Alchemy: the medieval forerunner of chemistry, concerned particularly with attempts to convert common metals into gold.
I remember a moment in class when Bikram said something along the lines of, “All that glitters is not gold.” He’s right. I’ve been thinking a lot about my asana practice lately, and how it’s easy to view its form or shape as the ultimate goal. Especially in the Bikram room’s heat, it’s not hard to get frustrated when falling out of a pose or not being able to kick our leg up high enough, instead of simply being kinder to ourselves by breathing and accepting what is.
Thinking of the pose as the ultimate goal could mean that we’re missing the whole point of yoga as a holistic science. In his Yoga Sutras, Patanjali states that the goal of yoga is “the restraint of the modifications of the mind-stuff.”
Furthermore, the Sutras state that yoga is made up of 8 limbs, with asana being the third. In my own practice, I’ve needed to shift my practice by paying attention to Pranayama. By breathing into the pose and visualising the end result as opposed to pushing the body to the highest point allows me to share a more balanced practice with myself, and the rest of the room.
Taking into account the first two limbs of yoga, Sri Dharma Mittra states how imperative it is to view yoga as an all encompassing practice which is rooted in a philosophy that many may not even have an understanding of. It made me realise that there is so much more work to be done in my practice:
Asanas are an aid to facilitate the journey to Self-realization within the yoga system. The postures are designed to induce a specific state of consciousness according to their geometric shape. In actual practice, certain Asanas are combined with Mudras, Bandhas, Pranayama, visualizations and intense attention on some of the Chakras or glands, etc., thus enhancing mental abilities (concentration).
But, Asanas are unable to destroy the subtle impurities of the mind that only keeping Yama (the Ethical Laws) and Niyama (the Yogic Observances) can. Yama and Niyama are the first and second steps of Ashtanga or Classical Eight-limbed Yoga and, without keeping them, there can be no Self-realization or true success in yoga.
Alchemy = yoga, when practiced as a whole.
Read the whole Q&A: http://www.yoganonymous.com/can-one-achieve-self-realization-through-asana-practice-dharma-mittra/
Filed under: Bikram Yoga, Fitness, Health, Inspiration, Life, Lifestyle, Musings, Philosophy, Spirituality Tagged: 8 limbs of yoga, Sri Dharma Mittra
