Ashtanga Yoga Shala NYC

Why Meditate? We have some basic needs: food, water, shelter, good sanitation, love... But even though we may have the privilege of satisfying these basic neces...sities, a good education, a good job and more... we still feel unsatisfied, unfulfilled, depressed, anxious, suffer ill health etc.. Why is there so much suffering? According to yoga this is due to a lack of self knowledge. We have lost contact with our essential nature, our true being or identity... Through not knowing ourselves in any true depth we falsely come to identify with our bodies, our minds, histories, professions, social media profiles, etc.. This has shifted our experience away from a wholesome and natural embodiment towards unhealthy lifestyles, unwholesome pleasures, toxic relationships, stressful ambition etc.. According to yoga you are not your body or your mind. These are just tools, a means or media through which we can have experience. You are also not your profession, sexual orientation, style, political persuasion etc. that you have become identified with. Because all of these go through continuous changes, our sense of identity which is projected onto them also fluctuates, is also unstable and uncertain and this results in a great deal of suffering. But if I am not the body, if I am not the mind or ego, who am I? There is only one way to find out: Look inside. This is the purpose of meditation: know yourself. ~ Patanjali explains that when the mind's activities have been arrested, then the true inner nature is revealed. This true nature is described as untainted by birth or experience, unchanging, eternal, a witness only and of the nature of existence or being itself - one with truth and established in utter peace and bliss - this is our true nature! However, when we sit still, shut the eyes and look inside, we immediately become aware of the continuous activity of thought. Even if we make an effort to quieten these fluctuations of the mind, it refuses to switch off. It produces constant noise. This screen of constant noise obscures any deeper observation of the nature of being. The only way to see if there is something beyond or beneath the mind is to stop its activities. Then one can observe what remains, when thought activity has been arrested. Going directly into meditation is thus impossible for most people. For this reason, there are a few other preliminary practices (asana, pranayama etc.) that bring ease to the body and quieten the mind - making it fit for meditation. The mind goes through ups and downs but the inner nature is unaffected by what it experiences. The inner self is unchanging - ever established in being, truth, consciousness and bliss. ~ Through re-identification with essential being, we can relinquish the attachment to mind, body, image, profession, ego... and re-connect with the innate inner bliss. Mind is the problem. Seeing mind as an object, just as body is clearly an object, relieves us of identification with its pleasures and pains and the ups and downs of the rollercoaster of life. This allows us to center on serenity and inner peace as the source of being. The more we revisit the source, the more that source acts as our foundation. This is the true benefit of meditation. ~ Four study options in December Sunday Workshop - December 13, 9-11am The Art of Yogic Meditation through Ashtanga Yoga https://app.acuityscheduling.com/schedule.php Morning Practice - Tuesdays and Thursdays - 9am Integrated asana, pranayama, mudra and meditation https://www.ashtangayoga.nyc/integral-ashtanga Pranayama and Meditation - Mondays and Wednesdays - 5pm Pranayama, pratyahara and meditation https://www.ashtangayoga.nyc/pranayama-and-meditation Virtual Retreat - December 28-January 1 In depth immersion in meditation practice https://www.ashtangayoga.nyc/virtual-retreat-1

