Yoga for BLISS!

Ananda is a Sanskrit word that means “Bliss.” Ananda-style sadhana is a spiritual practice, based on the teachings of Paramhansa Yogananda and his disciple Swami Kriyananda. Ananda-style sadhana is a holistic practice that includes physical, mental, and spiritual techniques. Its primary goal is to prepare the body and mind for deeper meditation and to raise one's consciousness to the spiritual eye, the center of higher awareness. Ananda-style sadhana begins with Yogananda’s Energization Exercises, followed by Hatha yoga postures to open and magnetize the spine, direct prana into the chakras and up the astral spine to the spiritual eye. Each yoga posture is paired with a positive affirmation, mentally repeated, that imbibes the spiritual quality represented by the pose. By mentally affirming the positive affirmation in each pose, we learn to unite body, mind, and spirt and to consciously direct prana in a positive direction up the astral spine to the spiritual eye, the center of super consciousness, where we can experience our blissful, divine nature as spiritual beings of light. We end with a short meditation, healing prayers, and the peace and harmony prayer for the world.