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Berlin Yoga: Terminology Tuesday

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What is Karma?

Karma: it’s a word that brings up many different impressions. For some people it brings up ideas about past lives. For others it conjures up the idea that what goes around comes around. It is an ancient word with a rather complex definition- a vast spiritual law that many try to explain using only their intellect.

photo by Fern

photo by Fern

When people talk about karma they often refer to the law of Karma which states that every action will have a reaction. But it is incredibly important to look further into this philosophy to understand the true definition that seeks to heal people, bring them together and not to create a new method for judgment and division. Our yoga in Kreuzberg focuses on just that- unity, not division, and we caution people to discover this complex term for themselves.

Karma – the word Karma in itself literally only means “action, work, deed”. Today many people in the West use the word Karma loosely and irresponsibly to mean “you get exactly what you deserve”. These are oversimplification of the Vedantic philosophy that often do more harm than good.

 

Berlin Yoga: Terminology Tuesday

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What is Bhramari?

Do you every feel like you are suffering from brain clutter? It doesn’t really matter what you do for a living. It makes no difference how you have set up your social structure. The mind is a masterful and intricate machine, assigned the all-important purpose of sorting through your influences and possibilities and helping you to make decisions. And frankly, sometimes, your mind can seem to have a “mind of its own”.

Part of what we do in our Berlin Yoga classes is attempt to give your mind a break. The premise being that with a little space, a little clearing, your mind will be able to work more harmoniously with your body and your soul. It’s hard to calm this busy machine down. But the practice of yoga is a wonderful way to regularly tune in to yourself in an effort to make peace with the world around you.

This week’s Terminology Tuesday is dedicated to a yoga breathing technique that helps to calm the minds sometimes obsessive thoughts. By explaining these yoga terms we hope to demystify this all important practice so that it may become a part of your everyday life.

Bhramari – is yet another form of Pranayama. The word Bhramari literally means “bee”. This breathing technique requires a humming sound while shutting your ears with your fingers. The sound effect created is very similar to the sound of a bee, making the name quite an accurate description. The after effect is a feeling of calm and wellbeing.

Berlin Yoga: Terminology Tuesday

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Pratyahara: withdrawl of the senses

Pratyahara: withdrawl of the senses

In this hectic world of ours we often suffer from overstimulation. Too many headlines, deadlines, voices in our lives and in our heads. There are things all around us that of course, deserve our attention. And so we organize our time and our minds to accommodate the overload- to do the best that we can in a world that just keeps on bringing new things to us, to worry about, work through, discover.

One of the best uses of practicing yoga is to find appropriate detachment from the world around us. Not to a point where we no longer know what is going on but to a point where we can selectively withdrawal from the overload our senses have to offer when it becomes vital for our benefit or even survival.

That leads us to a fine question for this Tuesday, what is Pratyahara?

Pratyahara- means the withdrawal of senses. This is one of the eight steps of Raja Yoga and in our English Yoga in Berlin classes gets practiced through Yoga Nidra (yoga of conscious deep sleep), Pranayama (the breathing techniques), Tratak (candle flame gazing) and concentration on the eyebrow center. Pratyahara teaches us appropriate detachment which is necessary in order to attain inner peace through Raja Yoga. The word pratyahara comes from prati and ahara. Ahara means “food” or anything that we take into our body. Prati is a preposition that means “away”or “against”. Together it means turning away from external stimuli, and thus the withdrawal of senses.

Your Body is not the Enemy

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berlin yoga classes

photo from Fern http://flickeflu.com/photos/36576881@N05

I had a student the other day sustain a painful injury by doing nothing. She had been having slight lower back pain for a few days and then one morning she woke up to find that she was unable to use her left leg without excruciating pain. A 33 year old woman in good overall health, there were no previous major injuries to justify this event and she hadn’t done anything recently to cause major strain other than the common psychological stresses of life. She expressed surprise, helplessness and frustration when several doctors could not find the cause. Finally a holistic chiropractic therapist figured out what was wrong and she started to improve.

