How to Practise Yoga

Yoga is becoming more and more popular in Western Society day by day and has finally worked its way in to mainstream society being accepted widely by doctors, psychologists, physiotherapists and chiropractors as providing innumerable physical and mental health benefits.

Being a practitioner of Yoga for more than eighteen years I am very happy and excited at how the West has embraced this ancient art and science.

While it is great to see more and more people becoming involved in the practice, as an instructor in this current upswing in popularity I am also concerned at the limited understanding of what Yoga is really about.

A good number of newcomers that I have spoken with recently believed that “Yoga” is a new exercise craze sweeping the world, having no idea that it originated in India some 4000 to 5000 years ago.

In its current form Raja or Astanga Yoga (not to be confused with the Ashtanga System as expounded by the late Sri K. Pattabhi Jois) was given to us by the sage Patanjali approximately 2300 years ago.

Raja Yoga is the science of physical and mental control. The word “Yoga” simply means to “unite” or to “make whole” and therefore Patanjali gave us ‘the Science of Physical and Mental Control that leads to “wholeness” i.e. inner peace and contentment or Self Realisation’.

It is also important to know that there are three other forms of Yoga being practised throughout the world other than Patanjali’s that also lead to the final destination of Self Realisation:

Bhakti Yoga is the path devotion in which an aspirant pours out their love and devotion toward a deity until such time that their own being becomes enveloped by the love they have given. This form of Yoga is based on the universal law that you always get back what you give.

Karma Yoga is the path of service with no thought of personal gain from doing so. A couple of good examples of this are Gandhi and Mother Teresa. By giving service to others with no thought of personal gain their hearts become purified and this purity overtakes their entire being until they become the embodiment of love i.e. Self Realised

Jnana Yoga is the path of knowledge. This path is followed by intellectual people who study the ancient texts to gain full understanding of what it means to become self realised and they apply the principles of ‘right living’ into their own lives.

While their intellect cannot give them the direct experience of total inner peace and fulfilment (Self Realisation) it can illuminate the path ahead like the headlights on a car until they reach their destination.

Once they reach their destination, they discard their books and scriptures of knowledge as the tools are no longer needed. The Tibetan monks are strong practitioners of this form of Yoga. We all have aspects of the above within us. All of us can love and be devoted, we can give service without thought of personal gain and we can intellectualise the existence of our true selves.

However in the West, due to our busy and materialistic way of life our minds are for the most part overactive and agitated and so are our bodies.

This is why Patanjali’s Eight Limbed / Raja system is ideally suited to us and why its popularity is at an all time high.

Patanjali developed (Raja) Yoga after taking in to account all the modifications that a human mind can take. This is clearly laid out in his 196 Sutras which describe the eight steps or eight limbs which are a methodical, practical and scientific means to gain control over the body and mind leading to Self Realisation or Enlightenment i.e. full and total inner peace and bliss.

Even though a lot of new comers have no idea of the depth of Yoga they do experience some profound experience of “feeling good” either during or after a class which cannot be experienced through doing other forms of “exercise”.

For most people this is the first time they have at least some control over their restless minds and experience feeling a sense of peace even if just for a few seconds.

If the Western mind is going to find the abode of inner peace, love and contentment and there is no better way to do this than through the use of the body as a tool.

Patanjali was a very scientific thinking man and the eight limbs of Yoga as he described in his 196 Sutras has not and never will be improved upon because it is a perfect science just like mathematics. If you follow the steps implicitly you can’t help but reach the destination.

There are only two sciences developed by individual human beings that have withstood the test of time and that have not been improved upon and cannot be improved upon. One is the Science of Logic created by Aristotle about two thousand years ago and the other is Raja (Eight Limbs / Astanga) Yoga developed by Patanjali about 2300 years ago.

Before commencing the practise of Yoga

Before commencing the practise of Yoga it is important to recognise that it is not just physical exercises and breathing.

The physical exercises (Asanas) and the breathing (Pranayama) are steps / limbs three and four and are only two of the eight limbs of Yoga. These two steps together are called “Hatha Yoga” regardless of what other name may be attached to them such as Iyengar, Ashtanga, Kundalini, Kriya, Bikram, Power, Vinyasa, Anusara, Oki, and Restorative and so on.

Practising (Raja) Yoga

The first Step in practising Raja Yoga is adopting the ethical principles of Yoga which are called “Yamas” in Sanskrit. The ethical principles are essentially the principles of ‘right living’.

The reason for adopting these principles is to begin to instil a reasonable amount of calm within our minds before taking on the physical postures (Asanas) and the breathing (Pranayama) i.e. Hatha Yoga.

The Yamas (Ethical Principles)are:

Ahimsa (Non Violence) – the principle of non violence extends to thought, word or deed and not only includes no harm to others and other things but also to ourselves. Some of us push ourselves too hard physically whether at the gym or in our Yoga class and then when our body is up for the task we berate ourselves and push even harder. In Yogic terms this would be violence against ourselves.

How can we have peace of mind when we continue to abuse our bodies and tell ourselves we are not good enough?

Therefore first and foremost we must honour and respect all living beings as being unique and loveable; especially ourselves.

It is through loving and respecting ourselves, acknowledging and accepting our limitations and extending the same empathy to others that we begin the journey of quietening our restless minds.

Satya (Truthfulness in Word, Thought & Deed) - truthfulness is not only about not lying and cheating etc but also includes being truthful to oneself first.

If for example you are working in a job that you hate and that is not suited to your personality how can you possibly quieten your mind?

Truthfulness in Yogic terms is mostly about being true to yourself.

Sometimes in being true to oneself the people around us can initially become resentful towards us but as we stay true to ourselves the world begins to respect who we are and accepts us fully because we are aligned to universal energy.

