A practical manual of introduction to yoga for beginners and directions for teachers of Yoga


Gabriella cell is one of the most well-known yoga teachers Italian: followed, among others, Iyengar, Krishnamurti, Shankarananda; graduated from the Yoga Vedanta Forest Academy of Swami Sivananda in 1979 and Vivekananda Kendra Yogasana in Kerala in 1997 where he obtained the honorary title of Yoga Chudamani (jewel of yoga). In 1991 he founded the SIYR, four-year school for the training of teachers still active in Piacenza.

Yoga Ratna, the jewel of yoga offered by Gabriella, pays great attention to women and the physical and psychological effects of the asanas. Therefore integrates yoga with orthodox personal reinterpretations in the light of the work on symbols activated by âsana. Search essentially the balance of opposites: male and female, solar and lunar energy, earth and sky, matter and subtle energy, strength and abandonment.

This book is, in my opinion, the one that contains the broader look at his teaching, an approach that is practical and experiential because it can only transmit what has been experienced.

Yoga teaches you to know yourself, and then you must start from the recognition of its limitations in humility and truth before exploring their potential. It is the only way to avoid the dangers of yoga, usually neglected, but instead must be constantly kept in mind since the discipline was originally targeted at young men and determined and not people, mainly women, placed in an unhealthy environment of modern life like that.

In this book the author offers a set of practical guidelines apply as for teachers of yoga as for ordinary practitioners, offering useful ideas and to build a class or to create their own path based on personal needs.

It begins with the creation of a sacred space, a ritual that protects from the initial external (change the air, light some incense, put a bowl of water to the four cardinal points) sealed from the greeting to the directions. An initial moment in which you prepare your entry into another dimension.

The asanas should be chosen in a logical sequence, in light of the elements and chakras activated, and each is first prepared and then compensated: the emphasis is always placed on the balance, harmony sequences.

Are recommended exercises in the morning, before getting out of bed, and then prepare for the spine: the movements for the seven cervical vertebrae (related Ether), the twelve dorsal (Air), five lumbar (Fire) , the five sacral (Water), the coccygeal area (earth). Finally exercises for the evening: a bridge between the day and night, closed the breath of wind that facilitates sleep.

A large part is dedicated to the breath, always placing as a starting point listening to the spontaneous movement and then, with patient and gradual practice, come to govern it, to expand it and suspend it in apnea. It speaks of the breath that balances the energies of the Sun and Moon, the breath which increases the heat, the breath that brings freshness, the breath that draws a circle, the breath empties the mind and more.

Are then described the most important asanas with all the details of preparation. There is talk of Trikonasana, Triangle as the position of integration between male and female; Vriksasana, the location of the Tree to search for their roots; Tadasana, the position of the mountain that gives stability; Ganapatiasana, the position of Ganapati, the elephant that protects the memory; Bhumiasana, the position of Bhumi, the Lady of the Earth that supports; Vira Vasudevasana, the position of Vasudeva, the Warrior who bows to the Earth; Ganeshaniasana, the position of Ganeshani, the Elephant female who brings rain , Chandrakantasana, the position of Chandrakanta, the Beloved from the Moon that refreshes the mind; Sutasana, the position dell'Auriga that supports the World of Hell; Svahasana, the position of Svaha, the lady who lit the fire; Buja Padasana, the Vishnu position that supports the world on his shoulders; Kakasana, the position of the Raven; Kakiniasana, the position of Kakini, Raven female that moves in the wind; Adityasana, the position of Adity, the Great Divine Mother, and many more.

The fourth chapter is devoted to the hand gestures, the hasta-mudra, significant as they may trigger major energy channels that run through the entire body from the hand (for example, between thumb and forefinger was born on energy channel of the large intestine, from the little finger of the energy channels of the heart and small intestine).

Among the gestures shown: the act of truth (Prithvi Mudra) with the left hand in her lap and the tips of the fingers of the right hand to the ground; Surya mudra, the gesture of the sun and light: the left hand over your heart with the palm facing forward, his right hand with curved fingers touching the base of the left palm. Light to indicate that the Sun emits the fingers of the right hand open and close rhythmically. All these gestures can also join in sequences that tell real stories.

Finally, as in any good practice, a chapter on relaxation (Yoga Nidra): the devices (not all like the supine position, the attention to the words that are used, the use of sounds and images, the concentration on the spine ): "let go with trust my voice to guide you and to the land that sustains you, relax your body, relax your mind ...".

The book ends with an illuminating quote Castaneda not to forget what is the center and purpose of each path: "Whatever route is only one way and there is no affront to oneself or to others if this is nell'abbandonarla what your heart tells you to do. Examine every way with accuracy and weighting, try it whenever you feel it necessary, and then ask yourself, to yourself alone, one question - this path have a heart? - If he has the good way is, if it has no use. "