Yoga Sinai is based on ancient Kemetic (Egyptian) & Eastern postures, exercises, meditations and breathing techniques that can be traced back over five thousand years.
Its purpose is to rejuvenate and strengthen the body, while simultaneously helping to discover one’s divine nature through spiritual enlightenment. The system also combines elements of Qi-Gong and other warrior arts.
Why Sinai?
According to the Torah, Bible and Quran, Mount Sinai is the place where Moses received the Ten Commandments. Moses, who was raised as a prince of Egypt, was also privy to the secrets and ancient wisdoms of the Israelites. Mount Sinai is believed to be located in the Sinai peninsula, a strip of land in between Egypt and Israel that connects Africa to the Middle East and Europe. In ancient Kemet (Egypt), Yoga was called Smai Tawi, which translates to, “Union of the Two Lands.” The union actually refers to the higher and lower nature of the human entity, but we use it as a metaphor for the transfer of knowledge from Africa to the East. And much later on to the west via the Greeks and Romans.
What most Yoga instructors won’t tell you or don’t know.
Most yoga teachers will neglect to tell you that yoga can be extremely dangerous, even for physically fit people. There have been numerous documented incidents of people being seriously injured and sometimes disabled from yoga practice. Sometimes the instructors themselves may have even sustained injuries from practice but will never admit it due to their egos. Some of the more common yoga injuries occur in the neck, back, shoulders and knees. For instance, hyper-flexion of the neck in certain poses can block blood from flowing to the brain. Holding some of these poses have led to things like stroke and brain damage. Some of the more intense spinal twists have caused people to slip discs and rupture vertebrae. Handstands can easily lead to shoulder injuries and headstands have even ended in retinal tears for some because of the blood pressure building in the eyes. Years of practice has left some people in need of surgery, joint replacements and in some rare cases, permanent disabilities.
Why Yoga Sinai is different?
Most of all, we recognize that not everyone is fit to be an Olympic athlete or master Yogi. And as lifelong martial artists, we stress that safety always comes first! We started practicing Yoga to heal our bodies from the years of wear and tear of hardcore martial arts. We are in shape, but we know how to differentiate students by their levels of expertise, body types and overall agility. Our one and only job is to protect you from harm while guiding you on your journey of self-mastery. Our focus is to help you build up your weak areas, not force you into uncomfortable and potentially compromising positions. While some of our classes and students are very advanced, you never have to worry about getting injured with us. By combining Yoga, QiGong and other warrior martial arts methods of warming up the body, we make sure you are always ready for any maneuver we throw at you. These methods have proven useful for thousands of years by many different cultures and we have tested them ourselves over a lifetime. It worked for our ancestors, it worked for us and our students, thus, we know it is safe for you. We will never force you or push you beyond your limits. We believe it is better to advance slow and steady while perfecting your form, than to try to show off or please your own ego by pushing too hard. We will always give you the option of modifications and warn of you of any potential dangers of trying certain moves. We are here to help you cultivate your body, mind and spirit while connecting your lower self to your higher divine nature. It’s all about self-mastery. The Bible, Torah, Quran, Hindu, Buddhist scriptures and many other ancient cultures were aware of this secret. To connect your spirit to god and open your heart to the most high, you must first become of a master your own self through meditation and physical practice.
I thought Yoga was from India. What’s with all this Egyptian stuff?
As you may know, the Ancient Egyptians of Kemet were the first civilization to have a fully developed written language dating back about 5,000 years (3000-3400 B.C.). Sure, the Sumerians had previously developed a system of accounting and coins to keep track of commerce, but they did not have a system of complex hieroglyphics, a whole written language and documentation of their religious practices going this far back.
Yes, there are a few sculptures and carvings of people sitting cross legged and simple postures of the sort that were found in the Indus valley of India dating back around 5,000 years ago. However, there is no real evidence to support that any yoga type of practice, principle or meditation techniques were being used in India at the time. In fact, the inhabitants of India did not develop a fully written language for hundreds of years after the Ancient Egyptians. The ancient Vedic texts were the first to describe any type of yoga postures and meditation practices and that wasn’t until about 1,500 B.C.
