Module 5. Joyful Yoga; Living your Practice

Now is the best time of your life. Don’t wait to be happy!

Yoga offers us a promise. We feel it from the first time we step on a mat. For many of us we’ve forgotten that promise and have gotten into a routine of doing yoga. But the teachings of Tantra and Yoga show us how to use our body, mind, energy, and experience to positively affect our destiny.

We come to yoga because we are seeking something, some change in our lives. Shiva was the first yogi. The word “shiva” means auspiciousness, that which attracts happiness and success. This is what our yoga practice, and life, should bring forth.

Is your yoga practice serving you? How do you know?

Joyful Yoga, Living your Practice helps you find out. Moving yoga off the mat, you become an agent for change in your life. Looking at desire, understanding our purpose, and exploring fulfillment show us who and what we can become. Living your own dharma is life. As more people find the path of personal freedom, the world will become a better place.

We can continue to do and teach yoga as an exercise regime OR we can learn what the tradition offers on a much deeper level. Transform your life and then transform the lives of others. The gift of the teachings can be yours. You can make the world a much better place.

You will leave Joyful Yoga, Living your Practice with a mission statement of your Soul (dharma code) to guide you in the next stages of your journey. This is a powerful course, one you will want to come back to as your life and practice evolve.

The curriculum to support this module includes discussion on:

- methods of self inquiry
- exploring intentions
- visualization
- chanting
- journaling
- deep relaxation (yoga nidra)
- exploring dharma and purpose
- identifying barriers to your personal freedom

Required reading: Art of Joyful Living by Swami Rama