attention with information or support are able to get what they need and work in their own time.
The postures (asanas) are shown along the lessons with some interruptions for personal correction or explanation. Those wishing to attempt the more difficult postures are stimulated to do so. With time, practice, dedication and awareness the students may embrace a full yoga practice with body, mind and soul.
Ready to practice?
Join us at the studio in Silves.