To read earlier posts, read the Adhiyoga Book.

Daily Adhiyoga Post 161!
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Sutra 8.5: The best rest of a Physiological System occurs during a True Fast, which includes absence of food intake, drinking of pure water when thirsty, and minimal physical and mental activity.

The ones who can carry out such fast is a blessed soul indeed. The fast gives innumerable benefits and recoveries when conducted properly. Fast is the Fastest way to Recovery.

OM Sjhanth.

Daily Adhiyoga Post 162!
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Sutra 8.6: Dreamless Sleep resembles Samadhi state, but is involuntary. Samadhi occurs due to wilful Yoga Practice, whereas the sleep occurs without any intention.

In Samadhi as well as Dreamless Sleep, as given earlier, the best Mental Rest takes place, due to absence of thinking and related activity. However, sleep occurs automatically as a psychosomatic need, whereas Samadhi is a result of Concentration of Mind to achieve a thoughtless mind in order to realise the Soul. So what?

The one who wants to get Mental Rest, should NOT worry about Meditation at all! They should only see how a good sleep will result in their case. Meditation is NOT meant for Stress Release and Mental Rest, in the real sense.

OM ShantiH.

Daily Adhiyoga Post 163!
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Sutra 9.1: Exercising is defined as performing any activity beyond the current capacity. When the activity exceeds beyond the current capacity by a large amount, it results in Stress . When the activity is performed at the current capacity, the fitness is maintained without improvement. When the activity is below the current capacity, the fitness lowers with Time.

This sounds perfectly logical and simple. But, in the real practice, one does not do exercise, but tends to over do it or under do it. Rarely, people do it for maintenance of the fitness. Almost no one does the Real Exercise. This applies especially to Competitive classes and Challenging but attractive Yoga Exercise methods.

Healthy exercise is the one that is either at the capacity level or slightly beyond!

OM ShantiH.

Daily Adhiyoga Post 164!
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Sutra 9.2: When any exercise is done with an intentional Mental Focus to improve particular parts of the Human System, it is called Yogic Exercise. All the Yogic Exercise requires intentional Mental Focus.

This means when one is looking at the camera, at the audience, etc. while doing a Yoga Pose, even very good Yoga Pose, it cannot be called Yoga Exercise. Thus, most of the Yoga Competitions and International Yoga Days will be nullified as a Yogic Exercise. They are great, but not Yoga. To be Yoga, they need to pour lots of Mental Focus in them so that the performer does not know what others are doing at all.

OM ShantiH.

Daily Adhiyoga Post 165!
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Sutra 9.3: For Physical Fitness Physical Yoga Exercise is beneficial but not mandatory.

This simply means that if you want to develop Physical Fitness alone, NO Yoga Exercise is necessary. But, interestingly, that is what almost everyone is doing.

OM ShantiH.

Daily Adhiyoga Post 166!
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Sutra 9.4: For Mental Fitness, Classical Mental Yoga Exercise is beneficial, but not mandatory.

To achieve mental fitness including memory improvement, critical thinking, decision making, time management, etc. there is NO need at all do to any Yoga Practice. These can be achieved by non Yogic Practices, without involving any spiritual or religious aspects. Any Yogic Powers that can be obtained through Yoga Practice should NOT be used for such Mental Achievements.

OM ShantiH.

Daily Adhiyoga Post 167!
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Sutra 9.5: When the Mind is focussed for exercising the Physical System, it is called Hathayoga. When it is focussed for exercising Mental System, it is called Meditation.

Without Mind, nothing happens. But, when Mind is focussed intentionally Yoga happens. When it is focussed on Bodily elements, it is Hathayoga. When it focussed on Mental Elements, it is meditation. Check out what exactly you are doing!

OM ShantiH.

Daily Adhiyoga Post 168!
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Sutra 9.6: In addition to conferring Physiological improvements, Hathayoga also improves the Mental Focus to some extent, as it exercises Mental faculty automatically.

It should be noted that one should use the Hathayoga definition given in the Adhiyoga Sutras for this, which is using Mind for Bodily Exercises. Of course, the Mental focus improves during such an exercise. (Classical Hathayoga deals with Kundalini Rising!)

OM ShantiH.

Daily Adhiyoga Post 169!
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Sutra 9.7: Hathayoga Practice includes exercising various Physical faculties such as muscles, bones, blood circulation, breathing and nervous system.  There is no limit to Hathayoga exercises.

The number of muscles, and other body elements are uncountable. Therefore, the exercises are also uncountable. What does that mean?

There is a misunderstanding that the Hathayoga practice is a lifelong quest and it provides one to do progress throughout the life. This is NOT true. Hathayoga is ONLY meant to get entrance into Meditation. One should use it mainly for that purpose. One may have little extra interest in bodily aspects and they may pursue that. But, one should never give all the effort for the Hathayoga Bodily Exercises.

