what is yoga?

[SAVEYOGA.ORG]

is it just asana?
is it not asana?
what is yoga to you?

[SAVEYOGA.ORG]

perfect...
(pdf attached for easier reading)
in two posts


FALL 2004

3 GURUS, 48 QUESTIONS
MATCHING INTERVIEWS WITH
SRI T.K.V. DESIKACHAR, SRI B.K.S. IYENGAR & SRI K. PATTABHI JOIS
Interviews by R. ALEXANDER MEDIN
Edited by DEIRDRE SUMMERBELL

THE HISTORY OF YOGA1
WHAT IS YOUR THEORY ABOUT THE ORIGINS OF YOGA?
T.K.V. Desikachar: Yoga is from the Vedas.
K. Pattabhi Jois: We cannot know for sure the original nature of yoga, but according to what tradition tells us, Shiva first taught it to Parvati, then Parvati taught it to Shannmuka and Shannmuka taught it to Narada. And the first yoga found before the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali was when Adinatha incarnated in this world to provide yoga as a means to liberating man from the world of suffering. Also yoga is found in the shastras [scriptures], in the Bhagavad Gita, and in different Upanishads.
AND HOW IS THIS REFLECTED IN THE SCRIPTURAL, AS WELL AS IN THE LIVING, TRADITION?
Desikachar: There are many references in the Vedas concerning what yoga is. It is referred to not only as pratyahara [sensory withdrawal], but, in some Sanskrit passages, it is understood to be the discipline of the senses of the mind. In the Upanishads, yoga is seen as the discipline of controlling the mind, and Patanjali also focuses on the mind, as Vedanta focuses on God.
Pattabhi Jois: In India, tradition is rooted in faith. Without faith, our whole tradition would collapse. And it is the greatness and wisdom of our forefathers that guides us on our path to perfection. To come to realize the depth of their knowledge and wisdom, we need to gain an experience of that to which they testify. This can be very difficult in the times we live in, but to gain this experience, we need to have faith in what they taught and a willingness to follow their methods with consistent dedication and hard work. It is not easy, but for every sadhaka [ardent seeker], there is profound spiritual wisdom to be rediscovered from our tradition. India has a great history of trying to understand the human mind and its theories of moksa [release; liberation of soul from further transmigration] are something other religious traditions cannot ignore. Some living teachers are good representatives of our great heritage, while others are less concerned with tradition, and do as they please, making up rules and regulations of their own.
HOW DOES PATANJALI’S CLASSICAL YOGA STAND IN RELATION TO HATHA YOGA?
Desikachar: Hatha yoga is not in the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. The term Hatha yoga is in the Hatha Yoga Pradipika of Yogi Swatmarama. It is also found in some passages of the Upanishads, but as far as the Yoga Sutras are concerned, there is only one word. And that is not mantra yoga, not Raja yoga, not Laya yoga, not Jnana yoga, but yoga, plain and simple! All other words come from Kriya yoga, and are for an agitated mind that cannot practice yoga. An agitated mind is not free to perceive yoga. For this, one needs mental support or physical stimuli, which Hatha yoga simply acts to provide by preparing the body-mind field to be more fit for such perception.
Pattabhi Jois: Hatha yoga means the union of the opposing energies of the body and the channeling of these energies into the central pathway. And this comes about when the surya nadi [right nostril] and chandra nadi [left nostril] are controlled, and the vital energy of these two channels merges in the central pathway of the spine. So, when the prana is finally at rest and no longer moved by the various sense organs, we then realize God inside. That is our Self, our true identity. So, Hatha yoga is experiencing God inside.
WHO WERE THE ORIGINATORS OF HATHA YOGA?
Desikachar: We don’t know if Shiva composed the Vedas or if someone else did. In India, a lot of people compose works that are then ascribed to ancient sources, but nobody knows for certain who really wrote them. It is a tendency in India to mythologize
Dattatreya, Guru of all Gurus
1These interviews were originally conducted in

