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Four Parts to the Breath

Mon, 25 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Learning to breathe consciously is of enormous value to us.
Exercising with the breath is known as “pranayama/prāṇāyāmaḥ” in Yoga.
In appropriate asana and pranayama practice we can learn how to do this.
Breath is so fundamental to life, working with it strengthens our entire system, and leads to vitality, health and a radiant energy.

The breath has four distinct phases:

Inhale
Pause
Exhale
Pause

Each phase has its’ own qualities

Inhale:

Energising
Refreshing
Warming

Exhale:

Calming
Cleansing
Cooling

The pauses, largely speaking, reinforce and enhance the qualities of the previous phase.
So the pause after the inhale deepens the energising effects of the inhale.
The pause after exhale deepens the clarifying effects of the exhale.

Many combinations for modifying the rhythm and the lengths of the various phases are available to us.
Regular and appropriate practice leads to mastery of the breathing; increasing health and vitality, calming the mind, and preparing us for deeper experience.

References;

Yoga sutras II:49
“tasmin-sati-śvāsa-praśvāsayoḥ gati-vicchedaḥ prāṇāyāmaḥ”
“Next come the breathing exercises which suspend the flow of breath and increase the life energy.”
trans: Alistair Shearer

What makes Yoga Yoga?

Tue, 07 May 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Is this Yoga?

Is this?

This?

Well, you can’t tell just by looking at the form/shape, because that is not what defines Yoga posture as Yoga posture.

So how can we tell?

The motivating intention/goal/destination of Yoga

If we are seeking the goals of Yoga and using the principles of Yoga, then we are practising Yoga.

The goal of Yoga is to achieve absolute Freedom via the reconnection with, the realisation of, the re-becoming of, our Deepest Truth.
Patañjali called that Deepest Truth “Purusha”, we might call it Soul.

Patañjali’s method was to quiet the mind.
We work to still the mind.
So that the Deeper Truth can become apparent.
Then we are practising Yoga. Otherwise we are lost in the mind.

So then, in relation to our posture (asana) practice, if we are working to achieve reconnection with our Deepest Truth through clearing/taming the mind, then a particular physical position or exercise may qualify as Yoga.
Given that our intention is such then any posture/exercise must also incorporate the principles following in order to qualify as Yoga.

In the 196 verses of the Yoga Sutras, Patañjali only mentions posture/asana four times (and once of those is just to say that it exists). Although, with typical brevity, Patañjali says no more about posture/asana, he gives us a great deal of scope to work with.

His definition:

“Asana is steadiness and ease.”
trans. C. Chapple.

Can we say then, that any physical exercise, not just the eighty-four or so usually recognised as Yoga postures, can be called Yoga if we make it so by applying the criteria above?
I think we can.
Patañjali certainly does not say that we cannot, and gives no specific instruction on the actual form of any asana.

Many of the postures, particularly the standing postures, that we employ today are not old, dating back perhaps some 100 years or so.
Mark Singleton’s fascinating book ‘Yoga Body’ does a great job of examining the origins of modern Yoga postures.

All this is not to say that there are not many valid, ’lesser’ goals/aims on our Yoga posture journey.
There are, of course, many landmarks, pass-throughs and stop-overs, both common to all and individual to each of us, along the way to the final destination.
For example, we may need to ease this pain, or soothe that dis-ease, or work with any number of potential physical issues in order to make progress.
Bodily issues and difficulties, chronic pain or limited mobility etc, can inhibit our access to Yoga’s higher goals and they can be very effectively addressed with appropriate posture practice.

Such issues can also act as sign-posts, revealing hidden aspects of ourselves, and guiding us on our path.
A stiff, painful back, for example, can indicate a deeper emotional or perhaps karmic condition that needs to be addressed.
And that condition can often be effectively addressed, entirely or in part, via appropriate asana practice.

Conclusion

The path taken and the ultimate destination are the defining aspects of any journey and are what give that journey direction, shape and meaning.
In order to be authentically walking the path of Yoga we must, by classical definition, be working towards realisation of our deeper, hidden Truth via the process of quietening/mastering of the mind.
That given, a Yoga posture, then, is not defined by its shape/form.
The posture becomes a Yoga posture when we employ and balance the foundational, defining characteristics.

References;

Yoga sutras 02:46
“sthira-sukham-āsanam”

Singleton, M. (2010) Yoga body: The origins of modern posture practice. Oxford University Press.

A Simple Breath Meditation Practice

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Sit with an upright, relaxed spine and comfortable base, on the floor with a cushion if you can be comfortable, or in a suitable chair
Set a timer at a length that is appropriate for you: 10 minutes is a good start, lengthening as you progress
Close your eyes, if comfortable to do so
Focus your attention on the breath as it moves in and out of your nose
When you notice that the mind has wandered, as it certainly will, gently bring your focus back to the breath
Repeat 2x daily, morning and evening

Notes:

Repetition is key to success.
Better a few minutes each day than irregular long sessions.
Do not change or deliberately alter the natural rhythm of your breath, let it be as it will.
Do not be harsh on yourself when you notice that the mind has wandered again, this is the nature of the mind.
The goal is to focus attention, not to stop thoughts altogether.

Awakening is more Process than Event

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

We are not ‘asleep’ one moment, learn or experience something, and then in the next moment are ‘awake’.
Generally-speaking, it does not happen like that.

The process of awakening is the steady removal/unwinding of the conditioned patterns/habits of our minds, such as; erroneous beliefs, selfish ego, desires and aversions, traumas and fears, and other limitations and blocks.
These patterns are called samskaras in Yoga.
This process takes time, lifetimes even.
We do our daily work, without seeking particular outcomes, and move steadily and surely forwards.
Sometimes perhaps even falling backwards.

For the dedicated and committed practitioner there may well be, at times, big jumps, quantum leaps even, of personal evolution.
We may pass recognised “landmarks” on the spiritual path, such as a kundalini opening or an experience of samadhi.
Yet even such a “big” experience, shift or realisation, lasting perhaps moments (measured in “normal time”), may take years to fully integrate, and does not necessarily signify the end of the road.

For the committed conscientious practitioner success is guaranteed.

Thus, orient yourself towards the goal, and step forwards. The path is long, we move forwards and upwards step by step.

References;

“Drop by drop is the water pot filled.
Likewise, the wise man, gathering it little by little, fills himself with good.”
Buddha Sidhartha Gotama
Dhammapada IX 121

Breath and Thought are Twins

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Breath and thought are inseparably connected

For example, faster, agitated thinking leads immediately to faster, agitated breath, whilst slower breathing quietens the mind.

This is a two-way street with which we can work to our benefit.

In one direction, by regulating breath, in posture work (asana) or seated breathing exercises (pranayama), we can achieve specific effects in our thoughts.
We can change how we feel, perhaps inhaling to energise and refresh, or exhaling to calm.

Coming at things from the other direction, meditation calms, quietens and interrupts the ongoing inner flow of thoughts.
The process is inherently calming to the breath.
Deeper enquiry occurs as breath quiets the mind and allows more space for pure experience and the resultant peace and contentment.

“Breath is central to yoga because breath is central to life”
T Krishnamacarya

Buddha is Christ

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

The word “Christ” refers to the reaching of a higher state of being/consciousness.

The name of the person we call “Buddha” was Shakyamuni Siddharta Gotama.
Again, “Buddha” refers to a state of illuminated being.

These words are an acknowledgment, an accolade, an honorific given to one achieving a full realisation of our common human Inner Truth.

In the image above we can see use of symbolism common to two traditions, Buddhism and Christianity;
The halos and the blessings made with the hands.

The core purpose of all authentic spiritual traditions is to become aware of ourselves as this Inner Reality, to ourselves recognise our own Christ/Buddha nature.
It is our disconnection from this Reality which causes all our sorrows and troubles, and reconnection is thus their solution.

The teachings of both Jesus and Gotama had numerous similarites;
Look inside, love and serve others, and there you will find peace, freedom and truth.

“I love to talk of Jesus because he was a man of perfect Self-realisation.
However, he was not the only son of God, nor did he claim to be.”
Paramahansa Yogananda

Cultivate the Opposite

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Often our thoughts, words and actions are caused by unconscious, habitual, “lower” feelings, such as fear, hate, mistrust and possessiveness, and cause harm to ourselves and to others.

We can recognise that we have headed off the path and make an effort to head back in the right direction by interrupting our misguided thoughts, words and resultant harmful actions, and by considering the results of these.

Consideration and care towards others, and towards ourselves, combined with appropriate, committed spiritual practice supports us as we unwind these negatives.

Cultivating positive attitudes is more effective than struggling with negative ones.

References;

Yoga Sutras 02:33
“vitarka-bādhane pratipakṣa-bhāvanam”
“When oppressed by negative deliberation, cultivate the opposite side.”
(trans): Paul Harvey

“Conquer anger with non-anger
Conquer badness with goodness
Conquer meanness with generosity
Conquer dishonesty with truth"
Buddha Siddharta Gotama

Faith is not blind belief

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Faith is not blind belief or mental slavery to doctrine, creed nor gospel.
It is not an unquestioning acceptance of dogma, or the words/teachings/ideas of others.

Faith is a knowing, an intuiting, an inner conviction, that there is more than just the surface universe generally apparent to us.
It is a confidence in something deeper, something perhaps undefinable but nevertheless more real than the temporary passing of material “daily reality”.
It is an inner knowing that we are more than just carbon-based, meat-machines living mechanically at the mercy of our genetic inheritance.

Faith recognises that there is benevolent intelligence, holding and guiding us, a something which makes whatever happens “ok”, because whatever happens happens with good reason, as part of a Bigger Picture, a flow, a design.

In the current turbulent moment in history, when fear is so prevalent that it can easily be overwhelming and depressing to us, cultivating faith will help us to overcome our own internal anxieties and move forward on our personal path.
Appropriate, committed practice supports us in this, giving us direction and strength.

Meditation, service to others, devotion to deities or higher powers, physical/breath exercises are all good options for us to choose between.
Regular, committed practice will help us to calm our agitated thoughts/emotions/feelings, thus allowing our deeper knowing to radiate out into our daily lives.

The practice of Yoga requires no specific deeper beliefs, but it is common for these to arise when walking the path.

The sanskrit word for faith is śraddhā.

Yoga sutras 1:20
“śraddhā-vīrya-smṛti-samādhi-prajñā-pūrvakaḥ itareśām.”
“Through faith, which will give sufficient energy to achieve success against all odds, direction will be maintained. The reaslisation of the goal of Yoga is just a matter of time.”
trans: TKV Desikachar

Five Truths of Manhood

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Richard Rohr is a Franciscan monk who is well known for his writings on manhood and sacred initiation on the hero’s journey.
Rohr summarised a lifetime’s work into the following maxims that distinguish men from boys.
He offers a template for a practical and pragmatic spiritual life, where men are useful, productive, sensitive and strong.

Five Truths of Manhood

You are going to die
Life is hard
You are not that important
Your life is not about you
You are not in control of the outcome

Failure to realise these truths condemns a man to a life of childhood.

“The purpose of a man is to look after all the life around him
Plants, animals, people, land
Everybody standing up alive
Everybody beautiful”
David Mowaljarlai Am, Ngarinyin elder

Sources

Manhood, Biddulph, 2015

Future Suffering Can and Should Be Avoided

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

There is suffering

As individual souls, each streaming from the common Source, we are responsible for our own actions and their results.
This is karma.

There is a cause of suffering

Our unconscious, habitual actions create karmic seeds/habits in our energetic field, which cause us to act in ways that lead to pain in the future.
Our situation now is a result of our past actions.
Future pain orginates in our actions and intentions now.

There is an end to suffering

When we re-connect with Source our actions become naturally more harmonious and our future suffering, and thus that of those around us and in the wider world, is reduced.
By improving our clarity and becoming more aware, we can avoid previous mistakes.

There is a path to the end of suffering

We can re-connect with Source through the consistent and appropriate practice of quietening the mind, without attachment to any outcomes.

References;

Yoga Sutras 02:16
“heyaṃ duḥkham-anāgatam”
“The misery which is not yet come is to be avoided.”
trans: Swami Vivekanda

The Four Noble Truths of Buddhism
Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta

Goals, Systems

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Goals:

It is a valuable thing to have clear, positive aims in life, destinations on our journey.
A goal to work towards gives us the structure and direction essential to arrival at success.
This is true whether or not we actually attain to the goal.

Systems:

However, regular systems that develop positive habits that will lead us in the direction of those goals can actually be of greater value than simply setting goals.

Regularity and repetition in our behaviour causes actual physical changes in our brains, and thus our minds.
The areas of the brain and the neurons that we employ grow and strengthen with this use, like muscles responding to exercise.
In this way we create and develop positive habits.

Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra lays out the principles of a classical system.

Positive habits:

Positive habits are the vehicle by which progress is achieved.
They give us the means to move forward towards where we want to be.
They are like a bicycle, efficiently supporting us to move speedily along the path to our destination.

In developing these we will likely find that our more “negative” habits will weaken and disappear without direct attention to them.
We cultivate the positives, the negatives fade of their own accord.

The most important habit to nurture is that of “turning-up”.
The more we do this the easier and more established the developing of positive habits becomes.
And, inevitably, step-by-step, we progress.

We can aim for the perfection of the Buddha, Enlightenment, Perfect Freedom, etc, but need not be disappointed should we not achieve them just yet.
The effort to attain them has improved us.

References;

“Goals are not something necessarily to be achieved.
They give us something to aim at.”
Bruce Lee

How to Breathe

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

For something so fundamental to life, the process of breathing is often only dimly understood.
It just happens, right?

A clearer understanding of the actual mechanics involved can greatly help in achieving a strong and healthy breath.
Which in turn leads to a strong and healthy life.

Through the nose:

Optimal breathing is achieved through the nose.
The nose filters, warms and softens the air as it enters our system.
Breathing through the nose is inherently more calming to the mind.

Whilst breathing through the mouth can achieve specific effects in some practices it is generally considered for “emergency use” only, ie when we cannot get enough air into our system quickly enough due to over-exertion, blockage or illness.

Chest and diaphragm:

We breathe primarily with the chest and the diaphragm.
The abdomen can be of secondary use but is not a prime mover in the process.
Confusion around this can lead to inefficient breathing and a wasting of energy.

The process is as follows;

As we inhale:

The ribcage expands by the action of the intercostal muscles
The diaphragm contracts (though this may seem counter-intuitive) and pushes downwards

The abdomen may push out and appear to expand due to the downwards action of the diaphragm.
But there is no cavity for the air to enter which would cause the abdomen to expand.
It can only change shape, and is not actively required for the inhalation.

As we exhale:

The chest relaxes and contracts
The diaphragm relaxes and lifts

We can, optionally and optimally, engage the muscles of the abdomen in order to support the exhale but actually it is gravity which closes the chest cavity.

In yoga asana and pranayama we learn to employ the abdomen to strengthen and support the exhalation.
This aspect of practice is also physically strengthening, including to our core musculature.

Techniques involving forceful abdominal exhalation, such as bhastrika and kapalabhati, can be of great value, properly practised, but forceful use of the abdomen is not required for normal daily breathing.

Note:

The technique of “belly-breathing”, (ie"inhaling “into the abdomen”) whilst perhaps having some value for some people by visualisation of the deepening of breathing, is potentially confusing and can mis-direct the attention from where it is most effectively placed.

“The aim in yoga is to train ourselves so that we can modify inhalation or exhalation and hold the breath to meet a demand.”
TKV Desikachar

In our Practice we Engage the Purpose of Life

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Why Life?

Why our individual lives?

According to the Vedic science Samkhya, reality consists of two fundamental, and always distinct, aspects;

Spirit/Seer/Purusha
Nature/Seen/Prakriti

It is the interplay of these that drives creation, and hence our individual lives.
Spirit illuminates and animates Nature.
The resulting movements in Nature create experience for Spirit in order that It can come to comprehend Itself.