Pratyahara Pratyahara is one of the least discussed angas of ashtanga yoga. It is generally defined as the introversion or stopping of the activities of the sen...ses and organs of action. It is impossible to stop the sense organs from functioning by direct control: you cannot tell the ear to stop hearing or the nose to stop smelling, but through controlling the organs of action and the mind, the sense organs come to arrest their activity. ~ Yoga psychology identifies four features of the mind: Pradhana - the unconscious Buddhi or Mahat - the intellect or intelligence Ahankara or Asmita - ego or identity Manas - lower or animal mind These features of the mind are ranked or listed in order of levels of consciousness, purity, interiority and subtlety. Manas is the most extraverted, gross, impure and pradhana is the most subtle and pure. Yoga practice involves a gradual movement from manas to pradhana, a gradual shutting down of the more external awareness, a dissolving of the gross into the subtle, a stilling of the waves and fluctuations of sensation, memories, drives, passions etc resulting in a resting in inner peace, quiet, concentration and absorption. These four levels of mind emerge one out of the other as awareness becomes more extraverted - from the subtle to gross - and then merge back in a reverse order in the process of meditation. Like matter that goes through different states as it is heated - from solid to liquid to a gas to a point of complete dispersion - the process of meditation dissolves the gross contours of mind merging the mind back into its subtle source.. Each of these levels of mind requires more definition. While unconsciousness, which I have associated with the level of pradhana, might seem an unlikely description of a higher or highest state of mind, intellect, ego and animal mind are unsatisfying labels without further elaboration. I will leave the more precise definition of each of these terms for now and focus on the more extraverted feature: manas. ~ According to yoga psychology, this most extraverted feature of mind is associated with five sense organs and five motor organs. The five sense organs, familiar to all are: sight, hearing, smell, touch and taste. The five motor organs or organs of action are: the legs (for locomotion), the hands (for grasping), the mouth (for speech and eating), the sex and excretory organs. Manas is considered to be an eleventh organ that processes sensory data and initiates motor actions. Due to its connection to the external world, manas is constantly active. It has been likened to the monkey mind that constantly jumps, chattering, from branch to branch, incessantly in motion. This feature of the mind is the first initial target in any attempt at meditation - the process of controlling or curbing the actions of manas is called pratyahara. Pratyahara is often explained as introversion or internalization of the senses. In the yoga sutra, which does not explain the process, Patanjali explains pratyahara as the consequence of concentration: when the mind is concentrated through the practice of pranayama, the sense organs and organs of actions follow suit - they also become absorbed in their source - eg the mind. Vyaasa, in his commentary on the Sutra explains it as follows: "Due to lack of contact with their corresponding objects, the senses, as it were, imitate the nature of the mind, i.e. like the mind which has suspended its functions, they also cease their functions, rendering unnecessary the application of other means for control of the senses. Just as bees follow the course of the queen bee and rest when the latter rests, so when the mind stops, the senses also stop their activities. This is Pratyahara." But to find an extensive commentary on the definition and practices of pratyahara, we need to look at the Yoga-Yajnavalkya Samhita. While in the yoga sutra, pratyahara is regarded as a consequence of concentration, in the YYS, pratyahara is explained through various intentional practices. In this text Yajnavalkya explains four different techniques: 1. Conscious effort. 2. Regarding everything that one sees as being in and of the Self. 3. Following daily duties with concentration. 4. Moving the prana from one point in the body to another, holding it in the 18 marma points. In this fourth workshop on Yoga as a Spiritual Practice, we will focus on yoga psychology and the nature and practice of Pratyahara - mainly through wonderful practices explained in the Yoga-Yajnavalkya Samhita. Sunday November 15 - 9-11am EST https://www.ashtangayoga.nyc/workshops All workshops have been recorded. If you are unable to attend in real time, recordings are available for viewing.

"We have no direct control over prana. However, the flow of prana in the body can be changed by altering the posture of the body. It is also possible to change the flow of prana by changing the pattern of breathing or mental focus, because, as noted earlier, prana and mind are closely connected. Furthermore, breath is also an expression of prana. therefore, when we change the activities of our mind, the posture of our body, or the pattern of our breathing, we alter the flow ...Continue reading

Yoga as a Spiritual Practice All Eight Limbs - The True Practice of Ashtanga Yoga Sundays 9 am - 11 am EST (3 - 5 pm European Time): October 4 & 18 and November 1, 15 & 29... https://www.ashtangayoga.nyc/workshops

