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YogaHatha yoga is a very popular form of exercise, originating from India. The body is held in various traditional postures, stretching the ligaments and thereby leading to greater flexibility and increased well-being. In the West, this has become the whole point of yoga, but in the East yoga is much more than an exercise system. It is a mystical, spiritual union of body and mind, leading ultimately to union with God. There are many forms of yoga, of which Hatha Yoga is only one. Yoga works with the breath also, since breathwork is believed to bring the practitioner into harmony with the universe. Yoga means 'union', and Hatha means 'sun and moon' - this particular form of yoga, therefore, seeks to unite these two polarities of life, in order to experience transcendental oneness. Hatha yoga affects not only the physical body, but also the energy body surrounding and enveloping the physical one. This energy body contains seven power points known as chakras - spinning energy centres forming a natural mystic ladder up which the yogi must climb in order to achieve enlightenment. Yoga teaches that yoga can awaken a spiritual energy known as kundalini, which normally lies sleeping in a coiled snake formation at the base of the spine. As kundalini energy awakens, it travels up the spinal cord, touching and awakening each of the chakras in turn. Only when it reaches the highest and most spiritual chakra, the sahasrara chakra, is the yogi fully enlightened and free from limitations of time and space - experiencing supreme bliss.
Tai ChiTai Chi Chuan, more commonly known in the West just as Tai Chi, is a Chinese martial art which embodies the paradoxical principles of Taoism - that the secret to greath strength is softness. Tai Chi uses the power of relaxation, rather than force, to overcome an opponent. Most westerners practice Tai Chi for its health and spiritual benefits, rather than as a means of self-defence. It was invented by monks, and can be used as a form of moving meditation. Tai Chi practitioners slowly move their relaxed bodies in carefully prescribed ways so that each position flows effortlessly from the one before. The main aim of Tai Chi is to be as fluid as a mountain stream yet as rooted as an old tree. By relaxing and pacifying the body, Tai Chi also relaxes the mind. Tai Chi not only exercises the muscles and internal organs of the physical body, but energies the subtle body that surrounds it too. Great Masters of Tai Chi are said to be able to manipulate this invisible 'ch'i' energy in fantastic ways, as if by magic. At its deepest level, Tai Chi is a spiritual practice, the goal of which is to achieve oneness with the Tao. Although practitioners may look as though they are carefully controlling their actions, the aim is to be so relaxed as to have the movements flow effortlessly through the body. In this way, practitioners can achieve the Taoist goal of spontaneous action known as 'wu wei'. For more information, visit the Yoga Videos, Gifts and Kits or Tai Chi Videos, Gifts and Kits sections in the new age shop.
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