[SAVEYOGA.ORG]

continuation from part one:
pdf attached to first post

IS THERE ANY DANGER THAT THE YOGA TRADITION COULD BE DILUTED?
Desikachar: It is already being diluted. My father studied with Ramamohan Brahmachari for eight-and-a-half years. He was dedicated and worked closely with his teacher every day. I’ve also visited Muktinath in Nepal, and the sacrifices people have to make there just to get up early in the morning, when it is cold, are immense. For a normal person, it is of course difficult to get up early to pursue their dedication to yoga, but it all depends on the commitment and intentions of the mind. But the physical side is not the end of yoga. The physical side is only one aspect. Yoga should not be learned by the performance of postures. If you go by the performance of postures, then you dilute yoga, but if you go by the inquiry of the spirit, it is not diluted.
Iyengar: Dilution is, of course, a danger. But dilution of any subject is the death of that subject, but not of humanity. Please note the difference. If an art dies, what good does that do humanity? Yoga lives through humanity. As long as there are ardent seekers, I’m confident that the beauty of yoga will survive.
Pattabhi Jois: Yes, if people don’t appreciate and take care of the great teachings that have come down to us.
SOME PEOPLE SPEAK OF PHYSICAL YOGA, MENTAL YOGA, SPIRITUAL YOGA. IS THERE A DIFFERENCE?
Desikachar: Yoga is a relationship. It is not that the body is not important—the body is very important; it is the temple—but a transformation in the body cannot happen without a good relationship with the mind. Whatever happens in the body affects the mind and whatever happens in the mind affects the body. And whatever happens in the emotional body affects the mind, as well. But the essence of yoga is often not taught through the body. What is essential and needs to be taught is the spirit of yoga, and that people don’t understand.
Iyengar: Refer to my books and CD. Asanas are not meant for physical fitness, but for conquering the elements, energy, and so on. So, how to balance the energy in the body, how to control the five elements, how to balance the various aspects of the mind without mixing them all together, and how to be able to perceive the difference between the gunas [qualities], and to experience that there is something behind them, operating in the world of man—that is what asanas are for. The process is slow and painstaking, but a steady inquiry facilitates a growing awareness.
Pattabhi Jois: Yoga is one. God is one. Yoga means sambandaha, which is atma manah samyogah, or knowing God inside you. But using it only for physical practice is no good, of no use—just a lot of sweating, pushing, and heavy breathing for nothing. The spiritual aspect, which is beyond the physical, is the purpose of yoga. When the nervous system is purified, when your mind rests in the atman [the Self], then you can experience the true greatness of yoga.
WHY IS YOGA SO BENEFICIAL FOR MANKIND?
Desikachar: I started yoga because my father helped a lady from India who had hardly slept for thirty years and I saw the effect. After that, I thought that I had to learn this from him and then I just started seeing in what ways yoga really helps people. Yoga is not for everybody, but for those who experience it and are touched by it, it transforms their lives. They can connect with a spirit beyond themselves that elevates them above many difficulties. I won’t say that every asana will save people. I won’t say that standing on your head is good for everybody, but the inner spirit that yoga awakens is beneficial. That’s what Patanjali refers to. A lot of people have lost their inner confidence, their strength, and what yoga does is bring this out, which strengthens them again. Awakening this inner confidence is why it is beneficial to humanity. It is our inner strength that helps us endure our difficulties and lifts us through our various trials. And it is this same strength that helps us embrace life in a better way. This is the strength that Patanjali calls chiti-shakti.
Iyengar: Yoga is a self-critiquing subject. Only a yogi can criticize himself. A musician, a physiologist or other scientist criticizes their respective subjects, but only a practitioner can come to grips with the Self through his own practice. Through self-study and self-criticism, he develops his own intelligence and learns to discriminate between what is real and what is not. As the Self grows in him, he comes to understand. The Self alone shines forth and permeates all his activities. That is why yoga is beneficial to mankind because its practitioners may come to understand the Self. It is a development from the gross to the subtle, but we must always start with the gross—that is our point of departure. What better thing can you do in this life than to get to know your own Self?
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Pattabhi Jois: Yoga is good for man because the physical body improves, the nervous system improves, the mind improves, the intellect improves—so, how can yoga not be good?
WHAT ARE YOUR PERSONAL VIEWS ON ALL THE MODERN SCHOOLS OF YOGA IN THE WEST TODAY?
Desikachar: My view is that if people can benefit from something, fine!
Iyengar: I am a yogi. I will not say anything about other schools. I can only refer to the Mahabharata, which tells us about Dharmaraja and Duryodhana. Dharmaraja was a righteous man and Duryodhana was a cruel man, but both of them were present. So, when both good and bad are present, how can I answer? How can I say what is good or bad? People will find what they are looking for.
