Sunday’s Sutra: 1.12 Abhyasa (by guest blogger and author Gary Kissiah)

I am beaming with gratitude to share with you a guest post by Gary Kissiah, the author of The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, Illuminations Through Image, Commentary, and Design… one of my favorite sutra books I reference when writing the Sunday’s Sutras.   Enjoy the post and share your thoughts, please.

Falling out of Handstand: Practice and Non-Attachment

Sutra 1.12:  Abhyasa vairagyabhyam tan nirodhah

Restriction of the fluctuations is achieved by practice and non-attachment.

In Yoga Sutra 1.2 Patanjali defines yoga as the cessation of the misidentification with the modifications of the mind. When our minds are still, we can then rest in our true Self. This state of being or resting in our true Self is the ultimate goal of yoga.

Patanjali takes an open and inclusive approach to Yoga practice and describes over twenty separate practices within the Yoga Sutras. One of the most important pathways to attain our true Self is described in Sutra 1.12: through consistent, devotional practice (abhyasa) and detachment from the results of that practice (vairagya) we can still our minds.

 B.K.S. Iyengar describes this practice as follows: “Practice is the positive aspect of Yoga; detachment or renunciation the negative. The two balance each other like day and night, inhalation and exhalation.”  Iyengar also equates these principles to hatha yoga. The “ha” or “sun” aspect represents practice and the “tha” or “moon” aspect represents detachment. These principles embody the two poles of our Yoga practice.

 Achieving the proper balance between a dedicated and successful practice and non-attachment to the results of that practice may be difficult because we may view these goals as paradoxical. This paradox is aggravated in Western cultures because we tend to be achievement and goal oriented.

 I frequently reflect upon these twin principles in Yoga class.  If I allow myself to become attached to my desire to progress up the asana ladder, I become ego-centered and try to outperform myself or other students in the class.   As I become more focused on my desire to “excel”, I lose awareness of my body in the asana, I forget to breathe, I tighten my muscles and I may fall out of the pose. This happened in class this week as I fell out of my handstand because I was so proud that I finally made it upside down! However, the fall in turn, triggered a cycle of self-criticism and judgment, a focus on other students who had beautiful handstands and other distractions. This attachment to achieving the “goal” only served to agitate my mind, disrupt the flow of the practice and prevent me from obtaining its benefits.

 On the other hand, if I focus too much upon non-attachment, I have a tendency to become apathetic, non-attentive and to daydream.  I do not push the poses to their edge or approach them with attention and concentration. Non-attachment provides me with an excuse to avoid challenging poses and to forgo practicing with the intensity that will expand my practice. In some classes I opt out of doing poses that are difficult for me to reach such as handstand. Again, the result is that I do not reap the full benefit of the practice.

 A bird cannot fly with one wing; it needs two wings to fly. To reach our spiritual goals we need both wings of yoga: practice and non-attachment. They need to be coordinated in a rhythmic flow to keep the flight path on course. If we can keep both principles firmly in mind and in balance through constant awareness, we will find that our practice will tend to be far more effective. And those of us who are challenged by handstand may find that we are able to find the pose and even hold it with elegance and stability!

For those of you in the Bay Area, Gary will be teaching a workshop:  Learning, loving, and living the yoga sutras at Breathe Yoga Studio Los Gatos on April 14, 2012.  

More info on his book can be found on Gary’s website or read a book review by Yoga Journal. 

 

Gary Kissiah has been studying Yoga for the past 10 years at various Yoga studios in California, the Esalen Institute and Parmarth Niketan Ashram in India. He has a Certificate of Yoga Philosophy from the California Institute of Integral Studies in San Francisco. He is a technology lawyer and enjoys traveling, trail running, graphic design and photography. Gary currently resides in Los Gatos, CA.

Sunday’s Sutra: 2.42 Santosha

One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned this week comes from my almost 9 year old.   I’ve vowed to not go overboard this year.. not just because I don’t have the time to plan a decked out party, but my little girl said she didn’t want to have a big party.  She’s just content hanging out with us and maybe a few friends.  She’s content if there aren’t streamers, balloons, and cake to drive the parents mad with hyper kids.  And mostly she’s content if she doesn’t receive a heap of gifts.  I should be beaming proudly of her and jumping for joy, right?  Well the first thought that came to mind was , “what’s wrong, honey?  why don’t you want a birthday party?” 

Wow!  When I could finally hear myself, I said, “that’s a great idea! I’m so happy that you’re happy about turning 9 and it doesn’t matter the size of your party or the number of friends that come.”  And she gave me a big “I’m almost 9″ hug!  And I feel gratitude fill my heart and joy radiate throughout my being.  I’m as content as she is. 

Verse 2.42:  Santoshaath  anuttamah sukha labhah

Santosha is contentment and from this attitude of contentment, unexcelled happiness, mental comfort, joy and satisfaction is attained.

