Открытый Йога Журнал

Our emotional state is closely connected with the forms around us. Home interior, city architecture, natural landscape — all of these affect us in a certain way. Why does one sort of images evoke in us a sense of calmness, peace, security, and contribute to the restoration of emotional balance, while other sort of images, on the contrary, causes oppression, hidden fear, tension, affecting negatively on our mental state?

Evolution of bodies — evolution of forms

The influence of forms on us is not accidental. Our bodies have evolved over many millennia. The simplest microorganism developed to the level of the human body under the influence of environmental conditions. Our Higher Self manifested by using the principle of form, and adapted to changing conditions from life to life. Every external influence and reaction to it were imprinted in the memory of our bodies and of our minds. Therefore, there is no «unpunished» perception of a form. Any form via associative connections inspires specific reaction, affects our physical and mental state, and guides our actions.

Открытый Йога Журнал

Chakras … There is something mysterious and captivating in them … That’s why the interest in this topic has been growing recently. When we study the information from different sources, we can come to the conclusion that chakras are some kind of «a magic pill» that can change life for the better in an instant. However, the information is often contradictory about using this “pill”. Distortions arise in interpretations, which later turn into myths. In this article we will cover  the following questions: What are the keys to understanding chakras, provided by yoga and where should we start getting to know chakras.

The word «chakra» is translated from Sanskrit  as «a circle», «a wheel» or «a disk». The word «vortex» is used by the context of yogic practices, it’s reflecting the vortices of vital energy — prana. The word «padma» (lotus) can also be used in the same meaning.

A little bit of history

The earliest mention of chakras can be found in ancient Indian treatises such as: Upanishads, Gheranda Samhita, Hatha Yoga Pradipika, Shiva Samhita, Shat Chakra Nirupana. At the same time, the sources of classic yoga, which are based on the Vedas, did not focus on the description of chakras. All knowledge about chakras infiltrated into yoga purely from the tantras. It was the tantric traditions of Hinduism that played a major role in the formation of the concept of chakras.

Открытый Йога Журнал

Success in yoga is defined by the habit to practice regularly. Let’s see why a habit to practice is of key importance.

“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” Aristotle

Forming the associative links

The theory of yoga includes the concept of associative links. Each of us has a Higher Self — our true ultramundane essence — however, due to Maya, we don’t realise it. Maya is something which, on the one hand, makes it possible for our Higher Self to manifest itself in this world; on the other hand, it generates the illusion that makes things appear as something different. As a result of this correlation, we associate ourselves not with what we really are, but with our manifestations. This is how our associative links are formed. The first associative link is Prana, the life force, which emanates from our Higher Self to our bodies, giving them life. Forming our bodies Prana divides itself into Consciousness and Energy, which diverge into two opposite extremes and create the principles (chakras) one after another. The path of divergence forms the so called Central Channel in our body — Sushumna.

Открытый Йога Журнал

In the previous article, we examined the main axiomatic statements in Yoga regarding creativity, its nature and the necessary components for the emergence of our creative inspiration. In this article we will analyze in more detail the questions: what inspiration is, why it is so ephemeral and why it disappears as suddenly as it appears. We will try to understand what brings us to «the agony of creation» and how we can work with it.

The state of supreme inspiration in Yoga is called bhava!

Whether we have bhava or not is directly related to the level of our prana. Since we do not fully realize ourselves and do not control the flow of prana, our state of bhava is unstable and can be as easily lost as it appeared. It’s like some sort of an instant flash — it dawned on us and immediately scattered! If during this period we did not have time to realize our brilliant idea, to give the idea a form, then it can rest in the «standby» mode for quite a while until the next insight.

Открытый Йога Журнал

Realizing a creative idea, quite often we are confronted with a situation where at first, everything goes «like clockwork», and then at some point, we get stuck and can’t move forward. This state is sometimes called «the agony of creation». Why does it happen? Why, in some cases, we can easily bring our ideas to life and in others, we are fighting over them and cannot find a resolution? What is the nature of creativity and what does it depend on? We will try to understand these questions by resorting to the teachings of Yoga.

Creativity is not intrinsic to art only!

Strangely enough, even if we don’t consider ourselves creative natures — we don’t write manuscripts, music, poetry and we don’t create masterpieces of art, it doesn’t mean that we can’t feel the «agony of creation» because creativity is not an exclusive privilege of artists. Developers, engineers, inventors, scientists, mathematicians and even doctors — anyone who creates something or makes a new discovery may face this difficulty. We all know the funny story of how Newton struggled for a long time over the discovery of his law, until one day an apple fell on his head — and it dawned on him!

Открытый Йога Журнал

Most of us, tired of a drab existence, strive to change our place and surroundings to experience novelty and diversity. But at some point, we realize that we have already explored a lot of things in the outside world and we surrender to a feeling of monotony. Wherever we go, sameness follows us everywhere. Even traveling to other countries, we eventually lose interest in them. The world seems to become small, predictable and boring. The scenery changes, but we see the same familiar picture of the mundane behind it. How to learn to continuously experience the fullness and diversity of life? What do we need for this? Yoga will help find the answers.

«As, dear, the birds come home to the tree to rest, so, verily, all this comes to rest in the Higher Self. The Higher Self is the basis and the reality of this Universe.» Prasna Upanishad