Pattabhi Jois: Let other forms of yoga be there, I teach only Ashtanga yoga, which is real. I know that it is real and everybody who practices it correctly will come to know that it is real also. The essence of yoga is to reach oneness with God. The ego must be understood, contemplated, and released. If you only try to boost the ego, you will miss the greatest fruit of yoga.
IS IT OKAY TO CAPITALIZE ON YOGA? IS YOGA AS A BUSINESS ACCEPTABLE?
Desikachar: Well, this happens with everything. We are human beings and we have certain drawbacks. We have to accept them.
Iyengar: Capitalizing on yoga means commercial yoga and that is not right. But it is the human mentality. The world is like that—“How can I become famous?” “How can I become rich?” And, unfortunately, some people will always take advantage of others. Take for example the instruments I developed. How many centers are there around the world that sell these instruments? Everybody uses them, though I don’t get anything for them. But I don’t mind that either. You see, I’m happy because millions of people have benefited from the advantages of yoga. Without the instruments, some people wouldn’t be able to practice at all, so they help them on their way.
Pattabhi Jois: That is the way of Westerners. They are always thinking to make more money. Unfortunately, it is not good when the goal of yoga is money rather than God. Real yoga is not about money. If yoga comes your way, be happy about it. People ask me so many questions: “Guruji, what should I do about this? How should I do that”? I say, “Don’t take your mind other places. Think only of God, then do yoga.” Let things come. If you want to benefit, think only of God, dedicate all your actions to God, and whatever comes your way is a gift—is His gift to you.
ON TEACHING
WHAT ARE THE QUALITIES OF A GOOD YOGI?
Desikachar: My model is my father.
Iyengar: How can you ask a question like that? I will tell you in one sentence: The lunatic speaks loudly, you and I speak internally, and the wise yogi speaks not at all. The wise yogi is silent.
Pattabhi Jois: Dedication to yoga and a steady faith in yoga. And a willingness to do hard work and to continuously think of and concentrate on yoga.3
WHAT MAKES A GOOD YOGA TEACHER?
Desikachar: A good yoga teacher has to be an example, not just an entertainer. You see, it is not the strength or beauty of an asana practice that makes a great yoga teacher. It is how they are as individuals.
Iyengar: A good teacher is one who comes to the level of people and builds them up. He understands where they are, what their position is. This is the right approach for a good teacher to take. I do not demand, but earn respect.
Pattabhi Jois: Primarily, you have to learn the practice properly, you have to know yoga properly, before you can start to teach. If you think, ‘I want to become a teacher,’ before you have a good understanding, that is not good. You need to be a student for many, many years. It is important to have a good teacher to guide you and then, when your teacher thinks you are ready, you can start to teach.
WHAT ARE THE CRITERIA TO BECOME A GOOD YOGA TEACHER?
Desikachar: Faith in God. Let me tell you about Sri Dharan, my colleague. He used to work as the manager of a bank. He had no desire to move further with his job and, when he retired, he approached me and offered his services here. He joined our organization as our head, but did not want any money. He could have made a fortune as a business administrator in a bank, but he chose to work here, for the service of yoga. That is commitment, and I believe that is what makes a great teacher.
Iyengar: One has to work really hard and show the qualities of sincerity, honesty, and virtue. It is the responsibility of human beings to move and act in truly honorable ways and, as Patanjali said, to develop the qualities of friendliness, compassion, gladness, and endless love. When we embody these four qualities, we can begin to approximate the criteria of becoming a good teacher.
Pattabhi Jois: As I said, be a dedicated student for many years before you even start to think about teaching
IS THERE AN ELEMENT IN YOGA THAT CAN NEVER BE TAUGHT?
Desikachar: Yes. That is why the Yoga Sutras say that a yoga teacher is like a farmer. He is not the seed, the soil, or the water, but the farmer who cultivates the land for the growth that is there. A farmer can break the dam so that the water flows, but what happens next is not in the hands of the seed alone. It is a mixture of the cultivation of the land, the watering of the field, and the preparation of the soil. Similarly, one can strive hard to teach the various elements of yoga correctly, but the fate of the practitioner is in the hands of God. One can only help the process along.
3At this point in the interview, Sharath Rangaswamy, assistant director of the Ashtanga Yoga Research Institute in Mysore and Sri K. Pattabhi Jois’s grandson, joined the conversation. He had much to say in answer to the questions about teaching and many of his words have been incorporated into Pattabhi Jois’s own answers on the subject. The decision to include his words reflects his very close relationship with his grandfather—he is a life-long student of his—and the strength of his English.
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Iyengar: Once you have reached realization, the teaching ends. When the seeker becomes the seer, the teaching stops. This is the highest teaching. As long as there is a difference between guru and student, teaching is needed. But when the difference between the two disappears, then they become one. So, the greatest teacher teaches the student how to attain the level of realization that he himself has reached.