OM ShantiH.

Daily Adhiyoga Post 170!
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Sutra 9.8: Hathayoga Practice leads to Mental Focus, that can be used for obtaining a Desired Material World Goal or Samadhi which is the Spiritual Goal.

Now, you shall understand that most of the Yoga practitioners of hathayoga are interested in Material Goal only. Though, originally Hathayoga is meant for the Spiritual Goal. But, the worst thing is that in order to either satisfy their own mind or that of the students, these practitioners start calling their Material Goals as Spiritual!

OM ShantiH.

Daily Adhiyoga Post 171!
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Sutra 9.9: Hathayoga Practice, though extremely useful to the Meditation, is not mandatory for the same.

In other words, without practicing any Hathayoga, one can rise to the end goal of Yoga, and that goal is always reached through some kind of Meditation.

OM ShantiH.

Daily Adhiyoga Post 172!
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Sutra 9.10: Hathayoga Practice alone does not lead to the attainment of the Spiritual Goal.

Some yogis who practice Hathayoga dream that they will continue the Hathayoga Practice exclusively, they say the Asanas are the Meditations, they say Asanas include all Spirituality, etc. But, they never reach the final goal of Yoga. Because, Hathayoga Texts themselves declare that Hathayoga is meant to reach Rajayoga and those who do not strive for Rajayoga, their Hathayoga is a waste.

OM ShantiH.

Daily Adhiyoga Post 173!
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Sutra 9.11: Therefore, those with the Spiritual Goal should start Meditation Practice with a suitable methodology, at the earliest possibility.

This means start Meditation Practice in whatever quantity possible immediately, without waiting for the Asana and Pranayama Propaganda Crap!

OM ShantiH.

Daily Adhiyoga Post 174!
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Sutra 9.12: Any physical or mental exercise tries to exceed the current capacity of the associated faculty by a small amount. However, for the real improvement of any physical or mental faculty, three things must be present in an appropriate combination: nutrition, exercise and rest. If any of these falters, the degree of improvement is reduced.

Actually, without proper Nutrition, all the effort is almost useless, and becomes a joke. And, without Rest, no improvement in health and fitness is possible. Even then, everyone touts about Exercise and everyone focusses on Exercise. That shows Exercise is easier than the rest of the two. International Yoga Day should talk about good Food and Rest more than any Yoga Poses!

Om Shantih.

Daily Adhiyoga Post 175!
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Sutra 10.1: Any exercise done with intentional mental focus is a Yoga Exercise. Physical Yoga Exercise may be done for the improvement of physical fitness, health, stress relief, or to obtain a mental focus to be used for meditation later. Lower level meditation can be done as a part of physical yoga exercise.

Intentional Mental Focus is the key element making any exercise Yogic Exercise. Purpose of such an exercise decides What and How it should done. If done properly, meditative benefit can be obtained from the Physical Yoga Exercise, but that is only a lower level meditation, and not a true meditation.

OM ShantiH.

Daily Adhiyoga Post 176!
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Sutra 10.2: Physical Yoga Exercise means using certain Body Parts slightly more than the current capacity in a function such as movement, nervous flow, blood circulation, chemical reaction, etc. The level of effort must neither be too low or too high as compared to the current capacity.

This means a Yoga Exercise Class should not have the same routine for all students. In general, a Group Yoga Exercise class is a wrong concept.

OM ShantiH.

Daily Adhiyoga Post 177!
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Sutra 10.3: Physical Yoga Exercise is fruitful and meaningful only when accompanied by the correct nutrition and sufficient rest.

In fact, especially in India, nutritional aspect and rest, (and in USA, rest aspect) are more important than the Physical Yoga Exercise.

OM ShantiH.

Daily Adhiyoga Post 178!
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Sutra 10.4: In a Physical Yoga Exercise, a given functionality of the Body is extended beyond the current capacity by a small amount, but with a mental focus. This includes holding a given position for certain time (Asana), modification of breathing pattern (Pranayama) or doing Asanas in a sequence (Vinyasa).

Sounds quite simple? Try it. You will find, it needs Mental Focus as well as Patience.

OM ShantiH

Daily Adhiyoga Post 179!
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Sutra 10.5: Physical Yoga Exercise may be static where a given body positioning is held for a certain time (Asana), or it may be a sequence of Yoga Poses coordinated with the breath (Vinyasa), or it may be a manipulation of breathing pattern (Pranayama).

Asana, Pranayama and Vinyasa are technical terms in Yoga Exercise. They are not names of Styles propounded by any Yoga Teacher. Each one has its pros and cons.

