Setting a Goal

"Styana: A person suffering from languor has no goal, no path to follow and no enthusiasm. His mind and intellect become dull due to inactivity and their faculties rust. Constant flow keeps a mountain stream pure, but water in a ditch stagnates and nothing good can flourish in it. A listless person is like a living corpse for he can concentrate on nothing."
-B.K.S. Iyengar, Light on Yoga, 35th paragraph of the Introduction.

Complacency. Just doing what you are supposed to do. Unexamined experience. Trapped. Without an object for the imagination, we might loll around waiting forever.

A goal can change your world. Even a rediculous one. Reach. It can be a career goal, relationship goal, a creative goal, or maybe a Yogic Goal.

Lacking direction, a dull sensibility, languishing in languor is a block to personally growing through Yoga. Maybe we are "too busy" to address this. There is always a choice. We can always stir the pot. When everything has settled to the bottom in a cooking pot on the stove, it may congeal together and eventually become homogenously charred. So even if there were originally different components making an interesting mix, if left neglected you might end up with a mess. The same might be true for a neglected personality. We can't always expect others to keep us moving, the spoon might not reach down deep enough to keep it interesting.

Set a course. Fly. You don't even have to change a lot to others--or maybe you do. I can't speak for others, I just know that I have more work to do.



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Health

"Vyadhi: It will be noticed that the very first obstacle is ill-health or sickness. To the yogi his body is the prime instrument of attainment. If his vehicle breaks down, the traveller cannot go far. If the body is broken by ill-health, the aspirant can achieve little. Physical health is important for mental development, as normally the mind functions through the nervous system. When the body is sick or the nervous system is affected, the mind becomes restless or dull and inert and concentration or meditation become impossible."
-B.K.S. Iyengar, Light on Yoga, 34th paragraph of the Introduction.

Sickness can be seen as an obstacle or distraction to Yoga. And Yoga can also be the medicine for Body, Mind and Spirit.

"Yoga teaches us to cure what need not be endured and endure what cannot be cured."
-B.K.S. Iyengar

The thing is that we all bring our imperfections to Yoga. I see Yoga as welcoming what is. Yoga is a spiritual methodology for working with Obstacles. So here is an obstacle: Sickness.

Mr. Iyengar had sickness as a child that he brought to Yoga. And he was able to overcome it through dedication to his Practice.

My Yoga revealed a sickness I didn't even know I had. My heart was totally denied. The world I experienced up to the time I started to get to know the Chicago Yoga Community didn't include the heart in important decisions. My heart was tuned out. It was hidden. I knew fear. I knew ruthless survival. I knew competition. Even though my life was comfortable, somehow my attitude was mostly geared toward getting what I want according to what I had learned from others, like I was trying to get the best deal out of a situation, or something. I hadn't encountered heart joy or richness until I learned to know myself through Yoga.

I said at the time that I went to yoga to get a "hot body." I thought my boyfriend might appreciate my body more. I didn't know of myself as much more than that. I was a hungry body with needs and desires.

Now I wonder how I can expand my contribution to wellness. It's not just about my body and possessions, it's more about my heart, humanity and compassionate connections.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Surveying the Terrain

"To win a battle, a general surveys the terrain and the enemy and plans counter-measures. In a similar way the Yogi plans the conquest of the Self."
-B.K.S. Iyengar, Light on Yoga, 33rd paragraph of the Introduction.

For the next nine paragraphs of the Introduction, we will be surveying "the enemy". This enemy is the group of distractions and obstacles that lead us away from, or block us from Yoga.

I do think that it's good to look at the dark side of a light-filled practice. Let's fearlessly consider what we might be up against. It might be empowering to look at the potential dangers we could encounter along the way. It also offers respect for the practice when we open ourselves up to see these things.

I recently read about someone considering the benefit of positive thinking. And I think that it is good to maintain a positive attitude, but not at the expense of seeing things clearly. I was raised by a positive thinker. I think I might have some of those genes. But there are times to be real and to hear things without pasting a hopeful or desperate smile on the moment. Try to just listen. Try to just perceive, without controlling or changing anything. And then later, when there is understanding, plan your move and do it. Who is perfect? Who does not have challenges in life and on the yoga mat? The person who pretends perfection creates more pain, repression and shame rather than a more perfect world. Who wants to be perfect, anyway?


