A Jivamukti Yoga class is spiritually, uplifting and physically challenging. It emphasizes the physical practice of yoga (asana), which is practiced in a continuous flow with a playful approach. In addition to including elements of singing, music, meditation and the philosophy of yoga. The method originated in the 1980s in New York.
Founded by Sharon Gannon and David Life, students of Sri K. Pattabhi Jois, Swami Nirmalananda and Brahmananda Sarasvati. Yoga practices are a means to overcome avidya, the ignorance that distorts one's perception of oneself and of others. It was in one of his classes that my heart set aside its dedication to Ashtanga Yoga and began to beat hard for Jivamukti.
Quoting Patanjali's Yoga Sutra, which states that asanas should be sthira and sukham, Jivamukti Yoga argues that relationships with others (asana) should be mutually beneficial and come from a constant place (sthira) of joy and happiness (sukham). In this way, students learn not to see asanas as something separate from spiritual study, chanting or meditation, but to integrate all the elements that make up Jivamukti Yoga into a unified practice. It is a very physical and vigorous style of yoga that takes its basic movements from traditional Hatha yoga. As a path to enlightenment through compassion for all beings, Jivamukti Yoga is based on the original meaning of the Sanskrit word asana as “seat, connection”, relationship with the Earth.
For me, this was the humble beginning of a growing love for this method of yoga and its community (satsang). I didn't know that I would spend most of my time on the second floor of 841 Broadway, at the Jivamukti Yoga School in New York. Jivamukti Yoga is connected to a long and rich lineage, so you'll learn the ancient teaching of yoga that has been adapted to modern times.
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