Yoga as Spiritual Practice
In a world full of conflict and distress, everyone is searching for the same thing: a sense of inner peace and stability. This is the purpose of yoga. Beyond the desirable inner blissful nature that can be experienced through practice, is a deeper state of yoga, one of total tranquility and peace.
This is the ultimate goal.
There are two paths or approaches to finding this inner bliss and tranquility - one is more external and the other is internal. On the one hand, we identify and eliminate all those stresses which come from outside, from our environment and from our past conditioning, that obscure the blissful inner nature - this is the external path.
On the other hand we can come to identify the qualities, inner sensations and positive expressions of that true inner nature - these features become the object of absorption and form the internal path.
The physical practice of postures (asana) and breathing exercises (pranayama) along with several other supporting practices, such as good diet etc., form the external path. We use breathing and moving, stretching and heating the body to de-stress, detox and relax the body.
Deep meditation depends on losing awareness of the body - a prime cause of distraction: the body must become transparent to awareness, so that one may become absorbed in an object of one’s choice.
The ultimate object is the true inner nature, consciousness, soul or spirit, although there are many other intermediate stages of meditation that may lead eventually to the same end result.
Physical practice/exercise is necessary because our wold is full of stress and toxicity, which we first have to eliminate from our system - exercise is an excellent way to do this.
But there is often a problem. Exercise often tends to tire us instead of giving us more energy - because we expect immediate results, have no patience and overdo everything. That is the tendency today - our appetite for everything is too big, too unhealthy. We end up suffering from exercise - pain, stiffness, tiredness.
Internal practice cannot be forced - it only happens if the conditions are right. In asana practice, at a certain point, you begin to feel like you are flying, buzzing - you feel your energy or vitality expanding…. and then, if you continue with your practice, that vitality will start to wane, energy will drop, you will become more tired … and eventually you are so happy to lie down and do shavasana.
But… what would happen, if instead of pushing on with physical practice, you observe this moment, when your energy is really up…. and just sit?
Many yoga practices are designed primarily for physical benefits without much concern for the psychological process of yoga. You can also add in some random pranayamas, mudras, mantras and meditations…
Modern practice is a bit like getting into a car and trying to figure out how it works - ignition, gas, 1st gear, reverse, steering wheel? very good, we are getting the hang of it. The car moves! We sort of know how to use it - but what is it for? Where should it take us and how?
It is said that you can make no real progress on the path of yoga without a realized teacher. Such a person is difficult to find, especially when the eyes of the student do not know how or where to look. Such a connection is a blessing indeed.
In a small village not far from Mysore, a realised saint quietly explored and expanded a deep vision of yoga at around the same time that Krishnamacharya was teaching. His teachings come down to us through his students in the form of a practice that balances the need for physical exertion/stretching, breathing, pranayama and mudra, that lay the foundation for the internalisation of awareness and meditation.
Integral Ashtanga Yoga - A Holistic System of Eight Limbs
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“The Eternal Truth - a light exists everywhere, cool, like moonlight, yet bright as a thousand suns. It brings evenness of mind - all is one - there is no separation - the mind feels total stillness, serenity and happiness… This eternal truth exists everywhere… a mind that attaches to eternal truth can know everything.”
- Acharya - Yoga Sutra Talks - September 1999 Mysore