The therapist suggested that my student stop doing yoga for a while, saying that it may be too strenuous for her pending recovery. But the student told me she explained that this version of yoga, Hatha Yoga, was actually very gentle and that the class was a very supportive environment for healing of all kinds. As she explained this to me she told me that she had tried many types of Yoga in her hometown of Los Angeles and that for the most part it was a flexibility contest- the winner of which inevitably wore the most trendy yoga fashion and excelled at head stands. She said that as a result of yoga in Berlin she understood that this practice wasn’t about abusing the body into meaningless contortions but more about making peace with the body and appreciating what it can do.

In some cultures “no pain, no gain” is a widespread fitness philosophy. But in many cases it gets us into the wrong frame of mind when it comes to our relationship with our bodies. The idea that if it doesn’t hurt a little you aren’t doing anything good for yourself is not only untrue but can really injure both your body and mind in the long run. It can spill into all parts of life, relationships, work etc., creating obvious dysfunction as we associate pain with something positive.

Now don’t get me wrong, growth does hurt and often we have to push past our comfort zones in order to make real progress in our development as humans. But perhaps the key is knowing yourself first- making peace with your body, mind and soul and then becoming more discerning about what kind of pain is good.  The body is an amazing thing that facilitates so much for our minds and our souls and its function should never be taken for granted. What have you done lately to celebrate it?

Early Bird Fall Yoga Special

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Yoga in English, BerlinThe end of the summer will bring big changes and we are starting to get excited! Starting on Sept 18th English Yoga Berlin will be moving to a new location and class schedule.
When: Tuesday and Thursday
Where: Görlitzerstr 39 (just a few blocks away from our current location.)
In an effort to get as much of the administration out of the way before our summer pause, we´ve decided to offer an early registration discount for everyone!
Autumn Yoga Discount Package
What:                 Sept 18-end of Oct (7 weeks of classes)
How Much:    €50 (1x/week) or €90 (2x/week)
Deadline:         Aug 10th
If you pay for your autumn yoga classes by August 10th, we´re offering a 10 % discount for September and October. After August 10th, prices will go back to normal.
To take advantage of this special:
1)     Go to Doodle to reserve your class spot(s) for the fall. http://doodle.com/wxe8a87p6qsyz7vk
2)     Once you have selected your classes, please contact us to arrange payment.
Happy August!
Meg and Pinelopi

English Yoga in Schöneberg

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English Yoga Berlin is very excited to be offering this new English yoga class on the beautiful hill of Berlin “Schöneberg”. Starting on September 17th, we will be teaching at the  center of Yogah-Berlin  located at Motzstrasse 64, 10777 Berlin-Schöneberg.

English Yoga in Schöneberg – Every Monday:

19.45-21.00  Hatha Yoga in English with Pinelopi

We will be offering a free yoga class on September 17th so that anyone who wishes can try out! Send us an email to sign up for the free class.

Berlin Yoga: Terminology Tuesday

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Enlish Yoga in Berlin

As yoga becomes part of our daily lives, so do the most commonly used yoga words begin to enter our every day vocabulary.   I find it beautiful when different languages merge, overlap, get reclaimed and used by people of all cultures. In these globalized times, English is no longer a language just for the English speaking nations, but it is the language that most peoples of the world use to communicate with one another, the language that makes it possible for people of totally different cultures and realities to meet, to communicate, and to fascinate each other.

In my Hatha Yoga classes in Berlin I choose to teach yoga in English. I love to see people from different corners of the world come to our Berlin yoga studio to practice yoga together. I use a lot of Sanskrit yoga words accompanied by an English translation while I teach.  Sometimes though, because of Sanskrit having such a different pronounciation to English, yoga students don’t always learn the words correctly or their meaning. That is why I started Berlin Yoga: Terminology Tuesday, a blog where I explain the basic words used during the yoga class.

This week’s words are Anuloma Viloma.

Anuloma Viloma – is also a form of Pranayama or breathing technique.  Anuloma literally means “in a natural order or direction” and viloma means “produced in reverse order”.  The Anuloma Viloma breath requires one to breathe in through the left nostril and breathe out through the right, and then to reverse that process, breathe in through the right and exhale through the left.  The natural way to breathe for a healthy person who practices Pranayama changes every 1 hour and 50 minutes.  There is always one nostril that is predominant and can breathe easier then the other, and after that time-frame the predominant nostril changes. By practicing Anuloma Viloma we are balancing out that effect.

