Why do we practise yoga?

There are so many answers to this of course, as we each arrive at our practice for personal reasons: curiosity, seeking help with a physical injury, or perhaps drawn by the benefits for mental health. 

The longer I've practised, the more I refer back to the origins of yoga, developing out of the ancient Vedic traditions and am interested in how it has morphed over the millennia. Remarkably the Yoga Sūtras of Patañjali, thought to be compiled somewhere between 500 BCE and 450 CE, remain relevant to our modern lives. Or perhaps it's not so remarkable, given we are essential still the same humans, with all our thoughts and emotions, virtues and less helpful attributes! 

I feel these give a solid basis to my own practice, which as I age is focussed more and more on the sense of universal peace. Here I attempt a condensed summary (within the limits of my understanding) of just a couple of aspects written about in the sūtras, which formed the background to a workshop I taught recently. There are plenty of books spending thousands of pages on dissecting and debating the texts - in fact that critique and philosophising was ever a key part of the tradition - so please accept this is very truncated.

What is yoga?

The second and third sūtras state:

1.2 yogaścittavṛttinirodhaḥ

1.3 tadā draṣṭuḥ svarūpe'vasthānam

1.2 Yoga is to still the fluctuations of the mind

1.3 then the seer rests in its own consciousness

There are many nuances of translation, but essentially when we calm the agitations in our mind and body we can rest into our soul, the intrinsic nature of which is peace and bliss, and so we attain self-realisation, liberation, joy and connection.

This may sound grandiose, but we've all had those moments of connection, whether through prayer, or music, or meditation or other ways in which we enter this flow state. Even if just for a second, that moment when something arises from within and we just can just BE. 

How does this relate to asana & pranayama practice?

In the yogic tradition, the universe is comprised of puruṣa = pure awareness, innermost conscious self or soul, and prakŗti = the physical material of the universe, which in this case includes the mind (and conceivably in Western medical tradition also – all our thoughts are in the functioning of neurons after all).

The mind – citta - is defined as being made up of buddhi, ahaṅkāra & manas

• Sense organs (eyes, ears etc) deliver sensory input to manas – the aspect of Mind which recognises patterns
• Manas considers this and delivers to ahaṅkāra, the ego, which has the function of thought, self-identity (influenced by saṃskāras = previous inprints / experiences / memories)
• …which then delivers to buddhi, the discriminatory aspect – the highest level of Mind and necessary to be able to eventually recognise puruṣa

Hence we need to still the fluctuations of the citta – a stormy sea does not reflect the light of the moon after all - so that we can clearly recognise and abide in our own true nature.

The nature of prakŗti

The sūtras then describe that prakŗti is like a rope of three strands, the guņas = sattva, rajas & tamas. The qualities of which are:

• Sattva lucidity, tranquility, wisdom, happiness, clarity
• Rajas grasping, fieriness, energetic endeavour, power, restlessness
• Tamas ignorance, delusion, lethargy, apathy

So if we need the Mind to become quieter, we need to develop sattvic qualities. Of course we need some rajas and tamas in our lives. Without rajas we wouldn't have the drive to get off the sofa and do anything, and without tapas we wouldn't ever rest. 

And where do we, as embodied humans, easily access and recognise the guņas? In our bodies! 

Hence āsana and prāņāyāma become two possible (of many) routes to balancing out the guņas, finding more sattvic energies, allowing the mind to become quiet, and allowing the natural light of the soul to shine through. 

And so we turn to those practices which help us settle ourselves: meditation, devotion (bhakti yoga including the practice of kīrtan, chanting mantra), study (jñāna knowledge) and also āsana & prāņāyāma as vehicles for attaining more sattvic qualities, for turning our senses inwards and creating the conditions for liberation to arise. The common theme here is looking within - becoming our own teacher.

Svādhyāya, self-study to recognise our inner teacher

Within a physical yoga practice then, at the simplest level we need to take time to observe ourselves. What do I need right now? Am I experiencing agitation? Lethargy? Exhaustion? Hyperactivity? And what can I do to help myself come back to balance in this situation? 

Gradually we learn what effects to different asanas and breathwork practices have on the mind and body. 

On a practical level we can observe current external conditions (weather, temperature, the place we're in) and internal conditions (feelings, emotions, aches and pains, energy levels).

"God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference"

We learn to control what we can, and adapt to (or around) the things we cannot change.

At a very basic level we can create a regular place and time to practice (external conditions) and start with a pause to ask what are our internal conditions today? 

Then we apply the knowledge of previous experience (remembering what normally happens) combined with paying attention to what is actually happening! We learn to see the effects of different āsanas on our bodies and minds, and then practice accordingly:  standings, balancings, jumpings, forwards, inversions, backbends, twists, śavāsana, prāņāyāma and so on. Feeling dull and need some energy? Maybe handstands or sun salutations will lift us. Or if feeling overwhelmed we might discover we life forward bends with the head supported, or maybe supported backbends. This will bring balance and hopefully more sattvic qualities to our bodies and minds.

We still need to get beyond the mind – hence dhāraņā (focus), dhyāna (meditation) & samādhi (bliss)

Having brought some stability and balance we can more easily focus the mind and create conditions for meditation. Then we see through the 'stained glass' of the mind to the light within. 

“Enveloped in the soul’s consciousness, the workings of the citta appear to be themselves conscious, but in reality they are unconscious (prakrti), dependent on the light of the soul for their illumination.” [from Edwin Bryant's commentary on The Yoga Sūtras of Patañjali) 

So eventually the buddhi can concentrate and discern and fully understand its own nature and rest in its own consciousness. 

And even if we don’t get to that stage every time, we still feel better, with elements of joy, freedom from pain, and experiencing connection to the universe. That feeling certainly brings me back to my practice again and again. 

This short interview with senior Iyengar yoga teacher Marla Apt is concise and gets to the point of what I’ve been talking about.

Or if you prefer, read these Hothouse Flowers lyrics from This is It (Your Soul). Perhaps you have a favourite song, prayer or reading that inspires you? Do share!

But just listen to the waters
Find the answer on the street
Because now it's time to listen, now it's time to meet
Your soul, now this is it
It's time to meet your soul
Your crying soul
This is your soul
Set free your soul

This is it, set it free, let the light inside
Shine from the inside out
Let the light inside...

With thanks to all my teachers, whether yogis or friends, musicians and artists, students or passers-by met briefly on the journey through life. 

Claire Ferry