Article by Dr. Uma Krishnamurthi:

YOGA PSYCHOLOGY, TRANSPERSONAL PSYCHOLOGY
AND HEALING OF EMOTIONS

Much of our psychological suffering is due to our emotions. Moreover
our emotions are contagious, perhaps more so than bacteria and viruses. In
our day to day life, we tend to pick up the emotions of those with whom we
interact ( if we are not psychologically alert).
In this seminar, we will discuss the unique guidelines offered by yoga
psychology that can help us overcome our negative emotions. We will also
evolve a new approach to the science of emotions and discuss
the psychological insights of yogis, mystics and transpersonal psychologists
that can lead us to positive mental health.

The main psychological aim of yoga is to help us transcend all shades
of psychological suffering and stabilize us in states of wisdom and
happiness. Yoga psychology is intimately linked to its philosophical roots
such as the Upanishads, Bhagavad Gita, Yoga Sutra of Patanjali and so
on. We will therefore focus some attention on understanding relevant
philosophical concepts such as the nature of enlightenment, transformation
of perception, superconscious states and so on.

We will also compare yoga psychology with the popular existing
psychologies of the West. Contemporary psychology has focussed attention
mainly on the analysis of unhappiness and understanding psychopathology.
Yogis and mystics on the other hand focus our attention on understanding and
promoting happiness. Transpersonal Psychology, however has some striking
similarities to the goals and aspirations of yoga. These similarities will
be presented during the course of the seminar. The psychologist Abraham
Maslow has opened the doors of psychology to the concept of the
"sacred". The ability to reconnect to the sacred has therapeutic
value. We will discuss the various yogic methods to help us in this
endeavour.

The understanding of our subconscious mind is an important aspect of
emotional healing in contemporary psychology. Yogis have taken a different
approach. They discovered that our unconscious contains memory impressions
of not only this life but previous lives as well. It is these impressions
that give birth to our emotional problems. Therefore they encourage us to
direct attention to the superconscious for healing and purification of these
memories. We will discuss relevant practices from yoga and transpersonal
psychology to help transcend our mind and attain superconscious states.

The seven day course will include not only theory classes but also
practices and interactive sessions. During our discussion sessions, we will
also focus attention on evolving counselling skills based on yoga
psychology. This course will help empower yoga teachers, therapists
and healers to promote the mental health of theirstudents and equip them
with psychological skills for self transformation.

LECTURE TITLES FOR THE SEVEN DAY COURSE

WHAT IS YOGA PSYCHOLOGY? - AN OVERVIEW

YOGA PSYCHOLOGY AND A NEW SCIENCE OF EMOTIONS

ANALYSIS OF SUFFERING: PATANJALI, UPANISHADS AND MASLOW.

HEALING OF EMOTIONS: YOGA PSYCHOLOGY AND TRANSPERSONAL PSYCHOLOGY

TEACHINGS OF MYSTICS, YOGIS AND PSYCHOLOGY OF HAPPINESS

RE-LINKING WITH THE SACRED - BUILDING POSITIVE MENTAL HEALTH

YOGA: A JOURNEY IN CONSCIOUSNESS - MIND TO SUPERMIND.

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