1) Maintaining heightened awareness of the body, including alignment of the body, movement of the body, movement of the energy of the body, and the feeling within the body:

This includes being conscientious to not reach any point or boundary, throughout the entire yogasana practice, of feeling discomfort or pain. And calmly pausing or stopping progression into a pose, and even backing off if/as needed, to prevent any feeling of discomfort or pain throughout the entire yogasana practice.

A very wise yoga sage once told me 'If there is pain, then it’s not yoga.' So if you ever feel the need to pause or stop your yogasana practice for any reason, it is perfectly fine to back-off, to pause or stop, to go into Child's Pose, or whatever you feel is appropriate for you, and respectful of others in the yogasana session.

2) Maintaining Ujjayi rhythmic breathing synchronized with the movement of the body:

The Ujjayi Pranayama breath, also known as the victorious breath or ocean breath, sounds somewhat like the sound of fogging a mirror with the breath, with a comfortable, slow, smooth, continuous inhale and exhale. With the breathing having a similar sound on both the exhale and inhale, and the breathing typically through the nose, except for some movements of controlled exertion where breathing through the mouth feels most natural.

Also, as part of the Ujjayi Pranayama, it is important to note this includes expanding one's Mindfulness to include the Prana, the life-force energy within the breath, flowing into and throughout the body on the inhale, energizing, strengthening, and purifying the body, and on the exhale, expelling impurities from the body.

This principle of maintaining Ujjayi rhythmic breathing and Prana awareness synchronized with the movement of the body, goes hand-in-hand with the following practice of Drishti gaze, to cultivate deeper concentration, balance, flow, and inner awareness, essential in achieving the higher experience of moving meditation of Raja-Vinyasa Apex Yoga™ Asana.

3) Maintaining a soft steady Drishti gaze, and detaching awareness from external distractions on the five senses:

This principle is a combination of the two practices described below, to 'direct and control' the five physical senses with one's conscious awareness, and goes hand-in-hand with the above principle of Ujjayi breathing, to cultivate deeper concentration, balance, flow, and inner awareness, essential in achieving the higher experience of moving meditation of Raja-Vinyasa Apex Yoga™ Asana:

a) The first practice, Drishti, is maintaining a soft steady gaze on a specific point, that simply is in the center of vision as one smoothly moves throughout the yogasana sequence. When the head is in motion, the eyes stay centered and synchronized with the movement of the head (not moving the muscles of the eyes to 'look around' at different objects or search for a Drishti point), and the Drishti is a point upon whatever is in front of the eyes’ gaze in each moment. So when the head is in motion, the Drishti is actually a soft, smooth continuous flow, across that which is in the eyes' gaze. When the head is not in motion, the eyes simply stay fixed on the Drishti point, with the gaze upon whatever is directly in front of the eyes, still maintaining their 'centered' position in the head, without using the muscles of the eyes to 'look around'.

b) The second practice is specific to the fifth limb of yoga, Pratyahara, in which one consciously chooses to detach/withdraw their attention from the distractions of external stimuli on the five physical senses, and instead focus their attention on Mindful yogasana practice in alignment with all five core yogasana principles. Please note, this technique does not mean not being aware of external stimuli on the five senses. Actually it means the contrary - being Mindfully aware of external stimuli, but not being attached to, or distracted by, the external stimuli. In this state of Mindfulness, the external stimuli on the five senses often is typically even more vivid than normal day-to-day life, and is one of the profound benefits of yogasana, in that at the completion of the yogasana practice as the practitioner continues along their journey in life, they can choose to Mindfully take along this enhanced vividness of heightened awareness of their five senses, and being in a much more 'present' state.

4) Slow, smooth, flowing movement with equal importance on all three phases of movement, including the transitions between the poses, the poses themselves, and the apex/peak within each pose. This principle has roots in Vinyasa Yoga:

Key to this principle is the slow, smooth, flowing movement synchronized with the Ujjayi breathing and Drishti gaze throughout the yogasana practice. This is an important part of Raja-Vinyasa Apex Yoga™ Asana, and essential in achieving the higher experience of moving meditation of Raja-Vinyasa Apex Yoga™ Asana.