Pattabhi Jois: Only your guru can truly guide you—only someone who has studied the path before you and is aware of all the dangers can truly direct you. And the blessing of the guru is very important too. Without the guru’s blessing, you cannot really progress as a student. And this blessing is to listen to the guru, to what the correct method is, and to have faith in him—to follow and let yourself be guided by him. This blessing cannot be explained. It can only be experienced with the energy and strengths that will flow from within you. This strength from within you will make you firmer, more secure, and stronger.
WHAT IS UNIQUE TO YOUR STYLE OF YOGA?
Desikachar: It is not a style. It is not a method. It is not Vini yoga. We never use Vini yoga. Those who do, do it for the purpose of business. I have told people that if they do Vini yoga, not to use my name. So, those who come here don’t come to practice the Vini yoga style, they come to see me.
Iyengar: Let my students answer that. They see me.
Pattabhi Jois: What is particular to Ashtanga yoga practice is what we call vinyasa, which brings together breathing with physical movement. Each posture is connected with a certain breathing sequence, which comes before and after it. This keeps the flow of energy through the spine open. It also safeguards against injury and prevents energy from stagnating in the body. Vinyasa purifies the body, the nervous system, and cultivates the proper energetic field in the body. It is essential to yoga, we believe, and gives people a direct inner experience of their potential. To feel the energy continually flowing through the spine is the effect of vinyasa. But there is nothing that comes instantly. One needs to practice this system for many years—a minimum of five to ten years—to begin to experience these deep subtle changes in the body.
HAVE YOUR TEACHING METHODS CHANGED OVER THE YEARS? DO YOU FOCUS ON THINGS NOW THAT YOU DIDN’T WHEN YOU FIRST STARTED?
Desikachar: What I learned from my father was to sit on the floor and to say some prayers—that is what I teach people. My country is changing fast, as you know. We have to adapt ourselves to the context and circumstances we live in, and we need to be aware of what’s happening. The importance of yoga is viveka, or discrimination in action. It is not performance. To know what is now, to know what was yesterday, you cannot go by memory or by karma. You have to develop the discrimination of what is.
Pattabhi Jois: No, they have not changed. They have remained the same the whole time. Our method from the beginning has been that a posture needs to be perfected before you move on to more difficult ones. Each posture works progressively to increase the energy level and the opening of the body.
WHAT IS THE BEST REMEDY FOR HELPING PEOPLE? DO YOU TREAT EVERYBODY EQUALLY?
Desikachar: If somebody asks me, then I will help. But if they will not allow me to, how can I help? How can I fill a glass with water that is already full?
Pattabhi Jois: Taking practice! And to make people aware of yama [the first limb of Ashtanga yoga] and niyama [the second limb of Ashtanga yoga], and of how to control their bodies—these are the best remedies. When they are aware, controlling the senses becomes easier. But, primarily, yama and niyama are the best remedies for anybody with an interest in the practice.
WHAT IS THE MOST REWARDING ASPECT OF YOUR WORK?
Desikachar: I am an engineer by profession. When I used to work, I would meet people in a professional environment. But in my role as a yoga teacher, I meet people as a human being. I meet all kinds of people—poor people, important people, sick people—and I have developed intimate, friendly relationships with them. That is the most rewarding part of my work.
Pattabhi Jois: It is to see the growth and development of students, and to experience the love and gratitude they have when they come here to Mysore, year after year. We see so many students who come from all over the world to study with us. Some of them have full-time jobs and get only four weeks vacation per year, but they choose to devote that time to coming here to practice with us. To see this dedication and to see the happiness in people—that is what is truly rewarding.
WHAT IS YOUR PERSONAL YOGA PRACTICE LIKE THESE DAYS?
Desikachar: Next question, please.
Iyengar: I will not boast. Everybody will tell you that I am still practicing. I do my sadhana [meditational practice] and still do the postures. I do all the postures you see in Light on Yoga and do them every day.
Pattabhi Jois: I continue to practice pranayama and recite the Vedas for an hour and a half to two hours every day.
ON SPIRITUALITY
WHAT IS THE MEANING OF SPIRITUALITY TO YOU?
Desikachar: Spirituality is not religion. It is to care for one’s family, for society—to heal and look after the interests and well-being of people. To give oneself to the service of humanity facilitates the greatest spirituality within man. All dogmas are transcended by following this principle—that is what I learned from my father. You see, at my age, my father was living in a small house, three meters by three meters square, which was divided by a curtain in the middle. He was teaching in the
