faqs

Yoga comes from the root ‘yuj’, which means to yoke or unite. Yoga refers to a set of holistic body-mind-spirit practices that help us to achieve peace of mind regardless of the condition of our physical bodies, the weight of our past traumas, and the limitations of our present life circumstances.

Yoga is a scientific means by which an individual realizes the Truth of unity that pervades all creatures, all things, and all of existence.

Yoga does not have to be undertaken blindly or with faith (although the higher we climb up the mountain, the more belief is of benefit). Like every science, yoga enables us to methodically study ourselves through observation and experimentation. Yoga is experiential; to experience it, all you need to do is practice. The word practice entails that no two days are guaranteed to be the same.

In yoga, the path is not linear, but the mean line on the graph does trend upwards.

Because it encapsulates the philosophy behind the wide range of what 7YGH hopes to achieve as it grows.

• 7 stands for the 7 stages of knowledge, the 7 states of consciousness, and is the number of inner wisdom and spiritual awakening.

• Yoga comes from the root ‘yuj’, which means to yoke or unite. Yoga refers to a set of holistic body-mind-spirit practices that help us to achieve peace of mind regardless of the condition of our physical bodies, the weight of our past traumas, and the limitations of our present life circumstances.

• House is a place that offers shelter. It is a safe space for shared human activity and cohabitation.

The order of these 3 words is precise; yoga falls in between the words 7 and House, because the act (and state) of yoga acts as the bridge between 7 (enlightenment, transcendence, spiritual wisdom) and House (embodiment, the physical realm, our material lives).

Transcend to embody is the tagline of 7 Yoga House. It means a lot of things. Mostly, it refers to the two big themes in yogic practice—transcendence and embodiment. Often these two seem to run contrary to each other; transcendence seems to indicate leaving the body behind while embodiment seems to be about a fixation on how one lives in the physical body.

The purpose of practicing yoga for many schools is to transcend the mind and this is often achieved by first mastering the body. So, in most schools of yogic thought, the notion is that you embody yogic practices and values with the eventual goal of transcending the physical body and achieving enlightenment. Our philosophy doesn’t necessarily contradict these lines of thought; it expands them.

We believe that we seek transcendence or enlightenment for the purposes of embodiment; that it is through the spiritual experience that we discover our values and attain knowledge. In fact, we feel that without having this experience of transcendence, it is very difficult (if not impossible) to know how to live well or properly (that is, with general health and happiness) in the world. In other words, we think that the attainment of this experience, this knowledge, this enlightenment, is not for the purposes of escaping the world but of learning how to live in it. Most importantly, we believe that the ultimate purpose of the attainment of this higher knowledge is to share it with the world and to use it in service to others so as to make the world a better, more interconnected place.

𓂃 We receive knowledge (transcend) to share it with others (embody).

𓂃 Through yogic practices, we exercise our willpower to move beyond perceived limitations of physical, mental, & emotional capability (transcend) to experience greater health & energy (embody).

𓂃 We seek peace of mind (transcend) because peace of mind entails improvement of our relationships (embody)—with ourselves (body, mind, spirit), with those around us, and with the world at large.

Transcendence, or enlightenment, means different things to different people. It wears many masks. It manifests itself in many ways. There is no one way of being that can be branded as having achieved transcendence or enlightenment. Only one thing is for certain: transcendence is a deeply personal matter, and it can only be known by the self.

Systematic approaches like yoga show us that transcendence happens incrementally and that like the law of gravity and in essence, what goes up must come down.

Ultimately, transcendence is a matter of perspective—to the person on the first step of a staircase, the second step is a state of transcending the first, whereas for the person on the second step of a staircase, the third step represents transcendence.

The Yoga of Synthesis, also known as Integral Yoga, was the philosophy prescribed by Swami Sivananda Saraswati (1887 - 1963) for rapid spiritual progress. It is a holistic approach to health and wellness that treats the individual as a whole being. The Yoga of Synthesis advocates for the integration of the main 4 paths of yoga into an individual’s daily life:

1. Karma Yoga, or the yoga of action, which helps us understand how to perform activity and behave in the world.

2. Bhakti Yoga, or the yoga of devotion, which helps us open up our hearts through practices such as (but not limited to): self-surrender, mantra, kirtan (call-and-response singing of mantra), prayer, tending to an altar, poetry.

3. Raja Yoga, or the yoga of psychic control, helps us to conquer the mind and body through embodied practices. In modern times, this term has been equated with Patanjali’s Ashtanga Yoga, which includes the practices of ethics (Yamas & Niyamas), physical postures (Asana), breath (Pranayama), withdrawal of the senses (Pratyahara), and concentration & meditation (Dhyana & Dharana). For the purposes of the newsletter, I cotsider Hatha Yoga, Kundalini Yoga, Mantra Yoga, and Ashtanga Yoga as subsets of the larger category of Raja Yoga.

4. Jnana Yoga, or the yoga of knowledge, which helps us to find clarity of purpose through inquiry into the nature of the Self and Reality. This inquiry entails learning right knowledge from verifiable sources, reflecting on the knowledge acquired, and assimilating it seamlessly into daily life.