It seems that each year I am trying to out do the previous year’s party.  My cake has to be better, more moist, more festive.  This year’s party is gonna be the talk of the school the next day or otherwise I’m not showing my kid how much I love her, how important she is, how lucky I am to have her, etc etc etc.

This week I’m finding contentment by just letting go of so much expectation I subject myself to and give myself a real break.  My drive to go-go, do more, do it better attitude is definitely a part of my desire to grow and improve but I see there’s moments where I need to stop to recognize and acknowledge what I’ve already done, achieved, and appreciate my progress thus far.   I give myself permission to put aside that drive and appreciate my efforts.  Often we get stuck in the need to do better, try harder, and push more and we get blind to the things we’ve already accomplished and we miss the opportunity to just sit and watch ourselves in the moment.  When we stop to see, to appreciate, to live in that moment, we see that everything is good enough just as they are.  Wow!  We can be happy. 

As for her birthday party, we are having it at The Yoga Studio and turning a few of her friends upside down with an aerial yoga class and then eating some snacks and cake pops.  That’s it!

Sunday Sutras: 1.14 A Firmly Grounded Practice

It’s the homestretch for many yogis at Breathe Los Gatos where I teach.  The community there has been on a 60 day challenge of yoga and meditation.  I’ve seen an influx of enthusiastic students when the program started 51 days ago but during the last week, I’ve noticed students body language begin to say, “only xx more days left.”  They have definitely shown commitment .. but are they really?  Is 60 days just a number?  Is it ego?  A competition against yourself?… I must do it.. I can do it… I’m gonna do it.  The more interesting question is: what’s gonna happen on day 61?  Will people drop off and take a day off?  Will they continue?  Will they just never come back because they’ve completed their challenge?  

Sutra 1.14 sah tu dirgha kala nairantaira satkara asevitah dridha bhumih:  Continuous care and attention for a long time establishes this practice (Ravi Ravindra)

It’s no doubt that when you do something for an extended period of time without break, it starts to get ingrained in your system, in your routine, in your psyche.  

However this is not enough.  Whether the goal is 30 days, 60 days, or a continuous year, it’s not enough.  Simple repetition is not enough.  Can it get you through?  Of course!  But true abhyasa (persevering practice) requires an attitude of sincere devotion and honesty.  

Simply doing the motions can wear you out, burn you out, and worse of all bore you to death.  After months of doing the same poses over and over, it can become routine and you may lose your hold on the practice, for example day 61. 

So how do you stay devoted? 

1. One of the first things my teacher (Baron Baptiste) told me was “take your practice seriously, but yourself lightly.”  Ground your practice in joy.  Don’t beat yourself up if you don’t nail the pose right every time or worst yet come up with stories like “I’ve done this for 59 days already, why can’t I still touch my toes?” 

2.  Reflect on your practice.  What worked?  What didn’t?  How did it make you feel?  For example, the students at Breathe was able to incorporate various styles of yoga and meditation into their practice that counted towards their 60 day challenge.  Take note of what type of practice nourished you on all levels?  If you’re already a devotional type of person, I bet a practice that includes chanting or meditation filled your spirit.  If you’re an intellectual type, I bet you gravitated towards the type of practices that might involve the philosophical aspects of yoga.  If you’re physical in nature, please come to my power yoga class.  The point is, find something that is going to nourish who you are. 

3.  Don’t have any expectations.  For example, are you expecting something out of your 60 day challenge?  If you do, you’ll be disappointed if your expectations aren’t met at the end of the challenge and you’ll most likely not continue.

4.  Your practice doesn’t start on your mat and end on your mat.  How will your practice carry you through your day?  When you’re stuck in traffic?  When you’re in the middle of a heated argument? 

You know you’re in the right place of a firmly grounded practice that works for you when you no longer have to ask “should I practice today?” and you don’t need to look for excuses to take a day off. 

Sunday Sutras: 2.46 Sthira Sukham Asanam

This past week has definitely been a lesson in one of the first pillars of asana practice:

2.46 Sthira (stability) Sukham (ease) Asanam (seat):  ”the posture should be steady, comfortable, and grounded in joy.”

This loosely translates the past few weeks as nothing near steady, comfortable, or grounded in joy. Whether it was in my asana practice or living my life, I charged ahead like a bucking mechanical bull that should’ve been electrocuted… well I guess I sort of got electrocuted (see previous post)…

The sutra states the goal of a posture (your state of being) should be steady, comfortable, and relaxed.  We get to this state by emphasizing right posture or alignment.  This is the balance between effort and grace, strength and surrender, stability and freedom.  All of this requires us to look beyond the physical alignment because after all we are human.   In other words, we have mental and emotional postures as well that are important when we are searching for the “right” alignment in order to be steady, comfortable, and relaxed. 

When you step on your mat you bring all of your life with you and logically it should be true that when you step off your mat, you bring all of your yoga with you.  Easier said than done.  Lucky for us this sutra reminds us to do just that… take our yoga off the mat.