Our confusion of the two aspects leads to disharmony and suffering, but, when correctly understood, they lead to bliss and freedom.
Worldly experience is for the liberation of Soul by understanding.

Yoga spiritual practice is applied Samkhya, consciously engaging with this purpose, and supports us as we move towards the wisdom, and freedom, that comes with understanding.

References;

Yoga Sutras 02:23
“sva-svāmi-śaktyoḥ svarūpa-upalabdhi-hetuḥ saṃyogaḥ”
“The Self is obscured by the world in order that the reality of both may be discovered.”
trans. Alistair Shearer.

Samkhya Karika 56
“Creation is a result of the modifications of Prakriti.
Its purpose is the liberation of each Purusha.”
trans. Subhash Mittal

“All nature is doing her best each moment to make us well—she exists for no other end.”
Henry David Thoreau: Walden

Journey and Destination

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

There are very many ways to define the meaning of “Yoga”.
Patañjali begins the Yoga Sutras with the “classical” definition of Yoga.

What is Yoga?

Yoga Sutras 01:02

“yogaḥ citta-vṛtti-nirodhaḥ”

“Yoga is the settling of the mind into silence”
Alistair Shearer

“Complete mastery over the roaming tendencies of the mind is yoga”
Pandit Rajmani Tigunait

“The restraint of the modifications of the mind-stuff is yoga”
Swami Satchitananda

“Yoga is the containment of movement in the psyche”
Paul Harvey

So we can see that Yoga is a mental process and a mental state.
It is a process whereby the mind progressively comes to a clear/calm/contained/tamed/mastered state.
And it is that state of clear/calm/contained/tamed/mastered mind.

Yoga is both journey and destination.

… and then …

Yoga Sutras: 01:03

“tadā draṣṭuḥ svarūpe-avasthānam”

“When the mind is settled, we are established in our essential nature, which is unbounded consciousness.”
Alistair Shearer

“Then the Seer [Self] becomes established in its essential nature.”
Pandit Rajmani Tigunait

“Then the Seer [Self] abides in his own nature.”
Swami Satchitananda

“Then the Seer’s own character remains.”
Paul Harvey

We reflect our True Self, our True Nature, our Deepest Reality, and It is fully and completely present and established in our human life, shining without block or hindrance.
One of the names Patañjali gives this Truth is the “Seer.”

Note that there is no mention of the physical postures, or any other specific techniques.
The equating of the word “yoga” with bending and stretching is a very modern phenomenon.
Patañjali goes on to offer a very broad spectrum of possible processes, principles and practices that can constitute the journey, and to define the destination and its results.

If we are not working to quieten/calm/master the mind in order to progress spiritually we are not, in the classical sense of the word, practising yoga.

Loving Kindness Meditation

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Cultivation of positive loving feelings towards others works to support us, and others, as we walk our paths towards freedom.

It is traditional in Buddhist meditation to finish one’s regular meditation with a meditation of the heart:
This practice is known as Metta Bhavana.
In Sanskrit, metta means “love,” “kindness” or “friendliness” and bhavana means “cultivation”, or “focus”.
Patañjali also emphasized the importance of developing loving-kindness.

A short version:

Open your heart outwards and silently repeat the following words.
They do not need to be an exact repetition, it is generating the feeling that counts.

May I be free of all anger, hatred, ill-will, animosity
May I generate love and compassion, peace and good-will
May all beings share my peace, my harmony
May all beings be happy
May all beings be peaceful
May all beings become liberated

Bhavatu Sarva Mangalam
May all beings be happy

Loving Kindness Meditation - Long Practice

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Each stage of the meditation should last for a few minutes.

Preparation:

Settling quietly.
Connecting into the body.

First stage:

Self:
First focus on yourself, Focus into your own thoughts and feelings at this moment. Noticing how it feels to be you right now. Feel the truth of your experience; perhaps joyous, perhaps sad, tired, restless, calm, agitated or anything else — without trying to change it. Allowing what is to be - as it is.

Now generating warm feelings towards yourself. Saying to yourself: “May I be well, happy, and free from suffering.”

Second stage:

Good friend:
Visualize a friend, family-member or loved one. Someone roughly your age, but not someone you have sexual feelings for. Experience your true response to thinking of this person in the moment.

Wish them happiness as you did earlier for yourself. Repeating the phrase; “May you be well, happy, and free from suffering.”

Third stage:

Neutral person:
Bring to mind someone neutral, someone you don’t know well and have no particularly strong feelings about (e.g. a shopkeeper, neighbour, or someone you see around).

Extending the same wishes; “May you be well, happy, and free from suffering.”

Fourth stage:

Difficult person:
Turn your attention to someone you’re not getting on with, someone you find challenging or difficult. Start with someone only moderately difficult rather than the very hardest person in your life.

Remember you are not approving of any harmful behaviour; you are just acknowledging that this person, too, experiences pain and wants happiness.

Cultivate a fresh response to this person. Extending the same wishes; “May you be well, happy, and free from suffering.”

Fifth stage:

All beings:
Now hold all four; yourself, the friend, the neutral person, and the difficult person—together in your awareness. Let this sense expand outward: your household, your neighbourhood, your city, country, all sentient beings in every direction.

Recall how all these beings are undergoing every kind of experience, even as you are meditating. Think of them all with an equally strong love and kindness.

Extending the same wishes; “May you all be well, happy, and free from suffering.”

Completing

Gradually let go of the phrases and the people.

