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Kunda Yoga it is one of the paths to Enlightenment and Self Realization, It WILL transform your life.

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Kunda Yoga (Practice and Benefits)

Our vehicle of Enlightenment and Self- Realization is: Pranayama, and the six branches of Yoga; Jnâna-Yoga , the Yoga of wisdom; Râja-Yoga , the Yoga of meditation; Hatha-Yoga , the Yoga of physical processes; Karma-Yoga , the Yoga of service; Bhakti-Yoga , the Yoga of devotion, and Japa Yoga , the Yoga of sound .

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The Branches of Yoga

Jnana Yoga:

Jnana yoga it is the path of wisdom and knowledge, Reading the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali it is part of your Jnana Yoga practice, it will help you act in life with feeling, it will help you to get to know your real self, you will realize that you are not the doer, that nature or better said God is doing everything; the body and mind are moving, doing things, you are the silent witness of all that is happening, by doing this you will make the difference between reality and illusion, because your self will constantly discriminate between the real and the unreal, the self and the not-self, developing a sharp and subtle intellect. By knowing your true identity you can also know others. Contemplating and analyzing these points is another form of meditation, called Jnana Yoga or the Yoga of Wisdom that comes from self-analysis. So, just keep analyzing and analyzing, eventually you will detach yourself and rise above your limitations. This knowing is called awareness or consciousness. This self-analysis can solve all your problems. You are not your body. You are not your mind because you are the one who is observing them. Whatever it is that is bothering you - anything at all - sit back and ask yourself, "What did I do? What mistakes have I made? Where was I selfish?" When you analyze in this way you will see that your happiness does not come from outside you. Only when you forget and identify yourself with the body or the mind the view of the true self is blocked. So watch your mind. Watch your breath. Just become an observer, just become a witness this is the key to this form of meditation.

Raja Yoga:

Raja Yoga is the path of meditation, focus and concentration. Meditation leads to unlocking health, happiness, peace, and joy, which is our natural state of being; everyone, everything, in the creation, wants to be happy. If you put a plant in the shade, its leaves will turn toward the sun, because the plant wants to be happy. Place a worm in the sun; it will crawl into the shade for the same reason. You may wonder if that is so, why don't I always experience that happiness? The reason is that you have forgotten it. That's why you are running after happiness. The basic ignorance is to forget your true nature and to look for happiness in external ways, happiness it is already within your self, just meditate and it will unlock, there is no need to run after it. To understand your true nature, the mind must be quiet; otherwise it seems to distort the truth. The aim of Raja Yoga is to make the mind clean and calm so then you will experience the Peace and Joy that is your true nature. Just meditate, it will happens, do not search, do not expect, do not try to provoke, there is no need for all of that, just meditate, anything you do let it be a meditation, if you are drinking your tea or coffee, let it be a meditation, enjoy it, just drink and enjoy, don't try to do a one thousand other things at the same time, just drink your tea and relax within, if you do this even a trivial thing like drinking tea can become sacred, if you are driving your car, just drive your car, focus on driving, follow speed limits and all other road rules, that is part of driving, beside speed limits and sign are there for your protection, not to annoy you, by doing this you are not adding tension to your driving, just drive. If you drive, talk on your cell phone, eat your sandwich, drink your coffee and chant a mantra, all of this at the same time, you are not doing any of them, that it is to much for the mind, can you imagine the chaos inside. So if you are driving, focus on driving, nothing else, by doing so even an everyday activity as driving can become a form of meditation. Gaining mastery over the mind is Raja Yoga.

Bhakti Yoga:

� Bhakti Yoga is the Path of Love and Devotion. The word "bhakti" means devotion. Devotion cannot be compared with any other approach. It is something super. When you develop devotion you rise above all doubts. You feel the Presence always within you, and you feel that you are totally protected. You can develop that kind of devotion by constant remembrance of the Divine� (Sri Swami Satchidananda).

