Dave Stringer is an internationally recognized leader of the American kirtan movement.  A faculty member of Vibrant Living Yoga Teacher Training in Bali, Stringer teaches the relationship between chanting and the process of yoga. He studied kirtan in India, and performs and teaches it as Read the rest of this entry »

Many Yogas

My experience with yoga meditation has come from learning, practicing and living raja, hatha, jappa, bahkti and karma yogas. Here are the traditional types of yoga with their classical dictionary definitions.

Hatha yoga: a method using physical exercises to attempt to control the body and attain union of the self with the Supreme Being.

Japa yoga: repetition of a mantra leading to communion with the Supreme.

Karma yoga: becoming indifferent to the consequences of one’s actions, thereby disassociating oneself from one’s ordinary consciousness.

Bhakti yoga: selfless devotion as a means of reaching Brahman or the Supreme.

Ashtanga yoga: As a new form of surya namaskara, ashtanga is characterized by athletic jumps and challenging push ups, and a series of poses that are as physically demanding as they are visually exciting. The poses are sequenced to be performed without interruption by young, flexible bodies.

Raja yoga: is also known as classical yoga or simply yoga. In the traditional sense, Raja Yoga is one of six orthodox schools of Hindu philosophy outlined by Patanjali in his Yoga Sutras. Although Raja Yoga has eight aspects, it is primarily concerned with the cultivating the mind using meditation to develop a consciousness of reality that utlimately leads to soul liberation.

Tantra yoga: traditional tantra relies on the guidance of a guru who is qualified to teach tantra’s extensive meditative practice, as well as its traditional rules of conduct of both a moral and ritualistic nature. Tantra as it is defined here is not to be confused with neotantra, a new age hybrid that is concerned primarily with spiritual sex or sacred sexuality.

In simple terms, Zen meditation can be thought of as a means of letting go of pessimistic thoughts and just Read the rest of this entry »

Here is refreshing and inspiring music by the Japanese ensemble, Kokin Gumi, set here to stunning visual effects. The music is outstanding. You can listen to more simply beautiful and original compositions like this Read the rest of this entry »

My experience with yoga has been living and practicing, to the best of my ability and understanding, the paths of raja, hatha, jappa, bhakti and karma yogas. Bhakti is one that seems to come to me most naturally through Read the rest of this entry »