Universal Yoga Mandala
Date: March 2 (Saturday)
Duration: 1 - 4pm
WHAT IS UNIVERSAL YOGA MANDALA?
There are different methods in Yoga to reach a well-balanced state: Mantra Yoga (hearing sense), Yantra Yoga (vision sense), and Tantra Yoga (touch sense through asana). The Universal Yoga Mandala method joins these three types of yoga together in one practice increasing the effectiveness of the practice on all possible levels.
Regular practice of Universal Yoga and Mandala in particular will change your life. You will be more conscious, leading you to a state of inner happiness. You will learn to use samadhi (equality) state of your consciousness in future as a result of your self-control. The yoga will be done by you not only on your mat mat at every moment of your life, perfecting a mastership of your existence.
WHAT TO EXPECT
Discover the full effects of dynamic, intelligent asana sequencing combined with pranayama, mudra, mantra, and visualizations.
Deepen your practice in the most profound way as you experience the effect that true balance can create in the body, mind and spirit!
PREREQUISITES
Duriation: 3 hours
Equipment: 2 mats (if you do not have a second mat you can rent it from SolarYou Yoga studio)
Practice level: suitable for those with 3-5 months yoga experience outside of SolarYou Yoga or 2+ months of practicing Universal Yoga Cross Mat at SolarYou Yoga. Sequence is for practitioners of beginner-to-intermediate level.
ABOUT ALEX ROSENBLUM
Alex has made a career combining his two passions - yoga and fitness - to help students challenge their notions of what they call impossible. His unique perspective combines years of practice, study, and teaching of both authentic Himalayan yoga and western fitness. That personal devotion to practice and study is clear in every class he teaches. Alex specializes in intermediate and advanced yoga classes, armbalance and inversion workshops, and Bootcamp and HIIT-style circuit training. He has amassed over 1000 hours of professional yoga training, 500 directly under Lama Andrey Lappa, the founder of Universal Yoga. Alex is certified 500 RYT, RCYT, YACEP and 200 E-RYT through Yoga Alliance, as well as a certified Personal Trainer and Group Fitness Instructor through ACE. He also holds numerous specialty fitness certifications- including certification as Total Body Tabata™ Instructor, a certified TRX Trainer, a Functional Range Conditioning® Mobility Specialist, and a Corrective Exercise Specialist in the BioMechanics Method. Additionally, Alex is a Certified Holistic Nutritionist with a certificate in Plant-based Nutrition.
WHAT IS UNIVERSAL YOGA?
Universal yoga is a powerful yoga system designed by world-renowned yoga master Andrey Lappa for the purpose of spiritual liberation.
The word yoga can mean many things. One of the meanings of the word yoga is balance. Patanjali tells us it is the practice of quieting the mind (Sutra 1.2). When we practice Universal Yoga we work purposefully to create balance in order to facilitate this quiet- balance in our physical bodies- between the left and right sides to make them even, but also balance and harmony within ourselves, and between ourselves and the world we live in. We do this by working with layers of the body- the mayakoshas. “Kosha” means ‘sheath’ or ‘shell’; We can imagine these sheaths like shades draped on a lamp – they affect the light cast out. ‘Who we are’ is made up of these shades- how they affect the internal light is mixed together to make up our life and our reality. Underneath all of this- all the maya- is pure light. In the Universal Yoga system we first use the practices to create balance within each of the 7 individual koshas – for example the emotional level, the energetic level, or the karmic level. Then we can begin to create balance between the koshas, and then between ourselves and everything else.
It is easy to look at physical exercise and see the results- we become more flexible, or our muscles get stronger. This is because it is the outermost shell of our being- the anna-mayakosha- the easiest to see with our eyes. But Universal Yoga practices serve the other shells in the same way that you can see physical workouts improve your physical body
Universal Yoga works through each individual layer, resulting in your inner light shining brighter and more clearly. Universal Yoga does this by working with more than just physical asana (pose). The focus of the class is not simply the poses. Just as physical work can develop your physical muscle, the Universal Yoga system works to develop your deeper koshas through specific practice and intention. Using two mats stacked on top of each other, and turning through space in the class, the asana practice forms a geographic mandala that becomes a meditation in itself. The Universal Yoga Teacher will use yantras (visualizations), mantras (chants), turns in space, orientation changes, asana, vinyasas (movement with breath), pranayama (breath and energy work), and other yoga tools to help students develop their own sadhana (practice) and cultivate vairagya (detachment) to reach Dharana (steady attention) and Dhyana (deep expanded awareness) and eventually an empty state of consciousness.
When a yoga practice becomes more than ‘just asana’- you begin to see results in the way you exist in the world- your ability to see your emotions more clearly, your ability to concentrate, your creativity, and your compassion. Your inner light shines through.