DARSHAN YOGA: A WOMAN'S APPROACH TO A BALANCED LIFE

If you have heard about Yoga and have been curious to try it, but get
nervous about the idea of turning upside-down and every-which way, or tying
yourself in an accidental knot, then this book is for you. In this book, you will find
a series of simple and safe exercises that are relatively easy to master even if you
have never done Yoga before. Yoga need not be complicated to be well executed.
You don’t need any special equipment to practice Darshan Yoga; you can
do it in the yard of your house, or in the privacy of your own room. It is only
necessary that you do a reasonable approximation of the exercises presented
here, remembering never to force yourself (your body or your breathing), and
keeping in mind to set a specific time and place in your day to practice, whenever
it is convenient for you.
The idea to write this book came to me in 1997, as a way to expound upon
the teachings of my guru, Paramhansa Satyananda Saraswati. For more than
twenty years, he has taught Yoga for women, and pregnant women in particular,
and has helped them through birth and post-partum, in addition to teaching
Shantala, a technique of infant massage.
I began to want to share his teachings to a broader audience, to help women
understand better their abilities as creative beings and sustainers of life. Women
have the immense responsibility of educating the minds of our children, and
thus have the power to change everyone’s overall quality of life for the better.
When a greater number women can consciously assume the responsibility for the
changing of attitudes, altering the shadows of inertia and and indifference, we
will create the opportunity to resolve together the problems and difficulties of the
world we live in; our world can and should be profoundly changed by the actions
of women. As we become more conscious and and responsible for ourselves, we
will get to know our true identities and reclaim control of our health and wellbeing
in all phases of feminine life; this is the key to learning to deal with these
times of change and transformation ahead of us.
In this book, we will begin this process of conscious transformation, learning
more about the definition of Yoga, its mythological origins, its spiritual tradition
within the Vedas and Tantra, about its history and applications. Then we will be
able to explore the practices of Darshan Yoga.
I tried for the most part to focus on women’s needs, such as preparation
for conceiving, pregnancy, birth, post-partum, menstrual issues, PMS, and
menopause, though in no way have I exhausted the issues of pregnancy, birth
and post-partum, which deserve another book unto themselves.
In the Yoga and Yoga Therapy classes I teach, it is the spontaneous
interaction between student and teacher, master and disciple, which is the
corner stone of Tantra and Yoga. It allows for more than just the activation of
the intellect, mobilizing intuitive abilities as well; this can accelerate the learning
process. I do believe, however, that the written word can, in its own way, touch
us and motivate us to look within ourselves, pulling us to consciously consider our
well-being in all stages of feminine life.