FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Yogiraj Gurunath Siddhanath Issues Statement for Yoga Enthusiasts

World renown Kriya yoga Master Yogiraj Gurunath Siddhanath issues statement responding to  news articles criticizing “dangerous” yoga practices, offers advice for learning yoga without injury or discomfort.

San Francisco, CA, February 6, 2012 —

For years, yoga has been regarded as a form of physical fitness, with many health clubs and gyms offering classes on the discipline. A recent news article cast doubt on this notion, however, with statements saying that yoga can do more harm than good. According to the news editorial, yoga can actually “damage the body” and lead to such maladies as a deteriorated spine. Kriya Yoga master Yogiraj Gurunath Siddhanath responded to these statements by issuing formal comments, critiquing the article for containing erroneous information about yoga and offering alternative guidance to yoga practitioners.

Yogiraj Gurunath Siddhanath, who practiced yoga with the Himalayan Indian Masters before being initiated as one himself, has given advanced Yogic guidance in the United States and Europe for four decades.  Master Yogiraj says in his  statement that the newspaper article “creates a false view of what yoga is intended for.” Specifically, Yogiraj Gurunath Siddhanath cites the editorial’s underlying assumption that the goal of a yoga instructor is “to make yoga as difficult as possible” is in error. Yogiraj Gurunath Siddhanath commented, “This is the antithesis of what yoga is about. It is not supposed to be a athletic competition, but rather, yoga, if taught properly, is meditative and healing.”

Yogiraj Gurunath Siddhanath follows his critique of the editorial with advice to those practicing “Hatha” or postural yoga. “Do not do moves that cause you pain, as this is bound to result in injury” notes Yogiraj Gurunath Siddhanath. True yoga, according to Yogiraj Gurunath Siddhanath quoting an ancient India scripture, is “Yogah Samadhi”.  “Yogah Samadhi” means “Yoga is Samadhi”.     “Yoga is about union. It is the fusion of the finite individual with the infinite universal consciousness. Yoga is the ascent of one’s consciousness through ever more refined and ever more expanded spheres of mind to get to the God essence, lying at the core of one’s own being.”  Someone practicing the other forms of yoga may not practice postural yoga at all and yet still be practicing the core of yoga.  This fact is largely missed in the West.

Yogiraj Gurunath Siddhanath’s summary advice to yoga enthusiasts experiencing injury or pain is to find a new yoga class that teaches the broader forms of Yoga. The feeling of extreme discomfort or pain during a yoga session is, according to Yogiraj Gurunath Siddhanath, a warning sign that the instructor is pushing too hard on postural yoga.  Postural yoga is only a starting point of Yoga and the path to full mind, body, spirit unity.”

ABOUT:
Yogiraj Gurunath Siddhanath is a Kriya Yoga Master from Pune, India, who has been teaching meditation and yoga worldwide for forty years. He has taught from the floor of the United Nations, and his YouTube videos have attracted millions of hits. Yogiraj Gurunath Siddhanath is best known for his teachings on the topic of “Earth peace through self peace.”