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

A Yogic Challenge

"There are, however, four more distractions: (1) dukha - pain or misery, (2) daurmansya - despair, (3) angamejayatva - unsteadiness of the body and (4) svasa-prasvasa - unsteady respiration."
-B.K.S. Iyengar, Light on Yoga, 32nd paragraph of the Introduction.

Somehow, the language is clarified for me here. Pain or misery, despair, unsteadiness of the body, and unsteady respiration are distractions to the practice of Yoga. I also look at these concepts to see where I might be off the mark.

Pain is not Yoga. If I am in pain I am distracted. How can I work to alleviate the pain? Often people come to Yoga because of one pain or another, and Yoga helps them. But sometimes we can be attached to pain and unknowingly perpetuate it.

Despair is not Yoga. Despair=Loss of Hope. Hopelessness is a distraction away from Yoga, and I don't think that I can afford this drain on my resources. I am so inspired when I see people doing yoga; it lights up my day. I am totally happy and absorbed into my immediate experience most of the time during my practice. But I am not a stranger to what I call my "cloak of sadness". It is a dispirited state where I am lost. The good thing about a cloak is that it comes off. Maybe I can dodge it like a gloomy cloud. But it sneakily finds its way around me more that I'd like to admit. It is a distraction, and rather than seeing shortcomings as being so important, maybe I can just see thinking about it for what it is: distraction. It fragments my personal strength when I am fooled by the Joker of Despair.

Unsteadiness of the body is not Yoga. How can I cultivate steadiness? Or maybe I can find the steadiness that is beneath my wavering.

Unsteady respiration is not Yoga. I must study my breath to understand this one. In a way I get it, but knowing the breath seems different from the way I was taught to "know" things. This knowledge is so different from memorization. It's like following the very current of life with my minds eye.

These four enthralling distractions are related to our tendency to cling to our lives (Abhinivesa). Pain can cause worry about deterioration of the body, so we can get stuck in that. Despair is another form of quicksand, feeding on itself, not wanting to let go. A person might wonder: Am I ever going to live my dreams? Physical and respiratory unsteadiness are other sinkholes of fear to be looking out for. How can we step forward confidently in a world that appears/feels imperfect? Ahh, quite a challenge! A Yogic Challenge.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Distractions and Obstacles

"The distractions and obstacles (Chitta Viksepa) which hinder the aspirant's practice of Yoga are:
1. Vyadhi - sickness which disturbs the physical equilibrium
2. Styana - languor or lack of mental disposition for work
3. Samsaya - doubt or indecision
4. Pramada - indifference or insensibility
5. Alyasya - laziness
6. Avirati - sensuality, the rousing of desire when sensory objects possess the mind
7. Bhranti Darsana - false or invalid knowledge, or illusion
8. Alabdha Bhumikatva - failure to attain continuity of thought or concentration so that reality cannot be seen
9. Anavasthitattva - instability in holding on to concentration which has been attained after long practice."
-B.K.S. Iyengar, Light on Yoga, 31st paragraph of the Introduction.

I check off eight of these for sure. At one time or another I have experienced plenty of distractions and obstacles, let me tell you. I sure will! The nineth one I'm not totally sure about, but I can relate with the concept.

The path of Yoga contains obstacles. It is true. It's not always pleasant and easy. When we are first learning Yoga we might do it in a way that keeps ourselves engaged, even entertained or soothed. Maybe at first it is fun, challenging or gentle. But at some point we will want to consider what might get in the way, preventing us from going further. I am all for fun, all for challenging, and all for gentle! These practices have their time and place. For sure! Yeah!

I just know that I gain increased confidence, strength, opening in my body and mind as I stay with the practice and overcome obstacles that show up. Yoga takes time. Yoga is worthwhile.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Reflective Beauty

"As a breeze ruffles the surface of a lake and distorts the images reflected therein, so also the chitta vrtti disturb the peace of mind. The still waters of a lake reflect the beauty around it. When the mind is still, the beauty of the Self is seen reflected in it. The yogi stills his mind by constant study and by freeing himself from desires. The eight stages of Yoga teach him the way."
-B.K.S. Iyengar, Light on Yoga, 30th paragraph of the Introduction.