Accessible language in Yoga

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Using accessible language to teach yoga in English makes yoga accessible to all cultures and peoples.

photo by Fern “Language can be a gate from which to liberate your thoughts and ideas”

When most people think of yoga in Berlin, they probably conjure up an image of a body contorted into wildly flexible shapes, or perhaps a solitary figure meditating. They might associate the practice of yoga with chanting, or maybe with the sound of a Tibetan singing bowl. But rarely do people consider language as a part of the practice–and almost never do they associate yoga with jokes, stories or slang.  Perhaps this is because of our cultural heritage in the West around spiritual practices. We expect them to occur in a sacred domain, and we can’t imagine something as everyday as language being involved. There is definitely a time and a place for silence, but I feel, actually, that language is an  incredibly powerful and important tool, in yoga and everywhere else in life, too! Teaching yoga in English has taught me  a lot about cultural translation–certain concepts, which have a lot of different layers of meaning in Sanskrit, have been ‘shorthanded’ into English and lost much of their content. The clearest example of this is the word ‘Karma’. English just doesn’t have the depth and breadth and subtlety of Sanskrit when it comes to discussing states of consciousness (though, to give credit where credit’s due, it’s a great language to talk about getting drunk in–so many adjectives!). This presents a very difficult challenge: how do you translate yoga ideas and yoga techniques from one language/culture to another?

It gets even more complicated in our yoga lessons, because we teach Vinyasa Yoga and Hatha yoga in English in Berlin, therefore often teaching yoga to non-Native English speakers. Thankfully, yoga concepts are often extremely simple. Not easy, but simple. This is where jokes, stories and slang come in–they make people feel comfortable, and comfort is half the battle when you’re trying to learn something new. They also make it a lot more difficult to take yourself too seriously! I really feel that accessible language is incredibly important in a practice like yoga.

New Yoga in Kreuzberg class schedule – starting from September 18th, 2012

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 Every Tuesday:

  • 16.00 – 17.30 Vinyasa Flow in English with MegYoga classes in Kreuzberg
  • 18.00 – 19-30 Hatha Yoga in English with Pinelopi
  • 20.00 – 21.30 Yoga Nidra in English with Pinelopi

 

Every Thursday:

  •  8.30 – 9.45   Vinyasa Flow in English with Meg
  •  10.15 – 11.45 Hatha Yoga in English with Pinelopi
  • 12.15 – 13.45 Advanced Hatha yoga with Pinelopi
  •  16.00 – 17.30 Vinyasa Flow  in English with Meg
  • 18.00 – 19.30 Hatha Yoga in English with Pinelopi
  • 20.00 – 21.30 Hatha Yoga in English with Pinelopi

All classes will take place in the Gemeinschaftsraum(x-kinderkino) on Görlitzerstr. 39, 10997 Kreuzberg Berlin


Click here to sign up for Yoga in Kreuzberg classes : http://www.doodle.com/wxe8a87p6qsyz7vk

Berlin Yoga: Terminology Tuesday

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As a Hatha Yoga instructor in Berlin, I often use Sanskrit words during my yoga classes.  Sometimes I even like to take a pause after the sanskrit yoga word, and see if the older students know what I am talking about or if they are just waiting for the English translation.

In order to learn about yoga properly I find it important to aknowledge its roots in the Indian culture and the Sanskrit language. Taking the time to understand these words and their meanings makes your yoga practice a more complete experience and adds to the understanding of yoga and it’s origins.  That is why I started Berlin Yoga: Terminology Tuesday, a post where I explain the basic sankrit words used in my yoga classes. So in this blog I would like to explain the meaning of the word kapalabhati, a breathing technique we often use in the yoga class.

Kapalabhati –  is a form of Pranayama, or breathing technique. Kapala means “skull”  and bhati means “shiny” or “illuminated”. So Kapalabhati means “shiny skull”. It is a breathing technique we use to increase our Prana and clean out the air passageways before doing more advanced pranayama.