What is Ananda Yoga?
Ananda Yoga (the Sankskrit word for Ananda is bliss), or its full name, Ananda Yoga for Higher Awareness, comes from the tradition of Paramhansa Yogananda. Ananda Yoga arose from his teachings, and was developed into a definite system of practice by his close, direct disciple, Swami Kriyananda, who is the founder of Ananda.
Ananda yoga comes from within each of us. It brings yoga back to its original spiritual essence. Ananda yoga makes us aware of our mind and body, and how they work together. This kind of practice focuses on the mind-body-spirit connection. Ananda also brings the powerful tool of affirmations into yoga practice, in order to help raise conscious awareness.
Ananda Yoga Includes:
- Asana (yoga postures)
- Pranayama (breathing, and energy control techniques)
- Yoga Meditation
- Affirmations
Why is Ananda more unique from other Yoga?
Ananda yoga prepares the individual for meditation. It is a relaxation based practice. It teaches you that relaxation is a necessary component to self awareness. It also helps one to understand the body as energy.
Ananda Yoga has 9 key aspects that they follow.
- Continuous Awareness of the energy that flows through you
- Safety precautions and correct alignment
- Sequence
- deep breathing and centering
- a warm up
- standing poses
- seated and floor poses
- inverted poses
- deep relaxation
- finishes with sitting meditation
- Pause
- Begin on the left
- Using the breath
- Energy and Chakra Awareness
- Affirmations. Each yoga posture has its own affirmation, which ones says silently while in the posture. The affirmation is designed to to help you become more attuned to the energy that flows through you while working with your chakras.
- Being in tune with the Yoga Traditions.
The Goal of Ananda Yoga:
The goal of practicing ananada yoga is to increase your focus and control life force through the harmonious development of the body, mind, and soul.
We can see the influence of how the mind can control the body on a daily basis, so if you could learn to become more aware of your thoughts, and how your body reacts to the thoughts, then you could become more spiritually attuned.
Ananda yoga teaches you how to connect the mind-body-spirit together so that they can work as one. It is so simple when you think about it.
Thoughts according to Swami Kriyananda:
"Yoga is a union, implies perfect harmony of body, mind, and spirit. On physical level, it implies glowing health. On the mental level, it implies the harmonious integration of the personality, and the corresponding elimination of psychological complexes. On the soul level, Yoga implies union of the little self with the greater self, of the ego with the vastness of cosmic awareness, and the individual soul with its infinite source, God"