Dear Friends,
First off, 3 announcements before we begin to take a brief look at the first limb of the 8 limbs of Ashtanga Yoga (The first limb does warrant an email unto itself, some of the subsequent limbs won't require me rambling for too long).
1. Yoga Retreat April 20-22 - we have a few spots left as we approach the event. The retreat is on Wolfe Island at Shanti B & B - http://www.shantiretreat.ca/. Cost is $350 that includes HST, food and accommodation, and yoga classes. There will be 4 yoga practices (1 Slow Flow, 2 Ashtanga, and 1 restorative), plus a yoga chat session where you can discuss any yoga questions you may have in an open forum. The retreat is open to all levels of practice. The rest of the time is for you to unwind, and enjoy the fresh air and scenery of Wolfe Island at your leisure. You can send any of your questions to this email address.
2. Learn to Lift with Lightness - I'm doing another "lifting" workshop on Saturday, May 5 from 2-4pm at Body to Bliss Yoga Studio i Woodbridge: http://www.bodytoblissyoga.com/learning-to-lift/ - it's not my picture in the link, though we can cover that pose and others while we look at some principles of alignment and strength to create a sensation of 'lifting' in your practice. Again, this workshop is open to all levels of practice - we will be able to dialogue here and will look at how to get you to your next level of lifting in your personal practice.
3. Also, we're looking at doing another workshop at Yoga Tree Thornhill - would you, the potential students be partial to: "Lifting with lightness," "Hip and Knee workshops", or "Adjustment Workshop." Your thoughts to this email address and I will forward those to management.
And on with the 8 limbs. 8 limbs is the direct translation of Ashtanga from Sanskrit - Ashtau = 8, Anga = limbed. The 8 limbs are listed in Patanjali's Sutras, Chapter 2:29 - Yamas (restraints), Niyamas (Observances), Asana (Physical postures), Pranayama (Breathing), Pratyahara (Sensory Withdrawal), Dharana (Concentration), Dhyana (Meditation), and Samadhi (Absorption, Union with the object). The sources I've used to look at the Yamas are: BKS Iyengar's "Light on the Yoga Sutras," Edwin F. Bryant's "Yoga Sutras of Patanjali," Gregor Malhe's "Ashtanga: Practice and Philosophy," and Sri K. Pattabhi Jois' "Yoga Mala."
In Western philosophy, we tend to dicuss the most important items at the end of a discourse because it makes a more lasting impression. In Eastern philosophy, they list the important items first and connect them to the final analyses. Of the 8 limbs then, the most important for humanity to practice are the Yamas - this is more important than Asana and Pranayama, and Samadhi is not even a remote possibility without the yamas. In the Sutras 2:31, Patanjali calls the Yamas the Great Vow, not just a casual one, that is applicaple to all human beings regardless of class, time, or circumstance. This is uncharacteriscally emphatic of Patanjali to call this limb "the great vow."
The 5 Yamas are: Ahimsa (Non-violence), Satya (Truth), Asteya (non-stealing), Bramacharya (sexual responsibility), Aparigraha (non-greed, or renouncing of unnecessary possessions).
Again, the most important item is mentioned first - Ahimsa, non-violence - all other yamas and niyamas must adhere to non-violence. This is the predominant reason why a serious yoga practictioner must be vegetarian. I'm not getting preachy here, so I will clarify. If you are attending yoga classes twice a week because it feels good and enhances your current work out regime, then you wouldn't really be a serious practitioner. If you are doing yoga almost daily, but purely for fitness, again, it's not a serious practice, and what you consume is up to you and your nutritional advisor. If you wanted to pursue the yoga practice as deeply as possible, then vegetarianism isn't up for negotiation - nothing with a face or nervous system can be killed for consumption. Eating, buying, preparing meat are indirect forms of violence against other living beings. I have no intention of imposing my dietary will on anyone - you must choose for yourself what will work - I'm just breaking down the Sutras for your information. Does this extend to trees and plants? Yes, absolutely - picking fruit, legumes, and grains are healthy for plants - they actually require consumption of their fruit for survival. If you were to leave fruits or vegetables on a tree for too long, the fruits would rot and begin rotting the branches. Cutting down plants or trees unecessarily or with intent to harm is also contrary to the Sutras. This can be taken to a variety of levels - like Jainism, veganism - and to discuss them all would require that I use up this entire discourse on Ahimsa, so for this reason, I will continue, but encourage you to look up what Bryant and Malhe have to say (unfortunately, their work is not on-line, only in print).
Satya, truth, is meant by harmonizing what we say, think, and do. If we say we dislike cheaters (for example), and then go on to cheat other people, then truth doesn't reside in your being. Truth must also be spoken and lived with Ahimsa in mind. For example, if speaking the truth will lead to some form of violence, then it is more important to be silent (if a serial killer asks where is your mother, it is morally correct to lie and say she's not at home). Speaking truth sometimes may cause discomfort, but may be necessary - this is not inciting violence but encouraging a shift in behavioural pattern towards a more honest way of living (like confonting someone who is trying to cheat you out of some money - it's not the money that is important, it is the cheating action that is called into question. The reaction does not have to be violent - shedding light on a shady action is more powerful when spoken with simple honesty). As this applies to a physical practice, we have to be honest with the state of our bodies - when is it okay to push the body to go futher to overcome laziness, and when is it okay to stop pushing the body to avoid injury. When we are honest in our practice, it will translate into other aspects of our lives.
Asteya, non-stealing, refers to a) not stealing, and b) refraining from the desire to do so. It is normal for thoughts to randomly appear in the mind, like stealing a Ferrari or millions of dollars from the bank. What we do with these stray thoughts is our personal and moral responsibility. To dismiss such thoughts as silly is healthy and normal. To continue to meditate on them and plan to act on them is potentially harmful and self-destructive behaviour.
Bramacharya, sexual responsibility, can sometimes be misinterpreted as celibacy. Indeed, if someone choses to be a monk, then they have chosen a life of celibacy. For the common person (grihasta), it means being monogamous. Someone who is on the constant prowl for a myriad of sexual exploits is clearly someone with a damaged ego that is continuing to damage themselves by reaching externally for internal gratification. It harms their own bodies and the bodies of others. Pattabhi Jois has a funny take on this . . . that life partners should only have sex at night when the man's left nostril (Chandra Nadi) is open. (Jois, 10). Try explaining that to your partner, "Sorry, my left nostril is plugged up."
Aparigraha, non-greed, is also pretty self-explanitory. Covetting worldly possessions and hoarding is reaching externally, or further away, from the true Self the lies internally. It is an extension of the realization that physical existence is temporary, and to cultivate the relationship with and knowledge of the Self is to reach towards something more eternal.
Sorry no pictures this time around - I will mention how the Yamas relate to the Shiva Nataraja in the next email which will come soon (sorry this one was delayed - I was away for 2 weeks and have been trying to recover in my week back).
I trust this email finds you all happy and healthy. Peace and blessings to you.
Mark
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