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front of the house and my mother was cooking in the back. You wouldn’t believe the circumstances he lived in, but he loved it. And I always think of the generosity he showed. He was so poor and had five children and yet his teacher had told him to go and be a yoga teacher. He could have been a Sanskrit professor at any university in India, but because he respected his teacher, he dedicated himself to passing on the teachings of yoga, and to living simply and conveying the greatness of yoga through his humble manner. The king tried to give him rewards, but he would not accept them, because he knew that, as soon as he did, he would become a beggar. And the instant a teacher becomes a beggar to the king, he is no longer a teacher. This is what I remember of my father.
Iyengar: I have written about this in my books. You can refer to them.
Pattabhi Jois: Spirituality means energy and to meditate on that energy is spirituality. So, developing and having faith in this energy is spirituality. What the shastras tell me is what I believe, which is the Indian custom:
Tasmat shastram pramanam te karya akaryavyvasthitau
Jnatva shastravidhanoktam karma kartum iharhasi
BG 16:24
[Therefore let the scriptures be your authority in ascertaining what ought to be done and what ought not to be done. Knowing what has been prescribed by the scriptures, you should act in this manner.]
So, the sacred scriptures are the whole foundation of our spiritual tradition. Without them, we are left to our own impressions. But with the scriptures, we are given a guide to follow. In the absence of belief, we can never really lift the veil of our own ignorance and discover what lies beyond it. Thus spirituality is believing.
WHAT IS SPIRITUAL ABOUT THE PHYSICAL PRACTICE?
Desikachar: If I go to a temple and there is a lot of mess in front of it, I don’t feel like going inside. But if the temple is clean, like a church, I will go in. It is the same with the body. A healthy body, a clean body, is more conducive to reflecting the mysteries of the soul. If you are suffering and sick and are approached by someone who is even more sick and stinking of death than you, you will naturally feel repulsed. If that person then asks for your mercy and help, you will feel no inclination to give it and will say instead, “Don’t come near me! Get out!” So it is with sickness and old age. When they approach, it can already be too late, if one has never looked after one’s body. So, to fulfill your dharma, you have to honor the body.
Iyengar: That is your question—your mind, not my mind. I do not demark differences between the body, the mind, and the self. To me, the body is the biggest self, the mind, a smaller self, and the self, the smallest self. So, they are all interconnected. In my practice, I seek to unite them and to experience how they are all interwoven. You see, the soul is the same for all individuals and nations, but our conditioning and culture determines our predisposition and outlook. The body is the receptacle for the soul and the mind—our operating tool for processing information and for being discriminative. The three work incessantly together, but a greater awareness of the physical body paves the way for a better receptivity to the dormant spirituality within. Yoga awakens the core of infinite possibility inside and confirms to the practitioner the extent of its applicability, rather than restricting it only to one area. The rays of the sun spread out everywhere. Equally, the rays of the soul pervade everywhere in our operational being. All our mental differences and predispositions are limited by time and space, but when we realize and rest in the core of our being, in our infinite potential, we awaken to a consciousness that is universal and no longer limited by our previous identification with it. This consciousness is direct, has no form or shape, and yet is reflected in our body and mind as an energy field, which we are free to interpret. We therefore engage in physical exercises designed to both present potent information to our consciousness and to expand, at the same time, our level of consciousness within the body. If you don’t know your body, don’t know your hand, your backbone, or your knee, how can you develop this awareness? When performing asanas, the student’s body assumes numerous life forms found in creation—from the lowliest insect to the most perfected sage—and learns that in all these, there breathes the same universal spirit, the spirit of God. He looks within himself while practicing and feels the presence of God.4 So, asanas act as a bridge to unite the body with the mind, and the mind with the soul.
Pattabhi Jois: Behind the strength of the body, there is an energy that is spirituality, and that is what keeps us alive. To gain access to the spiritual, you need to understand the physical. The body is our temple and inside that temple is atman, and that is God.
HOW WOULD YOU DEFINE PURUSA?
Desikachar: I am sleeping and get up in the morning and say, “Why did I sleep so well?” But how do I know this? Because of the purusa, which is something that is not sleeping, but is always present within us, all the time.
Pattabhi Jois: Purusa is light, the light that is atman, which is all and everything. Purusa is jiva [the individual soul], whereas prakriti [nature] is maya, or delusion. Due to the confusion that comes from living in the world of samsara [the cycle of rebirth], we fail to see the difference between purusa and prakriti, and treat them, instead, as one. But they are not one. Purusa is the pure, inner awareness of all that is, yet It is never subject to the fluctuations of the mind.
DOES YOGA CULTIVATE AN UNDERSTANDING OF PURUSA?