We love dogs and cats because they fully express who they are and they can’t be any different than who they are. When human beings also express their truest essence of who they are we also love them unconditionally.

But when someone is hiding their true essence and tries to be other than what they are we get a sense of that incongruence and on some level we just can’t ‘trust’ that person.

I had a friend some years ago who was very helpful, very intelligent, in fact he had the IQ of a genius but who also withheld a large part of himself from the world for many years. There was something about this person, who I will call Bradley that was incongruent.

I hadn’t seen Bradley for some time when he called to catch up for a bite to eat which I happily accepted. While having a bite to eat he began talking honestly and I thought he was in the process of revealing to me that he was gay which we all thought was very likely given his behaviour and secrecy over the years. The conversation took a detour and he told me that he was seeing a young girl who was more than twenty years younger than he and that he wanted to keep it quiet etc because he came from a very wealthy and conservative ‘old money’ family.

Anyway to cut a long story short I lost contact with Bradley for some time again after this dinner and two years later I found out that he had died of throat cancer and that there was a big notice in the paper from his gay lover of four years!

The interesting thing about this story is that truthfulness is connected to our throat Chakra and when we are not honest especially to ourselves we close down and inhibit the flow of energy through this area of the body leaving it susceptible to disease.

Being in your truth allows you to be trustworthy and to be able to trust others, the second step in quieting our thinking minds.

Asteya (Non Stealing) - part of the ethic of non-stealing is self explanatory as it is difficult to be at peace when you have taken from another without their permission.

This principle also covers the feeling of envy towards what others have and feeling bad because you don’t have what they have. This could be a partner, a house a car etc and in our Asana practice it could also mean having envy toward others who are more flexible or who can do forearm balances or any other of the advanced postures that you can’t yet do.

The principle of non-stealing relates mostly to your state of mind in relation to things outside of yourself by not coveting what others have.

You must accept your uniqueness and the limitations of your abilities. Until you can fully accept yourself as you are, as the saying goes “warts and all”, you will never reach a state of peacefulness within.

Bramacharya (Moderation in all things)– for some people the idea of moderation may appear to be boring because they don’t see any ‘excitement’ within the concept of moderation. However if you for example, eat excessively on a regular basis you will suffer from indigestion and weight gain. If this happens your mind will be focussed on your ill health which makes it impossible to calm the mind. In order to have a calm mind your body needs to be in optimum health and therefore moderate eating is the way to go.

If you are unable to control your sexual appetite and are controlled by this powerful energy leading to illicit affairs and the subsequent cover ups your mind will be all over the place and feelings of guilt will disturb your mind.

This ethical principle is not about being good little boys and girls it is about walking what the masters call ‘the middle path’ or finding balance in all areas of your life because it is in the moderation of all things in one’s life that peace of mind can be experienced.

Aparagraha (Non Possessiveness) – this is a big one and whole books have been written on this principle. Non-possessiveness which can be interpreted to mean “renunciation” does not by any means suggest that you should give all your possessions away, end all your relationships and live as an ascetic monk in order to reach peace of mind.

Non-possessiveness (Renunciation) is an attitude of mind only.

You can have a beautiful partner, a huge house, luxury cars and boats etc. Having these things is not against the principles of Yoga. It is your ‘attitude’ toward these things that determines if you are practising this principle of non-possessiveness correctly.

It is important to understand that having these things cannot and will not make you happy and content permanently. By “owning” (meaning ‘attached to’) something it owns you in return and you are at its service and/or mercy. By being attached to something emotionally you sow the seed of unhappiness.

If your partner leaves you, you are devastated, if you cannot afford the mortgage payments and you lose your house, your whole world collapses. If you get fired from your job you lose your self esteem and are sent into a tail spin.

I have known many wealthy people who have not entered into what could possibly have been loving relationships from fear of the intentions of the other person and that perhaps they only wanted to be with them for their money.

This kind of mind is always agitated and not fit for the process of finding inner peace and bliss.

In order to have peace of mind.....

Material possessions and even relationships must be put in their correct place (in your mind).

Imagine having such a high self esteem (not the egotistical chest puffed out kind which is actually a cover up for low self esteem) that if your partner one day decided to up and leave that you could calmly and lovingly send them on their way with your full blessing knowing that they required some other life experience to assist them with their own further growth.

Now that is personal power!

Personal power comes from the irrefutable law of renunciation.

You must intrinsically know that nothing outside you can make you truly happy and that having or not having outer trappings does not make you a better or more content person.

As was stated by the great philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer... “It is difficult to find happiness within oneself, but it is impossible to find it anywhere else”.

The science of (Raja) Yoga as expounded by Patanjali is a step by step guide to experiencing everlasting inner peace and contentment and the journey ought to begin by adopting the principles of right living before any asanas or breathing exercises are undertaken.

As you begin the Asanas and Breathing (steps three and four of Patanjali’s Yoga) many varying aspects of your personality will be revealed like peeling back the layers of an onion. As these layers are peeled back, enormous amounts of energy are freed up for expression.

If you have not adopted the principles of right living prior to uncovering the inner layers of your personality you may be in for a rough ride because without the foundations prepared for handling such immense power your ego can lead you to dangerous and debilitating activities.

In the practising of Yoga we must first adopt the principles of right living as stated above and in “How to Practise Yoga (Part II)” I will discuss the “Niyamas” which are the principles of “Self Control” or better stated as “Self Direction”.

The “Niyamas” will further assist you in channelling your increasing energy in to life enhancing activities as you uncover the inner layers of your personality.

Wishing you a life of Peace, Joy and Love.

Rohan James

Related Articles