Return the attention to the feeling of your body sitting and your breath moving.

Notice any change—even if it is very small - in mood, softness, or connection.

Opening the eyes and returning to the room.

Your task is not to seek love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it.
Rumi

Morality Is Solid Ground to Walk on

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

An established decency and integrity in how we interact with those around us provides a firm foundation for us to walk our individual paths on.
Indeed, it is an essential foundation to successful progress.

Patañjali offered us the yamas.
They are universal principles, fundamental to a healthy society.

We are, from birth, inter-dependent on others, morality guides us to build healthy and fruitful relationships.
How we behave towards others reveals our state of mind and our personality.

Patañjali’s Yamas:

Non-harm, non-violence, consideration, kindness
Truthfulness, right communication
Non-stealing, not taking that which is not ours
Moderation, right direction of our energy/attention, sexual virtue
Not coveting, grabbing or accumulating

The Buddha added:

Non-intoxication

References;

Yoga Sutras 02:30
“ahiṃsā-satya-asteya-brahmacarya-aparigrahāḥ yamāḥ”
“The restraints are nonviolence, truthfulness, nonstealing, sexual restraint and nonpossession.”
trans. Christopher Chapple

Patañjali's Yoga Sutras

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Patañjali, regarded as the father of Yoga, was a great sage, or maybe a number of sages, or maybe a lineage using the name as a title … the actual history is shrouded in ancient time, and the subject of scholarly debate.

Regardless of the exact origin, Patañjali was the first to write down the teachings of yoga, c500bce approx.
The work is a compilation of accumulated Vedic wisdom previously taught orally, on a teacher-student one-to-one basis, by means of chanting.
The primary reference was the ancient Vedic science-philosophy “Samkhya”.
The Yoga Sutras are applied Samkhya.

All modern yoga practice, and indeed many other systems of spirituality, recognise and acknowledge the work of Patañjali for the critical influence it has had, and continues to have, in the world of spiritual practice and philosophy. Its influence is so profound that no study of Yoga is complete without study of the Yoga Sutras.

Composed of 196 succinct verses which are dense with wisdom/information they are widely considered to be the core text from which modern yoga practice is derived.
There are a great many commentaries and translations, ancient and modern, from disciples, scholars and students all over the world.

Patañjali defines yoga, what it is for, what it does and what principles are required to practice it.
It contains no recommendations for specific techniques, but lays out the foundational precepts on which so many systems of yoga are built.
In order to truly benefit from the practice of yoga, and of great utility on any spiritual path, a working knowledge of these axioms is of tremendous value, empowering the practitioner with greater competency and understanding.
Known as “Raja” (King) Yoga, it is the original self-help manual.

The verse/sutra below is the very first in the work.
Patañjali declares his subject and his authority over it.

References;

Yoga Sutras 01:01
“atha yoga-anu-śāsanam.”
“And now the teaching on Yoga begins.”
trans. Alistair Shearer

Perfect Posture

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

The sanskrit word for posture is ‘āsana’

This comes from the root ‘ās’ .. “to sit”; reflecting the ancient seers’ focus on seated practice.
Modern yoga practice emphasises, for better or worse, movement and breathing.

Whether in seated meditation/breathing, or during active bodywork/āsana practice, two elements of posture are involved; first, the work we do to achieve stability, supports, second, the blossoming into a soft spaciousness.

Sthira:

Stability, firmness, balance, steadiness, constancy, stillness.
An active, doing-type quality, the application of effort.

Sukha:

Comfort, spaciousness, relaxation, ease, acceptance, surrender, openness.
A passive, being-type quality, a letting-go, a surrender.

In seated meditation our posture is upright, but not rigid, relaxed, but not slack.
In our āsana practice the two are engaged in a constant, more dynamic, play.

To survive and thrive a tree must have firm roots and a strong trunk.
But it must also flex and move with the wind.

References;

Yoga sutras 02:46
“sthira-sukham-āsanam”
“Asana must have the dual qualities of alertness and relaxarion.”
trans. TKV Desikachar

Samkhya and Yoga go Hand-in-Hand.

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Samkhya and Yoga go hand-in-hand.
The Samkhya model explains the universe and our place in it.
Yoga supports us to experience the realities Samkhya postulates.

The name ‘Samkhya’ is derived from the following words: number, enumeration, reckoning, summing-up, calculation, deliberation, reflection, reason, intellect.
It can be seen as meaning something along the lines of ‘a collection of numbered lists’.
This reflects the fact that the Samkhya breaks down the principles of cosmic evolution into categories using reasoned, scientific logic.

Brief overview:

One of the six orthodox Vedic philosophies, or darshana, of ancient India, Samkhya teaches discriminative knowledge which allows us to understand what we are, by deducing what we are not.
It is important to the study of Yoga because Yoga is the practical application of Samkhya.
The two darshana are often referred to together as the Samkhya-Yoga school.
Where Samkhya views the universe as a whole, a macrocosm, Yoga uses the same principles to relate to the individual, a microcosm.
Samkhya demonstrates that suffering, dukha, is caused by ignorance of our true nature, avidya.
Yoga offers a practical means to the realisation of that true nature.
Samkhya explains the universe through reason.
Yoga is the practical means (primarily meditative) which leads to the ability to discriminate between that which we are and that which we are not.
The goals of both Samkhya and Yoga are the elimination of suffering and the liberation of the soul.

