Four Pillars of Yoga

Yoga for All

In life questions are countless, but the answer is Yoga. Yoga is

not confined to just doing exercise or some asana you perform in

a yoga class. It is a balanced approach and a practice that is

inclusive of many aspects of one’s day-to-day routine. We at the

Institute emphasise AVAV. The foundation pillars which keeps life

and self-rooted.  When all four are well taken care of, one can

govern everyday life better and pave the path to holistic

health. Let’s take a closer look-

Ahar or Yogic Diet

“Diet” plays an important role. It is said that 'as you eat, so shall

you become'. The food we eat affects the physical and mental

condition. A proper understanding of the philosophies of eating

is crucial. Briefly, there are three categories of food in

Yoga- Rajasic foods, tamasic foods and Sattvic foods

Rajasic foods -They are usually hot, spicy, pungent, sour and salty.

Rajasic foods excite the senses, agitate the mind, arouse anger,

passion and restlessness.  A rajasic diet stimulates

an overactive mind.

Tamasic foods- Overcooked foods, leftovers, stale foods such

as meat, fish, mushrooms, alcohol, fermented foods, pastries,

cakes etc. such foods dull the mind and senses. A tamasic diet

induces sluggishness, lethargy and laziness.

Sattvic foods- A sattvic diet generally consists of fresh, organic

seasonal fruits, green vegetables, whole grains, nuts, dairy products

such as milk and ghee, beans, lentils, plant-based oils, mildly

sweet foods honey, molasses, coriander, ginger and turmeric etc.

foods. The food is freshly cooked, nutritive, and easy to digest.

Diet is fibre rich and pleasant in taste to eat.  This type of food is

favoured and highly recommended for the yoga practitioners.

A balanced sattvic diet aids the cause of holistic health

and calms the mind.

Vichar or Thoughts/ Thinking

Like the thought, so the mind- Thinking is the deal maker

or breaker. Thought and Breathe are intimately connected. Yogis

discovered this long ago and devised pranayama techniques to

regulate the thought process in a positive direction. Yogendra Ji

simplified difficult pranayamas so that everyone and the
commonman could easily do it. Recommended -
Yogendra Pranayama I, II, III and IV can be
safely practised by everyone.

Achar or Daily Conduct/Routines

Our daily conduct with the external world – which is, in fact, the

first step of the 8-fold path i.e. Yamas – Ahimsa (non-violence),

Satya (Truth), Asteya (non-stealing), Brahmacharya (moderation in

seeking pleasures), Aparigraha (non-stealing).

Get up early and go to bed on time. Stick to regular exercise or

Yoga asana. Walking is the best form of gentle exercise and yoga

asana practice enhanced the vital capacity.

Yoga Warm-ups exercises

Head and Neck exercises: Gently, as you inhale, allow your head

to drop towards your left shoulder without lifting the shoulder.

Exhaling, bring it back to the centre.  Repeat on left side. Inhaling,

tilt the head back without moving the shoulders. Gaze upward and

backwards at the ceiling. Exhaling, bring the head down towards

the throat, tucking the chin into the throat cavity. Inhaling,

return to the centre. Rotate neck gently in clockwise and

anti-clockwise direction.

Shoulders: Keep the hands by the sides. Inhaling, lift the

shoulders as high up as possible, towards the

ears, to form a “cup”. Exhaling, relax the shoulders.  

Hands: Clasp the hands in front of the chest; intertwining the

fingers and palms facing the chest. Inhaling, stretch them outwards,

parallel to the floor. Exhaling, bring them close to the chest.  Variation

while stretching the hands, turn the palms out, away from the chest.

Elbows: Raise both the arms in front, at shoulder level. Inhale.

Exhaling, bend the elbows and touch the shoulder with fingers.  

Inhaling, straighten the arms again. Keep repeating few times.

Wrists: Raise arms in front, at shoulder level. Close the fingers and

rotate the fist–clockwise and then anti-clockwise

Trunk: Stand straight, with feet 24 inches apart with hands on the waist.

Gazing straight ahead, slowly bend the trunk to the right, inhaling.  

Keep the hips and legs fixed, only curve the spine. Exhaling

return to the centre. Repeat to the left.

Knees: Stand erect, gazing straight ahead. Tighten the knees

and then relax it, alternately.

Ankles: Slowly rotate the right ankle clockwise and then

anti-clockwise. Repeat for the left ankle.

Pranayama: All can safely do

Yogendra Pranayama I, II, III, IV and VII

Recommended yoga asana – Pravatasana,

Yastikasana and Talasana

Relaxation Techniques- Shavasana and

Nispandabhava for emotional composure

Vihar or Recreation

Mental wellbeing is critical to overall physical health.

The inclusion of recreational activities in daily

routine helps to manage stress. Taking time to nurture one’s

self, delivers a sense of balance and poise,

this directly contributes to reducing daily anxiety and depression.

Cultivate a hobby, play board games (snakes and ladder etc.),

tell jokes etc.

Yoga is all-inclusive and for everyone. Yoga is more for the mind

and not the shapely figure as interpreted by most yoga novices.

It’s an art of living well and in a holistic way. So be it on the yoga

mat or off the yoga mat aim for a balanced state of mind.