Morning colours
Mysore is getting colder; the winter season is here. This morning I wish I had worn socks on my way to led class as it was rather chilly. But the colder weather also brings beautiful sunrises and sunsets with the sky bathing in different red, pink and orange tones. The change in season and the end of the month also means there’s big changes ahead at the Shala. In the coming week many students who have been here for two/three months are leaving and a new crowd is eagerly waiting to join those of us who stay on. Students from all corners of the world will make their annual pilgrimage to the KPJAYI in Mysore; some come for the first time and some have numerous trips behind them. At conference and in practice the room is full of people of all ages, cultures and nationalities. It is a great and humbling experience to practice among so many dedicated yogis.
In conference today Sharath spoke about why we practice and how we practice. Everyone comes to yoga for different reasons, he said. Some only want the physical workout (which may be fine if that is what one is looking for) but to go deeper in the practice spiritually, to follow a path of Sadhana, one will need to give up many things. The Baghavad Gita says that if you don’t want your yoga practice to suffer you have to quit doing certain things. For example, one should avoid practicing other sports for the body will become stiff and the work of the yoga practice will be undone. Also too much or too little food, sleep or work will affect you and your practice negatively. And partying is definitely a big no no ;). Self management is very important if you don’t want your practice to suffer. Tapas, discipline, maintaining a strict lifestyle (strict does not mean to hurt ourselves but more like having a routine that we keep up daily) is important to follow in order to do proper Sadhana.
Svādhyāya, self study, is another part of the practice. It doesn’t mean to practice on one’s own without a teacher but to learn from one’s practice, to research it and understand it’s lineage with the aim to get more clarity of mind. However there is no particular scripture we should follow. Reading will only give “book knowledge”. Therefore the books available on yoga are only for reference. The Yoga Sutras for example don’t explain how too do the practice in detail. And nowadays there are too many books anyway which only lead to further confusion. In order to understand yoga one needs to practice it and learn through the system of Parampara. Also: “The most important yoga scripture is within, you all have the “text” within you”, Sharath said.
Ishvarapranidhana, connecting with or surrendering to the divine or the supreme energy is also an important part of Sadhana. Whether you call this energy God, Jesus, Allah or Krishna doesn’t matter. The supreme energy doesn’t have a particular form but it can take any form. In India it takes many forms – human or animal – “We see the divine in all beings”, Sharath said. “God is just energy – that’s all”. To connect to this energy Japa or mantra chanting is a good method. By doing Japa you learn to become more focused. If practiced with good intention Japa practice will lead to positive effects. The mantra to use for this practice should be given to you by your guru (Sharath has previously spoken more in detail about Japa practice. Please search the archive of the blog for more info.)
Ashtanga yoga is growing and an increasing number of people are coming to learn it. People from all backgrounds can practice. It is not a religion – it is a practice for self realization and transformation that leads to a higher state of spiritual knowledge. Ashtanga changes something within us. This is good for our individual spiritual growth and in turn this has a positive effect on society as we start caring more for others. But if you only practice asana you are not practicing Ashtanga yoga. To practice Ashtanga you should also practice the yamas and niyamas and all the eighth limbs.
Although one might perceive that the practice had changed since westerners first started coming to practice with Pattabhi Jois, it has not. It has only been refined. With time and through continued research we have gained a deeper understanding of the practice. Yoga as such has not changed – “Yoga is much bigger than us! It doesn’t need us, but we need yoga!”, Sharath said.
Guruji named his Shala in Laksmipuram Ashtanga Yoga Nilayam – Ashtanga yoga research institute. And you will have to do a lot of research to understand yoga. “Guruji spent his whole life researching and he gave me so much that I need to spend my whole life studying as well”, Sharath said. “Your own practice will teach you so many things. Yoga is a process that should happen within you. But you need to give it time”.
Yoga is unexplainable, it frees something within us. After 1,5 hrs of practice you feel fresh, the body will be free from everything (although some pain will be there…) and you don’t want anything, Sharath said. Changes happen within so that you start making different priorities, with practice discipline comes. “And it will make you tired so that you don’t do all the bad stuff”, Sharath joked. But practice also has to be fun, that’s why we do “catching” (taking the ankles, calves or knees from standing in back bending). “Catching is mostly for fun”, Sharath said. Once you catch you just want to stay there – your body feels so free. With those words this week’s conference ended. Next Saturday conference is cancelled as Sharath will use the time to register new students. To be continued…
The post KPJAYI conference 27/12/2014: “Yoga doesn’t need us, but we need yoga!” appeared first on Isabella Nitschke.
