Source http://www.sonima.com/yoga/yoga-articles/yoga-shala/
It is very important to have a connection to a local yoga shala. For one thing, a shala motivates you. You see others practicing and you feel like practicing. When students practice at home, especially beginners, it’s easy to become distracted or to have interruptions. But at a shala, a teacher has created a space to practice with a certain energy. He or she guides the student and, thus, the valuable student-teacher relationship begins.
The student-teacher relationship is well defined in India’s ancient texts and, oftentimes, before we engage in any teachings, we chant the mantra found in the Upanishads:
Om sahana vavatu, sahanau bhunaktu
Saha veeryam karavaa vahai
Tejasvi naa vadhee tamastu maa vidvishaa vahai
Om Shaanti Shaanti Shaantihi
Translation:
May he protect us both (the teacher and the student).
May he nourish us both.
May we both work together with great energy.
May our study be enlightening and fruitful.
May we not hate each other.
Om Peace, Peace, Peace.
Sahana means together and, in this chant, we ask the teacher, together with the student, to maintain a certain calmness or tolerance toward each other. After many years of practice and sadhana, the teacher has certain knowledge, and for a student to grasp that knowledge his or her involvement is very important. It’s as simple as if the teac…
Source http://www.sonima.com/yoga/yoga-articles/yoga-shala/
It is very important to have a connection to a local yoga shala. For one thing, a shala motivates you. You see others practicing and you feel like practicing. When students practice at home, especially beginners, it’s easy to become distracted or to have interruptions. But at a shala, a teacher has created a space to practice with a certain energy. He or she guides the student and, thus, the valuable student-teacher relationship begins.
The student-teacher relationship is well defined in India’s ancient texts and, oftentimes, before we engage in any teachings, we chant the mantra found in the Upanishads:
Om sahana vavatu, sahanau bhunaktu
Saha veeryam karavaa vahai
Tejasvi naa vadhee tamastu maa vidvishaa vahai
Om Shaanti Shaanti Shaantihi
Translation:
May he protect us both (the teacher and the student).
May he nourish us both.
May we both work together with great energy.
May our study be enlightening and fruitful.
May we not hate each other.
Om Peace, Peace, Peace.
Sahana means together and, in this chant, we ask the teacher, together with the student, to maintain a certain calmness or tolerance toward each other. After many years of practice and sadhana, the teacher has certain knowledge, and for a student to grasp that knowledge his or her involvement is very important. It’s as simple as if the teac…
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