Reading Response:
Is it just me? Or is it confusing to read the yoga sutras and not see any mention of physical movement in them? I understand that we're just on the first chapter and the first couple of sutras but I'm tired of hearing that Yoga helps my seer abide within myself and that I'm controlling my vrittis. When exactly does it tell me to do downward facing dog? When do I find out that meaning. I guess I kind of resemble the character of the captain in the story. I know I should be listening and paying attention to my teacher and understanding the deeper meaning of yoga, but honestly when do the physical movements come into play in the text? However I have to admit, that the 1.14 sutra which talks about "When that practice is done for a long time, without a break, and with sincere devotion, then the practice becomes a firmly rooted, stable and solid foundation" makes sense to me. Its kind of like working out, at first it seems like a chore and its not pleasing and hurts everytime you do it, then slowly but surely you become persistent with it. You start to find something pleasing about it, and before you know it when you don't work out there seems to be something missing from your day and eventually from your life, it becomes a part of you. Now, I'm not trying to say that I've gotten to that point in regards to working out or even with Yoga, but I understand the concept. Has anyone else noticed how in the sutras everything is bunched together into numbers? There are 5 vrittis, 4 thoughts of concentration etc.... I guess it helps to understand the categories if they are sectioned off but I forget how many of each there are sometimes. I guess it doesnt really matter, I think I'm getting to caught up in the logistics of it all and missing the real big picture. Sometimes when I read the novel though, I feel like the logistics of it all is what really needs to be understood first to get the big picture. I guess aside from the practice aspect of Yoga, I'm really confused, maybe I should meditate on it?
Practice Response:
I feel like this week I took a backwards leap in my yoga. I feel more sore than ever, I don't know if that has to do with my workouts with ROTC outside of Yoga or just something I pulled in my legs. I do feel myself getting more flexible but it hurts more than I remember it hurting in past weeks. I think Chatush is my new favorite pose, not just because its fun to say the name but I feel very calm and relaxed when I do it. You know what's really strange? Dandasana is actually really hard to perfect for me. It seems like such a simple pose, to sit with your legs stretched in front of you and sit up straight but I have the hardest time with it. I guess I'm now realizing how bad my posture is. I wonder how I would be evaluated and looked at by Friday sometimes. In the book, she's so good at judging other people with just a simple glance. Its almost like she's Regina George from Mean Girls or something....ok a huge stretch but still....I hope I can perfect my shoulder stand pretty soon, for some reason I have trouble straightening my legs. I don't want to move on to head stand without getting shoulder stand perfect, guess I should start working on it everyday :/
The big picture is 1.1 through 1.4 that's it it a nutshell everything else is elaborate. Indian Philosophy likes lists.
ReplyDeleteThe references to asana come in book 2. There aren't that many that deal with asana directly. Bascially the sutras are a meditation manual and to the extent asana helps with that it is a part of the practice. Chatush is a good pose to like, keep it up.