B hakti Yoga it is very, very personal, if you see God as a father it is fine, if you see God as a mother it is fine, if you see God as a force it is fine, if you see God as an energy it is fine. Anyway you see God or conceive God to be, it is fine, that is God, your God. It is true that God created men/women in his/her own image, so it is also true that men/women created God in his/her own image. By constantly remembering the omniscient omnipresent, you will become one with.

Karma Yoga:

Karma Yoga it is the yoga of doing good things, just for the sake of doing good things, without attachment to the fruits of the doing, in other words, do not expect anything in return for the good things that you are doing for others, that is Karma Yoga. Karma Yoga it is very much misunderstood, Karma Yoga hasn't anything to do with the traditional saying �What's goes around comes around�. Karma yoga it is the yoga of service, service to others. One of the most beautiful and faithful karma yogis of our time is Mother Teresa known as the pencil of God, this little women dedicated her entire life to help the world's poorest of the poor, she started by feeding 20 children a day and ended up feeding 20,000 people a day, that is karma yoga in action. The great saint and poet Subramuniya Bharati who lived in India in the earlier 20 th century wrote: � The essence of scriptures is Karma Yoga. That alone can save us. Service, service, service, that is enough for us� .

Sri Swami Satchidananda a Holy man of this century (My Master) who past away in 2002 wrote: �Mere service alone is enough for your yogic or spiritual practice. Even if you don't have time to meditate or do asanas, it doesn't matter. If you have an opportunity to do Karma Yoga, do that first. Through Karma Yoga your heart, mind and body will soon be cleaned. It even takes care of your health. When you serve well, you get real hunger; you eat well, you digest well, and you sleep well. There's peace in the mind and ease in the body.� �You can practice all the other yogas with ease, but the most difficult one is Karma Yoga, because the ego will pop up at every moment. But the secret is to forget yourself, to place yourself last and put others first. Then Karma Yoga will be easy. You will be the happiest person.�

Japa Yoga:

Japa Yoga is the repetition of a mantra. Through the practice of Japa Yoga you can attain pointedness, or extreme focus, depending on the mantra. The vibrations and sounds of the mantra are considered extremely important, and thus reverberations of the sound can awake the spiritual life force and stimulate the chakras. My Beloved Guru Swami Satchidananada said that: � The goal of all spiritual paths is the same to realize the Universal Spirit. This Spirit, which is referred to by various names, is all-pervading. Essentially, we are that Spirit. Yet, we do not experience it because of the limitations of our body, mind, and ego. One way of transcending these limitations is by means of a vehicle called a mantra. A mantra is a sound structure of one or more syllables representing a particular aspect of the Divine. Through concentrated mental repetition of the mantra, the vibrations of the mantra are produced within the individual's entire system. This brings certain healthy effects in the body and calms the senses and mind, making them fit to handle any problems. Moreover, it awakens the dormant capabilities in the individual and brings spiritual awareness too. Japa can even influence an atmosphere or a place. Many teachers give a mantra to their students as a means of meditation because it is such an easy and effective method of concentration. A mantra is not just a word. It's a sound vibration, mystic in nature, which more or less aligns the whole system and harmonizes it. The entire universe is nothing but sound vibrations. God's body is a sound body, a body of vibration, a mantra body. Almost every scripture says something similar, that God is sound or the Word. Sages in deep meditation hear these sounds, or mantras, representing particular aspects of the divine vibration, Om. Through generations of spiritual masters they have handed down these mantras as guides to aspirants. Mantras are sounds which may or may not have meaning. By constantly repeating them you are able to produce certain vibrations within you and through all of your physical, emotional, and intellectual self. Prayers and chanting may be soothing to the mind, and for a time bring you into a peaceful state. But mantras have a special value. They are not words coined by people who created languages. They are different vibrations of the same energy functioning in different ways. The one cosmic sound, represented as Om, has different aspects. These different facets of Om are called mantras. By constant repetition of the mantra you develop that vibration because all the vibrations are within you. Each individual by himself is another microcosm. What you see in the macrocosm you see in the microcosm; you are a universe by your self. Not only you, but each and every one of your cells is a universe. How many solar systems do you have in you, how many atoms? Countless. Therefore, when you are given a mantra, and constantly repeat it, you develop that aspect of the vibration that is already in you but hidden. You bring it to the surface, make use of it, and get its benefit. As you repeat it, you get the vibration. It kindles the dormant and subtle vibrations in you. It's not even physically felt. Sound vibrations are more powerful than any physical instrument. Mantra means anything that makes the mind steady. Whatever vibration makes the mind one-pointed and creates a sort of receptivity is a mantra. Repeat your mantra feeling its purpose. It should harmonize you, and tune you in to receive similar cosmic vibrations. It more or less aligns your whole system. It's a master key to open all the locks and eliminate all obstacles to enlightenment. There are many different kinds of mantras. For some to have effect you must know their meaning, or the aspect of God that is being received. But in Yoga the mantras don't have any particular personal meaning. They are good for anyone and won't disturb anyone's personal faith. They are useful even without knowing their meaning. They have a seed letter in them. Just by repeating it, you get the tuning. With a prayer you have to know its meaning and believe in that before you get the effect. But with certain mantras you get the vibration whether you know the seed letter or not. If you want to get your heart and feelings involved, you must know the meaning of the words. But the purpose of the mantra is to steady the mind, all you have to do is repeat it faithfully. By repeating your mantra you keep it well charged and spread it through your system until its vibration pervades your body and mind. Your entire personality vibrates on that beautiful wavelength and automatically attracts similar vibrations. You become in tune with those who have similar waves, and ultimately in tune with the cosmic wave. This is the scientific explanation of Mantra yoga. Until such time as you receive an initiation from a qualified person, there's nothing wrong with repeating a mantra. There are some general mantras that all can use. Some simple and very efficacious ones are Hari Om or just Om or Om Shanthi. Don't try long mantras. The smaller the stuff, the greater the power. Hari Om is a beautiful mantra which can evoke the sound vibration within you. Ha is pronounced as in hot; ri as in repeat. The ha comes from the solar plexus area. When you say ri, the sound comes up. O vibrates your entire skull. The minute you say mmmm, the vibration goes up further. As the sound goes higher and higher you rise above body and mind. Understand that this is not connected with any particular religion. You are just working with some sounds. Of course, not everybody will be satisfied with mantras as a focus for concentration. Everyone has a different capacity and different taste. There's no one thing especially suited to everybody except the process of concentration itself. � Below is a list of mantras that my Master Swamiji used to repeat himself:

• Sacred Mantram for Inner Peace :: OM Shanthi

• Sacred Universal Mantram :: Hari OM

• Sacred Mantram for Healing and Protection :: Maha Mrityunjaya (OM Tryambakam)

• Sacred Mantram for Meditation :: OM Hreem

• Sacred Mantram for Enlightenment :: Gayatri

• Sacred Mantram Siva-Shakti :: Hreem

Hatha Yoga:

Hatha Yoga is a stairway to the heights of Raja Yoga', hence a preparatory stage of physical purification that renders the body fit for the practise of higher meditation. The word Hatha is a compound of the words Ha and Tha meaning sun and moon and refers to the principal nadis (energy channels) of the subtle body that must be fully operational to attain a state of dhyana (self knowledge) or samadhi (state of consciousness induced by complete meditation). In other respects Hatha yoga follows the same principles as the Raja Yoga of Patanjali including moral restraint yama and spiritual observances niyama ( Truth, Integrity, Non-Violence) . Asanas (Poses) are contemplative in nature and were originally intuited by yogis during meditation; the Kundalini naturally brings forth these postures or movements, called Kriyas (Cleansing), during deep meditation. These movements are meant to help to remove blockages (disease) in the causal, subtle, and physical bodies. An Asana is a state of mind, each asana calls on a higher state of mind, that is way the pose must be held to be effective. Swami Satchidananda says that: � The human body is a temple. Keep it strong and supple. Treat it gently. Never ignore the body, because it's the most important instrument. Whatever you do, you need a body. That's why the ancient Yoga teachings always emphasized taking good care of the body.� For our Hatha Yoga practice we are going to use the Kunda Yoga sequence of Asanas and Pranayama. The asanas are at least 3000 years old, the difference is in the order we practice these Asanas. Kunda Yoga sequences bring about enlightenment, by first, creating inner balance, second, purifying and energizing the endocrines glands and nervous system, and third synchronizing the left and right hemisphere of the brain.

