Standing on Your Head

Yoga, as a way of life, integrates a series of actions and ideas. The practice begins with the body: a unique physical regimen encompassing countless special poses, motion exercises, breathing exercises, and relaxation techniques..

Another aspect of the yogi's life concerns daily social behavior: etiquette, communication methods, and so on. This latter part is primarily based on yogic philosophy and worldview..

Other aspects of this way of life are connected in one way or another to idolatry, such as: idol worship (using statues, icons, images), repetitive chanting of deity names and sounds (mantras) through mumbling or singing..

One facet of the myriad techniques included in yoga is called "Hatha Yoga," which is the part actually adopted by the West as a standalone practice. Generally, when someone in the Western world says they "practice yoga," they are referring to that part, "Hatha Yoga," which specifically engages the physical side: poses, breathing, relaxation, etc. It can be said that the reason "Hatha Yoga" burst into the Western world and quickly became a widespread personal and therapeutic technique is that yogic practice provides a direct and effective response to pressing issues in modern life: bodily health and maintaining healthy mobility, releasing tension in the body and soul, all while entering a state of deep relaxation and calming the mind..

What is "Hatha Yoga"??

According to yoga philosophy, there are two primary forces in the human energetic realm: Ha and Tha. Ha - the sun's force, warmth, and Tha - the moon's force, cold. ("Yin and Yang" in the language of Chinese medicine).. The practice and treatment in yoga create balance and harmonious flow of these life forces in the practitioner's body. When a state of balance and proper flow in the energetic level is achieved, it leads to mental and cognitive balance – expressed in an overall feeling of pleasantness and calm. Thought becomes more focused and tranquil, less jumpy and intrusive. The practice is conducted through body poses that the practitioner learns to perform. Guided breathing into the poses. Learning deep breathing techniques and special breath exercises, and finally, profound relaxation beginning from the body and transitioning to conscious and mental layers..

The "magic" in practice is that it works almost instantly - the positive impact can be felt from the very first session. Additionally, every practitioner takes from the practice what they mainly need. On the physical layer – health, proper movement, spine, joints, and more. On the mental layer – tension release, calming, and relaxation. On the cognitive/conscious layer – a calm consciousness – a wonderful opening for a new state of awareness and creating change through self-observation..

It's worth noting that the use of "Hatha Yoga" as a therapeutic tool is very common in Israel and worldwide and is used with a regular adult population, in work with children and teens, the elderly, mental health patients, recovering addicts, and people with special needs..

What is "Our Yoga"??

King David said in Psalms - "Who is the man that desires life, loving days to see good... Turn from evil and do good, seek peace and pursue it." In "Our Yoga," there is an attempt to answer the intent of the verse. First of all, we try to turn from evil. The desire is to allow the Jewish public in Israel and the world the use of this wonderful therapeutic tool that the Creator kindly gave us, in a person's personal journey to their purpose or as a powerful and effective aid tool for someone who needs help. "Turn from evil" in this matter is actually simple and practical. Any component included in the original yoga doctrine that does not align with the spirit of Judaism is not used as a therapeutic tool in "Our Yoga": use of mantras of Indian deities' names and all that falls under idolatry on one hand, and transferring the practice to suit the Jewish spiritual path through separating men and women, adhering to modest dress, and keeping the practitioner in a pure and distraction-free environment that does not harm the practice and therapy's effectiveness on the other hand..

After removing obstacles, we approach the "do good" stage, which is actually the main component of the "ours" in "Our Yoga." We've found through experience that yoga practice can be of great benefit and substantial assistance in developing the "observing force" in the psyche. As mentioned above, "Hatha Yoga" practice leads to a special state of consciousness. The correct physical movements, directed breathing, relaxation, and focusing of consciousness, along with the energetic balance created by the practice, prepare a person and create a suitable foundation to enter a state of consciousness we call "meditation" (or in yoga terms, meditation)..

Meditation According to Judaism

The ability of a person to develop their "observing power" is of enormous importance to their spiritual development. Moreover, it can be said that becoming a meditative person is actually – a spiritual birth. Why??

King David says, "Man and beast you save, Hashem." Does King David mean – save me and my cow, Hashem?... King David teaches us the wonderful human complexity within each of us: man and beast. "A divine portion from above," an eternal soul by its essence,, within a physical human body: flesh and blood. The name of the human teaches: man from "earth" on the one hand, and on the other hand – "likeness to the Most High." The Torah describes man's creation—"And Hashem God formed man, dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life." The Creator took a piece of earth and breathed into it a divine soul. What did he breathe? our sages ask, and they answer - he breathed from himself! – he gave from what he is - a divine portion from above. Within each of us are these two opposing essences that have joined and become one. The question arises as to which of the forces within a person will be more dominant: the divine soul within them or the animal body??