Desikachar: Yoga is like a cloud and the practice of yoga moves the cloud. There is disturbance, there is disruption, there are difficulties, but the practice of yoga centers the person in his own natural self. Naturally, when we sleep, something subsists beyond our dreams or beyond deep sleep. That is the purusa. Equally, when we think and experience,
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something is always there, facilitating our experience. To come to grips with this is the process of yoga. To facilitate an understanding of our mental modes of operation and to finally experience That which is the support of the whole process is also the process of yoga.
Pattabhi Jois: Only indirectly. Directly, it is the vrittis [thought patterns] which we come to control by the practice of yoga. It is not the purusa, which is constant and always there, though the practice does give one a clear mind, which may lead to an awareness of It. The actual understanding being facilitated, however, is of the thought patterns, or the vrittis. How they operate, how they bind you, and how you can gradually learn to experience what lies beyond them—that is what we come to understand by the practice of yoga.
WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THE YOGA SUTRA YOGA CHITTA VRITTI NIRODHA?
Desikachar: The understanding mind plays a part in many activities. When all these are focused on one thing for a certain length of time, as I am listening to you now, then you are in a state of yoga. Being attentive is thus a form of yoga.
Pattabhi Jois: Patanjali’s definition is simple: “Yoga is the process of ending the definitions of the field of consciousness.” But to actually understand this in one’s being is of a wholly different order. To understand words and concepts is easy, but to let the experience of yoga penetrate deep into one’s heart, to realize fully what one is made of, and, finally, to establish the mind in the Self—these are very difficult.
Manushyanam sahasreshu kaschidyatati siddhaye
Yatatamapi siddhanaam kascinmam vetti tattvatah
BG 7:3
[Among thousands of men, one perhaps struggles for perfection. Among thousands of those that struggle, maybe one becomes perfect, but among thousands of men that are perfect, perhaps one knows
Me in reality.]
HOW DOES YOUR SYSTEM FACILITATE THE EXPERIENCE OF YOGA?
Desikachar: That is up to the student, not to me.
Pattabhi Jois: To practice asanas and pranayama is to learn to control the body and the senses, so that the inner light can be experienced. That light is the same for the whole world. And it is possible for people to experience this light, their own Self, through correct yoga practice. It is something that happens through practice, though learning to control the mind is very difficult. Most important though is the practice. We must practice, practice, practice for any real understanding of yoga. Of course, philosophy is important, but if it is not connected and grounded in truth and practical knowledge, then what is it really for? Just endless talking, exhausting our minds! So, practice is the foundation of the actual understanding of philosophy.
WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THE YOGA SUTRA TADA DRASTUH SVARUPE AVASTHANAM?
Desikachar: Read my book.
Iyengar: Haven’t I told you this before? In asana, there is a centrifugal movement of consciousness towards the frontiers of the body, whether extended vertically, horizontally, or circumferentially, and a centripetal movement as well, as the whole body is brought to a single focus. If the attention is steadily maintained in this manner, meditation takes place.5 Thus, in the advanced practice of asana, the rhythmic flow of energy and awareness is experienced evenly and without interruption, both centripetally and centrifugally, throughout the channels of the body, and a pure state of joy will eventually be felt in the cells and the mind. The body, mind, and soul are then one. This is the manifestation of dharana and dhyana in the practice of asana.6 Awareness that constitutes the very resting place of the soul is sent everywhere throughout a posture. When all the muscles are properly maintained, the atman is reflected in its natural state, without pushing or frowning. So, you see, I just ride the tidal wave of awareness, scale away the layers of opposition, and rest in the state of equilibrium inside. When something is contorted, awareness can become hard from too much effort, but until there is no distortion, everything will remain the same. Yoga therefore becomes the skill of resting with things in their equanimity and simply exploring what is presented beyond the pair of opposites. Energy then flows without interruption. Some people call it physical, others may call it spiritual. I would say it is a homecoming.
Pattabhi Jois: The atman [individual soul; inner Self] is the same in all people, but we give a name and form to It according to the nature of our mind and sense organs. Taking yoga practice helps control the mind and sense organs so that awareness eventually goes inside, toward this atman. There are two types of yoga, external and internal. Yama, niyama, asana, and pranayama are external. Pratyahara, dharana, dhyana, and samadhi are internal. As you take practice, you come to see God inside. The Katha Upanisad tells this:
Paranci khani vyatrnat svayambhuh
Tasmat paran pasyati nantaratman
Kasciddhirah Pratyagatmanam aiksat
Avrtacaksur amrtatvam icchan
Kathopanisad 4.1
