The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali
This is an ongoing project, a labor of love. It is an effort to craft a sequence for every verse of the yoga sutras as a container for my own practice and reflections on this important text. The text calls for a kind of liberation from the mind that is more important now than ever. I prefer the Mukunda Stiles translation of the text which takes more liberties but seems to stay closer to the intention of the text than the more literal translations. I also recommend the Satchidananda and the appendix at the end of Desikachar’s Heart of Yoga.
Sutra 1.1 Atta Yoganusasanam - Now, Here, begins the authoritative instruction on yoga, Peak: Tree Pose
In this first video, Ann introduces the sacred text of the Yoga Sutras, written by a Bhakti (devotional, lover) yogi by the name of Patanjali in the first century. As the sutras depict yoga as an eight-limbed tree, it is only appropriate that this first sequence builds around tree pose (Vrksasana). Sequence is about 30 minutes long with a few minutes of discussion first. In first standing sequence, Ann teaches the same leg twice. Oops!
Sutra 1.2 Yoga citta vrtti nirodhah - Yoga is experienced in that mind which has ceased to identify itself with its vacillating waves of perception, Peak: King Dancer
In this video, Ann fails to keep class to around thirty minutes, even after skipping a portion of her sequence (by accident)! Hah! Class is closer to 45 minutes. Both Fritzel and Hiba, Ann’s cats, make cameos. The class builds to King Dancer pose, which honors Shiva.
sutra 1.3 “When this happens, then the seer is revealed, resting in its own essential nature, and one realizes the True Self.” peak: Marichiasana i
This sequences explores verse 3 of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. While our thoughts often pull us out of our True Self, our pelvis similarly often pulls us out of neutral alignment. In this sequence we explore maintaining a neutral pelvis in a range of seated, standing, and dynamic postures. When you find a neutral pelvis, notice how you feel taller and lighter. In the same way, as you release your attachment to your own thoughts, you will find an ease and lightness in your mind.
sutra 1.4 “At all other times, the Self appears to assume the form of thought’s vacillations and the True Self is lost.” Peak: Garudasana
In this sequence the theme is to broaden across the back building toward Garudasana or “eagle” pose. The “Garuda” is actually not an eagle but a mythical bird. In this insightful article by Zo Newell, from Yoga International, about Garudasana, she tells the story of Jatayu, a Garuda that attempts to rescue Rama’s wife Sita from her kidnapper, a demon named Ravana, but is mortally wounded in the attempt. Newell says that “Garuda’s natural state is one of sustained attention.” And she reminds us that though Jatayu technically failed in the sense of not achieving his mission, he still lived out his dharma by the way that he approached the challenges that he experienced. Thus the Garuda reminds us of the Bhagavad Gita’s teaching that it is better to perform our own dharma, even imperfectly, than to try to fulfill the dharma of another.
Apologies that you will hear my son screaming in the middle of the video, and for my clumsy attempt at editing together the two recordings. Also the video freezes for a few minutes in the second half, but the sound continues and any seasoned yogi should find it easy to connect the dots. I trust that you will allow me to fulfill my dharma, however imperfectly.
sutra 1.5 - THE VACILLATIONS ARE OF FIVE TYPES, WHICH MAY BE EITHER PAINFUL OR NOT PAINFUL.
SUTRA 1.6 - THE FIVE VACILLATIONS ARE CORRECT PERCEPTION, MISCONCEPTION, IMAGINATION, SLEEP, AND MEMORY.
[RESTORATIVE]
In this restorative practice, we follow a variation of Judith Lasater’s Breath In, Breath Out sequence designed to ease respiration. The theme is four-fold: open the thoracic spine, open the inter-coastals, release the diagram and open the chest. Focusing on the breath is a sure way to “cease to identify oneself with one’s vacillating waves of perception.” The breath is an ally in the quest to stay present. The sutras identify the following things that pull us out of the present moment: being right, misunderstanding a situation, getting lost in fantasy, drowsiness and reflection on the past. For me, it's easy to obsess about when I am right in an inter-personal conflict, but recognizing that that is just another way to lose touch with the present is a good reminder to let even correct perception go in the quest for freedom. Rest and breath easy, yogis.