OM Shantih.

Daily Adhiyoga Post 180!
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Sutra 10.6: In Classical Hathayoga, certain abnormal practices such as Neti (Water through nose!), Dhauti (Cleaning mucus lining with a clothe), Basti (enema), etc. are performed. These can be very dangerous if performed without proper understanding and guidance.

Actually, these practices are totally unnecessay. All the cleaning here is automatically done by a human system. And, that is the correct way. Healthy life style is a must.

OM ShantiH.

Daily Adhiyoga Post 181!
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Sutra 10.7: Certain traditional Yoga Poses are popular. But, in Adhiyoga System, an educated and experienced Yogi creates new poses. Names of poses are important only for academic purposes.
Yes, some traditional poses such as Sheershasana (Headstand), Sarvangasana (Paschimottanasana), Wheel (Chakrasana) are profound. But, in Adhiyoga System, we are concerned with Health, Fitness, Focus of Mind, and Spirituality, but with the Individual Background and Goal in Mind. So, we create poses that achieve that goal rather than repeat the Traditional Poses.
Additionally, the name of the pose is not always indicative of what it is and what it does, even though some authors have written books showing such association. That association is only literary and not a technical one. Also, names of the poses are in Sanskrit, a language unknown to most of students and teachers. All the students in the class do not know these names and makes them wonder what is to be done when a name is uttered. This reduces the focus of mind on the pose, and reduces the Yoga aspect. Above all, knowing the name of a pose does not add anything to the benefit of doing that pose. Therefore, names of poses can be learnt as an academic exercise outside the Exercise Classroom.
OM ShantiH.

Daily Adhiyoga Post 182!
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Sutra 10.8: The more subtle the Yoga Exercise is, the more Mental Focus is needed, and more benefit is obtained. One of the subtlest Yoga Exercise includes subtle manipulation of the breath, including holding of the breath, called Pranayama. Pranayama develops a very good focus of Mind which can be used for Meditation.

Pranayama is still a Physical Yoga Exercise, not Meditation. It is much more subtle than Yoga Asanas. But, it can be simple as well as complex. One has to be careful. Also, Pranayama is not meant for solving health problems.

OM ShantiH

Daily Adhiyoga Post 183!
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Sutra 10.9: In the ancient times, Yoga was meant for obtaining Samadhi and Kaivalya. It was not meant for obtaining Physical Health and Fitness. Therefore, the Yoga Science lacks in the essentials of Health. The Adhiyoga System (AYS) provides these essentials thus extending the traditional Yoga Science, while maintaining the original Spiritual aspects.

For example, the most important aspect of Physical Health is Nutrition, and not Yoga Exercise. Ancient Yoga Science lacks in many important nutritional elements, such as Vitamins, Micronutrients, Macronutrients, exact process of digestion, etc.

OM ShantiH.

Daily Adhiyoga Post 184!
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Sutra 10.10: In the modern times, Yoga is used for Health and Fitness. This is mistaken as Spiritual Practice. Real Spiritual Practice deals with Samadhi and Kaivalya.

Health and Fitness are good, and may be useful to Spirituality. But, they are not real Spiritual Practice.

OM ShantiH.

Daily Adhiyoga Post 185!
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Sutra 10.11: As a matter of fact, Yoga Practice is an Individual Practice and not a Social Practice. However, a person performing Yoga Practice may develop love for the society and may do social good.

An individual has an individual mind, and an individual goal. Yoga practice for the individual should be individual only. Thus in general, a group Yoga class is not a great idea. But, it may give some comfort or inspiration to some. Also, Yoga Practice of spiritual kind, and all kinds, may develop love for the humanity as well as the animals or even plants. Such a person may do social good. But, it is not meant for social good.

OM ShantiH

Daily Adhiyoga Post 186!
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Sutra 10.12: Originally, Yoga and Ayurveda had opposite goals. In the modern times, due to health and therapeutic aspect, Yoga and Ayurveda are taught a complimentary subjects.

What does Ayurveda say? Long life, good progeny, good food, etc. What does Yoga say? Spiritual Liberation, Celibacy, etc.

OM ShantiH

Daily Adhiyoga Post 187!
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Sutra 10.13: In Adhiyoga, some well defined concepts are followed during the Yoga Exercise.

That is why it is called Authentic Yoga System!

OM ShantiH

Daily Adhiyoga Post 188!
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Sutra 11.All: Yoga Exercise should be learnt directly with a teacher and not from a book/video/audio in general. But, in case you cannot absolutely find a teacher, you can use book/video/audio from an extremely experienced teacher. 

If you do not do what is written here, you will either quit Yoga one day or you will do what is written here late in the game. 