Also, it is very important to note that as one smoothly progresses into a pose, there is a subtle transition from the appearance of 'external movement' to 'internal movement' . This is one of the key points and benefits of yogasana - the 'internal movement and experience' leading to, and within, the 'Apex' of the pose. In other words, the practitioner subtly, but with equal importance, awareness, and mindfulness, transitions the Vinyasa flow to smaller subtler movements deeper within their being, perhaps even micro-movements, arriving gracefully into the 'Apex' of the pose, in which they breathe for as long as they choose. Then the practitioner consciously transitions gracefully from the Apex of the pose, with smooth 'internal movement' of that pose experience, into the slow smooth flowing transition into the next pose, with no delineation/demarcation between the end of one pose and the beginning of the next pose.

5) Merging all four core principles above into a continuous uninterrupted stream of heightened conscious awareness. This principle has roots in Raja Yoga Samyama:

While practicing the first four principles in and among themselves may have many benefits (e.g. more strength and energy, less stress, cleansing the body of impurities, increased clarity of mind, better posture, improved sense of well-being, etc.), I have found this fifth principle is the key to the profound experience of Raja-Vinyasa Apex Yoga™ Asana in helping oneself to awaken to their true Self, fully realize all of one's potential benefits from yogasana practice at the highest attainable level possible for their true Self, and live one’s full potential every day.

This fifth principle involves the slow intentional application of Samyama on the yogasana practice itself - merging the first four principles together in equal importance and balance, in a continuous uninterrupted stream of heightened conscious awareness throughout the yogasana session, with the stream of heightened conscious awareness being in one of the three stages of Samyama (Concentration/Dharana, Meditation/Dhyana, or Absorption/Samadhi).

The first stage of Yogasana Samyama is concentration in motion, and if/when the stream of concentration is sustained with minimal effort, the stream of concentration may give way to the second stage of meditation in motion, and if/when the stream of meditation in motion deepens to the point of full absorption/oneness within the yogasana practice, one may experience the third stage of samadhi in motion.

Please note that with each practitioner being their own Self and many factors involved in one’s yogasana practice, one’s level of consciousness during yogasana practice can vary significantly within a practice, from practice to practice, and certainly from practitioner to practitioner. For some practitioners (or virtually all practitioners if they are new to yogasana or new to practicing the yoga limb of Dharana/Concentration), it can take significant practice to stay 'concentrating' without the mind repeatedly wandering into 'thinking'. This is okay and nothing to be concerned about or frustrated with, as this is simply part of the journey. Of course, It does require one to become familiar and comfortable with the first four principles of Raja-Vinyasa Apex Yoga™ Asana in order to be able to transcend from 'concentrating' into 'meditating'. And for those practitioners that come to experience 'meditation in motion', they might also experience transitioning back and forth between 'thinking', 'concentrating', and 'meditating'. However, one's level of consciousness typically progresses over time in alignment with one's sincere, mindful, regular, yogasana practice - from 'thinking' to 'concentrating', then possibly on to 'meditation in motion', and ultimately possibly experiencing 'absorption/oneness in motion' during the yogasana session. The most important aspect of all this is not the Samyama stage one is in during the yogasana session, it is the practitioner's level of sincerity, intention, and mindfulness, they bring to the practice, and to practice regularly, simply giving their best effort, and of course enjoying and being grateful for the benefits they do experience from their yogasana practices along the way. With yogasana, the journey truly is the destination, and regardless of one's level of consciousness, one can experience many amazing benefits from yogasana practice.