So a couple thousand years before any mention of yoga in India, you know what the Egyptians were writing about on papyrus, temples, pyramid walls and coffins? They were already describing and illustrating complex stories and methods of mediation to connect to the divine. Their religion told of ways to unite the human body to the god within by physical, mental and spiritual practice. They were already detailing the seven chakras as the seven souls of Ra. If you research Egyptology in depth, you will see a lot of this is common knowledge and there is plenty of evidence to support these facts. If you research the history of Yoga, you will find a lot of hearsay and inconclusive evidence claiming that yoga is over 5,000 years old. These are mostly based on one stick figure like carving of a man sitting cross legged with some animals behind him. This is actually believed to be an early rendering of Shiva. You know what they were doing in Egypt at the time? Building the pyramids, which are still some of the greatest structures on Earth. The Indus valley civilization had no such large buildings that were even remotely comparable to the Egyptian or Mesopotamian civilizations.
So while todays common Yoga practice is rooted in India and Hindu beliefs, it was clearly being practiced and documented well before in Egypt under a different name. That name is “Semai Tawi”, the union of the two lands. The two lands refer to the plane that our body and ego recognizes as the human experience, and the unseen realm of divine universal consciousness. The ancient Egyptians were adept at this practice and it was part of their core beliefs. Furthermore, the 42 laws of Ma’at were a precursor to the Ten Commandments that included things that Yogis hold dear like: thou shall not kill, thou shall not steal, thou shall not speak with ill will and so on…
What is this QiGong stuff I keep hearing about?
Basically, its Taoist and Buddhist Yoga developed around Tibet, Afghanistan and China, approximately 2,500 years ago. Qi, also referred to as chi or ki, is life force energy. Gong translates as, “the art of” or “the skill of”. So QiGong literally means, “the practice of extending one’s life.”
Unlike its close cousin, Tai Chi, which was originally designed for combat, the purpose of QiGong is meant solely for healing the body and as a means of spiritual practice and moving meditation. It differs from Yoga because it is mostly performed standing on both legs and is more dynamic with very little time spent in static postures. Besides focusing on the seven chakras, it is meant to open up and clear any energy blockages in the twelve main acupuncture meridians found in the body. Like Yoga, there are many different styles that were passed down for generations by family members and masters. The world famous Shaolin Monks which are known for their incredible Kung Fu (WuShu), are all QiGong masters. They practice QiGong daily for hours at a time so their bodies can withstand the high impact training and acrobatics.
Recently, QiGong has been becoming increasingly popular in the West and there is already some limited data proving that its health benefits can be substantial. One of the main reasons its gaining popularity so quickly is that there are no extremely uncomfortable postures, bends or twists like in Yoga. This makes it ideal for beginners, people with injuries and older folks. But don’t let that fool you, it’s a serious practice that will increase your flexibility, balance, blood flow and circulation, no matter what level of physical fitness you are in. It also helps balance your hormones and improves brain function. If you haven’t given it a try, you are really missing out. While the exercises may look easy to the untrained eye, we’ve had many personal trainers and fitness professionals express disbelief in how challenging the practice was after even a short session.
About the founders:
Jean “Phoenix” Le Grand is an 8th degree black belt, born in Haiti and raised in Brooklyn, that has been studying Martial Arts for 40 years. He is the Grandmaster and founder of Lost Legacy Martial Arts. He relocated to Florida in 2003 and has been teaching in the area ever since.
Sensei Jonathan Fields is an Israeli born, 4th degree black belt with over 15 years experience teaching Martial Arts and Qi-Gong. He is a full time acupuncture physician and doctor of Oriental medicine with his own successful Integrative Medicine practice. More info at: Coral Springs Acupuncture.
For training and info: 954.588.0887 | LostLegacySystems.com