Greetings Sadhakas,
This week in class
we are considering the first steps on the path of Yoga.
Beginnings are important, as they set the
tone for what will follow. Thus
beginners on the yogic path would do well to understand correctly what Yoga is
about and then to approach it accordingly.
There is a humorous saying in Yoga circles that Yoga has been reduced to
the practice of postures, and that postures has been reduced to stretching, and
that stretching has been reduced to lengthening the hamstrings. Authentic Yoga is always a spiritual
discipline.
Every single technique or practice of the
highly diversified approach of Yoga has the same purpose: to set us free, to
take us beyond the conditioning of our ego-personality, into the spacious realm
of the Spirit, or higher self (called Atman or Purusha).
As we set foot on the yogic path, we must
right away acknowledge that we have work to do on ourselves. This sense should stay with us until we are
actually Self-realized, or liberated.
The best protection against going astray on
the spiritual path is humility and integrity.
That is why the yogic path begins not with the postures or meditation,
as so widely believed, but with moral disciplines: nonharming; truthfulness;
nonstealing; continence and moderation; and greedlessness.
I know that no ecstatic state (Samadhi),
however lofty, amounts to very much without firm grounding in the moral
disciplines. For the ultimate goal of
liberation depends on our psychological and moral integrity. The entire yogic process can be viewed as one
of progressive self-realization. There are
no shortcuts to self-realization. Our
inner purity (or integrity) is the only doorway to freedom.
Yoga Gems: A Treasury
of Practical and Spiritual Wisdom from Ancient and Modern Masters – Edited
by Georg Feuerstein
The homework is to evaluate your reasons
for practicing yoga. Study and
understand the “moral disciplines” and work to implement (or re-implement) this
first step in the yogic process – practicing the Yamas. Then learn about the other
seven limbs of Yoga and see how they can be applied to your life (see below).
Blessings,
paul cheek
Rushing Water Yoga
417 NE Birch St., Camas, WA 98607
360.834.5994
www.rushingwateryoga.com
Serving Yoga to Camas, Washougal, and Vancouver Washington since 2003
Eight Limbs of Yoga
Described in the second chapter of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras, the Eight
Limbs of Yoga are set fourth as the means, or the path towards the “quest of
the soul.” The eight limbs are as
follows:
Yama – commitment to universal moral commandments
Niyama – self-purification through discipline
Asana – posture
Pranayama – rhythmic control of the breath
Pratyahara – withdrawal and emancipation of the mind from the
domination of the senses and exterior objects
Dharana – concentration
Dhyana – meditation
Samadhi – a state of super-consciousness
Yama and Niyama control the yogini’s passions and emotions and keep her
in harmony with others. Asanas keep the
body healthy and strong and in harmony with nature. Finally, the yogini becomes free of body
consciousness. She
conquers the body and renders it a fit vehicle for the soul. These three limbs represent bahiranga
sadhana, the outward quests. These limbs
are also considered the physical pursuits.
The next two stages, Pranayama and Pratyahara, teach the aspirant to
regulate the breathing, and thereby control the mind. This helps to free the senses from the
thralldom of the objects of desire.
These two limbs represent the antaranga sadhana, the inner quests. These limbs are also considered the mental
pursuits.
Dharana , Dhyana, and Samadhi take the yogini into the innermost
recesses of her soul. The yogini does
not look
heavenward to find God. She
knows that God is within, being known as the Antaratma, the Inner Self. The last three stages keep the yogini in
harmony with herself and her maker.
These three limbs are called antaratma sadhana, the quest of the soul. These limbs are also considered the spiritual
pursuits.
The five Yamas are as follows:
-Ahimsa, non-violence
-Satya, honesty and truthfulness
-Asteya, non-stealing
-Brahmacharya, continence (responsibility), moderation and dedication
to the understanding of Divinity
-Aparigraha, non-covetousness
The five Niyamas are as follows:
-Saucha, purity internally and externally
-Santosa, contentment, reducing desires, becoming cheerful and creating
balance of mind
-Tapas, discipline in the mind and body and directing the mind towards
the self within
-Svadhyaya, study the source of
our actions, learn and search for truth and self-realization
-Isvara Pranidhana, dedication to humanity and surrendering to God and
the powers that be and abiding to the greater will
References: Light on Yoga, Light
on the Yoga Sutras, and The Tree of Yoga all by BKS Iyengar (paraphrased)