The Bahagavad Gita acknowledges the two:

“In this world there are two roads of perfection … Jnana Yoga, the path of wisdom of the Samkhya, and Karma Yoga, the path of action of the Yogis”
Bhagavad Gita 03:03
trans: Juan Mascaro.

Purusha and Prakriti

Samkhya states that there are two fundamental realities:

Purusha
Prakriti

We might use words like: ‘Cosmic Consciousness’ or ‘Soul’ (Purusha), and ‘primordial soup’ or ‘quantum energy field’(Prakriti).
These account for everything that was, is and ever will be.
Their interaction is the source of all things.
All evolution and manifestation, every thing, is a result of the relationship between these two principles.
All experience and existence is derived from the eternal interplay of this duality.

Purusha (Sanskrit derivation: ‘man’ or ‘person’) is the first of the principles/tatvas in the Samkhya system.
It is:

Consciousness, Being, Knowing, Awareness.
The Soul of the universe.
The animating principle in all beings, the Soul or Spirit.
Infinite, unbounded, immanent, omnipresent, indestructible.
The intrinsic subject in all things and in which all things are inseparably submerged.

Purusha is pure, content-less, shapeless, passive and unchanging.
It is Source, our true identity.
Purusha is that which we truly are.

Prakriti (Sanskrit derivation ‘making before/first’) is everything other than Purusha.
It is

Matter, energy, the quantum field.
The primary substance from which all things derive.
Inanimate, unintelligent and unconscious, prakriti is the root source of all manifestation, the passive power of creation.
The principle from which all attributes and all action come.\
Infinite, eternal, limitless, shapeless, everywhere without boundary.\

It existed before anything was produced.
It was not caused but causes.

Prakriti consists of three powers/forces, the gunas, the interplay between which accounts for all diverse manifestation.
Understanding the guna model is also very useful in our Yoga practice.

Relationship

The relationship of Purusha and prakriti manifests all.
How does that relationship work?

Prakriti is the blind man carrying the lame man, Purusha.
The blind man can act but cannot perceive, the lame man can sense but not act.
The joining of the two is to their mutual benefit.
Purusha is given action/movement.
Prakriti is given perception/vision.

“Our Soul is Purusha, everything else is prakriti.
Purusha is absent in a corpse, all that is left is prakriti”.
TKV Desikachar.

Evolution

The samkhya evolution then breaks down the constituent parts of the universe so that through clear logic we can understand what we truly are.
It concerns itself with the cosmic evolution of the universe, stating that all things have order and that nothing is random.
It divides evolution into categories which we can know and understand.

These categories are classified under four main groups;

That which was not caused and does not cause: Purusha
That which was not caused but causes: prakriti
Those which are caused and cause
Those which are caused and do not cause

The third grouping lists principles known as ’evolvents’ (caused and cause).
These are:

Cosmic intelligence/mahat
Individuation/ego/ahamkara, and
Five subtle elements/tanmatras: Sound, touch, form , flavour, odour.

The fourth grouping consists of principles known as ’evolutes’ (caused and do not cause). These are:

Cosmic mind/manas,
Five abstract knowing senses/jnanendriyas: hearing, feeling, sight, taste, smell.
Five abstract working senses/karmendriyas: expression, procreation, excretion, grasping, and movement.

Conclusion

Samkhya takes a little getting your head around.
Placing Consciousness as central/first, it turns our standard materialist worldview inside out.
But, if you wish to take your understanding of Yoga (and of life!) to a deeper level, it is worth it.
A comprehension of the principles gives us a solid, philosophical foundation to build our Yoga practice on, and help us to live full, happy and healthy lives.
Yoga practice can then give us tools and techniques to support and guide us to experience the reality samkhya posits.

The Yoga Sutras state that the only reason that the seen world, prakriti, exists is that the true self, purusha, can come to know itself.

Yoga Sutras 02:21
tat-artha eva-dṛśyasya-ātmā
“It is only for the sake of the Self that the world exists” trans: Alistair Shearer

Whilst an understanding of Samkhya is very useful, essential perhaps, and intellectual discussion of its details and nuances inspiring and interesting, Yoga practice gives us direct experience of the truths beyond words.
You can’t best that.

Start Where You Are

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Where am I right now?

At any point, in order to progress, we are best served by accepting the reality of our current situation.
We assess where we are and decide what we most need.
This is true for short-term and longer-term goals.

What will serve me best?

This enables us to employ the most suitable principles.
and techniques for us, giving us support and direction.
We are then well-equipped to orient ourselves towards where we want to go, and take the most productive, intelligent and logical steps in that direction, one step at a time.

Appropriate application

Off-the-peg formulas, expecting all practitioners to do the same thing, every time, is like expecting everyone to wear the same-sized trousers.
Each individual has their own path and self-practice is fundamental to ongoing success.
There are however common aspects and landmarks along the way.
An experienced guide is invaluable.

References;

“If one takes care of the means, the end will take care of itself”
Mahatma Gandhi

Success is Guaranteed

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As with anything in life success on the spiritual path depends largely, if not exclusively, on how much we put in towards achieving our aims.
On how much we want it.
This is even more so the case as we walk our spiritual paths because, the journey being inwards, the obstacles to progress are internal.

Practice constitutes the removal of our own blockages and impurities.
That removal process is the practice.
Obstacles and problems are inevitable, presenting us with the opportunity to work.
To overcome these we must retain enthusiasm and a strong determination.

