Sadhana

In Sanskrit, Sadhana means "process," "discipline" or "service" and translates to Spiritual practice. With this practice the practitioner learns how to surrender the ego which is also referred to as the lower self and false self.

During this practice the practitioner is keeping the awareness focused on surrendering the ego through the practice of Yoga. With this practice the aim of the practitioner is to gain mastery over the mind and body in order to enrich and awaken the Atman meaning “True Self” or the Soul.

This practice is typically started in the early morning hours and finishes during Sunrise, but is also a practice carried out through out the day.

When our Sun is facing at a sixty-degree angle to the Earth which is two and a half hours before the Sun rises, in Yoga this is known as Amrit Vela and is also known in the west as the ambrosial hours. Yoga says that the energy that you give into the Sadhana will give maximum results.

During this time Dharana meaning "focused concentration" and Dhyana meaning "Meditation" is easier to practice and this is why am early morning practiced is preferred. If this is not possible that is fine, no matter what have a practice is the most important part.

Depending on your knowledge of the practices of Yoga, when you start a Sadhana practice you may find that for the first month or so. Keeping a routine may help you to learn new poses and practices.

This will give you the time to also explore and better understand Yoga, such as bringing your awareness to a specific Chakra during a pose or practice. After enough knowledge and experiences have been gained. It is okay and advised for some to change up the practice from time to time or daily.

After the morning practice has ended, the daily practice or the walking state practice begins.This occurs as we carry out our every day life. Taking those feelings of love and contentedness from our practice into our everyday life, keeping the activities of the ego to minimum, keeping the awareness focused on the creator, while not allowing the fluctuations of the mind to affect your current experience.

To preform a Sadhana, preform all the practices of a particular Yoga technique such as Hatha Yoga. This technique consist of six different practices that are combined to create the practice of Hatha Yoga, the practice starts with Shatkarma meaning "six cleansing actions," an Asana sequence that consist of poses that are proper for the practitioner. This means that the poses can be preformed with ease by the practitioner without strain.

The next practice is Pranayama also known as breathing exercises, this practice encourages the movement of Prana meaning "life force energy" through out the entire body. The control and intentional movement of Prana is the main focus of this technique and as the practice continues, this focus becomes more important.

The next practice is Mudras which are gestures of the body that control or redirect the movement of Prana. There are a total of twenty five Mudras that include the four Bandhas or body locks which control the movement of Prana.

The final and highest practice is Dhyana or Meditation. All of the above practice are seen as preparatory practices for Meditation.

A Sadhana also consist of working with the Chakras known as Pancha Bhoota Stalam. In Sanskrit, Pancha means “five,” Bhoota means “elements” and Stalam means “place” as well as working with the Nadis meaning "energetic pathways" that connect all of the Chakras together. During this practice the practitioner visits a temple that is dedicated to Shiva and represents one of the five basic elements.

This is done through the practices that any technique of Yoga provides. It is advisable to know and understand the working of each Chakra as well as having a good understanding of the Nadis in order to make this practice as smooth and fluid as possible.