Now; In order to master the mind we must master the breath, so Pranayama comes in to account, remember: Master your breath, master your mind, master your mind master your destiny.

Pranayama is a sanskrit word that means control (yama) of the life force (prana); It was originally expounded by Patanjali, in his Yoga Sutras; The word pranayama is comprised of two roots: prana and ayama. Prana includes the breath, but more accurately signifies the 'vital energy' or 'life force' that permeates the universe. It is similar to the Chinese concept of "chi", or the Hawaiian concept of "mana." Ayama is defined as 'control', or as 'extension' and 'expansion'. Thus, the word pranayama can also be understood as the extension or expansion of 'vital energy' or 'life force' (prana). Pranayama is practised to develop mental, physical and spiritual strength. Though the beginner's Pranayama is relatively harmless, safely progressing to more advanced practices requires the guidance of a knowledgeable teacher. In our quest for enligtenment and self realization we are going to practice 3 very safe pranayamas; Anahata deep breathing , Naadi suddhi and Kaapalabati . Breath Control prepares the mind for focusing and meditation, calms and purifies the nervous system, purifies your blood, draws the mind inward, increases vitality, improves resistance to infections or disease, and stimulates parasympathetic nervous system.

Don't forget that Prana is the vital energy that pervades the entire cosmos.

Top Five Reasons to Try Kunda Yoga

1. Improved Balance: Through balancing in the various Kunda Yoga poses, you strengthen your stabilizer muscles increasing your balance and stability.
2. Reduced Stress: By focusing on your body, you shut out external distractions and thus reduce your bodies stress level.
3. Better Flexibility: The various Kunda Yoga poses will stretch and warm up muscles leading to greater flexibility. This will reduce the chances of injury in other physical activities.
4. Body and Mind Connection:  Kunda Yoga forces you to concentrate on your movements increasing your mind and body awareness.
5. Improved Posture: Kunda Yoga will reduce tension in muscles and strengthen others leading to improved posture.

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Hot Yoga , Cool Yoga - What is the difference?

There is no difference between Hot Yoga and Cool Yoga, the benefits are exactly the same, some people like to practice in a hotter environment, and some prefer a cooler one. It is your choice. At the Kunda Yoga Studio, the temperature on one half of the room is warmer than the other half; you can practice your yoga on either side.

The skin is the largest organ in the human body, with the combination of Asanas and sweating, the detoxification of the physical body it is accelerated. So we can say that Kunda Yoga not only energizes but rejuvenates. By eliminating toxins and waste matter from the system, fresh oxygenated blood flows through the entire cardiovascular system, slowing down the aging process, and energizing the nerves and the muscles.

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Sri Sutrananda’s Kunda Yoga is a scientific system designed for the harmonious development of the individual in the twenty first century. Sri Sutrananda has taken the most significant part of each branch of Yoga creating a perfect harmonious combination of Asanas, Pranayama, and meditation to bring about self-realization. Kunda yoga brings about enlightenment, by first, creating inner balance, second, purifying and energizing the endocrines glands and nervous system, and third synchronizing the left and right hemisphere’s of the brain. Like other forms of Yoga, Kunda Yoga links movement with breath. The way it differs is in its direct focus on moving energy through the chakra system, stimulating the energy in the lower chakras and moving it up to the higher chakras.

Kunda Yoga it is one of the paths to Enlightenment and Self Realization, It WILL transform your life.

