Francesca Marchi School of Yoga
satyanandayoga tradition
YOGA
An ancient and still living tradition
Today yoga is a globally recognized system, but what is meant by the purpose, principles and focus of yoga in the classical and traditional sense? From the beginning, the focus of the yogic tradition has actually been to overcome suffering and imbalance in life, in order to settle into the experience of peace, creativity and harmony. This has been seen in yogic tradition and teachings throughout the centuries and millennia.
Yoga can be divided into three distinct periods: an initial period, the time of Shiva; an intermediate period, the time of Patanjali and others; and the current period of re-emergence of yoga in the last hundred years.
Sages, Masters and Rishis have focused on the means of overcoming or transcending suffering
in life.
The original yogis of the first period were reclassified and renamed as raja yoga, karma yoga, bhakti yoga, jnana yoga, hatha yoga, kriya yoga and kundalini yoga by this second group of masters. These rishis and sages also wrote the classical texts and books that are referred to today and Patanjali with his Yoga Sutras will be able to define the path of Yoga in a synthetic and hermetic way.
In the nineteenth century, when yoga re-emerged, the tradition began to be integrated and spoken of in a language understandable to society and the great contemporary Masters emerged.
Swami Vivekananda, remote Himalayan yogi called Babaji and the lineage of his followers Sri Yukteshwar, Lahiri Mahashaya and Paramahamsa Yogananda.
Contemporary with them were Ramana Maharishi and Anandamayi who followed the paths of jnana yoga and bhakti yoga respectively. Around the 1920s and 1930s, a hatha yoga tradition emerged and evolved from Mysore in southern India, was revived by Krishnamacharya and carried forward by Desikachar and Iyengar.
SATYANANDA YOGA
Our tradition
Our tradition begins with Swami Shivananda Saraswati who initiated Swami Satyananda Saraswati into the secrets of yoga. The satyananda yoga tradition is the system of Yoga developed and expounded by Swami Satyananda Saraswati and his successor Swami Niranjanananda Saraswati based on the texts and teachings of the Samkhya, Vedanta, Yoga and Tantra traditions that come through the ancient lineage of sannyasa.
This tradition includes the classical systems of Hata Yoga, Raja, Karma, Bhakti, Jnana, Mantra, Kryia, Kundalini
and other branches of Yoga based on ancient traditions.
It is rooted in traditional wisdom and teachings refined and re-evaluated by a Master to meet current needs. It's a living tradition,
Satyananda Yoga provides a solid, systematic and step-by-step approach based on safety and common sense. Satyananda yoga classes are currently conducted all over the world, in hospitals, schools, universities, community centers, government offices, sports institutions, prisons and physical and mental rehabilitation centers.
Through regular practice, students experience greater stability, peace, strength, health and well-being. Stress, worries and anxiety are often the result of a lifestyle focused on past or future events and largely out of contact with the reality of the present.
Yoga practice awakens awareness and channels the self-therapeutic forces of the body, mind, emotions and spirit. Yoga is sometimes translated as the state of being aware, of being awake. The lessons follow a gradual progression allowing students to assimilate the effects safely, one step at a time, making yoga accessible and beneficial for everyone.
TRADITION
The essence of every tradition is continuity. This is the only reason that can give birth to a Tradition. To begin to understand this the only thing we can do is observe Nature. Some of the most beautiful examples of Tradition can be discovered in Nature. The Planets, the seasons, the plant, mineral, animal Kingdoms and humans are all governed by their own sets of norms and rules. Nature has given us this in the form of Tradition. These rules will never change.
The purpose of a Tradition is to convey practical knowledge. Everything we know today about ourselves and the world we live in is only thanks to
traditions formulated through the ages by different civilizations. So we can still see the different traditions that exist in the world even today.
Traditions contribute to the stability of life.
Through stability, growth ensues, societies evolve and cultures flourish.
New discoveries are made and difficulties overcome. This stability is demonstrated in the tradition of Nature. It would have been impossible for human beings to reach the level of realization if Nature had been erratic and capricious in its traditions.
The correct term in Sanskrit by tradition is "parampara". This word places emphasis on continuity. It literally means that what was the present yesterday, is here now and will continue to exist tomorrow.
Swami Satsangananda Saraswati