"Ambience is tough to record. So are scenic descriptions unless you add them afterwards. You can record facts, figures and leads to other sources, but you’ll get access to the data only when your recording is transcribed or hunted through."

"Consider a colour scheme that inspires peace and tranquility. A colour palette in lighter hues of blue, lavender, green and rose will create an ambience of relaxation and repose. Define your colour scheme."

"Install a dimmer switch to your lights to create serenity. If you are using a lamp, consider using a low-wattage or three way bulbs to set the mood. A Japanese lantern (table top or floor model) disperses a soft subdued ambience that is ideal for a yoga/meditation atmosphere. Define your lighting."

"Your room can be accented with accessories that symbolize inner vision. For inspiration, a sculpture, water fall, short screen, artwork and inspirational quotes are some of the accents you can integrate into your space. Aromatherapy of incense, oils, candles, and fresh flowers will enhance the ambience."

"All four elements were happening in equal measure – the cuisine, the wine, the service, and the overall ambience. It taught me that dining could happen at a spiritual level."

"...that Indian music, like Scottish and Irish music is modal and harmonic....During a performance it is this mood, colour or passion which the musician tries to evoke and explore, and according to ancient theory his task is made easier if the performance takes place at the time and in the ambiance proper to the raga."

"Tarab music itself can be emotionally experienced outside the immediate ecstatic and interactive ambiance that originally led to its creation."

"...noted changes from the period of Jesus’ lifetime to that of Paul in ambience and social composition of the Jesus movement; with implications for both core religious views and anti-Jewish polemical stances. As that movement evolved further, the changes in ambience and social composition of what became the Christian church were yet more pronounced."

"Our Jewish polemicists lived in an environment dominated by Christianity. Indeed, the spiritual pressures that occasioned the Jewish polemical works were themselves a reflection of the vigor of the Christian ambience."

"And if I laugh at any mortal]] thing, 'Tis that I may not weep," suggests that the comic sense is parasitical upon the tragic. In order to avoid our tragic encounters with the transitoriness of passing fact, the fading of beauty, the destructive consequences of moral evil, alienation from the primary source of value, we make fun. The making of fun where no real occasion for fun exists is essentially what comedy is about. Tragedy and comedy are, indeed, but two masks worn by the same character alternately, depending on the exigencies of the moment; that is, depending upon which mask best represents him in such a way as successfully to reduce the unacceptable tensions of his ambience. Thus the obvious truth of Socrates' argument at the end of the Symposium. Both tragedy and comedy are but one-sided expressions of the ironic sensibility."

"More than just service, it's the respect, rapport, ambience that engages customers so that price becomes the last thing on their minds as they walk around stores."

"Love is quite wonderful; there’s no way you can conceal. The magnificent ambience of love will inevitably leave its seal."

"Ambient Music must be able to accommodate many levels of listening attention without enforcing one in particular; it must be as ignorable as it is interesting."

"The religious ethos of India was given flexibility, tolerance and strength by the absence of a single religious doctrine, based on a ‘Bible' or sacred dogma; by the multiplicity of forms and faiths that collectively formed India’s religious beliefs and the Vedic and beak-away traditions of our sages and seers. It was an inclusive attitude, drawing the alien heretical belief within a total ambience, extending and absorbing while respecting the beliefs of other religions. Heresy was unknown and religious persecution was minimal."

"In all the music that deals with experimental repetition, drum and bass, dub, various kinds of house music, there's always been a quality of atmosphere and ambience."

"I find the past so fascinating. Photographs are strange, almost surreal, almost here yet gone. I slip into thinking what the past must have been like and I enjoy creating that ambience and atmosphere - 1730 to around 1870 is the most interesting period."

"Bhakti Yoga is the yoga of the heart; it is the bringing into submission of all the feelings, desires and emotions, to the one beloved, seen and known in the heart. It is the sublimation of all the lower loves and the bringing captive of all longings and desire, to the one longing to know the God of love and the love of God. It was the "kingly" or crowning science of the last rootrace, the Atlantean, just as the science of Raja Yoga is the great science of our Aryan civilization. Bhakti Yoga made its exponent an arhat or led him to the fourth initiation. Raja Yoga makes him an adept and leads him to the portal of the fifth initiation. Both lead to liberation, for the arhat is released from the cycle of rebirth but Raja Yoga liberates him to complete service and freedom to work as a White Magician. Bhakti Yoga is the yoga of the heart, of the astral body."

"Karma Yoga has a specific relation to physical plane activity, and to the working out into objective manifestation of all the inner impulses. In its ancient and simplest form it was the yoga of the third or Lemurian root race and its two best known expressions are: a. Hatha Yoga, b. Laya Yoga. The former has specifically to do with the physical body, its conscious (not subconscious and automatic) functioning and all the various practices which give man control over the different organs and the entire mechanical apparatus of the physical body. The latter has to do with the etheric body, with the force centers or chakras found in that body..."