In other words, asana meaning seat can refer to a situation, your surroundings, your daily life.  Sthira steadies and clears the mind.  It can remind us to stay steady/strong to our core (Self) no matter the situation or challenge. Sukha puts us at ease, opens our hearts, and helps us let go.  It reminds us to “go with the flow,” be at ease with an open mind no matter what the situation is, “stay calm and carry on.”

My goal this coming week:  more sukha… ahhhhhh

Source:  The Wisdom of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra by Ravi Ravindra and The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali by Gary Kissiah

 

Sunday Sutras: 3.1 Desa bandhas cittasya dharana

I was out having coffee with a friend this morning before going to teach and we encountered a homeless guy who was asking for money.  We gave him a few bucks and went on our way.  My friend remarked, “he’s drunk and he’ll probably use that money to buy more booze.”  To which I said, “Does it matter?  If I were homeless right now, my priority would probably be figuring out how to stay warm.”  This reminded me of another encounter with a homeless guy many years ago.  I was walking into a fast food place and got stopped by a guy who said he was homeless and hungry and asked for some money.  I said, I didn’t have any change on me but could buy him a meal and asked what he would want.  He said, never mind… I’d rather have the money.   I scratch my head and wonder why on earth a hungry homeless person would refuse a hot meal.  I’m thinking that eating wasn’t his real priority…. he was probably concentrating on something else.. booze perhaps?  Maybe.  The point is, how does a broke homeless person find a way to buy booze rather than satisfy his other needs. 

The mind is a powerful thing.  What you concentrate on is what you get and you’ll do anything to get it if that’s what you’ve made your top priority.   I believe this.

Sutra 3.1 Desa bandhas cittasya dharana: Dharana is holding the mind in one place.

Dharana, concentration is the binding of the mind’s attention to a single object, place or idea.  While I am not quick to judge a homeless person’s choice of object to concentrate on, we can control the mind through this singleminded concentration method.  There are a wide variety of objects you can choose to concentrate on.. whether that is being fixated on the flickering of a candle, an imagery, a mantra, booze or your breath, we can become masters of our own mind.   The main point is to focus.  The power of focus stops the constant wandering of our wacky minds. 

This (dharana) shouldn’t be confused with meditation (sutra 3.2 dhyana).  Maybe next week’s sutra will be on 3.2… for now, think of dharana as objects of concentration.  There is a subject (you) and an object (candle, image, booze). 

Being able to concentrate on a single point or object sets the stage for meditation and the journey inward… or in the homeless person’s case booze.  I’m not quick to judge… who knows, perhaps his object of concentration also helps him stop the incessant chatter of his mind that might be saying self destructive comments of worthlessness, failure, scum of the earth type self criticism.  I’m not endorsing that booze is the answer, but we’ve all experienced our wacky minds in this way.  I’m sure many of you have also experienced the effects of a focused mind… and how powerful a focused  mind can take you to wherever you want to go and achieve whatever you wanted to achieve. 

Source:  The Wisdom of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra by Ravi Ravindra and The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali by Gary Kissiah

Atha – Yoga Here and Now

Dear Blog,

As you know I’ve been moping around the house for the past two days healing an injured back,  knee and a vomiting 4 yr old.   Since being cooped up for the last two days, I am inspired today by Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra 1.1, atha yoga anusasnam meaning “here, now, is the teaching of yoga.”

I’m feeling pretty bummed about not being able to practice or go tag the world with my yoga graffiti because it hurts to move.  Instead of throwing myself a pity party, I decided to pull out one of my favorite sutra books, The Wisdom of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras by Ravi Ravindra.  This very first sutra reminds me that “yoga does not require sitting on a cushion in meditation and it is not limited to a specified hour or a particular posture.  Each moment is the right  moment and the present moment is the best one.  Each place is the right place — the place where I now am can be a sacred place.” (pg 3)

“This is an invitation to practice yoga always and everywhere,” says Ravi.   It is around us at every moment.  It waits for us to wake up and look beyond the surface, to dig deeper and realize that all parts make up the sum of the whole.  As I rest restlessly for the past two days, I gave myself time to dig deeper.  I ask myself why do I always wish I had more time to rest but when I am given the opportunity I can not rest?  It’s funny how the universe pushes us just enough to wake us up but at the same time she will not give us more than what we can’t handle.

It’s no doubt that I’ve been running between a comfortable edge and jumping off the cliff the past couple weeks on and off the mat.  So when I slipped out of presence for that split second, I got injured.  Dear Universe, I’ve learned my lesson.

As I let go of my bruised ego of not being able to check off those items on my ever growing “to-do” list these last two days, I am able to practice my yoga in other ways than just asana.

I am able to just abide by one simple word, atha or now.  This instance of this moment exactly where I am and how I am with no attachments and no judgements.  I am reminded that in order to feel whole and connected, I need to be present.  Right here, right now.  No more spending my time, days, months, years reminiscing about the past or living in the future.

I stumbled on this great blog post with tips on how to stay in the present moment: Present Moment Awareness Mind Map

Photo credit: http://www.mindmapinspiration.com