Yoga Beyond Āsana: A Practitioner’s Quest

What is the first thing that comes to mind when I say ‘Yoga’? Someone standing in Bhagīrathāsana on a mountain or under a huge tree? Or someone who is skimpily clad in ‘modern Yoga-attire’, doing some form of gymnastic exercise - most likely a young woman?

The tragedy of our times is exactly this - Yoga has been limited to being either of these grossly misrepresented ideas. Either it is thought of as being an esoteric, other-worldly journey, having little or nothing to do with our normal lives; or it is being completely appropriated by the commercial and vulgar sections of society to meet their product and content needs.

In most metropolitan cities, the voice of traditional or classical Yoga is often completely drowned out by these two.

However, Prārabdha and Īśvara Anugraha pierce through these distractions and ensure that those who have an honest enquiry, and a seeking for transformation and healing, definitely find their way to the feet of the masters. I wish to speak from this very standpoint - as a practitioner who stumbled on this path - and share some key observations that I have had along the way.

In the words of T. Krishnamacharya -

Practice without the right knowledge of theory is blind. Without right knowledge, one can mindfully do the wrong practice.

Traditional or classical Yoga develops the practitioner into the Yogic Culture as a whole. There is severe emphasis on learning with a great teacher and not limiting the Yogic practice to the few hours spent on the mat. More importantly, the underlying philosophy of Yoga embodied by the teacher seamlessly percolates into the student’s consciousness.

The Yogic Culture

I learnt (and continue to discover) that Yogic philosophy (a crude translation of Yoga Darśana) intricately decodes the deep questions of the human condition.

Culture refers to the evolving, integrative processes that embody collective values and practices to align individual and community actions with larger cosmic systems. Culture therefore helps the individual live harmoniously within oneself as well as with the system in which one operates.

Bhāratīya Culture recognises two very primordial ideas:

1. The importance of pattern formation and dissolution.
2. The criticality of relationships - with oneself, one’s surroundings and one’s environment.

Both of these ideas form the cradle of transformative potential for the individual and collective. Yoga Darśana not just informs both these ideas in a very fundamental way but also provides intelligent and pragmatic steps to enable this transformation.

Yoga on Pattern Formation and Dissolution

Mahaṛṣi Patañjali has defined Yoga to be Citta Vṛtti Nirodhaḥ - the state of being when the fluctuations in the mind cease. These fluctuations or Vṛttis are said to be of two types - Kliṣṭa Vṛttis (those leading to suffering) and Akliṣṭa Vṛttis (those not leading to suffering).

These Vṛttis have a deeper causative agent - Vāsanā which feed the algorithm to the system while Saṃskāras refer to the systemic processes that manifest from this algorithm.

In the words of Shri Raghu Ananthanarayanan from his book on Antaranga Yoga:

Citta Vṛttis are the perceptive processes that are mediated by Vāsanā; Saṃskāras are conditioned, habitual or compulsive patterns of feeling, thought and action. Saṃskāra is the explicit form of Vāsanā; Vāsanās are the seed form of the Kleśa that distorts the flow of Prāṇa through the various levels of Vikṛti. This could be conceptualised as a holographic imprint of the way in which the individual self manifests in the world.

The entire goal of Yoga is to recognise and dissolve Kliṣṭa Vṛttis; and cultivate Akliṣṭa Vṛttis through steady practice. This is possible by removing blockages in the flow of Prāṇa or the vital energy that nourishes all beings.

Towards this end, Yoga meticulously and holistically guides us to work with our body and breath to eventually have an impact on the mind.

T. Krishnamacharya has defined Āsana to be Nava Śarīra Saṃskāra. It is a well-known fact that most patterns of behaviour as well as emotional responses are deeply stored in several parts of the body. Through Yoga Āsana, the practitioner learns to put the body in various positions so as to remove blockages in the body and finding newer pathways for Prāṇa to flow. This enlivens the entire system as one is then not stuck to a habituated or stagnated response to a situation.

Real Āsana has an impact on our being when it is combined with moderation of the breath. Breath is the most gross expression of our Prāṇa. Therefore, wherever we direct our breath, we are directing our vital energy and eventually our mind. This is a combination of the other limbs of Yoga - Prāṇāyāma, Pratyāhāra and Dhāraṇā. Thus, traditional Yoga Āsana is not limited to bodily movements but a sophisticated channelising of the subtler elements of our being such as the breath and the mind.

Yoga on Importance of Relationships

Yoga by very definition indicates the quality of relating. Yoga is derived from the root word √yuj which means to yoke or unite. Apart from the commonly known idea of uniting body, breath and mind, Yoga lays great emphasis on the quality of one’s relationships. The two foremost limbs of Aṣṭāṅga Yoga - Yama and Niyama - refer to the manners of relating with one’s outer environment and one’s internal environment respectively. This is based on the Sāṅkhya-Yogic axiom of Saṅghaṭana - everything is profoundly inter-connected with everything else in the universe. If that be so, it is imperative that a practitioner does not restrict his/her practice to the mat. They need to fill every thought, action and word with a Yogic quality. This is the real practice as it inevitably reveals the blocks and tensions that exist. Yogic practice therefore does not guarantee calmness and peace of mind all the time - in fact, it develops inner resilience to actually deal with the situations one is faced with in a more intelligent fashion.

The Yoga Sūtra categorically states:

maitrīkaruṇāmuditopekṣāṇāṃ sukha-duḥkha-puṇya-apuṇya-viṣayāṇāṃ bhāvanātaś citta-prasādanam |

The four qualities of the mind are described here. These are Maitrī, Karuṇā, Mudita and Upekṣā. The Yoga Sūtra states that these four inherently exist in the mind and enable it to continue to remain equanimous in challenging as well as pleasurable situations. However, the important point to be noted here is that these qualities are revealed in relating to the world - they are not solitary experiences. Maitrī, for example, refers to the attitude of friendliness and affection in the relationship when the other person is experiencing joy and one is also in a state of inner joy. Well-being is experienced due to this attitude. However, this is not just an end-state but a bhāvana that is an experience that can be cultivated steadily.

Thus, one will observe that the foundational ideas of The Yogic Culture are not esoteric but very relevant in an era flooded with depression, anxiety, conflict, war, environmental damage.

Yoga, in its true essence, offers a comprehensive and transformative path that transcends mere physical postures, inviting us into a deeper exploration of our inner landscape and our relationship with the world.

It is a journey of self-discovery and self-mastery, where the practice of āsana becomes a gateway to a more profound understanding of the self and the universe. This journey, rooted in the ancient wisdom of the sages, continues to be relevant and necessary in our modern world, offering a beacon of hope and a path to true peace and harmony.