[The self-existent Lord afflicted the senses so that they go outward. Therefore, one sees outer things and not the inner Self. A discriminating man, desiring immortality, turns his eyes away (from sense objects) and then sees the indwelling Self.]
So, when the sense organs are controlled, you will come to see your true Self, that is atman.
WHAT IS YOUR DEFINITION OF ABHYASA AND VAIRAGYA?
Desikachar: Abhyasa is the effort to persist with something over a long period of time, diligently and wholeheartedly. Vairagya is dispassion for the fruits of such effort. Both are equally important for a yoga practitioner.
Iyengar: They are two sides of the same coin. The head is abhyasa, the tail is vairagya. They are eternally connected for the practitioner. Abhyasa
5 Light On Yoga Sutras of Patanjali: 169 6 Light On Yoga Sutras of Patanjali: 150
18 FALL 2004
is a dedicated, unswerving, constant, and vigilant search of a given subject, pursued against all odds and in the face of repeated failures, for an indefinitely long period of time. Vairagya is the cultivation of freedom from passion, the abstention from worldly desires and appetites, and the discrimination between what is real and what is not real. It is the act of giving up all sensuous delights. Abhyasa builds confidence and refines the process of cultivating the consciousness, while vairagya eliminates the things that hinder progress and refinement. So, proficiency in vairagya develops the ability to free oneself from the fruits of action. But a bird cannot fly with one wing. So, we need the two wings of practice and dispassion-renunciation to be able to soar up to the zenith of Soul-realization.7
IS GOD IMPORTANT TO A PHYSICAL PRACTICE? WHAT IS YOUR DEFINITION OF THE YOGA SUTRA ISHVARA PRANIDHANAD VA?
Desikachar: A good teacher sees the commonality of all human beings and helps each individual find his uniqueness. Since this is a light present in all of us, we must honor humanity and let the love of human beings itself be what guides us in the process. So, God is not necessarily Brahma or Vishnu. He is a reference, like my father is my reference and Iyengar is a reference and Pattabhi Jois is a reference too. You don’t know how much difficulty they went through when they were young, how many hardships they had to endure. They are thus models and references for me. I have many gods, but the most important is Isvara [the In-dweller]. Isvara is my model and, because It is, I have to exert more effort and go further and further to align myself with It. Whatever I need to do, I do. Whatever I cannot do, I avoid. That is the meaning of Patanjali’s sutra.
Pattabhi Jois: The reason we do yoga is to become one with God and to realize Him in our hearts. You can lecture, you can talk about God, but when you practice correctly, you come to experience God inside. Some people start yoga and don’t even know of Him, don’t even want to know of Him. But for anyone who practices yoga correctly, the love of God will develop. And, after some time, a greater love for God will be theirs, whether they want it or not. It is true and that is why yoga is real. It develops inside you and helps you to realize the inner light of the Self.
THE FUTURE OF YOGA
HOW DO YOU VIEW THE FUTURE OF YOGA?
Desikachar: I have total faith in the future of yoga.
Iyengar: My friend, why do you worry about the future? Leave it to God. He is eternal. If he wants it to survive, it will survive. Who am I to speak of the future? What have I done? I have cultivated, I have built up, I have presented and developed the subject of yoga. Now leave it to eternity.
WHAT IS THE GOAL OF YOGA ACCORDING TO YOU?
Desikachar: Peace, shanti: that is the goal of yoga.
Iyengar: It is to become free of the actions that afflict you. When you get rid of these and the body-mind-soul is cleansed, what is left? Yoga!
WHAT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IN LIFE TO YOU?
Desikachar: Shanti.
Iyengar: Initially, the practice of yoga, but now, increasingly, it is to present the correct form of yoga to my students around the world. In the beginning, I primarily did yoga to develop my intelligence and evolutional strength. Now that I have the knowledge of that, I’m using it in the best way I can. So, first, there was an involution, but now I’m trying to improve the evolution. But I don’t teach for myself. I share things with people. I have a very big heart and what my heart says is, “Don’t keep it to yourself. Don’t let it die.” So, whatever I have, I give to others. When I die, I will know that I didn’t keep any secret in my heart, but let it out. And I am still practicing, so God will probably give me a better life in the next life and I will start from where I left off.
WHAT IS IT THAT HAS KEPT YOU DOING YOGA FOR ALL THESE YEARS?
Desikachar: When I’m travelling, I must confess, yoga has become an addiction to me—a good addiction. I feel sick if I don’t do my practice or meditate. I think that what I am today is because of yoga. I see colleagues from my university and they look so sick, they are so bored, they have no life, no light. Here in India, when they retire, people get bored with life. They get sick. So, how do you generate health? I see my uncle—what an energy he has! And I see Pattabhi Jois—what an energy and strength he has! And I see other people and they can hardly walk. There is something about yoga. And it proves that it awakens an energy in people, that it awakens something beautiful which sustains and supports them from within, and which reveals itself to human nature.
Iyengar: The inner intelligence that is continually being revealed.
7 Light On Yoga Sutras of Patanjali: 14

