31 Oct Workshop notes

Thanks to all of you who came for the workshop/talk on 31 Oct Sunday. Some of you wanted to have some brief notes on the topics discussed so that you could share them with your friends. Here are some notes. For the history of yoga part, click here to refer to Yoga Journal's excellent pages on this.

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What is yoga?

The ancients believe that Man is unhappy because he does not know who he really is. He does not know the difference between things which are his self and things which are non-self. He feels, as in individual, separate, incomplete, somehow lacking something and is continuously yearning for that which brings him satisfaction, that which brings him completion. However, because he cannot differentiate between self and non-self, he constantly thinks that he needs to seek for something outside of himself to feel satisfaction in completion. The ancients feel that we are already complete in ourselves. We need to learn who we truly are and see that we are already whole – gaining this perspective, our sense of completeness can even expand outside of our bodies and embrace all that there is in the world as part of us. The technology they developed to help us learn who we are is called Yoga. Yoga is a way of life that seeks union – a sense of coherence within ourselves, our actions, our mind and body, our co-existence with others in the world. Any practice that helps us to achieve this is yoga. Any practice that is yoga is interested in helping us realise happiness.

Who are we?

In the yoga tradition, we believe that everyone has 5 bodies (panca kosa):

1. Physical body: Annamaya kosa: matter
2. Energy body: Pranamaya kosa: sensations
3. Mind body: Manamaya kosa: thoughts, powered thoughts (emotions
4. Intellectual body: Vijnamaya kosa: discrimination, decision-making
5. Bliss body: Anandamaya kosa: inherent joy

It is interesting that the modern definition of health according to the World Health Organisation (WHO) is that health is not just an absence of disease but is well-being are the physical, mental, emotional, social and spiritual levels. This is an affirmation of what the ancients already believe: all five bodies need to be maintained in a healthy state in order for the person to be well, for the person to be whole. This is the reason for the proliferation of yoga practices. There are not just asanas (yoga poses) but a wide range of practices dealing with one or more kosas at a time: meditation, mantra repetition, charity work, intellectual inquiry, prayer, etc. Conversely, if there is dis-ease within any of the 5 kosas or a lack of union between the 5 kosas then there is ill health within the person. Thus yoga is the science of making us whole. There is a clear recognition in yoga that we need also to choose those practices that are most suited to our personalities and situation. This is another reason for the wide-ranging types of yoga practices and their ever-evolving forms.

What are the main types of yoga?

1. Bhakti Yoga: Mastery of emotions: cultivate selfless love
2. Karma Yoga: Mastery of actions: action without attachment to outcome
3. Jnana Yoga: Mastery of intellect: discern the truth through questioning
4. Raja (or Ashtanga)Yoga: Mastery of mind: (see below)

It is recommended that we practise all 4 types.

What is Ashtanga Yoga?

The term Ashtanga is composed of ashta “eight” and anga “limb”. This is the eight-limbed way of practicing yoga as first elaborated in the Yoga Sutras of the sage Patanjali. (There is much confusion with this term Ashtanga Yoga now because it is used by a contemporary yoga master, Pattabi Jois, to refer to his particular set regiment of yoga asanas.)

What are the 8 limbs of Ashatanga Yoga?

1. Yama:

Ahimsa: non-violence, compassion
Satya: truth, non-lying
Asteya: non-stealing, giving
Bramacharya: control of sexual energy, moderation in all things
Aparigraha: non-grasping, sense of abundance

2. Niyama:

Shauca: purity
Santosha: contentment
Tapas: burning enthusiasm
Svadyaya: study of the self
Ishvara pranidhana: celebration of the spiritual, “surrender”

3. Asana: mastery of posture

4. Pranayama: mastery of prana

5. Pratyahara: mastery of the senses

6. Dharana: concentration, focusing

7. Dhayana: de-focusing, meditation

8. Samadhi: bliss

In the past it is deemed only appropriate to progress from the first limb to the next only when you have mastered the earlier limb. However, now most gurus expect their students to be mindful of all eight limbs in their practice. It is believed that when you pursue limbs one to seven, eight happens spontaneously.

Moral of the story: each yoga practice is a tool to know and realise ourselves. Each tool possess the same spirit. When practiced with dedication, each yogic path leads to the same bliss of union, an actualisation of our selves. Select practices from each tradition that are suitable for your personality and situation and your entire life will be united by the guiding principles of yoga. All life is yoga.