Move from Within
It is rare that asana alone can provide us with the full experience of yoga. Most often, today, yoga is seen as exercise, with an obsession on the outer aspects of the body, muscles, flexibility and appearance. When we work purely with the bones, muscles and ligaments, we stay stuck in these external, ever-changing layers of ourselves.
Traditionally yoga asana is part of an eight-limbed practice — no more or less important than the other limbs. It is not meant to be isolated as an end in itself.
Traditionally yoga asana is part of an eight-limbed practice — no more or less important than the other limbs. It is not meant to be isolated as an end in itself.
It is a means to an end. Through observing and cultivating the breath, asana is seen as a doorway to the divine inner core of all of us. When practiced properly, we transcend the body. Awareness flows deeper into the more subtle aspects of the self where the bliss body is more present. This truth is revealed to us. Without effort. Without “doing” anything. For this experience we must have proficiency in the other limbs.
Yoga is the journey of the Self, through the Self, to the Self.
— Baghavad Gita |
The self is seen as being veiled by sheaths or koshas. Each of the five koshas represents the different bodies, aspects which surround the innermost pure consciousness. Within them are fountains of urges, thoughts, feelings and ideas. These are seen as clouds between the outer self, which is dual and changing, and the inner self, which is non-dual and permanent.
This blur or misunderstanding is avidya. Ignorance. It is the cause of suffering in the yogic perspective. It is because we do not see the truth that we suffer.
These layers or koshas are influenced by the world around us, the environment in which we live and what we have brought from another life.
These layers or koshas are influenced by the world around us, the environment in which we live and what we have brought from another life.
The koshas can be aligned with their own natural state of balance. This balance will allow each layer to harmonize and be transcended. Once they are transcended, they will no longer be clouds in the way of clear perception of the self. Looking in will become clearer, as well as looking out, into the world.
Each kosha is affected by the others. This is the mind-body connection. This is how the body affects the emotions, thoughts and moods, and vice versa. By working with each asana, the body becomes a divine temple.
My body is my temple and asanas are my prayers. — Guru Iyengar
Prayer is an immediate transcendence of the outer self. The ego dissolves. The sense of self melts into comfort of the wholeness — awareness from anandamaya kosha.
Connected to love, we become love. The body moves from this love. Not from the intellect, not from the ego. Not from the muscles and bones.