THE 8 LIMBS OF YOGA: 3. ASANA

"Do you do yoga?" "Yoga is too hard!"  "I hope doing yoga will help me lose weight."  "Yoga makes me sweat."  "Yoga is for girls."  Yoga is.... Yoga is.... Yoga is....

In the West most equate yoga with asana -- the poses.   Most see it as some form of twisty weird exercise, a means to a physical end -- to become stronger, tone muscle, be more flexible, lose weight, stretch tight muscles, etc.

In our study of the Yoga Sutras, the foundational texts describing yoga philosophy and practice, we discover that of the 196 Yoga Sutras, there are a grand total of THREE that address asana.  The poses with which we commonly define the practice of yoga are relegated to a mere mention.

Does this imply that we have it all wrong and doing all those poses is for naught?  Nope.  Asana is one of the co-equal 8 Limbs of Yoga which we are called to practice diligently.  An asana practice is essential to finding strength and ease with which to embrace all the other aspects of a yogic life.  And in fact it is an exercise of sorts in that it helps our bodies remain strong and balanced -- but that is not the totality of what it means to learn and practice the postures.

Practicing the poses passed down through generations of teachers in various traditions is meant to help us find both strength and ease in the body, or another way of saying this is to find steadiness and comfort.  When we are oblivious to our bodies, or do harm to them, hold tension and stress in our muscles, or fail to breathe deeply our mind becomes distracted from a state of calm attention and puts its awareness on our physical discomfort.

Asana practice allows us to focus on and strengthen our physical awareness and conditioning to find ease and comfort with stillness, movement, and breath.  When moving through the poses, we find the opportunity to link breath to movement, notice what is easeful and what is challenging, subtly adjust our posture to find a good balance between effort and ease, at times by challenging ourselves a bit, but never, ever to the point of pain or struggle.  As bodies become stronger, more flexible, and more balanced, our minds can find the same easeful rest in meditation -- and in life.

Asana practice prepares us for the more subtle aspects of yoga -- that of living a life of awareness in mind, body, and spirit, without distraction or attachment to that which is not the seat of our true self.

There are many lineages leading to many different styles of yoga asana practice.  You can Google and find descriptions of them.  The lineage in which I was trained dates back to Sri T. Krishnamacharaya in India.  He passed on his knowledge to others who used the basis of his teachings to inform their own now famous styles of yoga (Iyengar and Ashtanga), but most notably he passed his teachings on to his son, TKV Desikachar.  He went on to develop the Viniyoga style which seeks to develop a practice individualized to each student and has a therapeutic aspect as further refined by Gary Kraftsow in America.  Kraftsow taught Robin Rothenberg, who taught my teacher, Elizabeth Gray, who taught ME!  I claim no expertise, being a rank beginner teacher, but one who is nevertheless grateful for the knowledge and practice of this lineage.

The next time you find yourself in Downward Dog, remember to find stability and ease there, breathe with awareness, and know the pose is moving you toward a more calm and aware inner life, which is the whole goal of yoga -- not to twist into strange shapes, but to calm the fluctuations of the mind, leading to a life well lived for ourselves and in relationship with others. ©

Namaste, donnajurene

Photo Credit:  Seattle Yoga News
Resources: Yoga International; Tracy Weber: Whole Life Blog; Yoga Journal

THE 8 LIMBS OF YOGA: 2. THE NIYAMAS

Last time I wrote about the first limb of the eight limbs of Yoga -- the Yamas -- those ethical principles of the Yoga Sutras dealing with how we interact with others.  Look back at the previous post if you are interested in reviewing.  https://circlingthemat.blogspot.com/2019/10/the-great-vow.html

After having just spent 10 days on vacation with good friends, I had plenty of opportunity to practice the Yamas.  They could answer as to how successful I was, but I did try to keep these precepts in mind most of the time.

Home now, it's time to turn inward.  How do I manage my relationship with myself?  The Yogic Path helps us in this regard with the second limb of yoga -- the Niyamas.

