Do some believe there is some connection between yoga and the psychic (paranormal) world? I thought yoga was just merely exercise, or meditation at best. Then, I came to learn that some believe there is more to it than meets the eye? Is this correct? Specifically, some may believe that, something called the “chakras”, may have a connection? (Do the chakras define your personality in a way like the zodiac, perhaps?)
Can any SDoper tell me more about this? Or, perhaps there is a good link you can recommend that provides more info? (Yes, I’ve googled but results did not seem to tie in any reference to psychic phenomena, etc…
I’m not asking if you believe…I am just asking if this is correct? I’d just like to know more about what the belief(s) is/are. If it matters any, this question is specific to Kripula style yoga. (Believe me…I barely know what I’m asking!)
Of course, yoga was considered one of many ways toward spiritual growth in India. Still is.
It is not merely exercise. Don’t depend merely on links; try looking for books at the library and book store.
There are also many tiresome and irrational beliefs associated with yoga too, so be ready to put on your thinking cap and decide for yourself. Overall, however, it is a great system of exercise/spiritual practice.
My wife and I have been active practioners of Yoga and Chi Qong. Chakras are a vital part of ones understanding of the movement of energy, there are seven chakras in our body, they are believed by those of us tree-hugg’in believers to be energy centers in our body that tie our consciousness to our physical body.
I have not heard the Psychic spin on Yoga…so I can not comment on that. Kripalu Yoga has nothing to do with Psychic Ability as far as I know. I got my wife a few sessiona a while back at the linked place. It is a wonderful wellness center.
Yoga may however, highten your senses and bolster your intuitive side, however, bringing the word psychic into that whole mesh I believe is unnecessary. Do you have any other pointed Q’s?
Most people just think of yoga as the bendy stuff people do at the gym, but yoga more broadly refers to religious/philospophic practices in Hindu, Jainism, and Buddhism that ultimately result in a release from karma. The Raja Yoga (usually capitalized) of Patanjali is one of the six classical systems of Indian philosophy. Yogis advanced in Raja Yoga are said to have siddhis (psychic powers, sorta) that allow them to do things like remote view, levitate, project their minds into other’s bodies, get out of long term contracts with AOL, and other amazing feats.
Most of the yoga that folks do has its origins not only in the development of the body, but liberation of the spirit. The postures and breathing in Hatha yoga (the yoga most common in the U.S.) are intended to supress obstacles to enlightenment in the Eightfold yogic path. The chakras you speak of are part of Laya Yoga, a tantric practice. Chakras are seven energy points along the spine and head; the one at the bottom is the source of kundalini (“coiling”, or serpentlike) energy associated with the Hindu goddess Shakti, consort of Shiva and aspect of Kali. If the kundalini energy in the base chakra is awakened, it rises up through the others all the way to the crown chakra and results in samhadi, an identification with Shiva that constitutes liberation (and according to some, what we would call psychic powers). Kundalini energy is also potentially dangerous, supposedly.
Do you have any other pointed Q’s?