[Eddie Teboul]

It cannot be just Asana.
Asana means posture, or pose, yet on a deeper sense of the term it means Connection.
Beyond the connection there is the nature of the connection and how it is revealed to the practitioner by pushing his/her different buttons.
It opens a wide range of Yogas to the practitioner which eventually remembers beyond his/her mind, why they are where they are.
The yoga of devotion "Bhakti", the yoga of service "Karma", the yoga of the sound body "Nadam", the yoga of knowledge "Jnana", begins to attract the interest of the practitioner of Asana while he/her begins to thin out and refine his/her relationship to the Earth.
Not just the soil, but everything on, under and above it.
Asanas is one of the yoga paths. Yet like Tibetan Buddhism with the different teachings of the Buddha, some yoga Systems have gathered the integrality of all or most Yoga into one Method, Such as "Integral Yoga" and "Jivamukti Yoga" for example.

[Tony Bittick]

Four months into sobriety from drugs and alcohol I got a chance to be part of a 24-hour caregiving team to a man who had been in the program for 48 years. He was one of the first AA members in Michigan.

At his last meeting, ironically held in a small apartment across the street from what would become Updog Yoga in Rochester, Michigan (the shala where I eventually took teacher training) he told me, "Tell them, wherever you go... they come from Yale and they come from jail and if they're staying sober, they're doing it right."

All of that is just to tell you this.

What defines a person's practice, just like one's perception, is up to that person. What might seem like a complete practice to one, might not come close for another.

As I have for most of my addictive, compulsive life I entered yoga fervently. Within three months of my first class I was immersed in teacher training.

The practice at that time included vigorous asana at least four to five times a week, a strong vegetarian diet, daily readings, meditation as often as two, forty-minute sits a day and at least one type of group dharma study a week.

It also included, for quite some time, teaching as many as 13 yoga classes a week.

This spiritual catharsis included a divorce, the loss of a job and the break-up of two, post-divorce, girlfriends.

A weight loss program started shortly before yoga practice and helped me lose about 80 pounds during two years and together with the asana helped me feel physically better than ever before.

Until last week I'd gained most of, if not all of that weight back. Not surprisingly during the last six to eight months meat was part of my weekly diet, there's been no sitting, rare asana, WAY too much caffeine, virtually no spiritual reading, and I've taught only one yoga class a week during the last several months.

Talk about Karmic return on investment!! (laughing)

The thing I've been thinking about though, is very much in line with this topic.

I became a single parent of three children almost a year ago and started a job in management for a dysfunctional family-owned business. Which is to say I have had more chances to "practice" in the last 11 months than at any time during my yogic heyday.

From the outside it would be tremendously easy for a critic or even one of my own teachers to say or feel that I have digressed in my "practice." And I wouldn't argue.

Yet I have continued to keep a vow book, stay in contact mentally with the primary teachings of the Buddha (life is suffering and everything is impermanent) and have never been less attached to things, physical or otherwise, have never had as much calm in my life, nor has my intuition ever been as clear or as in touch with the world around me.

In short, there is more personal satisfication and more hunger to serve than in recent memory.

Maybe these are the good karmic seeds from the past blossoming... I don't know.

I know that not having a full, rounded practice does have its effect. That if things are as they are, how much better might it be, how much of a better servant might I be... if my "practice" were more well rounded.

I KNOW that I owe more to the students who share their time and practice with me.

I'm not saying this is a recommended path (laughing) nor is it one I plan on being on for long. The weight loss has begun again, I am wonderfully back to eating veggie (even at family picnics which was always the perfect excuse for "cheating") and thanks to my loving teacher Michael Johnson will soon be immersed once again in the rest of the practice.

Thing is, despite what might "appear" obvious from the outside and despite the changes even I believe are necessary, I have never been as balanced or peaceful as I am right now.

I reminds me of what Charlotte Joko Beck writes in Everyday Zen, Work and Love -- my interpretation of course -- that most of us wander on and off "the path" or in and out of "the practice" but most of the time it's merely a part of both and we just don't see it.

While I believe immersion in the ancient texts is a must, and actively practing those teachings is essential, after that...

I have known teachers who have "been to India" and I would never or follow their teaching... though I know many people who do and would (again, a matter of perspective from my own karmic seeds).

I know teachers who couldn't find India on a map (okay, not literally, but you get the idea) and they are among the most holy saints I have met (though others might not see them as such).

And I have read and studied about great sages and teachers in the East who never so much as did a single asana and yet performed great miracles and had many followers.

So is yoga asana?

Only you can know for sure.

[Namasteelo Records]

union, completion, the journey, arts of movement, activism , love in action.