 Description of Content

Asana is Sanskrit for "seat.” It is by no accident that this word was chosen to describe the "posture" of Yoga. The idea of the "seat" in this context refers not only to the physical position of the body, but to the position of the spirit in relation to Divinity. This idea is often referred to as the "One Seat" by Yogis and Buddhists alike. Modern usage of the word asana in reference to the practice of Yoga generally intends a lesser definition; a physical posture or pose. Patanjali, in the Yoga Sutra describes asana as sitting meditation, where meditation is the path to a realization of the Self. Looking at these two ideas in contrast, we see the idea of asana as both simple posture and a path to the unity of spirit.

Pranayama is conscious prolongation of inhalation, retention, and exhalation of the breath. The word pranayama is comprised of two roots: prana and ayama. Prana includes the breath, but more accurately signifies the 'vital energy' or 'life force' that permeates the universe at all levels. It is similar to the Chinese concept of "chi," or the Hawaiian concept of "mana." Ayama is defined as 'extension' or 'expansion'. Thus, the word pranayama can be understood as the extension or expansion of prana. A pranayama practitioner receives prana on inhalation, savors the energy of prana by retaining the breath, and empties all thoughts and emotions on exhalation, surrendering the individual "I" energy to the universal energy. Pranayama thereby influences the flow of prana through the 72,000 nadis (channels) that run through the gross and subtle/spiritual body.

Meditation describes a variety of practices with a variety of goals. It usually involves turning our attention inward to the mind itself. Meditation is often recognized as a component of Eastern religions, originating in Vedic Hinduism. It has also become more mainstream in Western culture. It encompasses any of a wide variety of spiritual practices which emphasize mental activity or quiescence. Meditation can also be used for personal development, such as the exercises of Hatha Yoga . Many practice meditation in order to achieve eternal peace, while others do it in order to become healthier and friendlier.

Auras: Psychics throughout history have seen colored auras about persons. An example is the halo about the head of saints in religious paintings. The aura is supposedly the "life force" emanating from the body (at points called "chakras" in Hindu teachings). Sensitives say they can tell a persons emotional, mental and spiritual state from the colors of the aura.

Chakras: The chakras or force-centres are points of con­nection at which energy flows from one vehicle or body of a man/woman to another. Anyone who possesses a slight degree of clairvoyance may easily see them in the etheric double, where they show themselves as saucer-like depressions or vortices in its surface. When quite undeveloped they appear as small circles  about two inches in diameter glowing dully in the ordinary man or woman, but when awakened and vivified they are seen as blazing, coruscating whirlpools, much increased in size, and resembling miniature suns.

Endocrine (or internally secreting) glands are also named ductless glands, since they lack excretory ducts. Instead, the secretors cells release their products, hormones , into the extra-cellular space. From the extra-cellular space, the hormones may enter the blood stream, by which they reach their target organs. Alternatively, the hormones may affect nearby cells ( paracrine acting hormones).The major endocrine glands are the pituitary gland, the pineal body, the thyroid gland, the parathyroid gland, the pancreas, the adrenal glands, the ovaries and the testes. In some of these glands/organs the endocrine tissue constitutes only part of the parenchyma of the organ ( Which ones? ). Small groups or individual endocrine cells are also found in a variety of other organs, e.g. the GIT and the kidneys.

The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali are one of the six Darshanas of Hindu or Vedic schools and, alongside the Bhagavad Gita and Hatha Yoga Pradipika, are a milestone in the history of Yoga. The book is a set of 195 aphorisms (sutras), which are short, terse phrases designed to be easily memorized. Though brief, the Yoga Sutras are an enormously influential work that is just as relevant for Yoga philosophy and practice today as it was when it was written. To understand the work's title, it is necessary to consider the meanings of its two component words. The Sanskrit word Yoga, as used by Patanjali, refers to a state of mind where thoughts and feelings are held in check. Sutra means "thread". This is a reference to the thread of a Mala, upon which (figuratively speaking) the Yoga aphorisms that make up the work's content are strung like beads. For that reason the title is sometimes rendered in English as the Yoga Aphorisms.