The Animal Part

A significant trait in the animal part of a person is the absence of choice. The animal part operates according to the traits embedded in it by nature, just as any beast in nature operates by its nature without the ability to choose between good and evil: a cat that preys on a mouse is not an evil cat! It's a cat and that's its nature..

The Spiritual Part

The trait of the soul in a person – choice! As we say in the morning prayer "Man's advantage over the beast is none, except for the pure soul choosing: the human ability to choose the good and act against nature and above nature, belongs to that part of a person whose source and root is entirely spiritual – "a divine portion from above." In order to activate the power of choice, a person must first stop their natural action and observe reality. As long as a person operates in the "natural" way, their response to the people around them, to life's events, and to their thoughts is essentially constant and ingrained in their soul. Unconsciously,, there are fixed thought and action patterns standing ready to react to any external or internal occurrence. As long as a person has not awakened themselves to change through observing themselves, they are still in the "animal" stage of examination, the automatic, natural mechanism at work within them. Spiritual birth means – the cessation of uncontrolled and directionless behavior and the beginning of a purposeful, redirected path back to the root.. "Observation means the start of internal dialogue between the conscious and subconscious human being and the new birth of a person living and responding to the world out of choice rather than automatic, uncontrolled, and aimless behavior. The ability to choose is the ability to ask oneself at every moment what is the right thing to do at this moment? What will be the thought or speech or action that will help me at this moment be a person, more correctly, more closely aligned with my essence – the divine essence of which I am composed – and act as such in daily life?.

Climbing the Steps of Spirit

On the way to the spiritual level of action through choice, we must take two preparatory steps: first – stopping! Stopping the impulsive, "natural" reaction. Second- observation! – the mental, emotional, and intellectual capability to examine reality with a true gaze whenever possible and thereby choose the correct movement. A person seeking to enter a reality of "observation as a way of life" will find "Hatha Yoga" a wonderful aid and actual assistance in creating "fertile ground" to cultivate the measure of the observer within their soul..

The Daily Benefit in Observation

Through work, practice, and attention, the "observing power" is born and develops within a person.. Can this power yield real benefit? To answer this question, one must deeply understand what the phrase means: everything depends on the eye of the beholder. Three people gaze at a sunset; in each heart, a thought,, do all observers see the same sunset? -"How romantic, what a wonderful backdrop for the upcoming film!" -"One can see how polluted the air is by the haze breaking the sun's rays" -"Blessed be His name forever- The wonders of creation - how amazing!" The eyes, the same eyes, the sunset the same sunset - but each observer sees a different reality! How? Reality is a result of the eyes viewing it - and to be precise – reality is the fruit of the wisdom behind the eyes viewing it. Dressing reality in the right thoughts, the gaze depends on the wisdom of the observer, depends on knowledge. Knowledge is the key to dressing reality with content. The part that is "ours" in the teacher training program in "Our Yoga" at the Alima College is – wisdom, knowledge.

The wisdom of Kabbalah and Chassidut is the mother of all wisdoms as they are. Tremendous wisdom, exalted and infinite, touches the root of the entire being, details reality in detail, and shines in a marvelous light of profound understanding of all reality..

The wisdom of Kabbalah and Chassidut illuminates through the eye of the observer and provides a basic and deep understanding of the reality in which he views - the human soul, processes of thought and emotion, societal processes, and the world as a whole. It exposes each detail in its true and precise root. Through the deep knowledge contained within it, reality can be seen in its entirety, both spiritual and physical, as different expressions of the same ten spiritual forces, the ten building blocks – called "the ten sefirot" - Crown, Wisdom, Understanding,, Kindness, Severity, Beauty, Victory, Splendor, Foundation, and Kingdom. What is the role of each force, and how will each force be manifested in matter and spirit.

The combination of sharp, effective, and available observing ability with comprehensive, true, and rooted knowledge brings a person to a high mental-spiritual state, serving as a wonderful helping tool for a person in their journey to realize their powers and the root of their being. Any wisdom that is not precise enough, does not go down to details, or does not encompass all parts of being will provide the observer with an incomplete picture and prevent them from obtaining a true understanding of the subject of their observation. Knowledge that is inaccurate or unfounded may not only fail to help but perhaps even create confusion, inaccurate understanding, and false conclusions for action. No matter how good and effective the observing ability of a person may be, without knowledge and wisdom to illuminate and explain reality in a true and correct light, the observation tool will become extremely poor and sometimes even harmful.

In conclusion, "Our Yoga" enables the use of those basic physical techniques of movement, breathing, and relaxation derived from "Hatha Yoga" as a highly effective therapeutic tool for mental and physical health, stress relief for general relaxation and preventive medicine, for both self and the treated individual. Additionally, it serves as fertile ground for developing the "observing power" within the human soul, which, when properly combined with the wonderful wisdom, the wisdom of Kabbalah and Chassidut, constitutes an accessible, powerful, and effective spiritual ladder for anyone journeying towards their inner roots.