Janmastami Magazine article: Atma Yoga

As you may have noticed, I'm a little short on words these days. Here's an article that I whipped up for the upcoming Janmastami magazine here in Brisbane. I would have like more time to rewrite and edit it, but anyway - life is short.

In the heart of Brisbane city since 2004, Atma Yoga offers guests a yoga class, dinner and dessert five nights a week. Additionally Brisbanites can attend discussions on philosophy, join a study group reading Bhagavad-gita, or participate in a kirtan (devotional singing) session.

Atma means the body, the mind, the soul, and the Supersoul. Yoga means to unite. When all four of these are united, the perfection of human existence is achieved - integrated life: fully human and fully spiritual.

At Atma Yoga we provide people with the knowledge, the tools, and the support to do this.

Atma Yoga was opened by Param Satya devi dasi, Sitapati das, and Acyuta Bhava devi dasi in October 2004, intially in a space opposite Govindas in Elizabeth St. In March of 2005 the new yoga studio opened at 233 Albert St, above Rocking Horse records.

Unique among yoga schools in Brisbane, Atma offers yoga students a full vegetarian meal after every class. "Yoga is so much more than simply a set of physical exercises. It is a complete lifestyle, and at Atma we strive to offer the whole experience of that to guests," says Sitapati.

During the week there are lunchtime and evening yoga classes in the studio space, as well as philosophical programs in the Atma lounge. On Saturday evenings the Atma staff hold "Krishnafest", a program where they share the spiritual tradition from which they derive their practice and teachings. This is the tradition of Gaudiya Vaishnavism - inaugurated by the great teacher and incarnation of Godhead Sri Krishna Caitanya of Nadia in the 16th century, and handed down from teacher to student over the last 500 years.

The basic teaching of this tradition is that we are not this body. Rather the body is a vehicle for our soul, which is an eternal unit of consciousness and exists in a pure relationship with the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This relationship can be uncovered through a lifestyle of purification and especially by the practice of chanting the maha-mantra: "Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare / Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare".

In the ancient Vaisnava scripture, Srimad Bhagavatam, the great sage Narada Muni explains to King Yuddhistira:

"By good behavior and freedom from envy one should counteract sufferings due to other living entities, by meditation in trance one should counteract sufferings due to providence, and by practicing haṭha-yoga, prāṇāyāma and so forth one should counteract sufferings due to the body and mind." (Srimad Bhagavatam 7.15.24)

Hatha Yoga, the practice of physical yoga asanas is beneficial for all people today. Our modern bodies are frequently chronically sick and uncomfortable. The body is the vehicle of the soul. Without good health, higher thinking is difficult, for two reasons: with ill health or bodily discomfort you are distracted and you are disturbed.

Practicing yoga asanas under guidance also helps to train you to control your mind with your intelligence, to direct your senses according to a higher plan. Our body and our mind are instruments of self realization, or instruments of bewilderment, depending on whether they are correctly used, or simply abused.

Our diet affects our health, including our strength and flexibility, two things that yoga asanas increase. We are what we eat. Processed, denaturalised, and recombined foods and vegetables grown in mineral-depleted soils using pesticides and chemical fertilizers disrupt the hormonal balance of the body and create the present paradox of overweight people suffering from malnutrition. Neither the body nor the mind function properly in this state. It becomes difficult for such a person to correctly assess the priorities of the human form of life. When this bodily situation is combined with our present information-overload society narrowly focused on consumption and economic growth, a person is easily bewildered and lost.

Aside from the ingredients, most people have neither the knowledge nor the time to be able to prepare themselves nutritious and delicious meals.

At Atma Yoga we provide people with healthy, nutritious food prepared with a spirit of love. We cook every night and also provide cooking classes to help guests to learn to do the same. We don't serve meat because Krishna doesn't recommend this as food for civilized human beings. It may be eaten in emergency situations, but otherwise it lowers the consciousness of the eater, and increases the amount of suffering on the planet. How do we think we will avoid suffering while causing unnecessary suffering for others?

Prior to this, Narada Muni states: "By discussing spiritual knowledge one can conquer lamentation and illusion".

The Atma Yoga lounge exists for discussing spiritual topics, and especially the knowledge contained in sacred texts such as Bhagavad-gita and Srimad Bhagavatam.

For more information on program times and the Atma Yoga center visit the Atma Yoga website at www.atmayoga.com.au.