Yoga is not an ancient myth buried in oblivion. It is the most valuable inheritance of the present. It is the essential need of today and the culture of tomorrow.

Swami Satyananda Saraswati

The word Yoga means 'unity' or 'oneness' and is derived from the Sanskrit word yuj which means to join. This is the union of the individual consciousness with the universal consciousness and on a more practical level, a means of balancing and harmonising the body, mind and emotions.

Yoga took shape in ancient India during the early Indus Valley civilizations. It became popular after it was documented in detail by the Hindu priests who originally practiced yoga and then adopted it as a way of life rather than a form of exercise.

People practice yoga for spiritual, health, and meditative benefits. A combination of different postures or Asana forms the essence of yoga. There are 84 asanas in traditional yoga, but the estimate could go up anywhere from 400 to 1000 if we had access to all the scriptures that documented yoga. What started as an act of extreme meditation and to create the ability for students to sit and listen to Gurus has now become popular as a means of relaxation. Encouraging wellbeing for our mind, bodies and souls.

Western countries have readily adopted yoga for the innumerable health benefits it has to offer. There are thousands of yoga schools alone that teach the art of yoga. While yoga can be practiced by anyone at home, the complicated postures do need some practice.

For most people in the beginning, Yoga was simply a means of maintaining health and wellbeing in an increasingly stressful and chaotic work life and world. Asanas helped to remove physical discomfort accumulated through the day, possibly from sitting hunched over a desk, sound familiar! Relaxation techniques helped to alleviate stress and maximise mental and emotional levels.

However, now more people are exploring the underlying principles of Yoga to provide a real tool to combat social malaise. Yoga provides a way of connecting to your true self and through this connection it is possible to manifest harmony in the current age and for compassion to emerge for yourself and others

For me Yoga is the ultimate act of harmony between one’s physical existence and spiritual conscience, the perfect synchronization between the mind and the body . It is more than just a physical form of exercise, I consider it more as a spiritual act that will make me more aware of myself. The deep introspection that we will practice and find when our minds are relaxed will make us feel connected to our inner selves.

The deeply rooted spiritualism in yoga is because when our minds and bodies are in complete harmony, we attain a sense of divine peace that might be called ‘moksha’ in Sanskrit. Ultimately the aim of yoga is to connect us to ourselves by eliminating any negative energy in our bodies and increase our joy.

The word Ashtanga is composed of two Sanskrit words, “Ashta” and “Anga.” “Ashta” refers to the number eight, while “Anga” means limb or body part. Therefore, Ashtanga is the union of the eight limbs of yoga, into one complete, holistic system. These eight-limbs of yoga represent the various branches of the philosophy of the yoga sutras that form the foundation in the Ashtanga Yoga School. The Ashtanga philosophy is to integrate all of the eight limbs of yoga, which include: Yama (moral codes), Niyama (self-discipline), Asana (posture), Pranayama (breath control), Pratyahara (sense withdrawal), Dharana (concentration), Dhyana (meditation), and Samadhi (oneness with the self).

Ashtanga is a very dynamic and athletic form of hatha yoga, made up of six series or levels, with a fixed order of postures. It is rooted in vinyasa, the flowing movements between positions, with a focus on energy and breath. While it is a very physical practice, it also promotes mental clarity and inner peace.

There are several key principles that underlie the practice of Ashtanga. This multiple-pronged approach promotes physical health and mental wellbeing. These five principles are necessary for a successful ashtanga practice.

Ashtanga Yoga Vinyas

• Ujjayi pranayama: This specific breathing technique is used throughout the practice. The victorious breath is a slow audible breathing technique used to warm, energise and increase focus and concentration. Additional pranayama techniques are only taught to advanced students.

• Drishti: A specific drishti, or focal point, is used in each asana. This helps create a more focused and meditative practice.

• Vinyasa: The core of the practice is synchronising the breath to the sequence of postures and transitions in the series.

• Bandha: The engagement of the bandhas, or body locks, is encouraged throughout the class to seal in the prana energy and create core stability.

