Why Ashtanga Yoga is more than a workout
Why Ashtanga Yoga is more than a workout – finding a spiritual connection to your yoga practice
Have you ever found yourself wondering how the physical practice of Ashtanga yoga or any yoga asana practice connects with the philosophy of yoga?
Considering the multimillion-pound “yoga industrial complex” that exists today with its expensive clothing, fancy yoga mats and yoga for wellness vibe, it's not surprising that many people wonder what today’s yoga has to do with an ancient spiritual practice from the Indian Subcontinent.
It’s a question I’ve been asked numerous times, and it’s something I questioned myself when I first started practicing.
Today, after many years of daily asana practice, the connection between what I do on my mat each morning and the philosophy of yoga is much clearer, whilst at the same time being varied and complex. Yoga philosophy is vast and often seems contradictory, and yoga practice above all else is experiential. How each of us connects with our yoga practice is deeply personal, and this may or may not resonate with you.
To begin with, let's look at three classical definitions of yoga.
From the Katha Upanisad
The first mention of Yoga as a spiritual practice (rather than its previous meaning of yoking a horse to its carriage) appears in the Katha Upanishad which modern scholarship dates to the 3rd Century BCE. The Upanishads are known as Shruti, or divine knowledge revealed at the dawn of time and transmitted orally. Therefore they are fixed and have no author.
“When the five senses, along with the mind and the intellect remain still and the intellect is not active, that is known as the highest state, they consider yoga to be firm restraint of the senses” (translated by J Mallinson)
A definition from The Bhagavad Gita
The Bhagavad Gita is attributed to the sage Vyasa. Its 18 chapters are part of the Indian epic the Mahabharata and take the form of a dialogue between Lord Krishna and the warrior Arjuna, on the eve of a great battle. Modern Western scholarship dates the Gita to around 300CE, however, Indian scholarship says it’s much older.
Yoga karmasu kaushalam (2.50)
Yoga is skill in action
The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali
If you’ve heard one definition of yoga this is likely to be it. The Yoga Sutras are attributed to the sage Patanjali and thought to date to around the 4th or 5th century CE (modern scholarship). We can consider this sutra to be both the definition of yoga and the goal of practice.
1.2 Yogas citta-vritti nirodhah
Yoga is the stilling of the changing states of mind (translated by E Bryant)
From looking at these definitions we can see there’s no mention of asana. In fact, both the definition from the Katha Upanishad and the Yoga Sutras describe yoga as an internal state that arises when we turn our senses away from external stimuli. It’s whilst we are in this internal state that we come to understand that we are more than the physical manifestation of mind/body and are part of something much greater.
Yoga is often described to mean union, and it’s the union of our individual Self (Atman) with the Universal Self (Brahman) that is the state of yoga. In the Mandukya Upanisad, we are told that Atman and Brahman are one and the same. We come to know this truth through the practice of yoga.
The Kleshas/ Obstacles
According to Patanjali, in the Yoga Sutras, there are five afflictions that hinder our progress on the path of yoga.
These are ignorance, egoism, attraction, aversion and fear of death.
Yogasūtra 2.3
Avidyāsmitā-Rāga-Dveṣābhiniveśāḥ Kleśāḥ
Ignorance is listed first. This means it’s the most important and is the root of the other 4 kleshas. It doesn’t mean ignorance in the usual sense, but ignorance that arises from mistaking the impermanent small self (the body and mind) for the big Self/Soul or Atman which is eternal.
When we are identified with the small self and body/mind complex our ego or sense of ‘I’ is in control. Our ego goes after pleasure and avoids pain, creating attachments and aversions or raga and dvesa. All of which ultimately result in suffering because everything; the good, the bad and our physical manifestation, eventually comes to an end. It’s this misidentification with the body/mind complex that leads us to fear death. Something, according to yoga philosophy we need not fear, because we are the Atman, which is eternal. According to Patanjali, it’s our attachments that prevent us from realising this truth.
Over time the kleshas cause imprints on our consciousness known as samskaras, which influence our belief systems and personality. These samskaras ultimately create karma, which can be good, bad or neutral. Our karma may manifest in our present or future lives.
So what does this have to do with our Ashtanga asana practice?
Patanjali says the states of mind produced by the kleshas are eliminated by meditation (2.11)
In Ashtanga yoga, we use the tristhana method (breath, asana and dristi) to bring ourselves into a meditative state and to prepare ourselves for deeper meditative enquiry. Through practice, we can begin to become aware of our mental patterns, our likes and dislikes, and start to undo those that do not serve us. That’s why we practice the same asanas every day because the practice becomes a mirror that reflects these unconscious patterns back at us.
Breath
If we can learn to control our breath, we can begin to control our minds. Breathing is the only function that is both conscious and unconscious and we can use it to influence our mood and mental state. In our practice our breath allows us to sit with what is uncomfortable and gives us space between our thoughts. This space gives us a moment to pause and experience the stillness of present-moment awareness.
Perhaps next time you’re struggling with an asana, experiment by taking your time with it. Rather than pushing to go as deep as you can focus on getting to a certain point and breathing into it. Perhaps even staying beyond five breaths. Pay attention to the thoughts that arise. Much of the time I find it’s these thoughts rather than the asana itself that cause the discomfort.
Asana
Practising asanas along with breathing stretches and strengthens our body and helps to improve its internal functioning. If our body is functioning better the idea is we’ll have fewer mental distractions. However, asana also brings us face to face with our egos. No matter who we are, there’s always something we’re working on in practice. We might be struggling to do an asana, or we might crave learning something new. We might even be hard on ourselves because we feel we aren’t progressing quickly enough. Wherever we are our practice teaches us acceptance of our physical abilities, and if we listen carefully it will also teach us something about our ego..
Dristi
Using a dristi or gaze point when we practice encourages svadhyaya or self-study. If our dristi is weak we get distracted, we might start looking around the room and the ego will come into play again as we begin to compare ourselves with others. Conversely, a strong dristi allows us to turn inwards and withdraw our attention from what’s happening around us, fostering a greater level of understanding. Ultimately it’s the alchemy of the three aspects of the tristhana practised together over a long period of time that cultivate the connection with the Self, and the understanding that we are part of something bigger. If we keep this knowledge in mind when we practise, we realise that yoga is much more than pulling fancy-looking shapes. Referring back to the definition of yoga from the Bhagavad Gita, the practice of yoga is acting skillfully so that we don’t get caught up in manifestations of the kleshas!