The only things that stand between a seeker and their innate Inner Light are the universal human afflictions; ignorance, ego, desire, hatred, fear etc …
… and their own personal obstacles, things like: sickness, pain, doubt, carelessness, laziness, etc.
Thus, our own earnestness and commitment are of central importance.
For those who are urgent and ardent the goal is near.

In effective and authentic spiritual practice, as we move towards the clarity and joy of a settled mind, we are working with the laws of nature.
If we employ appropriate procedures, what must happen, according to those laws, will happen.

Success is guaranteed, and close, for those who are dedicated and commit.

References;

Yoga sutras 01:21
“tīvra-saṃvegānām-āsannaḥ”
“Self-realisation is near for those seekers whose involvement is intense and enthusastic.”
trans. Frans Moor

“Problems are gifts in disguise”
Illusions: Richard Bach

Three Conscious Breaths

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We can consciously change challenging and unpleasant thoughts and feelings by deliberately breaking their flow.

When feeling anger/stress/panic/bad-will/etc:

Close your eyes
Bring your attention to your own breath
Breathe through your nose, if possible
Hold your attention there for the duration of three breaths
Observe the entire length of each inhalation and exhalation

You may or may not notice an immediate effect, but, chances are, your bad feelings will subside, or even disappear altogether, as a result of this quick and simple practice.
Integration of regular meditation into your daily life will support and deepen further positive changes.

Three Ways to Know

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The purpose of spiritual practice is to come to know.
With knowing we achieve wisdom.
Wisdom bestows such gifts as freedom, joy and harmony.

There are three ways in which we can come to a knowing;

Inference/deduction
Someone enters the house dripping wet, we can infer that it is raining.
The valid testimony of a trusted other
A person we trust tells us “It is raining”.
Direct personal experience
We go outside and experience the rain.

Of these three, direct experience is the superior knowing.
We can gain direct experience of Inner Truth by consistent committed and appropriate practice.

References;

Sāṃkhya Kārikā verse 6
sāmānyataḥ tu dṛṣṭāt-atīndriyāṇāṃ pratītiḥ anumānāt
tasmāt-api ca-asiddhaṃ parokṣam-āpta-āgamāt-siddham
“For the most part, objects accessible to the five senses are known by direct perception.
Those beyond the reach of the senses are known by inference.
Those objects that are beyond the senses and are not perceptible even through inference are known through valid testimony.”
trans. Gaudapada

Yoga sutras 1:07 “pratyakṣa-anumāna-āgamāḥ pramāṇāni”"
“Correct knowledge is the fruit of directly perceived experiences, inference, or reliable testimony.” trans. Bernard Bouanchaud

Understanding the Gunas

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As the gunas co-exist in all things so must Yoga necessarily work with them in order to have any effect.

The three gunas (derived from; thread, strand, twirl, wind) are the prime powers that make up and run through all the manifest universe (Prakriti).
They are, according to the ancient Samkhya philosophy, the primary ingredients of all nature.
They are not existent in set quantities but fluctuate in varying proportions, one or another being dominant.
Variable combinations of the gunas accounts for all the myriad diversity in the material world.
All things are a result of the interplay between these influences.
Evolution is only possible through the tension between these forces.
All objects in the world have certain qualities which make them what they are.
The qualities of any individual object, including our bodies and minds, are due to the particular combination of gunas making up that object.
Their ultimate function is to create the experiences that provide us with the learning we need in order to become free/illuminated.

There are three threads/strands/twirls interwoven in the gunas:
These are:

sattva
rajas
tamas

Sattva:

The power that illuminates and reveals.
It is clear, calm and balanced.
It is harmony and purity.
It appears as light.
It is, according to Samkhya ( ), our inherent natural state, and one who is established in sattva is content.
It leads us to higher states of being.
We experience sattva as balance, clarity and contentment.

Rajas:

The power that stimulates and moves.
It is dynamism, passion and activation.
It is that which gives force and motion.
It prompts action.
We experience it as compulsion, agitation, drive, desire, attachment.

Tamas:

The power that obscures.
It is darkness, heaviness, gravity.
It restrains, obstructs, envelops and binds.
It resists motion.
We experience it as lethargy, tiredness, apathy, dullness, slowness.

In spiritual practice we work to reduce the effects of rajas and tamas and to increase that of sattva, our natural state.
We can choose and modify our practices (and indeed our daily behaviour/lifestyle) in order to find solutions to imbalances appropriate to our own personal needs.
I will explore some of the possibilities for such in later articles.

Conclusion:

Although the gunas only receive scant attention in the Yoga Sutras an understanding of their fundamental role in nature would have been common back when they were written and, so, is assumed in the text.
The goal of Yoga is freedom from suffering through the understanding of our hidden, true nature.
The gunas provide us with a model to engage with, to guide us towards that understanding, and by which we can achieve greater joy, harmony and balance in our daily lives.

References;

“A yogi is one who can change their gunas.”
Krishnamacarya.

Yoga Sutras 02.18
prakāśa-kriyā-sthiti-śīlaṃ bhūta-indriya-ātmakaṃ bhoga-apavarga-arthaṃ dṛśyam
“The world is the play of the gunas - the universal energies of light, motion and mass.
They take form as the elements and the senses.
The purpose of the world is to provide us with experience and thus lead us to liberation.”
trans: Alistair Shearer.

With Practice

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The central principle of all contemplative spiritual practice is that we can all achieve higher knowledge, and thus the freedom and joy of liberation, by means of the quietening of the mind.
Indeed, according to the principles of Classical/Raja Yoga it is the universal purpose of our lives to do so.