Mental noise (chitta vrtti) distracts us from seeing the beauty naturally inherent in the life situation. Merely turning away from the noise might not be adequate, denial or turning to a fantasy of peace can be counterproductive. I think peace is possible, even inevitable depending on your timeline... But doing "spiritual" things and imagining peace can lead someone away from reality instead of towards it. It depends on the person. I definitely benefit from meditation, but don't resonate with over-the-top spiritual language. One time, really early in the morning, a teacher asked a class I was taking to imagine blue light lifting the spine or something--it just didn't connect for me. A person can also get a bit lost in a spiritual high. I ask myself: do I want to make a nice life here? The answer is yes--and not only in my fantasy of myself but somehow registering in the content of what I do in my days. And certainly I have so much to be thankful for that is a real part of my life, right now.

Is peace connected with a person's earthly life, or is peace only existing in the imaginary realm? I think peace is something we can bring to the world. But, I am wondering if some people believe that peace is only a nice concept. If this is true--that peace is only an idea--then it makes sense that if we want to experience peace that we will have to get away from here, even escape. Ahhh, spiritual escapism...

I feel certain that in the long run this approach to peace will cause more disturbance in the mind--chitta vrtti.

Maybe a person's life, imperfect as it may be, can provide a little dock to walk out on and catch a glimpse (or more) of this reflective peace of mind. It can be a work in progress, and as a person's yoga practice and understanding grows stronger, so might the pathway get sturdier and the vision clarify.

Yours in yoga,
Brooks


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Matrix of Life

"Patanjali enumerates five causes of chitta vrtti creating pain (klesa). These are:
1. Avidya (ignorance or nescience); (2) asmita (the feeling of individuality which limits a person and distinguishes him from a group and which may be physical, mental, intellectual or emotional); (3) raga (attachment or passion); (4) dvesa (aversion or revulsion) and (5) abhinivesa (love or thirst for life, the instinctive clinging to worldly life and bodily enjoyment and the fear that one may be cut off from all this by death). These causes of pain remain submerged in the mind of the sadhaka (the aspirant seeker). They are like icebergs barely showing their heads in the polar seas. So long as they are not studiously controlled and eradicated, there can be no peace. The yogi learns to forget the past and takes no thought for the morrow. He lives in the eternal present.
-B.K.S. Iyengar, Light on Yoga, 29th paragraph of the Introduction.

In saying that the klesas are like mostly-submerged icebergs in the psyche Mr. Iyengar, I think, is letting us know that these are ongoing challenges, and an individual might not be able to see the full extent of it since they are mostly hidden. So it doesn't sound like yoga works by getting rid of these afflictions totally. But it might work by giving us a better perspective, and free us from being victims of our situation. The klesas are a natural part of the structure of our reality, even if they also create pain.

Avidya

Avidya is spiritual ignorance. And when I imagine Avidya as a mostly-submerged iceberg, I see that it is unlikely that someone like me might fully irradicate this one. It makes sense because we have learned since we were born that our bodies are ours. We live in the world of forms. As we become more and more competent in the world, we think that this is what we are. A person might loose a sense of themself as having a connection with spirit as they have bills to pay and kids to raise. It is an ongoing process. Someone can have a spiritual insight and an awareness on one day, and have a total loss of hope on another.

Asmita

We are individuated beings. The fact that we have different bodies, preferences, and emotional responses can lead to lonliness. In a spiritual sense we are deeply connected, but our earthly expressions can trick us into feeling sadly separate.

Raga

I am strongly attracted to certain people and things, meaning there will be some people and things that I don't give enough attention to. I will be limited and possibly trapped by my preferences.

Dvesa

There are also experiences that I want to avoid at all costs, but this does not mean that I can. And it distorts my vision when I am repelled by something strongly; it might affect how I react when I come across it again. It could keep me from a deeper level of understanding when I choose not to engage in a situation.

Abhinivesa

In clinging to life I might live under a veil of fear, never just livin'.

These five klesas are five aspects of how we are connected to this life experience, they are intrinsic to it. They are natural effects of being alive in the way that we are. They define our connection to the matrix of life experience:

1. Spiritual ignorance helps us find our way around the physical world, but bites us later when we have lost hope.

2. Experiencing ourselves as individuals allows for an infinitely creative experience, but also is lonely.

3. Attraction keeps the experience moving, but then we might get stuck and attached, even trapped by passion.

4. Aversion helps us to avoid a potentially dangerous experience, but can also lock us in patterns of fear.

5. Love of life can make it all so precious, but it can also make us greedy misers in an effort to hold on, which in the end seems impossible.

When presented with an outline of these challenges that are connected to the experience of living I am quiet (for now...).


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone