We had the opportunity to email to him some questions about his philosophy and approach for this special issue of Masters of Health on Yoga. Swami Isa teaches an integrated system of yoga called “Life for Total Consciousness” (LTC Yoga). He calls his system “a lifestyle and a life-tuning process.”
LTC Yoga emphasizes an awareness of the physical, mental, intellectual, and pranic vibrations of the human being, and through the purification process, brings clarity and awareness into all aspects of life of the practitioner.
It focuses on the individual’s needs, rather than mass teaching, so that personalized attention is given to the student’s particular energy changes and needs. Teacher Training Courses in LTC Yoga are offered in India and France.
MoH: Each year, many people around the world celebrate International Day of Yoga. However, everywhere one looks, a different style of yoga is being taught, such as Hatha Yoga, Ashtanga Yoga, Bikram Yoga, to name a few. As Swamiji is a real yogi, could Swamiji please explain what are the differences, and what is real yoga?
Swami Isa: A simple explanation of yoga is ‘union with happiness.’ Physical, intellectual, mental, and pranic (vital) energy is always flowing in the individual. Most people don’t know which direction they want to channel their energy. All are channelling it towards the objective world (the world outside of themselves), just ignoring themselves. Yoga’s first phase is to make awareness about one’s self. That self-awareness is based on physical, intellectual, mental, and pranic integration.
The body is just like a system functioning to achieve something, a goal. Most people don’t know what the goal is, though. They think that mortal gain is the real goal. Likewise, the present-day systems of yoga also mainly focus only on the gross (physical) body’s energy stabilization.
Most people’s entire physical energy is utilized for material pleasures. Yoga tries to open their real eye about what is true happiness.
In Quantum Physics, each vibration can reach everywhere without the barrier or time and space. Yoga reveals that experience. Without time and space, we are realizing the omnipotent, omnipresent happiness.
To achieve that, some preparation of one’s ‘equipment’ is necessary. The foundational text of yoga is called Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras, which explains this process in the eight limbs of yoga called Ashtanga Yoga. These are Yama, Niyama, Asana, Pranayama, Pratyahara, Dharana, Dhyana and Samadhi.
The gross (five external) wandering senses are knowingly filtered and concentrated through Yama, and Niyama is controlling the subtle senses (those experienced during dream stage). Asana is making the body comfortable. Tuning and redistributing the pranic (vital) energy is called Pranayama. Controlling the thoughts and reducing their quantity by withdrawing them is intellectual purification, Pratyahara. When the emotions become purified, they can easily concentrate on a positive goal. That is Dharana. Now thought and emotion are pure, and one has a clear concept about the goal or destiny: the real Self, Divinity or Consciousness. Continuous meditation on that destiny, with emotion, is Dhyana. Through this meditation, thoughts become transparent, one has eliminated the separation between inner and outer, and one can enjoy non-vibrating Consciousness. That is Samadhi.