To many people, Yoga means one thing - physical postures, or
asana. In fact this is a very narrow, modern, and "American" way of looking at this ancient system of living, and is symptomatic of our culture's obsession with the body and the material plane of existence. Asana is actually the most recently added aspect of Yoga, and in classical times was considered the least important. I've been studying The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali on my own, somewhat sporadically, and yesterday travelled to Integral Yoga® Institute in NYC to take part I of an advanced Raja Yoga course – an in-depth study of the Sutras not covered in our basic Yoga teacher training. The Yoga Sutras are the basis for Raja Yoga, their brief and often cryptic passages presenting a complete guide to the purpose, study and practice of Yoga: to overcome mental obstacles, relieve suffering and know your true self. Kind of like a user's manual for being human. What is so fascinating about the Yoga Sutras is that they are just a framework, and need large amounts of explanation to make any sense at all. Originally the Sutras were verbal discourse, passed down orally from Master to student to Master over possibly thousands of years, added to and embellished, then finally re-condensed and codified by Patanjali – minus the explanations. Today there are over a dozen translations of the Yoga Sutras in print, and each translator/author expounds their own "take" on the material. Even then, there are massive amounts of background material referencing other ancient scriptures such as the Bhagavad Gita and Rig Vedas, esoteric anatomy and many other topics. Without this background, a complete picture is hard to grasp.This is where the teacher, and Sangha (spiritual community), come in.
Those of us who are part of the Integral Yoga family are fortunate indeed to have such wonderful, knowledgeable (and entertaining!) teachers as Swami Karunananda, who presented last night's training. I love the study of Raja Yoga, it was my favorite part of our teacher training, and even when the concepts seemed far over my head, I know they were penetrating and being retained on some other level, there to be accessed when that knowledge is needed. The difference between being in a group, having someone explain the concepts, and wading through them in my living room, on my own, is night and day. This is what struck me as I dozed, curled up uncomfortably on the lumpy Metro-North seat, and again when I woke this morning... there really is nothing like feeling part of community, and spiritual community is the bomb. It addresses a primal human need for verbal interaction, communication and connection, and I have missed it sorely. I'm really happy to have found it again. It feels like coming home to the loving family of my dreams... thank you, Integral Yoga, bless you Gurudev, Swamis and fellow travellers on the quest for knowledge and peace. Om Shanti!! Namaste!!
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