Anna is taking notes from conferences and sharing them in Facebook (through the Jois page), here are her takings from last Sunday:
In today's conference Sharath began by telling us that this system is less about talk and more about practical experience in the form of asana, the third limb of yoga. Asana, through its stabalizing effects, Sharath explained, is our greatest tool in progressing in our spiritual practice and growth, eventually leading us to moksha (liberation).
Posture, accompanied by proper breathing and vinyasa krama, is not just exercise, but changes the focus of body and mind. It promotes both physical and mental health, creating a body that is free of disease, a clean and pure nervous system, and a more calm, quiet mind.
Through direct physical experience we begin to cultivate these qualities and, in turn, become aware of the spiritual and moral changes taking place inside. The process, warned Sharath, is long and slow, and these subtle changes take place over months and years, encouraging the practitioner to develop a sense of patience and contentment as they move through the various stages of yoga. While, ultimately, we desire to bring stillness to the mind, and achieve self-realization, the goals are far off and cannot be attained without proper focus on the physical practice as the first step in understanding what happens within ourselves.
Thanks to Anna Muzzin for providing us these notes from Mysore, India.
Excellent! That's a very balanced approach. love it.
ReplyDeleteThis might be a naive question, but why not start with the mind first? If one already has a physical practice, then is yoga needed, than say sticking with current physical practice and adding meditation?
ReplyDeleteHi Kamal, you make a very good point, yes you totally can... I agree with you. Coming from Sharath however things need to be placed in context, perhaps I should do that more often, he is talking specifically to people who chose the yogic path of the 8 limbs of yoga as outlined by Patanjali... in this case, he starts with asana to purify the body and continues with the rest (moral conduct, breath extension, sense withdrawal) etc...
ReplyDeleteHis grandfather used to say that meditation = mad attention... meaning that if the body is not really healhty then the mind will never quiet... this is why the 8 limbs offer that after life is peaceful and there is no more drama, and the body is healthy there is still pranayama (retaining breath with bandhas and specific counts) to quiet the breath and even arrest it so the mind will stop fluctuating and meditation will become "possible"
But, that is in the context of the 8 limbs and for yogis that have chose this particular path, in the broader world, really, whatever works!
Saw that James replied to you, happy we will see you soon!