Discover
the true meaning of yoga...
In taking any modern yoga class, you
will find parallels to ballet. Like
ballet, the promise of poise, grace and flexibility encourages much interest.
Yet if yoga is like any other exercise, it is only at first glance. Underneath
the coveted health and fitness benefits of modern yoga practice are the roots
of a great spiritual tradition blending cultures and religions.
Unfortunately, through the westernization of yoga, we
have lost an essential component of this peaceful practice. Though the ritual remains intact the meaning
has gone astray. Where previously the
postures of yoga practice were merely a branch of a tree; today they are viewed
by western society as the tree itself. How do we bring meaning to our poses?
Modern
Yoga's Roots and Benefits
Though the development of yoga cannot be pinned to an
exact year, the discovery of the Indus seals, which show figures in the classic
yoga asana (posture) of lotus pose, trace yoga back to at least 3000 BCE. At this time the Vedas were being written,
which today's yoga postures are derived from.
These gave birth to Vedic yoga, which accommodated the ancient Indians
fixation on ritual and sacrifice. We see evidence of the importance of
sacrifice in the yogic corpse posture.
Lying as though we were placed in a coffin, this represents the ultimate
sacrifice-that of death. Though seemingly morbid, corpse posture is one of hope
when we understand that according to the Vedanta sutras, death results in
liberation.
Sacrifice was meant to join the material and the
physical, and create the longed-for "union" that defines the word
Yoga. The Vedanta sutras (vs.4:4,13-14) declare that the liberated soul is not
materially motivated. By asking us to
free ourselves from the bondage of material motivation, compassion requires us
to be selfless. Surely, this giving is
an exercise in compassion. Even still,
the modern practice of yoga facilitates this.
Through postures and stillness, we alter our consciousness and therefore
change our perspective. In our new
realization of others as being part of the cosmic whole, we feel that in giving
to them we are also giving to ourselves.
The ancient philosophy of yoga saw its postures as part
of a greater whole. Thousands of years ago during the time of Astanga yoga,
posture practice was one piece of a more important whole. Astanga yoga, which
originated during Vedic India, was derived of eight branches; yama (control and
discipline), niyama (rules, methods and principle), asana (posture), pranayama
(focused breathing), prathyahara(avoidance of undesirable action), dharana
(concentration), dhyana (meditation) and samadhi (contemplation). In contrast, most contemporary yoga focuses on
postures and uses breath work as a small component or an afterthought. Though
admittedly, the current vision of yoga over-emphasizes asana, it is extremely
important and has enormous benefits. The medically studied benefits of yoga
include the following: Stress reduction, improved muscle strength and tone,
increased energy and flexibility, improved balance and coordination and a
reduction in depression.
Moving
with Compassion
Through most of asana practice, we are unconsciously
engaging in physical metaphor. Many yoga
postures are named after and imitate the living world; tree pose, eagle pose,
frog pose, cat pose. By developing postures that imitate the stance of animals,
the vedic seers may have been seeking not only to embrace the qualities of
these animals, but to formulate compassion for them.
The way that compassion serves as a partner to yoga's
goal of liberation can be understood through reading the ancient yogic texts. Understand these vedas; whether they be the
Rig Veda (knowledge of praise),Yajur-Veda (knowledge of sacrifice), Sama Veda
(knowledge of chants), and Atharva-Veda(knowledge of atharvan), is likelier
while deep in meditation. Understanding the vedic sutras, we are permitted to
experience a bliss unknown through material grasping.
In this state everyday experiences fade away and a
greater perspective unfolds. Over time, meditation also allows us to become
more intuitive and receptive. This opens us up to others, enhancing our
compassionate nature. This experience has been discussed by Eastern sacred-text
expert "H.P. Blavatsky's in "The Voice of the Silence."
Blavatsky writes: "Compassion is no attribute. IT is the LAW of
LAWS--eternal Harmony, Alaya's SELF; a shoreless universal essence, the light
of everlasting Right, and fitness of all things, the law of love eternal."
In order to experience compassion for others we must
first extend it to ourselves. Straining too forcefully in a pose is counter to
compassion. Why? Yoga teaches us that we are all connected, so when we hurt
ourselves this pain eventually reaches others. Instead we must strive for
gentle self-acceptance, competing with nobody-not even ourselves. This is
essential to a rewarding experience of yoga.
Postures
for Peace
Asanas urge us to see our body as divine, and to nurture
health in this mortal temple. Yogic
adepts understand that their body is flawed, however slender and toned it may
look externally. This acknowledgement leads to less judgement of other's
bodies. However pleasing to the eye a yogis shape may be, the same vedic texts
that encourage the practice of yoga for health, also remind us that true
"liberation" comes from being free of the cycle of rebirth-free of
the physical form.
Yogic postures work in contrast to the western notion of
exercise. Here we see exercise as an
end, such as an end to overweight and fatigue. Yoga is different. While in most
forms of exercise the physical results are the sole goal, in yoga the soul is
the goal. The ancient tradition of yoga exercise stands apart in its doctrines.
The ancient yoga texts insist that the mind and spirit are more important than
the physical body. While many other
eastern forms of mind-body fitness also encourage this awareness, no other
physical practice has the ultimate goal of union with the divine. In yoga, the
process of attaining this union is as important as the actual attainment.
Yoga practice is not a means to an end. It is an end in
of itself. Even distinguished from vedas
and sutras, the modern practice of yoga posture is a beautiful and calming
pursuit. Though modern yoga practice
makes little mention of the scriptures that it is based on, the experience of
union and compassion can be woven into each pose. In doing this we are
enhancing more than our practice, we are improving our life.
Galina
Pembroke is an internationally published writer. In addition she publishes and
edits New View magazine online, [http://www.nuvunow.ca]. New View is dedicated to providing unique,
non-mainstream articles for personal and planetary growth. To aid this we have
rapidly expanding sections on Green Living, Animal Rights and Self-Help.
Article Source:
[http://EzineArticles.com/?Yoga-for-Relaxation&id=23357] Yoga for
Relaxation
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