Welcome to the new website for 7oga. I’m Mark Robinson and I have had the pleasure of teaching Yoga in basingstoke for over 15 years.
I teach for the Sukha yoga club, a club that has been practising for over 40 years. While most of the faces have changed there are still a few that have many years of membership.
We practise Hatha Yoga. This form of Yoga is considered the root of many types of yoga as the Hatha Yoga Pradipika (a classic textbook) describes the practise.
So what can you expect in a class? this is one of the many questions that I am asked by those new to yoga. The answer is:
- a preparation of the mind
- a preparation of the body (Limbering)
- posture or Asana
- breath control or Pranayama
- meditation or relaxation
Each of these stages lead to the next, although they may sometimes be combined.
The last step, meditation is considered to difficult to be attempted without the former. Sometimes called Raja yoga or royal road meditation allows us to be still, calm and at peace. At one with our thoughts and the universe.
So why do we need the other steps? well if you have ever tried to stop the thoughts in the mind for any length of time well that is why. Our nature is to be thinking about what we need to do, where we are going. Life demands it. What we miss in our constant search for stimulation, personal growth is acceptance of who we are and respect for our own bodies.