Daily practice: A six-days-per-week routine is encouraged, with Saturday as the rest day. “Moon days,” the days on the full and new moon are also rest days, and women often refrain from practising during menstruation.

The benefits of Ashtanga yoga are numerous. It is known to be strenuous, so it is great for athletes and people that are looking for a good workout. Like most styles of hatha yoga, Ashtanga focuses on breath, poses, and meditation. A regular yoga practice can improve your flexibility, breathing, and balance. It can increase your stamina, bone density and muscle strength, control your body weight, lower your blood pressure and relieve stress. The benefits of Ashtanga yoga are not only limited to physical factors. It also helps mentally and spiritually by boosting mental clarity, creating mental calmness and developing better concentration in daily life.

Can beginners do ashtanga yoga?

As it is complicated, precise and physically challenging, Ashtanga is not the best style of yoga for beginners to practice, but beginners are still welcome to start. Because it provides specific and structured movements, you’ll be able to clearly see your improvements and progress. It’s also helpful because the primary sequences start with the kinds of movements and poses that are better suited for beginners.

Hatha yoga is a branch of yoga primarily concerned with mastery of the body, and it is arguably the tradition most familiar to Western culture. The term is derived from the Sanskrit ha, meaning "sun," and tha, meaning "moon," leading to the common interpretation that Hatha practices are designed to unite and balance these two energies. However, the literal translation of Hatha is "force," alluding to the physical techniques used within this tradition.

Traditionally, Hatha yoga offered a total life philosophy, incorporating how we relate to external and internal experience as a path to inner peace. One of the most prominent ancient texts on Hatha yoga is Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras, a series of 196 aphorisms written in Sanskrit around 400 AD.

It is the branch of yoga that concentrates on physical health and mental well-being. Hatha yoga uses bodily postures (asanas ), breathing techniques (pranayama ), and meditation (dyana ) with the goal of bringing about a sound, healthy body and a clear, peaceful mind. There are nearly 200 hatha yoga postures, with hundreds of variations, which work to make the spine supple and to promote circulation in all the organs, glands, and tissues. Hatha yoga postures also stretch and align the body, promoting balance and flexibility.

As it has subsequently developed, hatha yoga has concentrated mainly on two of the eight paths, breathing and posture. Yogis believe breathing to be the most important metabolic function; we breathe roughly 23,000 times per day and use about 4,500 gallons of air, which increases during exercise . Thus, breathing is extremely important to health, and prana, or life-force, is found most abundantly in the air and in the breath. If we are breathing incorrectly, we are hampering our potential for optimal health. Pranayama, literally the "science of breathing" or "control of life force," is the yogic practice of breathing correctly and deeply.

In addition to breathing, hatha yoga utilises asanas, or physical postures, to bring about flexibility, balance and strength in the body. Each of these postures has a definite form and precise steps for achieving the desired position and for exiting it. These postures, yogis maintain, have been scientifically developed to increase circulation and health in all parts of the body, from the muscular tissues to the glands and internal organs.

Yogis claim that although hatha yoga can make the body as strong and fit as any exercise program, its real benefits come about because it is a system of maintenance and balance for the whole body.

Vinyasa is a style of yoga where poses are strung together to form one fluid sequence of movement. When I found Vinyasa, it was a whole new world to me.

I love the nature of a Vinyasa class. There is something very nurturing about moving with my breath and letting my body flow in new directions. The classes are often fast-paced and rhythmical, with a focus on connecting the movements with the rhythm of the breath.

Vinyasa means to move with the breath, which is essentially the core of a Vinyasa class. Often called flow yoga, Vinyasa Flow is a style of yoga with focus on transitions and movements, with less time spent in stationary poses. I love seeing people connect with their breath and find that inward focus.

Although Vinyasa is often considered a fast and physically challenging practice, it can also be soft and gentle. Moving with the breath can also mean slowing down your transitions with deep inhales and slow exhalations.