"...if we divide the human torso into three departments it might be stated that:"

"Raja Yoga stands by itself and is the king science of them all; it is the summation of all the others, it is the climax and that which completes the work of development in the human kingdom. It is the science of the mind and of the purposeful will, and brings the higher of man's sheaths in the three worlds under the subjection of the Inner Ruler. This science coordinates the entire lower threefold man, forcing him into a position where he is nothing but the vehicle for the soul, or God within. It includes the other yogas and profits by their achievements. It synthesises the work of evolution and crowns man as king."

"Asanas attune the body to meditation, just as guitar is tuned before a performance."

"We must here bear in mind that we are beginning the book which outlines the practical part of the work, which gives the rules which must be followed if the aspirant hopes to achieve, and which indicates those methods which will bring about the realization of spiritual consciousness. The objective has been dealt with in Book I. The aspirant naturally says on concluding Book I, "how desirable and how right, but how shall this be? What must I do? Where shall I begin?" Patanjali starts at the very beginning and in this second book he indicates:"

"It might be of value here if we dealt with the various "yogas" so as to give to the student a clear concept as to their distinctions and thus cultivate his discrimination. The principal yogas are three in number, the various other so-called "yogas" finding their place in one of these three groups:"

""Vogue" and "Self" (magazines) are putting out the message of yoginis as buff and perfect. If you start doing yoga for those reasons, fine. Most people get beyond that and see that it’s much, much more."

"Sun has never deprived anyone of its light and energy irrespective of their caste and religion. Despite this, if it is being linked to communalism then I request such people to stay in their rooms during the day without sunlight."

"The yoga pose that you avoid the most you need the most."

"Yoga has essentially to do with the meditative side of religion, rather than the ethical side, though, of necessity, a little of the latter has to be considered....This is no child's play, no fad to be tried one day and discarded the next. It is a life's work; and the end to be attained is well worth all that it can cost us to reach it; being nothing less than the realisation of our absolute oneness with the Divine. Surely, with this end in view, and with the knowledge that we can certainly succeed, no price can be too great to pay."

"Vairâgya or renunciation is the turning point in all the various Yogas. The Karmi (worker) renounces the fruits of his work. The Bhakta (devotee) renounces all little loves for the almighty and omnipresent love. The Yogi renounces his experiences, because his philosophy is that the whole Nature, although it is for the experience of the soul, at last brings him to know that he is not in Nature, but eternally separate from Nature. The Jnâni (philosopher) renounces everything, because his philosophy is that Nature never existed, neither in the past, nor present, nor will It in the future."

"The pose begins when you want to leave it."

"As every science has its methods, so has every religion. The methods of attaining the end of religion are called Yoga by us, and the different forms of Yoga that we teach are adapted to the different natures and temperaments of men."

"Remember, it does not matter how deep into a posture you go – what does matter is who you are when you get there."

"Yoga is about clearing away whatever is in us that prevents our living in the most full and whole way. With yoga, we become aware of how and where we are restricted -- in body, mind, and heart -- and how gradually to open and release these blockages. As these blockages are cleared, our energy is freed. We start to feel more harmonious, more at one with ourselves. Our lives begin to flow -- or we begin to flow more in our lives."

"Yoga is so universal in its principles and so holistically beneficial, it is possible for any person, young or old, religious or agnostic, to embrace and enjoy a practice."

"The connection between yoga and heart disease has been particularly well researched. In 1990, as reported in Dr Green Ornish’s “Program for Reversing Heart Disease”... yoga was found to decrease participants cholesterol and triglycerides. And in 2007, [according to] a study published in the journal “Diabetes Research and Clinical Practice”, yoga could reverse several heart disease risk factors, including obesity, high blood pressure, and high blood sugar. Participants who practiced yoga also developed higher levels of HDL (healthy cholesterol)."

"Two generations ago, yoga was a mysterious Eastern practice few Americans knew much about....Fifteen million Americans now say they include some form of yoga in their fitness regimen, and about 75% of all American health clubs offer yoga classes."

"Today more than a hundred types of yoga are practiced. Braver souls try power yoga, which does not pause between poses, or Bikram Yoga, pioneered by Olympic gold medal weight lifter Bikram Choudhury, which takes place in rooms heated to a minimum of 105 degree F. In the United states the most widely practiced yoga is the slow and gentle hata yoga, in t which the instructor takes students through a series of poses while helping them become aware of and change their breathing and thought patterns."

