What is Yoga truly about?
Andrew Eppler answered this well in a short 24 minute podcast titled “What is traditional Ashtanga Yoga”. I share some of his ideas and go on to more.
Yoga today is mish-mash of yoga; it’s modern understandings of the physical practices with some verbiage alluding to something larger or increased awareness ideas sprinkled in. And then there are some “yogas” that really aren’t yoga like goat yoga, naked yoga, and beer yoga … These might be fun and good exercise but not really yoga. Side note: Goat yoga is not healthy for baby goats. If they have too much human interaction their mothers abandon them.
What does a traditional yoga practice look like? It can be traditional yoga postures including yoga philosophy, or it can be the philosophy without the physical practices. Yoga is more philosophical than it is physical. Yoga to be yoga needs to include some kind of inner contemplation, and at least a nod of recognition toward our unity.
The philosophy easier to trace. Asana as we know it is can only be traced to about a hundred years ago. I know we’ve been told ashtanga vinyasas yoga is over 5000 years old. In reality the asanas can only be traced to about a hundred years ago. The philosophy can be traced through the yoga texts to about a thousand years ago, approximately.
The famous Yoga Korunta is the text given credit to where ashtanga yoga comes from. The text was believed to be written on banana leaves that have now crumbled … Instead the yoga Korunta outlined how to do asana; with bandha, vinyasa, and drishti. Through conversations with Manju Jois, he said his father (Pattabhi Jois) together with Krishnamacharya came up with the asanas and sequences of ashtanga yoga.
This best answer to this question about what is yoga comes from Krishnamacharya, through an old translation of the Bhagavad Gita. Yoga is four practices:
- Samadhi – The lower stages of Samadhi is attainable for everyone. Its that feel good yoga high you get after a practice. You feel lighter, refreshed, happy about your world, in love with those around you. That is samadhi, and we want to practice in a way that supports getting the feel good “samadhi high”.
Samadhi is a natural phenomenon that happens when the conditions are right; the mind is calm, the body is healthy, and the atmosphere is conducive to a peaceful, serene state of mind. When this happens we will feel connected to our true nature and feel meaning and purpose in our lives.
There are many paths to samadhi such as dance, music, astronomy, art, mathematics, and cooking. Any activity where you get in the zone— you get lost in deep concentration, can put you in samadhi. Enjoying a beautiful sunset, being in awe of Mother Nature, these are types of samadhi. Samadhi is not some far off hard to attain experience. We just don’t get enough of it in everyday life if we fall in to the mundane. So we have yoga to remind this peaceful, happy state is available to us.
- Keeping the samadhi feeling with you throughout your day! Hold on to it as you move throughout your day. Not easy! Life rains on our samadhi … but we try. When you get up from rest pose savor that feeling and take it with you. Remember what it feels like in your body then you can recall that feeling throughout your day. Don’t let life rip off your yoga joy.
- Feeling the oneness, the interconnectedness with all sentient beings, the earth itself, and all things. Your yoga should open you up to see humanity’s similarities. What in the world does not have carbon in it? Realizing we are a part of something much larger than ourselves is a good snapshot of yoga philosophies. In yoga oneness can be recognized through the breath; for example the air I inhale enters my body and becomes part of me. The air that I exhale moves into someone else and becomes part of them. Realizing this helps us see we are all connected, not just figuratively— literally through our sharing of breath. We also share breath with the entire biosphere and trees and plants in this way.
Oneness can also be taught as mistreating another person is the same as mistreating ourselves. Not taking care of our environment is the same as throwing trash in our own home. - Reduce suffering for all the world. When we understand the oneness we feel the suffering of everyone. We don’t have to look far to find suffering. A realized yogi will try to reduce the suffering for everyone.
Yoga’s physical practices alone can make one selfish, arrogant, egotistical. Yoga can create self confidence which is good, but it can become arrogant. I’ve seen many yogis who think they are practicing the best yoga because they can do beautiful asana.
Anga Bhanga Sadhana
Anga = limb bhanga = harmful sadhana = practice
A practice useful in some ways but harmful in others. For example the third series of ashtanga yoga known as Sthira Bhaga or steady strength. The series as taught the old way can be beneficial, it includes strengthening asanas which are helpful for health and aging. But it also includes extreme postures and is waaaayyyy too long. It can create excessive oxidative stress and can be prone to injuries.
I’ve learned from experience. I started learning third series in 2007 and fell in love with the strength aspect of the practice. But it broke me down for sure, as it has a reputation of doing. Supposedly humbling you or ripping you apart to rebuild you.
As we practice we grow more mindful — why are we practicing in this way? What good is putting my leg behind my head?
Yoga sadhana is a way of life, its a way of finding samadhi in our everyday lives. We can use the physical aspects of yoga to create health to enable us to find samadhi. The physical practice need to benefit body and mind, not just strengthen one set of muscles.
Instead we want to do yoga in a way that is beneficial for everyone. Our practices need to create harmony within and without. Using yoga to age better, get fit, or be able to do some tricks is all worthwhile but it’s shallow. It’s more exercise than yoga.
Time kicks everyone in the ass. What are you going to do when you can no longer do the asana you used to? This is when we turn toward the philosophical side of the practices. Do enough feel good asana to keep some strength and agility, but most importantly use your yoga to help you attain your samadhi high, which will naturally make you a better person in society.
If our yoga practice is working on all levels we become kinder, more patient. We find a way to be joyful in life the majority of the time.
Practice habitually and release the fruits of your yoga practice is what it says in the Gita … which is the same as “do you practice and all is coming”.
On teachers:
Parampara is a buzz word in ashtanga eluding to you are “the chosen one” whom your teacher has passed down the lineage. Parampara means ‘that which is passed down from generation to generation’. Its not necessarily a good thing.
Know your teacher. There are no gurus. A yoga teacher is a loving, kind person who offers guidance. A yoga teacher does not force a system on a body that it is not correct for them.
Most authentic yoga teachers should really be non profits … This is a labor of love, many yoga teachers will find ways to accommodate those who can not afford to pay.