Back to Basics

Alright, I feel like going back to the beginning of The Tree of Yoga, (Note: I used "tree" in the blog title because of my nickname though I just now realized that "tree" is also in the title of the book I'll be writing about. How ironic.) Mr. Iyengar explains that Yoga is the union of the body with the mind and of the mind with the soul.

Yoga helps clean the soul. The body is lazy, the mind is vibrant, and the soul is luminous. While practicing asanas, the body develops into being just as vibrant as the mind. Together the two vibrant entities are guided to the soul. Science of the mind is called raja-yoga. Science of intelligence is jnana-yoga. Science of dut is karma-yoga. Science of will is hatha-yoga.

The word Hatha is translated to 'Ha' which means sun, the sun of your body which is your soul, and 'tha' which means moon, which is your consciousness. The energy of the sun never fades, whereas the moon fades every month and again from fading comes to fullness. The sun in all of us never fades, whereas the mind of or consciousness, which draws its energy from the soul, has fluctuations, modulation, moods, ups, downs, like the phases of the moon; it is like quicksilver, and as quicksilver cannot be caught by the hand, so we cannot easily cath hold of the mind. Yet when consciousness and the body are brought into union with one another, the energy of consciousness becomes still, and when the energy of consciousness is still, consciousness too is still, and the soul pervades the entire body.

Yoga is stilling of the mind and of the breath. The mind can go in many directions in a split second; movement fast and varied. But the breath cannot go in many directions at once. It has only one path: inhalation and exhalation. It can pause for a moment, but cannot multiply like the mind.

Controlling the breath and observing its rhythm brings the consciousness to stillness.


Eight limbs of yoga

yama

the root of the tree. comprises five principles of ahimsa (non-violence), satya (truthfulness), asteya (freedom from avarice), brahmacharya (control of sensual pleasure), and aparigraha (freedom from covetousness and possession beyond one's needs). observance of yama disciplines the five organs of actions: arms, legs, mouth, generation, and excretion. organs of action control the organs of perception of the mind

niyama

the trunk of yoga. comprises to the principles of saucha (cleanliness), santosa (contentment), tapas (ardour), svadhyaya (self-study, and Isvara-pranidhana (self-surrender).
control the organs of perception: eyes, ears, nose, tongue, and skin

asana

the branches which symbolize the various postures which bring the physical and physiological function of the body into harmony with the psychological pattern of yogic discipline.

pranayama

from the branches grow the leaves whose interaction with the air supplies energy to the whole tree. science of breath in which the respiratory and circulatory systems are brought into a harmonious state.

pratyahara

the bark, protection of the tree. mastery of asanas and pranayama helps the practitioner to detach the mind from the contact of the body, and this leads to automatically towards concentration and meditation. inward journey of the senses from the skin towards the core of the being.

dharana

the sap of the tree, the juice which carries energy on the inward journey. concentration, focusing the attention on the core of the being.

dhyana

blooming flowers. where the observer and the observed are one attained in meditation.

samadhi

fruit of the flower. essence of the tree is fruit, essence of the practice of yoga is in the freedom, pose, peace, and beatitude of samadhi, where the body, the mind and the soul are united and merge with the Universal Spirit.

*These are notes taken directly from "The Tree of Yoga."