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Physically demanding and often practiced by those who have experienced other styles, Ashtanga yoga has a series of demanding postures which students work through, moving from one pose to the next.

These sequences build stamina, increase flexibility and strengthen the whole body. Heat is generated within the body as the student moves through the range and this heat leads to cleansing which in turn increases circulation and sweating.

Ashtanga is often referred to as ‘Power Yoga’ and is not recommended for beginners due to the demands of the poses. For those who are physically strong and flexible or who have experience within yoga and who may be looking for a fresh challenge, then it is advisable to seek professional instruction.

Ashtanga yoga needs a great deal of focus and concentration as the students move through the postures, so it is imperative that a teacher is on hand to guide the student into the correct position and so that bad habits are not formed in the early stages. It is very easy for students to not fully understand the exact position they are supposed to be in, and a teacher will be able to spot any minor mistakes which could have a negative impact on the student’s progression.

To the onlooker, Ashtanga yoga can seem a beautiful carefully selected sequence of extreme and difficult postures, strength and flexibility is required throughout the session. Students should focus on the breathing throughout as this will help prepare the body for the different moves. For every movement, one breath is taken.

As in any yoga class it is important that the mind is kept controlled and focused, as concentration will help the student to progress within each movement and achieve maximum benefits. In Ashtanga yoga, the student has to master every step before proceeding to the next and the theory behind this diligent practice is that the student’s mind should be purified through careful progression through the eight essential steps.

As this discipline is so very powerful, it would be attractive to those who seek an absolute challenge, enjoy intense physicality and who have much energy and inquiring minds.

Like all styles, regular practice is best and early morning practice sessions are recommended. Sessions can be tailored to suit busy modern lifestyles however, and the most important aspect is that regular practice ensues. Students reap the rewards of dedicated practice sessions quite quickly and within a very short space of time, those around will begin to notice some changes to the student’s demeanor and physique.

Renewed confidence and energy levels are quite common as is an increased ability to handle stress. Quite often, students appear radiant, poised and calm. Focus for work projects increases as does concentration levels. Providing the student is careful and pays attention to the teacher during the class, the benefits of Ashtanga yoga are far–reaching.
 

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A cure for cancer exists through the use of yoga, a San Antonio, Texas, cancer specialist said during a seminar in Oklahoma City in the 1980s.

But physicians refused to acknowledge the cure, said Col. Hansa Raval, M.D., a pathologist with the United States Army. Dr. Raval said her work in cytotechnology; a diagnostic branch of medicine designed to pinpoint early stages of cancer was fruitless until she began researching the use of non-conventional methods of treatment.

The specialist said she witnessed the use of Raja yoga and meditation cure crippling arthritis, headaches and even cancer.

And even though Raval offers proof, which she said was collected during two years of study at the Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual University in India, she has been dismissed by other members of the medical profession as a kook.

Yoga's success as a treatment method is due to another hypothesis Raval proposes that 98 percent of all cancer is psychosomatic.

This is not chanting or mantra reciting, the physician said. It's not based on scriptures. It's not a cult. It's not biofeedback. It's deeper than that. This is a full-proof method of meditation, a detailed understanding of what the soul is.

Raval maintains that medical schools belittle the study of non-conventional methods of cancer treatment in favor of conventional methods such as radiation, chemotherapy, and treatment through machines.'

Medical schools teach students that the human being is only a body. But the mind has the power to cure the body. By definition, psychosomatic means a combination of mind, or soul and body.

The soul creates the disease, but the body suffers. If the psyche creates the disease, the only way to cure it is through the psyche. It's a very simple formula: treating the seed of the problem.

Further, studies in parapsychology all point to the treatment of illness through treatment of the soul.

The World Spiritual University, which has branches in 30 countries, teaches peace and perfection for health and happiness through the use of Raja yoga. The university gained status as a non-governmental member of the United Nations and has offices at the U.N. building in New York.

Raja yoga teaches students to search their soul world for answers on where they came from and why the cancer entered their body. They learn what role religion, stress, family and lifestyle played in the cancer.
 

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