Conation: Effort, volition, impulse Last week we looked briefly at a definition of yoga and of Mr Iyengar's translation of Sutra I.2. In that he says that consciousness has three functions, one of which is 'conation'. It is not a well used word. So this week I thought to clarify it a little, and ... Read More »
A View Into The Window
Each week in my classes I try to introduce a quote or thought that is relevant to yoga practice. This ‘blog’ is a place for me to expand on the ideas and for community participation. The philosophical concepts underlying yoga are complex; I certainly have no claim to understanding them well. But as a group perhaps we can come to a deeper level of knowledge. Sue
What Is Yoga?
What is yoga? Why do we bother to practice, to tangle ourselves up, to overcome the tightness, to grip the looseness? We are beginning our fall session and with that we will look at the question of "what is yoga?" The best way to begin is to look to the source, the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali and ... Read More »
Abhinivesa: Clinging to life
This is the last of the Klesa's and the last of the entries for the Summer 2011 session. Abhinivesa: Clinging to life, fear of death Self-preservation or attachment to life is the subtlest of all afflictions. It is found even in wise men. -- B.K.S. Iyengar. Light On The Yoga Sutras, p116 ... Read More »
Dvesa: Aversion
Dvesa: aversion "Do not allow past experiences to be imprinted on your mind. Perform asanas each time with a fresh mind and a fresh approach." B.K.S. Iyengar, "Iyengar, His Life and Work," p. 499 "Aversion, dvesa, after all, is the flip side of the same coin as attachment. When we resist or ... Read More »
Raga: Attachment
This entry and the next are the last thoughts from the end of our Spring 2011 session. When classes ended in June we whisked ourselves up to our little island in Canada and I wrote them out while sitting on the little front porch of our cabin, watching the water, wind and sun. There is no ... Read More »
Knowing Yourself #2, releasing your ego
"Ego, which manifests itself grossly, penetrates the personality in a subtle form and permeates it totally. It is the greatest enemy in the practice of yoga. Hence the sadhaka [practitioner] should take care not to be caught in such a web and should cultivate humility. Whatever attainments have been ... Read More »
Knowing Yourself #1, confronting your ego
"Look at the Self, not the Ego. If your throat is tense while doing an asana or pranayama, you are doing it with your brain instead of your body." BKS Iyengar, Iyengar, His Life and Work, p.502 Yoga is a strict master. Practicing honestly makes us hold a mirror in front, to the side and from ... Read More »
Yoga in Poetry
Please enjoy some poetry that our students have shared. The first is by a friend and poet of long time student, Shirley Axon. Nancy and Shirley are part of a local dance troupe and they composed a modern dance for this poem. The second was written by Sue Budin after a pranayama class years ago. ... Read More »
To Live In The Moment
I have a dear friend who lives in New York who shared this with me recently. Richard wrote: Chris Hondros, one of the photographers who was recently killed in Libya, was a longtime friend of a friend of mine, from our journalism days. There was a front-page story about Chris's work in the ... Read More »
What is Real?
"We often think that ignorance means you don't know the capital of Albania. What yoga means by Ignorance can perhaps best be translated as 'nescience', which simply means not knowing. .... What don't we know when we are ignorant? ... Read More »