"Yoga philosophy teaches that real man is not his body, but that the immortal I, of which each human being is conscious to some degree according to his mental evolution, is not the body but merely occupies and uses the body as an instrument."

"NIH (The US national Institute of Health) considers yoga a “form of complementary and alternative medicine”, and physicians sometimes recommend it as an adjunct to conventional treatments for a range of chronic conditions, including asthma, back pain, arthritis. In general, yoga helps the body by; triggering and enhancing the immune system; relieving stress; and massaging the organs."

"I think the time is right for yoga, We really are living in a very complex time. - a time of great turmoil and change. Yoga is a good antidote to all that...It is almost like music in a way; there’s no end to it."

"But long before there were airline delays and fancy gyms at every corner there was yoga–the pretzel-twisting system of meditative exercise that is designed to enhance overall well-being. The term which comes from a Sanskrit word meaning “to yoke or join together”, refers to the unity of body, mind and spirit achieved in a successful yoga practice."

"Yoga is not gymnastics or a competition. The goal is not to achieve an outwardly perfect form through excessive ambition but rather to experience your own spirituality and the interaction of body and mind in each pose."

"Because the technique was handed down orally from teachers to students, yoga’s precise beginnings are unknown, but it is thought to have originated more than five thousand years ago in northern India. The Yoga Sutras, one of the earliest texts on yoga (it dates from the year around 1 AD), attempts to organize its previously diverse practices into one system based on eight doctrines, or “limbs.” The third, fourth, and fifth of these limbs evolved into modern Western yoga asana, or physical exercises, pranayama or breating techniques and prathyahara or meditation (literally recovering)."

"The fire of Yoga burns the cage of sin that is around a man. Knowledge becomes purified and Nirvana is directly obtained. From Yoga comes knowledge; knowledge again helps the Yogi. He who combines in himself both Yoga and knowledge, with him the Lord is pleased. Those that practise Mahayoga, either once a day, or twice a day, or thrice, or always, know them to be gods. Yoga is divided into two parts. One is called Abhava, and the other, w:Mahayoga}Mahayoga. Where one's self is meditated upon as zero, and bereft of quality, that is called Abhava. That in which one sees the self as full of bliss and bereft of all impurities, and one with God, is called Mahayoga. The Yogi, by each one, realises his Self. The other Yogas that we read and hear of, do not deserve to be ranked with the excellent Mahayoga in which the Yogi finds himself and the whole universe as God. This is the highest of all Yogas."

"Yoga is like an ocean of wisdom, but we have to go inside to see the beauty of it. An ounce of practice is worth more than tons of theory."

"Now, the science of Hatha Yoga rests upon the 'suppression of breath,' or Pranayama, to which exercise our Masters are unanimously opposed. For what is Pranayama? Literally translated, it means the 'death of (vital) breath.' . . . Several impatient Chelas, whom we knew personally in India, went in for the practice of Hatha Yoga, notwithstanding our warnings. Of these, two developed consumption, one of whom died; others became almost idiotic; another committed suicide; and one developed into a regular Tantrika, a Black Magician, but his career, fortunately for himself, was cut short by death."

"I may cheer you up by saying that, although the path of preparatory discipleship is long and there are many obstacles and trials on this path, the mastering of these difficulties bring its own joy, achievement and revelation. Also, you must know that these tests are not artificially created but deal with the inner attitude and presence of mind of the disciple, giving him a chance to show how he will act in cases of sudden difficulty and amid general trying circumstances. In Theosophical literature seven years is usually mentioned as the first period of trial, followed by the next period of seven years. But these periods can be shortened or prolonged indefinitely. All depends upon the karma of the disciple and on his inner development and aspiration. For one must achieve the gradual opening of the higher centers; otherwise it is impossible to become an accepted disciple. But remember that until the age of thirty years is reached, not all the centers can be awakened without terrible harm to the organism. To force their opening is equal to suicide."

"Practising yoga during the day is a matter of keeping your eyes on the road and one ear turned toward the infinite. It’s about listening inwardly as often as you can for your deepest impulses about what to say, think, or do, or be."

"Yoga practitioners advise the times around sunrise and sunset, well before eating a meal, as the best time for yoga and meditation practice. The science of biometeorology (the study of natural forces on human and animal life) tells us that the sun has a tremendous impact upon the lives of plants, animals, and human beings. Even our blood chemistry changes with the rising and setting of the sun! Therefore, there may be a chemical basis for the thousands of years of belief, in every spiritual tradition, that to meditate and pray at sunrise and sunset is somehow more effective, more auspicious."

"Life is a living flute, yoga is the art of creating melody and rhythm in it."

"In Kundalini Yoga, there is a multitude of seated asanas. There are many variations to choose from based on physical condition and skill level."