Good Evening, Everyone! ☮️
Welcome to the introductory post of what is anticipated to be a series on the Art and Science of Yoga.
This diary was prompted in response to several inquiries from members of our DK Community.
I knew from the outset it would be a challenge to impart the essence of the broad discipline of Yoga within the limitations of an online only format. But I’m a Yoga teacher, not a physical fitness instructor, and it’s my responsibility to support everyone who passes through my orbit in her/his/their personal evolution, so I’m going to give it a go.
But first a bit of background. I’ve been a Yoga practitioner for 45 years and a Yoga teacher for over 25 of those years. I began my studies at The Himalayan Institute which was founded by Swami Rama. Swami Rama’s teachings skewed heavily toward the psychological facets of Yoga, such as breath awareness and meditation. Then a relocation brought me into contact with the style of Yoga taught by BKS Iyengar. In contrast to Swami Rama, Mr. Iyengar placed strong on focus on Yoga’s physicality (the poses) as he felt most people relate to their own bodies in a primal way. Today my personal practice and teaching is a blend of the two styles, as well as my own life experiences and research into other traditions.
2014 Memorial to BKS Iyengar (1918 (or 1920) — 2014)
So let’s dive right in. Like many folks, you probably think Yoga is about twisting your body into a variety of impossible seeming pretzel shapes. But that misconception is far from the truth.
So if Yoga is not contortionism, then what is it?
Well, actually, Yoga is a multifaceted philosophical system that was developed thousands of years ago in the area we now call India, as a way to teach people how to live a human life.
Yoga, also known as The Royal Path, is traditionally organized into 8 branches or stages. The Eight Limbs of Yoga provide a framework for ethical conduct, outline practices for maintaining bodily health and establish guidelines for safely exploring alternate levels of consciousness.
‘Looking in the Coffee Cup’ by MonkeySea. Definitely another level consciousness.
The Eight Limbs are defined in The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, which is a collection of oral treatises that was committed to writing, probably between 200 BCE and 200 CE. Patanjali is considered the ‘Father of Yoga’ and his ‘Yoga Sutras’ is the authoritative text on Yoga.
The Eight Limbs of Yoga
- Yama – Right Social Attitudes and Actions
- Ahimsa - Nonviolence
- Satya - Truthfulness
- Asteya - Non-Stealing
- Brahmacharya – Moderation, Conservation of Energy and Resources
- Aparigraha - Non-Covetousness
2. Niyama – Right Personal Attitudes and Actions
- Saucha - Cleanliness
- Santosha - Contentment
- Tapas - Passionate Determination
- Svadhyaya - Self-Study
- Isvara Pranidhana – Surrender
3. Asana - Practice of poses (Hatha Yoga)
4. Pranayama - Breath control
5. Pratyahara - Detachment from external stimuli
6. Dharana – Concentration
7. Dhyana – Meditation
8. Samadhi - Liberation
The entire focus of the Eight Limbs is to break down habitual patterns of using the body, of thinking and of reacting to the phenomenal world.
A habit according to The Merriam-Webster Dictionary is “an acquired mode of behavior that has through repetition become nearly or completely involuntary”.
In other words, when you’re acting out of habit, your mind is set to autopilot and is not engaging in analytic thought. Your capacity to freely choose your actions is diminished because your subconscious mind is in the driver’s seat, reacting to what’s happened in the past and projecting that into the future, and not addressing what’s happening right NOW.
Attribution: DK Library, Public Domain iStock
But adhering to the Eight Limbs of Yoga demands that you be grounded in the present. It hones your ability to make moment-to-moment deliberate choices about your body, your behavior and even your thoughts so that you’re no longer set on autopilot.
Over time you become a more responsible person, that is, responsive to your environment and your life circumstances AS THEY ARE in any given instant. You transform into someone who is fully capable of reacting to the ever-changing challenges of life in ways that are appropriate and beneficial.
As previously stated, Yoga was created to teach people how to live a human life. What distinguishes human beings from the other animals with whom we share the planet is our ability to reflect and reason. We can change our responses to stimuli, and that opens us up a hidden realm of possibilities that allow us to truly become masters of our own destinies.
Door at Arcosanti. What’s behind it?
The Eight Limbs of Yoga share obvious similarities with other ethical systems. All these systems were designed to offer a blueprint for how to behave in the civilized society of their age.
But as a living philosophy and lifestyle of the modern era, Yoga must remain relevant to the lightning-paced world of contemporary people – or fade into the mists of Time.
So it continues to evolve, embracing and incorporating new scientific and cultural discoveries into its vast wealth of accumulated knowledge. And it’s in that ability to change and adapt where the discipline of Yoga resonates so strongly with the denizens of the 21st Century.
I hope it will resonate with you. We all have to learn to live in harmony with ourselves and with the billions of others with whom we share the planet. The survival of life on Earth depends on it.
My Poster Design for a recent Wellness Fair
Namaste, Friends! 🙏 I bow to you.
Remember always: Teach Love. Live Love. Be Love ❤️
Planned topics for future posts include delving more deeply into The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali with detailed discussion of the Eight Limbs, investigating the subtle energy system of the body (Human Energy Field/HEF) and chakras, demystifying poses and their benefits, as well as remote individual and group exercises that will encourage direct experience and controlled experimentation.
But for today I’ll just ask you to respond to the poll below so I can gauge if there is sufficient interest to pen additional posts.
