About the Center

* Mission Statement

* Integrated Yoga

* The 4 Paths of Yoga

* The Eight Limbs of Raja Yoga

* Photos

MISSION STATEMENT

Since 1993, our goal has been to create an oasis of peace based on the principles and ethics of Classical Yoga. We are dedicated to living and teaching practices that empower individuals to create lives of health, happiness and peace. We believe that when there is peace in the individual, there is peace in the community, which ultimately extends to the planet.

The Yoga Center provides a safe, non-judgmental and non-threatening environment in which to practice yoga at any level of fitness. Class size is limited to allow for personal attention and supervision.

INTEGRATED YOGA

Yoga is a comprehensive system of self-healthcare for the body, mind and spirit with the ultimate goal of achieving freedom through enlightenment. It is universal and is practiced by people of diverse interests, religions, ages and physical abilities.

The practice of yoga awakens the natural wisdom and intelligence of the entire body/mind/spirit. At the Yoga Center we teach Integrated Yoga. This system is based on the Eight Limbs and Four Paths of Classical Yoga as transmitted through lineages of spiritual teachers over thousands of years.

These five elements form the basis of each class:

PROPER EXERCISE develops strength, flexibility, poise and balance.
PROPER BREATHING soothes, cleanses and strengthens the nervous system and increases vitality.
COMPLETE RELAXATION releases stress and recharges the body and mind.
PROPER DIET cleanses, enlivens and fuels the body/mind. And we're not just talking about food here!
MEDITATION clears and focuses the mind and increases self-knowledge and well-being.

THE 4 PATHS OF YOGA

There are four main paths of Yoga - Karma Yoga, Bhakti Yoga, Jnana Yoga and Raja Yoga. Each is suited to a different temperament or approach to life. All the paths lead ultimately to the same destination - to union with Brahman or God - and the lessons of each of them need to be integrated if true wisdom is to be attained.

The EIGHT LIMBS OF RAJA YOGA

Raja Yoga is the path of systematic analysis and control of the mind. Raja Yoga is also called "Ashtanga" (eight limbs) Yoga because it has 8 practices.

1. Yamas - Restraints
    a) Asimsa - non-violence/kindness
    b) Satya - honesty/truthfulness
    c) Asteya - non stealing/responsibility
    d) Brahmacharya - chastity/right use and conservation of energy
    e) Aparigraha - non-grasping/simplicity

2. Niyamas - Observances
    a) Saucha -purity/clarity
    b) Santosha - contentment / acceptance
    c) Tapahs - austerity/sacrifice
    d) Svadhyaya - self-study/religious scripture study/understanding
    e) Ishwarapranidhana - devotion to the absolute /spirituality

3. Asana - Posture
Necessary to hold the spinal column erect, motionless and comfortable

4. Pranayama
Control of the vital energy through certain breathing techniques

5. Pratyahara
Withdrawal of the senses from their objects

6. Dharana - Concentration
Concentrating the mind or focusing it upon either an external object or an internal idea, to the exclusion of all other thoughts

7. Dhyana - Meditation
Meditation is defined as "an unbroken flow of thought towards the divine".

8. Samadhi - Contemplation
Super conscious state. It is sublime beyond description. It is beyond the mind to grasp and describe as it transcends the ordinary sensory experience. Samadhi represents the goal of all existence. Total unity consciousness.