Brahmi, Director of TriYoga Boston, gives MysticMag a glimpse into the practice and philosophy of TriYoga, and its growing popularity around the world. TriYoga was founded by internationally renowned Yogini, Kaliji.
What led to the creation of TriYoga?
TriYoga was founded by Yogini Kaliji. In1980, while teaching meditation, Kaliji first experienced kriyavati siddhi, where kundalini spontaneously guided her body through yoga flows. She has systematized asana (posture), pranayama (breathing practices), and dharana (concentration techniques) from Basics to Level 7. Over 1300 hasta mudras (hand gestures) have spontaneously flowed through Kaliji’s hands. Kaliji expresses yoga philosophy in a relatable and deeply meaningful way, and has created beautiful TriYoga Sutras to expound upon Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras.
The TriYoga method is one of great depth and breadth. I have been practicing TriYoga for 30 years and I am always learning something new, deepening awareness, refining alignment and focus, gaining new insights into Self.
What encompasses TriYoga and its philosophy?
TriYoga is a complete yoga method and includes the full range of yoga practices including diet, lifestyle, and all 8 limbs of yoga. The TriYoga flows synchronize breath and movement with focus (mudra). Some methods view the 8 Limbs of Yoga as a sequential practice – first you get proficient in asana practice, then you begin pranayama, concentration and meditation practices. TriYoga incorporates all limbs of yoga in the practice, thereby working on the physical, energetic and mental/emotional layers of our being at the same time. This is what makes the practice transformative. It works to balance your whole being.
Systematically TriYoga builds strength and flexibility but one can be at any level to experience the transformative effects of the practice. I have students remain with Basics classes for decades because a gentle practice serves their bodies best.
What happens once body, breath and mudra (focus) unite?
Book One of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras is all about Samdahi, a state of unity with the highest reality/universal cosmic consciousness/the divine. It is the experience of the unchanging, eternal Self, with no separation from the whole universe. Patanjali explains the purpose of yoga practices is to experience this state of higher consciousness. This is a state of bliss, absent of all suffering.
I practiced yoga for 17 years before starting TriYoga 30 years ago. For the first 17 years the Yoga Sutras was a philosophy book to me, and samadhi was a concept I was familiar with. TriYoga practices gave me the experience. I found that experience to be transformative and healing.
When I started TriYoga I had been in hand braces for 7 years and suffered back pain for over a decade. TriYoga systematically strengthened my body, healed my back, and helped me recover from knee and shoulder surgeries. I have seen it relieve my students from both physical and mental/emotional suffering. This has inspired me to become a yoga therapist and help others learn to relieve their suffering.
Why would you recommend the regular practice of Yoga Therapy?
Yoga Therapy is a personalized practice for those with challenges or pain; back pain, shoulder/wrist pain, anxiety, depression, cancer, arthritis…The door into yoga for these people is through healing, and Yoga has been shown to improve over hundreds of medical conditions. Yoga Therapy is individualized for the person to give them a daily practice to help alleviate their symptoms and to feel better.
How do your sessions compare to other ‘yoga studios’, in terms of both cost and practice?
We tend to be on the less expensive side compared to other studios as our intention is to make the practice accessible. While most yoga classes are an hour or 90 minutes, our classes are usually an hour and a half to allow time for flows, deep relaxation, breathing, and meditation.
In the US, yoga has been practiced as more of an exercise than a whole lifestyle for physical, mental/emotional and spiritual wellBeing. While our level 3 practice (Fire) is a very strong physical practice, it is still done with breath, alignment and focus. I have found that those who come to our classes from power yoga styles often don’t have the patience or interest for slow intentional flows. Our older students appreciate the ability to modify and accommodate physical limitations. The younger people who are attracted to TriYoga tend to be more spiritual and want to go deeper into their practice, or they suffer from physical issues, anxiety or other health issues that are accommodated in other forms of exercise-based Yoga.
TriYoga has gone global – can you tell us more?
TriYoga is taught in over 40 countries by over 2600 certified teachers. There are 53 TriYoga Centers around the world, including Australia, Austria, China, Denmark, Germany, Hungary, India, South Korea, Netherlands, New Zealand, Russia, Switzerland, Taiwan, Ukraine and the United States. There are 12 TriYoga centers in Germany and 11 in China with over 800 certified TriYoga teachers in China.
If you would like to find out more about TriYoga, visit https://triyogaboston.org/ or follow on https://www.facebook.com/YogaTherapyFlow
