YOGA

Yoga restores balance into our lives, resolves our inner conflicts, enables total excellence and allows us to fulfill our potential to become complete human beings. Often misunderstood to be simply a set of physical exercises, Yoga philosophy transcends all ritualistic religion and can be practiced by anyone.

In the Indian tradition of Yoga, life is a journey of experiences that leads us to discover Shreyas ("all round excellence") inherent within us. As such, Yoga at Shreyas is much more than the traditional physical postures and our aim is provide numerous self discovery packages and retreats that aim to catalyze your thinking/living philosophy and harmonize it with the timeless wisdom enshrined within the Indian philosophical tradition.

There is no dogmatic religion practiced at Shreyas and people of all faiths are welcome.

Yoga Asanas:
Yogasana classes at Shreyas are, conducted by our experienced instructors, based on both classical Hatha Yoga and Ashtanga Vinyasa for beginner, intermediate and advanced levels. Twice daily group classes are included in the stay for all guests at Shreyas. Apart from the Yogasana classes, guests can participate in sessions on Pranayama (understanding and regulating our breath), Pratyahara (withdrawal / internalization of sensory inputs), Dharana (concentration), Dhyana (meditation) processes drawn from the Patanjali Yoga Sutras – ancient Yogic doctrine that aims to integrate our body, mind and soul for complete living.

Yogasanas will help restore and heal the physical body, and bring about strength, flexibility and balance in daily life. Yoga processes are considered a holistic form of exercise today and have been shown to bring positive changes to our emotional state as well.

Hatha Yoga Classes

Hatha Yoga (pronounced as Hut-a Yoga) treats the body as an instrument to master the mind and enable us to attain higher states of consciousness.

In Sanskrit, the word ‘Ha’ means the Sun aspect that denotes the active masculine principle, represented by the right nostril breath (Pingala). The word ‘Tha’ means Moon aspect that denotes the passive intuitive feminine principle represented by the left nostril breath (Ida). In this context, the word ‘Yoga’ needs to be interpreted as ‘communion’. Thus, the sustained practice Hatha Yoga enables harmony between the sun and moon aspects of our being. Traditional Hatha Yoga is based on Swatmarama’s Hatha Yoga Pradipika and it includes a set of breathing techniques (Pranayama), select postures (Asanas), Yogic locks (Bandhas) and Yogic gestures (Mudras) using fingers / hands. Assiduous Hatha Yoga practice leads the aspirant to learn and master other subtler spiritual practices including Meditation. Another way to understand Hatha Yoga is: the word 'Hatha' can be translated as ‘adoption of consistently forceful means of any practice till the set objective is realized.’ Thus Hatha Yoga can be understood as the systematic practice of Yogic processes to realize higher states of consciousness.

Ashtanga Yoga Classes

We also offer Ashtanga Vinyasa yoga sessions for experienced practitioners. Ashtanga Vinyasa aims to harness the potency of breath called Ujjayi Pranayama and integrate with a physically demanding style of Asana practice. Ujjayi in Sanskrit means “victorious.” This is a form of controlled breathing done in conjunction with a subtle energy lock, known as moola bandha.

This style of Yoga practice consists of carefully sequenced postures, flowing in a precise and ceaseless sequence from start to finish. To maintain stability and flow (Vinyasa), complete awareness is required along with continuous ujjayi from the start of the practice through to its conclusion. A total and absolute concentration develops over time, leading gradually to a heightened sense of awareness and deeper connection to, and understanding of, life, oneself, and others.

In addition to Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras, the principle scriptures that we refer to are the Bhagavad Gita, selected Upanishads, Hatha Yoga Pradipika and Yoga Vashista. These scriptures are universal in nature and its essence is applicable to all sincere spiritual seekers. A brief description on each of the other Yoga processes practiced at Shreyas is given below:

Pranayama
Breathing processes designed to allow for the free flow of Prana (vital force) of life. Properly practiced, they prepare us for meditation. These processes also have the power to help us tackle most psychosomatic stress related problems.

Pratyahara (Internalising processes that will lead to meditation)
Awareness and concentration processes – Body and Breath Awareness Visualization (of nature) processes that bring about emotional stability and increase our resistance to stress and pain.

Yoga Nidra:
The advanced Pratyahara process that literally translates as “Yogic sleep.” This is a guided process places you into a state of conscious deep sleep aiding complete relaxation and prepares one for subtler spiritual exploration.

Sacred Chants (Science of Sound)
Mantra Chanting is one of the most efficacious forms of Yoga that helps in personality transformation. Loud chanting of Mantras creates sound vibrations that can purify negative emotions such as fear, anger, jealousy etc. leaving positive emotions such as love, peace and happiness. On a physical plane, it has a soothing effect on our nervous system, helps relax the muscles, and is an antidote to reduce stress, depression etc. Shreyas offers a daily Sound Meditation class to all guests at Shreyas as part of their stay.

Mouna
Mouna is an enforced period of silence and is considered an antidote to stress and depression. It is sacred silence time where you still your mind activities by refraining from speaking, and instead spend your time contemplating, meditating or reading spiritual books. For details on our Silent Retreat Package, please click here

Inputs on Yoga: The trained instructors would provide you the background and the scientific rationale behind each and every Yoga processes that is practiced at Shreyas. These interactions are part and parcel of all the Yoga classes. Apart from the physical and therapeutic benefits, you also will understand the emotional and spiritual implications of the same.

Yoga Retreats at Shreyas
If you are looking to spend some time reflecting and connecting with your inner core, we provide a sacred space for you and structure your stay with dedicated yoga classes, rejuvenation and relaxing massages, light, but wholesome vegetarian food, guided meditation sessions, mouna (silence) and karma yoga (working with a selfless attitude) hours. These retreats are designed to help you achieve a better understanding of your self, and hopefully, the role and purpose of your life. For more nformation, please click here

Workshops on Yoga
At Shreyas Yoga Workshops are conducted periodically. Here the application of Yoga philosophy in personal and corporate lives is elaborately discussed across spectrums like Leadership, Wealth Management etc.