What is Shakti Power Yoga?
Power yoga is a general term used to describe a vigorous approach to vinyasa-style yoga. Most power yoga is closely modeled on the Ashtanga style of practice.
Ashtanga Yoga is a system of yoga taught by Sri K. Pattabhi Jois, in Mysore, India. It consists of progressive sequences of traditional postures placed in a specific order. It is a powerful, challenging, gymnastic, and flowing practice. In Ashtanga yoga, it is of main importance to synchronize Ujjai breath with each every individual movement to create intense internal heat to cleanse the body from within. This syncronisation of breath and movement is called Vinyasa. Vinyasa, is the serpentine loop that interconnects the breath with the body's movements during asana practice.
Unlike Ashtanga, power yoga does not follow a set series of poses. Therefore, any power yoga class can vary widely from the next. What they have in common is an emphasis on strength and flexibility.
Shakti Power Yoga is a challenging style of Vinyasa Flow. Each class is dictated by powerful ujjai breathing that creates flowing interconnected movement. It is energetic and liberating enducing tremendous heat from within to increase circulation and vitality. It is a challenging practice that will leave you feeling at peace as there is a natural realignment of your body which creates a natural realignment of your perception of life and who you are.
A Shakti Power Yoga class is a combination of different styles of Hatha Yoga, from Sivananda to Kundalini and Ashtanga, blended together in the style that naturally developed and took form in my personal practice as a result of my experience, which also includes dance and circus techniques and is designed to challenge the resistance of your mind and to push beyond fear. This is not your average yoga class... the result is a mentally and physically challenging sequence of flowing postures, combining a cleansing vinyasa flow practice with the heart opening, devotional aspect of Sivananda yoga and the ancient techniques of Kundalini yoga to encourage the opening of the chakras and balancing of energies.
Shakti Power Yoga is suitable for who wants to explore more in depth the practice of Yoga, giving more attention to inner awareness using bandhas, mudras and breathwork, as well as awakening and opening up the chakras. Yoga practices have the purpose to open our heart to ourselves. Love yourself doesn't need to be difficult. You can begin with something as simple as allowing yourself one complete, deep breath.
When you don't allow yourself to breathe, you deny yourself the very gift of life, as life force, or Prana, comes to us through the breath.
Hatha Yoga starts with the body, as becoming aware of your body is the first step to accepting yourself. Beginning to release deep, old insecuruties on a physical level, can be a catalyst for incredible emotional transformation. Yoga practices are primarily techniques to cleanse the body, and purify the heart and the mind, to allow Prana to flow freely on the subtle level, and reach higher levels of awareness.
Going deeper inside ourselves and physically opening up the heart centre, a connection with our inner Self develops, bringing more calmness and awareness.
Yoga practice, when there is the intention to face ourselves and go deeper into our heart, will awaken the trust that the wisdom and compassion we need is already there, within us.
It helps us to know ourselves, the good parts, but also the rough parts, our aggression, limitations ignorance etc. and gives us the techniqes to accept and love ourselves.
Yoga is a process to becoming more aware of our inner Self, to bring our being into a state of oneness and wholeness, bringing body, mind and spirit in the same time and place. It hightens our awareness, awakening our inner potential.
Yogic practices allow us to come to this place of wholeness, our true self. If repeated constantly and correctly, approached with respect, trust and an open mind and heart, slowly but surely you will reap the fruits of this transformative practice.
Let go of attachment to the postures. Postures are only tools that enable you to reach deeper into yourself. It's what goes on inside, what you can't see that counts.
Yoga is ultimately the training of the mind, and it's not enough to purify the body, we need to also purify the mind to be able to purify the heart and allow love to flow.
Yoga postures done without this genuine intention, become just effective "western stretches". If you want to start unfolding your inner potential, and go deeper inside yourself, be open to the challenges of Yoga.
In this time and society practices of Yoga are most needed, as we live in a culture dominated by fear, and we need to allow ourselves some space, to center and focus, to bring our energies back, to keep things under perspective.
The first step away from fear is gratitude. The process of cultivating compassion, comes with the use of gratitude; compassion for others begins with kindness to ourselves.
So we use these techniques to transform our emotions, and move from a place of fear into a place of gratitude.
Opening the heart means first to accept yourself. Love yourself. Have compassion for yourself.
When you're able to open your heart to yourself, you can expand, and open your heart to everybody else, eventually coming to the feeling that there is no sense of separateness.
What you do to yourself you do to others and what you do to others, ultimately you do to yourself.