It is 1:00 am, my alarm is set for 4:00 am and I can’t sleep. Rather than lay in bed and toss and turn for another 3 hours I decided to crack open the copy of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras that I brought with me.  For those unfamiliar with the Sutras, it is one of the oldest yoga texts, recorded by Sri Patanjali sometime between 5000 BC and 300 AD (there is pedagogical disagreement about the dates, but who cares.)

**WARNING...I am going to get a little woo-woo here and talk about the spriritual/philosophical side of yoga in this posting. I am definitely not an expert so please consult your guru if you really want to know about the meaning of life.***

The word “Sutra” translates as “thread”, and the text consists of about 200 aphorisms (the threads) that distill the essence of Yoga. So what is Yoga, you ask? In the copy of the Sutras I am reading, Sri Swami Satchidananda defines Yoga as “the science of the mind.” The second sutra states that Yoga is “the cessation of the fluctuations of  the mind.”  Then why all that stretching, twisting and breathing, you might wonder. Well, the asana (physical postures) and pranayama (breathing) practices that are commonly associated with yoga are simply tools for the purification of the mind, creating a mental space that will allow us to walk further down the road to eternal Bliss/Enlightenment/Samadhi.

I brought the Sutras with me hoping to study them in more depth than I have in the past. I have “read” them twice before, but in both cases (my yoga teacher training and my yoga book club) I was working against a deadline and was balancing efficiency in completing the book with a genuine desire to absorb the wisdom of the sutras.  Well, my time here should be a lot more flexible than at home. Since my asana practice at the shala will only occupy 1.5 hours of my day, I will have lots of spare time to study (and that is why I am here supposedly).

The Sutras are broken into 4 separate sections: (1) the portion on Contemplation, (2) the portion on Practice, (3) the portion on Accomplishments, and (4) the portion on Absoluteness. Apparently they were written in this order for a reason. The reader learns in the first book what lies ahead if they set forth on the path of yoga – this is supposed to inspire the reader to keep going, without scaring them away with a lot of the more complicated and esoteric teachings in the last two sections.  Section two then lays out some practical guidance about how to practice and how to deal with the roadblocks we will encounter along the way. I plan to study this section while I am here. There are 55 sutras in section 2, so if I study 2 per day I should have exactly the right number of days (28) to get through before I head back to the real world (coincidence or not??)

So let’s get started…Sutra 2.1 Tapah Svadhyaya Isvara Pranidhanani Kriya Yoga

Hope you know Sanskrit! Just kidding…here is how Satchidananda translated this:

Tapah = accepting pain as purification
Svadhyaya = study of spiritual books
Isvara Pranidhanani = surrendering to the Supreme Being
Kriya Yoga = Yoga in practice

In other words, Yoga practice is about pain, study and surrender. Sounds like fun, huh?

Note that I will be relying heavily on Satchidananda’s interpretation and teachings about each sutra as I write and reflect on these, but obviously won’t be re-transmitting them verbatim.

Here is what strikes me about this sutra on this day…

Tapas is often described as physical austerity and discipline. Taken to extremes, this conjures up ascetics and hard core practices that seem (to me) to be pretty self-destructuve. I like that Satchidananada makes a distinction between self-discipline and self-torture in his discussion. At this point I am a walking a fine line in my own practice between the two (or at least I think I am). Since I started my Ashtanga practice in September, I have suffered many aches and pains (sore right knee, lower back pain, acute shoulder/neck pain that kept me from turning my head for a whole day, etc. etc.). Am I pushing too hard, letting my type-A tendencies get the better of me with deleterious results, or am I just whining about the normal suffering that comes with engaging in a powerful physical practice? Not sure yet, but this morning as I read this I am inspired to try and find a balance between discipline and non-violence (ahimsa) towards myself when I go to practice in a few hours.

With regard to Svadhyaya…well I guess this reading/writing counts. We’ll see if I can keep my studies up as planned.

Isvara Pranidhanani – this one is harder. While I believe in a Supreme Being I have still not gotten my head around how I interact with this Supreme Being. Furthermore “surrender” is a word that my independent, 21^st century female sensibilities have trouble with. I suppose then, that this is my work.

Satchidananda softens this by saying he understands this to mean “dedicating the fruits of our actions to God or humanity.” Since I am comfortable with the idea of trying to lead a life where my actions serve humanity, then maybe I can do this. And I suppose, if God with a capital “G” is defined as pure consciousness and is not embodied as an old man with a white beard that hands down judgement, then maybe I can dedicate my actions to something outside of myself. Hmmmmm.. but what about the goal of realizing that we are all One great big intertwined reality consciousness...maybe  that means I can dedicate my actions toward myself.

This I hard. I have a lot to learn.

This whole topic gets at the whole dualistic/non-dualistic philosophical/theological discussion about whether we are all part of “one” or whether we are separate from the supreme being. Even the ancient yogis argued about this, so I guess it is OK to be confused at this point (see this discussion of dvaita and advaita for more info – no time to discuss this now or I’ll miss practice…and maybe every other activity in the day).

Moving on to 2.2 Samadhi Bhavanarthah Klesa Tanukarnaarthah Cha

Samadhi - contemplation
Bhavanarthah – to get into
Klesa - obstacles
Tanukaranarthah Cha – and minimize

Here Patanjali is explaining that we do Kriya Yoga, which includes all of the aforementioned (disciplined practice, spiritual study, surrender to God) to minimize the roadblocks and prepare us for Samadhi.

I suppose Pattabhi Jois' constant reminder that “practice and all is coming”, is his version of this sutra. (Pattabhi Jois is the 92 year old teacher/guru here at the shala for those not familiar with his name).

OK. Enough for now. I am off to my first practice at the Shala.