The great masters and sages have always taught that the movements of the mind shroud, like clouds obscuring the sun, the innate eternal Inner Truth … which is, has been and always will be, our Deepest Reality.
This Inner Truth has a great many names in a great variety of cultures and traditions but is universally recognised.

Meditation and its many supporting practices have for millenia been considered the main route to this Inner Truth.
The path of committed, appropriate and consistent meditation practice leads us inexorably to that quietening.
It is the progressive opening of the curtain; the Luminous Radiance is unveiled.
With each step we each become a freer being.

Finally, It shines forth naturally and unhindered, lighting-up our lives and those around us with peace, harmony and happiness.

References;

Yoga sutras I:03
tadā draṣṭuḥ svarūpe-avasthānam
“When the mind has settled, we are established in our own essential nature, which is unbounded consciousness.”
trans. Alistair Shearer

Work, Accept

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Fruitful practice, and equally a fruitful life, is achieved by managing a harmony between two seeming opposites.

They are like the two wings of a bird which must be of equal size and strength, and work in coordination with one another.

Doing

The first quality is that of activity, masculine, an engagement.
We must put in the work, the discipline, the effort.
We must try as best we can in the moment to maintain our direction and to achieve our goals.
The yoga word for this is “abhyāsa”.
It develops aspects like stability, commitment, consistency and structure.

Being

The second is a passive, feminine quality, a receiving.
We must accept and surrender to what actually is and to what actually happens.
We honour whatever outcomes arise, recognising them as the reality of the moment, without grasping for specific results.
The yoga word for this is “vairāgyā’’.
It develops aspects such as flexibility, openness, tolerance, non-attachment and receptivity.

Doing without being results in rigidity and dogma, we become intransigent and fixed.
Being without doing lacks direction and purpose, we become slack and ineffective.

We are not in control of the results of our actions but we must, nevertheless, act.

A useful example of this in our practice, or daily life, might be that of a physical exercise regimen.
It is important and beneficial to have self-discipline, a structure, regularity, to commit, and so on.
It is also important to be flexible in it, to acknowledge, honour and allow for the circumstances of the particular moment.
Early mornings are usually a good time for such practices.
But if we need to skip a morning session or cut it shorter, we may be tired today or have other commitments etc, then we should accept this and not give ourselves a hard time for it.

The establishment of the doing comes first, the being follows and, in the final analysis, is where the deeper unfolding happens.

References;

Yoga sutras 1:12
abhyāsa-vairāgyābhyāṃ tan-nirodhaḥ
“Containing the mind requires the cultivation of both stability and openness”
trans. David Charlton & Ranju Roy

Amit Goswami, The Quantum Activist
“Do Be Do Be Do”

You are the Hero of Your Own Story

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Mythological story-telling is common across all cultures.
Stories from around the globe and from many eras share a fundamental structure, themes and meanings.
Joseph Campbell called this phenomenon the “Monomyth”.

Myths from many ages and cultures deal with the spiritual evolution of an individual using archetypes, allegory and symbolism.
From The Odyssey to Star Wars to Sleeping Beauty, from Congo to China, India to Ireland, the hero goes through common archetypal experiences as they achieve their goals.

The great variety of symbolism in these stories refers to the universal inner journey towards Deepest Truth and the various landmarks and stages involved in that journey.

Stories typically follow a three-stage process, each stage comprising some or all sub-stages:

The Leaving or Separation

There is a change in the hero’s usual mundane life.
A call to adventure, a trauma, perhaps a supernatural message.
The hero departs, sometimes reluctantly, their familiar surroundings, and finds themselves fully, inescapably, in a new life, a new world of adventure.

The Initiation

Our hero passes through a number of challenges, trials and tests.
We may see the search for a physical object, such as a Holy Grail, Herculean-type tests of physical or mental strength, traps and pitfalls to overcome, meetings with supernatural beings or gods.
A transformation of some kind comes, such as slaying the dragon, marriage to the princess, or even death and rebirth.
At last they achieve their goal.

The Return

The hero returns to his previous world, but changed, whole, a master of life.
They are free of previous limitations and are qualified to show others the way of the hero.

The theory of a Monomyth reveals a method of story-telling that is innate to all cultures depicting the universal evolutionary challenges for all humans as they traverse life.
Every human, whether they are aware of it or not, is on their own hero’s quest.
By studying myths, and enjoying stories, we can better understand the tests and trials of our own life, as we relate to the heroes that have passed along the path before us.

References;

The Hero with a Thousand Faces
Joseph Campbell 1949

Your Pain

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And a woman spoke, saying, Tell us of Pain

And he said:

Your pain is the breaking of the shell that encloses your understanding.
Even as the stone of the fruit must break, that its heart may stand in the sun, so must you know pain.
And could you keep your heart in wonder at the daily miracles of your life, your pain would not seem less wondrous than your joy.
And you would accept the seasons of your heart, even as you have always accepted the seasons that pass over your fields.
And you would watch with serenity through the winters of your grief.

Much of your pain is self-chosen.
It is the bitter potion by which the physician within you heals your sick self.
Therefore trust the physician, and drink his remedy in silence and tranquillity.
For his hand, though heavy and hard, is guided by the tender hand of the Unseen,
And the cup he brings, though it burn your lips, has been fashioned of the clay which the Potter has moistened with His own sacred tears.

References:

The Prophet: Khalil Gibran