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What are the Principles Underlying Yoga?
There is an underlying meaning beyond the physical in Yoga.What is Yoga?In taking a modern yoga class, you might at first draw some parallels between yoga and ballet. For like ballet, yoga promise poise, grace and flexibility. Yet, if yoga is like any other exercise system, it is only at first glance. Underneath the sought after health and fitness benefits of modern yoga practice, one finds the roots of a great spiritual tradition blending cultures and religions. Unfortunately, the Westernization of yoga, has tended to obscure an essential component of this peaceful practice. Although a sense of ritual remains intact when practicing yoga, the underlying subtext or meaning seems to have gone astray. Where once the postures of yoga practice were merely a branch of a tree... Today they are viewed by Western Society as the tree itself! How do we bring meaning to our poses? Let's look at Modern Yoga's roots and benefits: The development of yoga cannot be pinned to an exact year. But with the discovery and deciphering of the Indus seals (1996), figures are shown in the classic yoga asana (posture) of lotus pose, meaning that yoga dates back to at least 3000 BCE. In this ancient time, the Vedas were being written, from which today's yoga postures are derived. Here we see the birth of Vedic yoga, which accommodated the ancient Indians' fixation on ritual and sacrifice.
Evidence of the importance of sacrifice can be found in the yogic corpse posture. Lying as though we were placed in a coffin, this represents the ultimate sacrifice - that of death. Though seemingly morbid, the corpse posture is actually one of hope, when we understand that according to the Vedanta sutras, death results in liberation. The originators of yoga felt that sacrifice was a way to join the spiritual and the physical, and create the longed-for "union" that defines the word Yoga. The Vedanta sutras (vs.4:4,13-14) declare that the liberated soul is not materially motivated. The sutras, through yoga, urge us to free ourselves from the bondage of material motivation, and to discover compassion and selflessness. Although you may not be noticing this, the modern practice of yoga facilitates one's growth in compassion. Through postures and stillness, we alter our consciousness and therefore change our perspective. Practicioners of Yoga gain a new realization of others as being part of the cosmic whole. We find that in giving to them, we are also giving to ourselves... The ancient philosophers of yoga saw its postures as part of a greater whole. Thousands of years ago, during the time of Astanga yoga, posture practice was one piece of a more important whole. Astanga yoga, which originated during Vedic India, was comprised of eight branches:
In contrast, most contemporary yoga focuses on postures and uses breath work as a small component or an adjunt to the asanas. While I believe the current vision of yoga over-emphasizes asanas, it is extremely important and has enormous benefits. Studies have show many medical benefits of yoga include the following: Stress reduction, improved muscle strength and tone, increased energy and flexibility, improved balance and coordination and a reduction in depression. Moving with Compassion - Through most of an asana practice, we are unconsciously engaging in a physical metaphor. Many yoga postures are named after and imitate the living world: Tree pose, eagle pose, frog pose, cat pose, etc. By developing postures that imitate the stance of animals, the vedic seers may have been seeking, to not only to embrace the qualities of these animals, but to formulate compassion for them. The way that compassion serves as a partner to yoga's goal of liberation can be understood through reading the ancient yogic texts. Understanding these vedas, whether they be the Rig Veda (knowledge of praise), Yajur-Veda (knowledge of sacrifice), Sama Veda (knowledge of chants), and Atharva-Veda(knowledge of atharvan), is more likely to come while deep in meditation. And if we understand the vedic sutras, we are permitted to experience a bliss unknown through material grasping. In the meditative state, everyday experiences fade away and a greater perspective unfolds. Over time, meditation allows us to become more intuitive and receptive. This opens us up to others, enhancing our compassionate nature. This experience has been discussed by Eastern sacred-text expert "H.P. Blavatsky's in "The Voice of the Silence." Blavatsky writes: "Compassion is no attribute. IT is the LAW of LAWS-eternal Harmony, Alaya's SELF; a shoreless universal essence, the light of everlasting Right, and fitness of all things, the law of love eternal." In order to experience compassion for others we must first extend it to ourselves. This compassion can be a simple thing. Straining too forcefully in a pose is counter to compassion. Why? Since Yoga teaches us that we are all connected, when we hurt ourselves this pain eventually reaches others. The yogic goal to strive for is gentle self-acceptance, competing with nobody - not even ourselves. Stretching our limits, but staying within ourselves. This is essential to a rewarding experience of yoga.
Postures for Peace - By the time of Patanjali's yoga sutras, which were written near the beginning of the common era, we begin to see a discussion of the more practical aspects of yoga. Posture is discussed (be it mainly for meditative purposes), as is the concentration of the mind during this exercise. In the Yoga-Sutra, Patanjali presents relaxation as the very essence of yoga practice. He teaches us that postures should be steady and comfortable. This sentiment is reflected in the postures (asanas) of today's practice. The physical dimension of yogic exercise requires us to have compassion for our limits. We are never asked to push, instead only to release. Mercifully, our small efforts "grace us" by making a connection to a life-force that is divine and encompassing. Asanas urge us to see our body as divine, and to nurture health in this mortal temple. Yogic adepts understand that their body is flawed, however slender and toned it may look externally. This acknowledgement leads to less judgement of other's bodies. However pleasing to the eye a yogi's shape may be, the same vedic texts that encourage the practice of yoga for health, also remind us that true "liberation" comes from being free of the cycle of rebirth-free of the physical form. Yogic postures work in contrast to the western notion of exercise. Here we see exercise as an end, such as an end to being overweight. Yoga is different. While in most forms of exercise the physical results are the sole goal, in yoga the soul is the goal. The ancient tradition of yoga exercise stands apart in its doctrines. The ancient yoga texts insist that the mind and spirit are more important than the physical body. While many other eastern forms of mind-body fitness also encourage this awareness, no other physical practice has the ultimate goal of union with the divine. In yoga, the process of attaining this union is as important as the actual attainment. Yoga practice is not a means to an end. It is an end, in and of itself. Even when seperated from vedas and sutras, the modern practice of yoga posture is a beautiful and calming pursuit. Though modern yoga practice makes little mention of the scriptures that it is based on, the experience of union and compassion can be woven into each pose. In doing this, we are enhancing more than our practice, we are improving our life. Galina Pembroke is an internationally published writer. In addition she publishes and edits New View magazine online, www.nuvunow.ca. New View is dedicated to providing unique, non-mainstream articles for personal and planetary growth.
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