For a deeper dive, each Samyama stage within Raja-Vinyasa Apex Yoga™ Asana is described in more detail below:

a) Concentration: the first stage of Samyama - involving an active, intentional, effort to focus one's mind and awareness on maintaining the first four principles of Raja-Vinyasa Apex Yoga™ Asana in equal importance and balance in a continuous uninterrupted stream of 'concentration in motion'. This level of consciousness is also known as Dharana, the sixth limb of yoga. Please note, in this phase it is not uncommon for one to transition out of this level of consciousness at some point(s) during the yogasana practice in one of two directions, with the second one being the intention:

1. When 'thinking' might occur and distract/interrupt one from the continuous stream of concentration. This is okay, as the nature of the mind is to want to think, and the nature of yoga is to calm the mind, and depending on the practitioner and where they are on their journey, the mind can fluctuate between these two. However with sincere regular mindful practice, this fluctuation tends to decrease over time. Nonetheless, if/when 'thinking' occurs, I have found that once the 'observer-self' becomes aware (typically fairly quickly) of the mind going off 'thinking', to simply acknowledge 'was thinking', and proactively reassert focused effort on bringing one's mind and awareness back to maintaining the first four principles in equal importance and balance in a continuous uninterrupted stream of 'concentration'.

2. When the continuous stream of concentration transitions into moving meditation.

b) Meditation: the second stage of Samyama, and the next higher level of consciousness - where the sustained effort of concentration on maintaining the first four principles of Raja-Vinyasa Apex Yoga™ Asana in equal importance and balance gives way to a more effortless flow of full awareness and deeper presence within the yogasana flow itself - a continuous uninterrupted stream of 'meditation in motion'. This level of consciousness is also known as Dhyana, the seventh limb of yoga. At this level of consciousness, one is still aware of the three elements of the yogasana experience (i.e. the practitioner, the process of meditation, and the yogasana sequence), however, they have transcended 'effort-based concentration of the mind' into the higher level of consciousness of a calm mind and more effortless flow of awareness, and deeper presence within the yogasana flow itself, i.e. meditation in motion. Please note:

1. It is not uncommon for one to transition at times during the yogasana practice back and forth between 'concentration' and 'meditation' (or perhaps even fall back into 'thinking') if their level of mindfulness and presence fluctuate. This is okay and nothing to be concerned about. It's part of the journey of personal growth, living mindfully, and attaining higher levels of consciousness during yogasana (and day to day life itself). Nonetheless, in order to minimize/eliminate this during yogasana it’s really important, to the best of your ability (without concern, stress, or anxiety), to maintain continuous deep presence and mindfulness throughout the yogasana session.

2. If/when the continuous stream of meditation in motion deepens even further, to the point where the practitioner becomes fully absorbed in oneness with the effortless yogasana flow and their sense of self dissolves, one has transcended into absorption/union/oneness within the yogasana experience.

c) Absorption/Union/Oneness: the third stage of Samyama, and the highest level of consciousness during yogasana, where meditation in motion deepens even further such that the practitioner becomes fully absorbed in the yogasana practice itself in an effortless flow, and the distinction between the practitioner and the yogasana practice disappear, and one’s mind becomes still and the sense of self and time dissolve - a continuous uninterrupted stream of 'absorption/union/oneness in motion'. This level of consciousness is also known as Samadhi, the eighth limb of yoga. At this level of consciousness, the three elements of the yogasana experience (the practitioner, the process of meditation, and the yogasana sequence) have merged into one/union with the yogasana flow itself. This has some similarities with 'being in the zone' or 'flow-state', however, is actually quite different in that Samadhi is at an even higher level of consciousness (aka Super Consciousness) in which the practitioner may also experience one or more of the following: A sense of unbounded/infinite conscious awareness, 'Oneness with All That Is', 'Bliss', 'Divine Presence', and/or what some call 'Dancing with the Divine'.

Nonetheless, it's very important to note this third stage of Samyama, Samadhi, is an 'effortless allowing it to happen' not an 'effortful making it happen'. It cannot be forced, it must be allowed to happen spontaneously when everything aligns 'naturally' in the moment, for who and where the practitioner is along their journey in life.

"Raja-Vinyasa Apex Yoga™ Asana is based on the following five core principles practiced in union, upon a foundation of Mindfulness:

Om Shanti,

Keith Wolfe, founder of Raja-Vinyasa Apex Yoga™