As opposed to other styles of yoga like Hatha or Ashtanga, Vinyasa Flow classes do not have a set sequence or a certain amount or type of poses to get through. No two classes are ever the same, and often the sequences are creative and playful.

Benefits of Vinyasa Flow Yoga

• Range of motion: The variety of movements in a Vinyasa class means you will often be working through the whole body throughout a class, and expand your range of motion by moving in ways you normally would not. This will help you avoid injuries in the future that could happen if you are always moving in the same way.

• Cardiovascular health: A Vinyasa class is great cardiovascular exercise, because it is often fast-paced. Moving with your breath increases your heart rate and generates heat.

• Building strength: A consistent Vinyasa practice can help you build muscle throughout the whole body. In Vinyasa, you often work all parts of your body, which means you will build a balanced and functional strength.

• Stress relief: A Vinyasa class can be a moving meditation. The constant motion and rhythmical movement will help quiet the mind and allow you to focus inward. In this way, Vinyasa helps you connect the body and mind, calms the nervous system and can help relieve stress and anxiety.

• Connecting with the breath: Our breath holds a lot of power over our wellbeing. If we are shocked or tense, we hold our breath and automatically signal to the brain that we are uncomfortable, which in turn results in the brain producing adrenaline and cortisol (the “stress hormone”) to help us push through. Practising to connect with the breath and breathing through pain and discomfort can be a very powerful tool in overcoming both physical and mental problems.

Pranayama is an ancient breath technique that originates from Yoga in India.

It involves controlling your breath in different styles and lengths. It has more recently gained popularity in the western world because of the many health benefits that come from Pranayama practice.

It is believed that you can control the power of your mind through regulating your breath and this practice is known as the 4th anga, limb of yoga. It comes from the two words prana and ayana.

Prana equals breath.

In Yoga prana also represents physical forms of light, heat, energy, life force and magnetism.

Whilst ayana has different meanings including expansion, length and rising.

In yogic beliefs it is believed that you can control your inner face / vital life force, also known as prana through a Pranayama practice.

These meanings centre on the ability that Pranayama practice has, to develop breath control and improve mental wellbeing. A strong Pranayama breath is also believed to detoxify your body.

Why is breath important?

It is the one constant in our lives, without breath there would be no life. Due to lifestyles, stress or maybe anxieties our breath can change without us even noticing it. It becomes more shallow, more restricted and as we adopt these practices we are stifling the prana.

Working on freeing the breath is working on widening and deepening your energy and life fire.

In Yoga, the right nostril channel or the Surya Nadi, also called the Pingala Nadii ( the sun and masculine) is related to prana and the bodily functions, while the left nostril channel or the Chandra Nadi also called Ida nadi (the moon and feminine) is associated with the mind

A Pranayama cycle has 3 phases

1. Puraka - inhalation

2. Khubhaka - retention

3. Rechaka - exhalation

Pranayama practices can be slow or fast and popular Pranayama techniques are listed below.

In our Soul Surf Yoga Retreat we will become aware of diaphragm breathing first and then introduce Surya Bhedi Pranayama. Each day exploring it a little more and building up to an advanced Surya Bhedi practice by gradually introducing Khubhaka. At all times I will be guiding you safely through this. It will be fun and the benefits are vast for your mind, body and spirit.

We will also be introducing other Pranayama techniques during our retreat for you to explore.

Surya Bhedi - is one of the important pranayamas described in the classical yogic texts. ‘Surya 'means ‘Sun’, ‘Bhedi ’ refers to ‘Piercing’ or ‘awakening’, thereby stimulating and awakening energy within the physical and pranic body. In Surya Bhedi Pranayama, the inhalation is done through the right nostril only. It is said to activate all bodily functions.

Surya Bhedi Pranayama is classified as a Kumbhaka practice or a practice involving retention of breath. The breath is held to the maximum limit as per one’s comfort. The practice of Kumbhaka or holding of breath is an advanced practice

Kapal Bahti - or skull shining technique for energy

clearing or detoxifying.

