Dharma Yoga. The Shortcut to immortality.

Dharma Yoga is the most unique style of yoga that provides the practitioner with all necessary tools to achieve the Ultimate goal of yoga – Self-realization, when practiced constantly and long enough. This is the lineage that guides through all 8 limbs of a classic Yoga in a single practice. 

Dharma Yoga is a form of yoga based on Sri Dharma Mittra’s more than fifty years of yoga practice. Dharma Yoga is a system of classical Hatha-Raja-Bhakti Yoga. It is a devotional practice that promotes good health, a clear mind, and a kind heart.

Where Dharma Yoga came from?

Dharma yoga was developed by a Yogi Master Sri Dharma Mittra, who was a student of Yogi Gupta. Sri Dharma is a founder of the Dharma Yoga Center in New York and a creator of Master Yoga Chart of 908 Postures. Yoga practitioners from all over the world come to practice with Sri Dharma Mittra because he has the most unique, progressive style of yoga that is appropriate for students of all levels, from beginners to the most experienced ones.

Although Dharma Yoga might be not the most popular style of yoga all over the world just YET, but Sri Dharma is certainly the one who changes people’s lives. However, in order to practice and understate Dharma Yoga, one must be receptive to the information that the teacher transfers to his students. Not everyone can understand it clearly, or maybe not from the first time. Personally, it did take me several Dharma Yoga classes to realize, that every time after practicing it my life kept transforming. And after noticing that, I made a decision to do their 500 hour teacher training. I truly wanted to deeply understand what that style of yoga is about and why it is so powerful.

More about Dharma Yoga

Dharma yoga is a style of yoga that blends together nine forms of yoga, including Hatha, Raja, Karma, Kriya, Bhakti, Japa, Laya and Jnana. It also focuses on the Eight Limbs of Yoga as outlined in the Yoga Sutras with great emphasis placed on Yama and Niyama (first two limbs).

Dharma yoga includes progressive vinyasa sequences, from Dharma I through Dharma II, III and all the way up to the Mater Class series, designed to fit any level of students. These practices are opening up the flow of prana energy (life force) throughout the physical body and mind. The postures in those series include Sun Salutations, stretching, twists, balancing poses, backbends and for sure inversions.

Dharma yoga, though, is more than the physical practice. It also includes pranayama breathing exercises, meditation and even instructions on how to achieve Self-realization. The ultimate goal of Self-realization (gaining absolute knowledge of the True Self) is reflected in all aspects of the Dharma Yoga system. The method weaves together many teachings in order to bring all students closer to the goal of Self-realization.

What to expect when going to Dharma Yoga?

You will see students of all levels, from beginners to lifelong practitioners

If you think you have mastered all asanas, visit Dharma Yoga. I assure you will see people doing some crazy poses you would never imagined possible.  Well… unless you are an international yoga champion. And the opposite also works there. If you think you suck on yoga – go to Dharma. You will surely find someone who is less flexible than you. And right there you will realize that yoga is not only about the postures. The practice is appropriate and accessible to so many because it meets each student where they are and according to their conditions. 

Every posture is the way of meditation. 

Sri Dharma encourages everyone to use every posture as a meditation. He invites us to close the eyes during the main postures, concentrate on the Third Eye (the space between the eyebrows) and go inside the self to find our who we really are. Also Dharma Yoga suggests “to make the practice of the postures even better than meditation, be sure to offer every action to the Supreme Self”, Sri Dharma Mittra. 

Most important is the progress!

In Dharma Yoga the effort involved in trying to achieve the full posture can be of greater value than actually achieving it. I personally have very tight hamstrings, no matter how hard I work to stretch them out. So Sri Dharma made a joke one day: “I’ve heard that there is a surgery, when you cut the hamstrings and boom, you are in a perfect forward fold with the head below your knees. Haha. But you don’t do that. It is not important. The progress is the most important.”

“It is not the perfection of the posture, but the effort expended attempting to realize it that counts” ~Sri Dharma Mittra  

No emphasize on the alignment

Dharma does not emphasize the alignment. “You have to find your own tricks”, saying Sri Dharma Mittra. But you want to be careful, though, to still follow the teacher’s instructions. Otherwise he will surely come up to you and will “fix the pose”.

No emphasize on the breath during vinyasa flow

Traditionally, in vinyasa flows the posture should follow the breath. One breath- one movement, as everyone keeps saying. It is surely not the case with Dharma Yoga. “Breath is natural”, that’s what Dharma Yoga teachers are instructing to do during the class. You don’t need to concentrate on the breathing during Dharma Class while doing postures. Although don’t forget to breath 😉

Pranayama and spiritual talk is a must in Dharma yoga practice

Nevertheless, breathing techniques are one of the main components of Dharma yoga. Those techniques are usually practiced at the beginning, before the series of postures, or after, at the end of the class. You will also learn about some ethical rules of yoga, mainly Ahimsa, and will receive a spiritual discourse on how to get rid of sufferings, and achieve a Self-realization.

Long holds of main postures and lot of twists

Vinyasa people! If you are expecting to do moving flow after Sun Salutations in Dharma Yoga, you need to chill. Postures like Cobra, Bow, Shoulderstand, Headstand, name a few, will be held for extremely long periods of time, like…. 3-5 minutes each.  First time I thought I will pass out on those, literally. But later I realized that by doing that you make such great progress in yoga! Every time the posture seems to be easier to hold and the body progresses so rapidly. Next time, without the doubt, you will go deeper into the posture, as you’ve never been able to do before. Practicing postures with long holds can help to train the body and mind and teach them endurance as we consciously subject them to difficulties. It is only by this method that we can truly make progress. 

You will become a vegetarian

When I first came to Dharma yoga, I was pretty strict Paleo person. And actually before that I was a vegetarian for 5 years, but decided that this diet did not fit my lifestyle. And when I heard in Dharma’s class that we should all become vegetarians, I thought for myself: “No way. This is not happening”. Long story short, it did not take me too long before I became a vegan. Oops, never say never. Dharma is truly very powerful about this. The fundament of the whole Dharma system is Ahimsa – non-harming. And therefore, you will surely hear that we need to take care of all living creatures in the Universe, because they are our brothers and sisters.

You will have fun and laugh in Dharma class

Despite the fact that Sri Dharma Mittra is almost 80 years old, he has an unbelievable sense of humor. There is no one class that passing by without him making a very funny joke. And you will be surprised how “up to date” his jokes are, as if he is 20 years old. And all Dharma Yoga teachers therefore will surely include their own jokes in the classes. So no matter where you take the class, you will surely laugh at least ones. Also when practicing with Sri Dharma Mittra’s you will do several postures with the yoga partner. It definitely makes the whole class fun and interactive. 

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Dharma Yoga Wheel

In any yoga studio that offers Dharma Yoga you will find a Dharma Yoga wheel that was created to help the body go deeper into each pose so you can improve your flexibility and mobility in shorter time. I find it the most powerful tool of all yoga tools existing now. The wheel will keep your yoga routines challenging and exciting. Definitely worth trying it out. 

Feeling totally relaxed after Dharma Yoga

Dharma Yoga always includes short version of Yoga Nidra – the total relaxation of the body in Shavasana with the guidance of a teacher who is directing the focus of students’ mind to one unique area at a time. This technique causes muscles to relax completely and bring the body into Deep Relaxation, which rejuvenates and energizes the entire system, bolstering the body’s natural healing capacities and helping to normalize the circulatory system’s function. Therefore, although you will be working very hard during the class itself, you will not feel tired or aching muscles after. On contrary, you will feel amazing!

Conclusion

If you have never went to Dharma Yoga, you should absolutely try it. And if you did not like it too much for the first time, give it a chance for several more tries. Ones you get this style, you will be amazed how everything around you starting to change rapidly. Dharma Yoga is for those who is serious about their yoga practice and want to advance quick.

And don’t forget! The most important part of yoga is the CONSTANT PRACTICE! Only with the constant practice one can experience all 8 limbs of a classic yoga in a single Dharma Yoga class. And eventually the Ultimate goal of Yoga can be achieved – the goal of Self-Realization and setting yourself free to the life of immortality. 

I have chosen to emphasize the style of Dharma yoga on my website, because while taking Dharma’s 500 hour teacher training, lot of things changed in my life. And foremost, being inspired by Dharma’s teachings, I have created this wonderful website “Living Yogi Life”. So I am very grateful for that! 

You can read more about Dharma Yoga in my “Dharma Yoga Worldwide” category

Namaste ॐ

For more information where to find Dharma Yoga Classes all over the world visit DharmaYogaCenter.com

Sources:

• DharmaYogaCenter.com
• “Life of a Yogi Teacher’s Manual” by Sri Dharma Mittra. 
• YogaPedia.com

This post is not sponsored and written in service of Sri Dharma Mittra and his team.