The Roots of Heart Yoga



"You cannot enter the door of yoga without kindness and compassion for others."

--Changkya, Who Swam in the Diamond Sea (1717-1786),
yoga teacher to the Emperor of China and
His Holiness the Seventh Dalai Lama



The ancient art of yoga came to Tibet from its birthplace in India over a thousand years ago. It quickly became very popular, and wonderful systems for its practice sprang up like mushrooms all over the country. The yoga practice you will learn here, which is called Heart Yoga, belongs to the Gelukpa tradition of the Dalai Lamas of Tibet.

Heart Yoga works on your heart in two ways: It makes your physical heart and body healthy and strong, and it opens your heart to love others. And of course really the first always comes from the second.

The instructions for the physical exercises and inner practice of Heart Yoga entered Tibet in two different lineages. The exercises--or what we in the modern world think of as "yoga"--were first taught to Tibetans by the Indian master Naropa (1016-1110). They form part of an ancient tradition known as the Six Practices, and the Tibetans nicknamed them the "Machine of the Body."

The instructions for opening our hearts to others are called tong-len, which means "Giving and Taking." This practice involves special ways of breathing and thinking of others, throughout the day, and especially as you do your yoga exercises. The lineage for Giving and Taking goes back over two thousand years to the Buddha himself. It was passed on quietly from teacher to student without being written down and was brought to Tibet by the great Indian sage Atisha (982-1052)....