Nadi Shodhana - alternate nostril technique is believed to

centre your mind by joining right and left

sides.

Bhraman Pra - or bee breath is to help calm the mind and

thoughts

Ujjayi - or Hissing Breath or Ocean Breath or Victorious Breath is an excellent choice for calming the mind and body down.

There are tons of health benefits to Pranayama

1 - Significantly lower stress levels and anxiety.

2 – Helps reduce and improve high blood pressure.

3 – Helps improve digestive system function.

4 – Boosts the immune system.

5 – Can aid with healthy eating habits and weight loss

6 – The lung capacity increases and strengthens in the respiratory system.

7 – Increases GABA aka ‘nature’s chill-pill:

8 – Helps relieve symptoms of chronic stress and mood imbalances:

9 – Can improve PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) symptoms:

10 – Can help improve sleep quality and reduce insomnia:

11– Improves parasympathetic nervous system function, calms the fight or flight response, & reduces stress hormones:

12 - Stopping smoking, breathing techniques can help cut the cigarette cravings

13 - Increasing mindfulness and can firm your ability to be in the present moment

All benefits of stress reduction are a step in the right direction in listening to and looking after your body.

Start by beginning a Pranayama practice slowly and building it up in each practice.

Contraindications of Pranayama

Please note there are contraindications for Pranayama for pregnancy and various health conditions. It should only be learned from a qualified yoga instructor.

Those suffering from heart ailments and blood pressure problems should not attempt practices involving breath retention, (khubhaka) without consulting a doctor..

Additionally Pranayama should not be done immediately after a meal. There should be a gap of at least 4 – 5 hours after eating.

Finally, it can be fun. It's always important to keep your sense of humour in Yoga.

Believe me, regular and committed practice of Pranayama can supercharge your body, offer a multitude of physical, emotional, and mental health benefits and keep you smiling.

In simple words, it is a new style where certain passive yoga poses are held for a longer duration of time. The poses can be held for a duration of 3-10 minutes. Contrary to the belief that Yin Yoga is from China, this concept is actually taken from the ancient practice of Classical Hatha Yoga – where the poses were held from 3-10 minutes. It is important to know that originally Hatha Yoga was practiced by monks who were practicing yoga as an austere practice. But when teachers like Swami Sivananda introduced Hatha Yoga to common people, they modified the duration to 1-3 minutes to make it accessible for everyone.

Yin yoga works deeply into our body, only the passive (yin) yoga poses are used.The poses are taken from Hatha Yoga but new names are given to avoid direct association.

A Yin yoga class usually consists of a series of long-held, passive floor poses that mainly work the lower part of the body – the hips, pelvis, inner thighs, lower spine. These areas are especially rich in connective tissues. As the poses are to be held for a longer duration, the use of props like cushions, bolsters, etc., is encouraged.

The use of muscles is kept to a minimum, so the muscles are gently engaged to hold the posture without any extra effort. It targets our connective tissues – ligaments, joints, bones, the deep fascia networks of the body and the energy meridians.

Energetically, Yin yoga improves the energy flow, enhancing the flow of chi in the organs. To be healthy, we need healthy organs as well as healthy muscles. Yin yoga also offers wonderful emotional and mental health benefits.

More benefits of Yin yoga include revitalising the tissues of the body. Our body’s tissues can be revived by a good long soak in the bath the same way that an old, stiff sponge can. As you hold a yin pose, the subtle release that takes you deeper into the pose is the tissues lengthening, hydrating, and becoming more pliable. If you pay close attention, you can sense the tissues being stretched, squeezed, twisted, and compressed. A yin practice can leave you feeling as though you’ve had a massage in your body and your mind.

Yin yoga is suitable for all levels and an excellent practice for beginners. It gives them plenty of time to uncover the unique benefits of individual poses without worrying about tricky transitions. It’s also a tried and true technique for yogis of all levels to experience full body release. Those recovering from an injury or looking to lengthen versus strengthen will feel right at home in a Yin yoga class.