Here they are:
Sauca -- cleanliness (of body, mind, and heart as well as our surroundings)
Santosa -- contentment
Tapas -- practice that causes positive change
Svadhyaya -- study by and of oneself
Isvara-pranidhana -- humility and faith


Sauca, cleanliness, is easy, right?  I shower regularly!  But Sauca is more.  The sutras tell us that our bodies, ever changing, can never be pure and that is OK.  This reminds us that the body is always in a state of impermanence and that the Light within is the only truly "clean" and unchanging force.  Cleanliness in our surroundings is important.  Physical clutter creates mental and psychic clutter.  Tidy surroundings encourage a peaceful space, yet not so great if tidiness becomes obsessive.  Keep a clear space in which to live and work and drive, but one that is also welcoming and comfortable and lends itself to creativity.  Cleanliness of mind and heart can be challenging, especially in this communication age when we are bombarded by words and images at dizzying speed.  Are we on information overload?  Do we take in too much "bad news"?  Are we drawn to "mature audiences only" media with resulting unsettled feelings?  Have we kept something from another, or kept feelings bottled up and need to "come clean"?  Sauca can take the form of truth telling, apologizing, even mourning as we cleanse ourselves of feelings of grief.

Santosa and gratitude go hand in hand.  Santosa leads us to happiness.  We become content with what we have and who we are.  Easy-breezy, right?  Not so much.  We are always comparing ourselves to others, which breeds discontent!  They have a new car, a bigger house, smarter kids, a slimmer build, a stronger body, a better job, and on and on.  It is easy to feel the stirrings of envy rather than gratitude. Practicing Santosa means stopping the negative, "not good enough" thoughts in their tracks and coming back to appreciating what you have and who you are in every moment.  Because again, all those "things" are impermanent. They are not YOU.  Letting go of expectations and being unattached to results allows us to live in the moment of "what is" with total contentment.

How do we put the change we want to make for ourselves into action?  By working on it.  Working creates friction between the old ways and the new.  This is Tapas, or heat.  We must feel the the heat of discomfort as we transform, breaking old habits and learning the new.  This takes discipline and effort.  Healthy change is needed if we are to grow in our practices.  In any endeavor for change we feel that discomfort -- eating more healthfully means dealing with the 'pain' of leaving sweet desserts behind; quitting smoking or alcohol or other addictions requires a great deal of emotional and physical effort.  Working through difficulties with others requires coming to a place of compassion and may change our attitude toward them over time.  Tapas is the effort we bring to our personal growth.

We must look inward, with honesty and curiosity to understand who we are now and who we are meant to be.  What motivates us?  Why do we act, react, and respond as we do? This self-reflection and self-study is Svadhyaya.  We become aware of strengths and weaknesses.  We become aware of patterns of  behavior that no longer serve us, that perhaps we've grown to repeat out of habit.  With awareness we can shift to more positive behaviors and outcomes that are healthy and clear.  We may notice that our short-temper with our spouse is misdirected and that we are still actually harboring frustration toward a co-worker, or even acting out in response to a childhood memory, long buried. With self-reflection comes clarity and the ability to change our words and actions.

There is only so much we can know from our own minds.  We are limited by our personal experiences, our unique intellect, our biases.  Turning to a higher power when we are lost in confusion is the path. We can find guidance in books, at lectures, through teachers or preachers that can inform a new way of seeing things and lead us forward.  Studies of scriptures and writings can help enlighten our way. Yet often all we can do is surrender, in the belief that this life is a spark of the Divine and that the never-ending, always present Light within, (that some call God, or Allah, or Krishna, or Goddess, or Universe) is the true seat of our soul.  This is Isvara-pranidhana.  It is the recognition that humility and surrender may be the only way forward.  We are not our Ego self.

The Niyamas are meant to provide a guide to self-knowledge, to contentment, and inner peace.  When combined with the Yamas, these two limbs of yoga provide us a way to live in harmony with ourselves and those around us.  It's not easy.  But it's important.  And it's worth practicing.©

Namaste, donnajurene
Photo Credit:  www.pixabay.com
Resource:  The Path of the Yoga Sutras - A Practical Guide to the Core of Yoga by Nicolai Bachman.