Spiritual aspects of yoga
“Whether one comes for relief from pain, fitness or flexibility, for peace of mind, for health, for learning asana-s / pranayama / yoga… whatever may be the aim, Iyengar Yoga is tuned to Patanjali, is tuned to Yoga.”
– Abhijata Iyengar
LIGHT ON THE YOGA SUTRAS
How often have you heard your teacher quoting or referencing Light on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali? Why does your teacher constantly mention this ancient text?
I.2 yogah cittavritti nirodhah
yoga is the cessation of movements in the consciousness
Savasana
Near the end of a class, as you lie on the mat in savasana, have you observed any changes in your thoughts or emotions? Perhaps they’ve quietened? Or in the case of particular busy day, perhaps these fluctuations accelerated instead? Can you recall a class in the recent past, where the fluctuations of your mind did start to become restrained?
I.3 tada drastuh svarupe avasthanam
then, then seer dwells in his own true splendor
When your consciousness does approach stillness, is there a corresponding change in your outlook or perspective afterwards? During the final asana in class, savasana, you are a silent witness, but afterwards, when you come out and mindfully put away your props, there is sometimes a transformation in your outlook.
That same busy day, or nagging worry from the past, or dread of an upcoming conversation.. becomes less daunting, and part of a broader outlook.
“Yoga allows you to rediscover a sense of wholeness in your life, where you do not feel like you are constantly trying to fit broken pieces together.”
The post-class transformation of our outlook on life, is typically short lived, and we revert back to our usual worries, distractions and confusion. Feeling again overwhelmed and confused, we become caught up in our “turbulent worldly life” (pg. 53, Light on Yoga)
I.4 vrtti sarupyam itaratra
at other times, the seer identifies with the fluctuating consciousness
“Worked upon by the desires and fears of turbulent worldly life, it becomes cloudy, opaque, even dirty and scarred” (LoY, page 53)
We become restless, ignorant of our true motivations, and unbalanced in our thoughts and emotions. How do we reconnect with the sense of wholeness we felt earlier?
And what is ‘it’? The ‘it’ that can become ‘cloudy, opaque, even dirty and scarred’? Can it be described, let alone defined? This ‘it’ may vary day to day, but one way to describe the ‘un-describable’ is this way:
During a moment of peace and quiet, you notice ‘it’ as being just outside the periphery of your perception. If you turn your attention to it, ‘it’ disappears. The more you focus on it, the more fleeting it is. It you stay still, and quiet, it can re-appear and without any effort or strain, it slowly comes into your field of awareness. You may have noticed it during a quiet moment during yoga class, or perhaps during a moment of peace in your home.
Iyengar Yoga offers step-by-step ways to connect with this ‘it’, based upon the yoga sutras of patanjali. For example:
II.1 tapah svadhyaya Isvarapranidhanani kriyayogah
Burning zeal in practice, self-study and study of scriptures, and surrender to God are the acts of yoga.
So why would you perform the acts of yoga?
II.2 samadhi bhanvanarthah klesa tanukaranarthasca
The practice of yoga reduces afflictions and leads to samdhi
What aspect of these ‘acts of yoga’ are involved? One is the meditative aspect, practiced during a yoga class.
II.11 dyanaheyah tadvrttayah
The fluctuations of consciousness created by gross and subtle afflictions are to be silenced through meditation.
It is not only during savasana but in all parts of class. Even during the most strenous sun salutations, inversions, backbends and balances, there is to be a meditative aspect.
Invocation to Patanjali
In our classes at the Iyengar Yoga Centre of Victoria, you sit for invocation to Patanjali at the start, and there is to be a mediative aspect here too. Between asanas, as you enter and exit out of, even these parts of class involve a sense of effortless quiet.
This lets you experience the silencing of the top-of-mind worries, and if patient, also the more subtle behind-the-curtain anxieties. This invocation, at the start of class, grounds our practice in the yoga sutras. This practice continues via the moment-by-moment experiences of stillness during the class. The class ends with savasana, which can be a doorway into meditation proper.
Yoga Sutras
If you’re interested in the yoga sutras, please speak with your teacher at our centre. We run the occasional ‘yoga sutra’ study groups and classes. There are no pre-requisites to join, just a keen interest in the philosophical and spiritual aspects of yoga.
I.1 atha yoganusasanam
With prayers for divine blessings, now begins an exposition of the sacred art of you.
The teachers are well trained and accept you where you are in your yoga journey whether it’s your first class or 100th. They get to know every student quickly and are very aware and sensitive to individual needs. – LE
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