OM ShantiH.

Daily Adhiyoga Post 189!

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Sutra 12.1: Breathing itself is an involuntary process that continues till the end of Physical Life of an individual.

Is it not that true? Do you need to make any special efforts to breath? Do you know anyone living who is not breathing?

OM ShantiH.

Daily Adhiyoga Post 190!
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Sutra 12.2: For Physical Health, Pranayama may be useful, but certainly is not mandatory. Pure air and good breathing capacity only are sufficient for Physical Health, as far as breathing is concerned.

One must try the best air possible, at whatever the cost is. And, then one should increase the capacity of the breathing by any kind of breathing exercises. This is more that enough for breathing needed for Physical Health. There is no need to learn complicated Pranayama techniques for Physical Health.

OM ShantiH.

Daily Adhiyoga Post 191!
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Sutra 12.3: Also, for general Mental Health, no Pranayam is essential, though it can be useful.

General Mental Health contains mental well being necessary to carry out day to day activities. For such well being, Pranayama is not necessary at all.

OM ShantiH.

Daily Adhiyoga Post 192!
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Sutra 12.4: Pranayama is a subtle modification of Breathing. That is the Yogic Breathing. It is meant for Mental Health that leads to Meditation and Spiritual Practice.

Pranayama is NOT meant for general health. It gives a special Mental ability that is needed in Meditation which is necessary for Spiritual Goals.

OM ShantiH.

Daily Adhiyoga Post 193!
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Sutra 12.5: Certain cleansing techniques with forced breathing, such as Kapalabhati and Bhastrika are not Pranayama per se.

Do not read the benefits of Pranayama in Patanjali and do the Pranayama told by some Hathayogis. They are different. The Olive Oil produced in Italy is different from the Olive Oil produced in Saudi Arabia, if at all. Kapalabhati and Bhastrika are good breathing exercises, but they are not Real Pranayama.

OM ShantiH.

Daily Adhiyoga Post 194!
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Sutra 12.6: Pranayama includes subtle modification of breath, that is elongated, measured in space, time and counting, and generally includes retention of breath (Kumbhaka).

Please note the nature of the Classical Pranayama.

OM ShantiH.

Daily Adhiyoga Post 195!
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Sutra 12.7: Kevala Kumbhaka, which is automatic holding of breath inside or outside the body, without any intentional effort, is the superior Pranayama.

It is superior because, it shows the mastery of normal Pranayama Practice, which has now resulted in a fruit that requires no effort. It is like first working very hard for income, and then becoming financially secure without having to work for income.

OM ShantiH

Daily Adhiyoga Post 196!
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Sutra 12.8: Pranayama, on one hand, is a Physical Practice, but on the other hand, it makes the mind serene (Sattvic), thus preparing for Meditation.

Pranayama is definitely Physical in action. It does, however, develops, subtlety of Mind, thus aiding the Meditation start. Pranayama itself is not meditation.

OM ShantiH.

Daily Adhiyoga Post 197!
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Sutra 12.9: Pranayama requires pure air, peaceful surrounding and comfortable sitting pose with erect spine.

Please note that it is not possible to perform Pranayama if you do not have these conditions. It can give negative results if you practice in an opposite condition.

OM ShantiH.

Daily Adhiyoga Post 198!
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Sutra 12.10: Pranayama does not need any Yogasana Practice. But, other Yogasana practice does help Pranayama.

Yogasana practice may create the fitness needed for the Pranayama. But, it is not mandatory. Because, the same fitness may already exist or may be created by other means.

Remember, if you claim to be Hathayogi, Pranayama Practice is much more important than Asana Practice.

OM ShantiH.

Daily Adhiyoga Post 199!
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Sutra 12.11: Breathing done during the Dynamic Yoga Exercises such as Vinyasa, is not Pranayama per say.

Pranayam involves subtle, long breathing with focus on mind on the Breath only and goes along with space, time, and counting. Breathing in Vinyasa Style Yoga Exercise is not Pranayama. It does not give the benefits of Pranayama, but it gives mainly fitness benefits with some focus of mind,

OM ShantiH.

Daily Adhiyoga Post 200!
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Sutra 13.1: In Mental Yoga Exercise, the Mind is trained using Mind itself.

Mind can be trained by Mind only, never by Body. If you train Body with Mind, it is called Physical Yoga Exercise. If you train Mind with Mind, it is called Mental Yoga Exercise.

OM ShantiH.

Daily Adhiyoga Post 200!
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Sutra 13.2: Manas has 5 faculties: Chitta, Manas, Buddhi, Smrit and Ahankara.

Please study these 5 faculties from the Adhiyoga Book. They should be known by a student of Yoga. 

OM ShantiH