Overcoming Afflictions In the second chapter of the Yoga Sutra - the Sadhana Pada, Patanjali explains two methods for controlling the distracted mind - the firs...t he calls Kriya Yoga, or the yoga of action, and the second he calls Ashtanga Yoga - the eight-fold path. For those who are afflicted by ignorance (avidya), ego (asmita), desire (raga), aversion (dvesha) and the fear of death (abinivesha), he recommends - purifying practice (tapas), Self-study (svadhyaya) and surrender to the higher nature (ishvara pranidhana). By ignorance (avidya) Patanjali is referring to the fact that we do not know our true nature. It is not ignorance in the common sense of the word, but lack of awareness of the inner Self. In the first chapter, Patanajli explains that yoga is Samadhi and that through Samadhi one is able to identify with the true inner nature of being. Samadhi is a natural state that should be experienced by all healthy individuals but due to our unhealthy lifestyles, it is a condition that has been mostly lost today. Because we do not experience samadhi - which is the experience of pure consciousness or the true Self as distinct from the mind and its activities - we do not understand our true nature or identity. From this lack of understanding we develop ego (asmita) - an identification with the activities, successes and failures of our embodied existence. This ego acts as a substitute for the authentic Self. Through this identification of ego - we become attached to the sensual pleasures through the body and become pained when those pleasures are denied to us - these are called raga and dvesha. And through this identification with the body, we fail to recognize that our true essence is pure consciousness, that is eternal, deathless and independent of the physical nature. As a result of this we believe that death of the body is the end to existence. This is the meaning of abhinivesha. This fear of death or survival instinct underlies all fears. If you know yourself to be pure consciousness, independent of the mind and body - what is there to fear? What can harm you? ~ The remedy for these afflictions is tapas - intense purifying practice - svadhyaya - study of the Self - and Ishvara Pranidhana - identification with the higher nature - or pure consciousness (the Self). These three practices reduce the five afflictions (five klesha) and facilitate the experience of Samadhi. ~ For those, whose suffering is still deeper, Patanjali recommends the practice of Ashtanga Yoga. These eight limbs of yoga are - yama, niyama, asana, pranayama, pratyahara, dharana, dhyana and samadhi. Yama and Niyama are the ten commandments of yoga - the first is ahimsa - which means to cause no harm. While moral behavior protects others and cultivates harmonious and healthy society, Patanjali's teaching is primarily about personal health and wellbeing that is attainable through the practice of meditation. What stands in the way of our health? What stands in the way of experiencing Samadhi? The self-inflicted harm we have caused to ourselves - our bad habits - our unhealthy lifestyle, our poor diet, sleeping habits - our departure from what is natural and wholesome. This is what prevents us from experiencing samadhi. Samadhi is nothing but a deep state of peace. All the limbs of yoga are subcategories of ahimsa - they correct for the fundamental harm we cause to ourselves. The second yama is satya, or telling the truth, the third is asteya, not stealing, brahmacharya is the protection against squandering our vital energy, aparigraha is protection against greed. Shaucha is protection against physical and mental toxicity. These are all stresses that make us unhealthy and incapable of deep concentration or absorption in samadhi. We are never content - always stressed - samtosha means contentment from which, according to Patanjali, the ultimate happiness is derived. ~ We are constantly desiring something. We believe that getting what we desire will bring us happiness but we find that we are never truly happy. Even if we get what we want, pretty soon we want more. Yoga explains that happiness is a quality of the soul. We do not experience it because we are stressed. When we get what we desire, that stress is eliminated for a moment and as a result, the natural inner bliss of the soul is revealed. It is not the object that makes us happy. Attaining the object just reduces our stress temporarily - the happiness comes from inside. A true and deep happiness comes from contentment - samtosha. ~ The last three niyamas have already been mentioned - tapas - discipline or purifying practice, svadhyaya - Self study and Ishvara Pranidhana - drawing close to the true inner Self. The most important tapas in yoga is food disciple - you are what you eat - literally! Your body - and that includes your brain and nervous system is made of the food you eat. If you live on hamburgers and french fries, you will have a mind like Donald Trump. Instead of being able to find deep peace, you will be tweeting into the small hours in response to all the personal sleights and attacks you will imagine have been targeted at you. ~ Asana is the next step. Asana can be understood in two senses - on the one hand asana means a comfortable seated position suitable for meditation - on the other hand asana can be thought of as practice that leads you to attain a comfortable posture - in the same way that the word yoga can mean either the state of yoga (samadhi) - or the practices required in order to achieve the state of yoga. Once asana is established, the next step is pranayama. In the ashtanga practice, rudimentary pranayama is already integrated into the way we practice asana. But to get to the next stages of deeper concentration and meditation, we need to develop a seated practice of pranayama that includes not just lengthening and control of breath, but also the suppression or holding of breath. Pranayama is perhaps the most important tool in yoga - it is the principal way to control the mind. Mind and breath are intimately connected and pranayama is the gateway to deeper concentration - or the internal limbs of yoga. The first four limbs are external - dealing with the physical body and the last three limbs are internal - leading towards samadhi through concentration and meditation. The fifth limb, pratyahara is an intermediate step that takes one from the external to the internal - pratyahara means sense withdrawal and it leads to the internalization or introversion of mind. Dharana (the sixth step) means concentration and dhyana (seventh step) is usually translated as meditation. All the limbs of yoga are interconnected. Although ashtanga yoga is often promoted as a step by step method, this interconnection means that the development of any limb implies the simultaneous development of the other limbs to some extent. For instance, it is impossible to practice asanas without a degree of concentration, or dharana. When you practice asanas you learn how not to hurt yourself (ahimsa) you start to control and deepen your breathing - this is pranayama. Drishti leads towards pratyahara etc.. Dharana means fixing the mind but it also implies that the mind can be distracted and move away from the point of concentration. Focusing on the bandha is a form of dharana, but we all know that maintaining that focus continuously is almost impossible - at least while we continue to move the body. Only when you come to seated practice does dharana begin to move towards dhyana. In dharana the mind does not remain continuously fixed - there are distractions but in dhyana (meditation) all thoughts flow in the same direction, all thoughts become identical. The difference between the two has been explained by comparing the pouring water and oil: when you pour water, droplets form - in the same way - the thoughts formed in concentration are like individual droplets, with spaces in between. When you pour oil, there is a continuous flow - thoughts in meditation are like this - all thoughts flow in the same direction without distraction. Samadhi is the complete merging of the mind with an object. This is the next stage beyond dhyana. The ashtanga system leads towards samprajnata samadhi - samadhi with seed or samadhi with an object that is meditated upon. The continuous practice of samprajnata samadhi may eventually lead to the higher level of asamprajnata samadhi - in this case the mind dissolves and only pure consciousness shines. ~ Follow our in depth study of the Patanjali Sadhana Pada: Tuesdays at 10:30am EST via Zoom https://www.ashtangayoga.nyc/yoga-philosophy

After taking a break from teaching, our shala is re-opening for virtual classes and limited Mysore practice after Labor Day. No doubt many students have also ta...ken a break from practice. There is a simple formula for returning to practice pain free... https://www.ashtangayoga.nyc//returning-to-practice-pain-f

Pratyahara Pratyahara is one of the least discussed angas of ashtanga yoga. It is generally defined as the introversion or stopping of the activities of the sen...ses and organs of action. It is impossible to stop the sense organs from functioning by direct control: you cannot tell the ear to stop hearing or the nose to stop smelling, but through controlling the organs of action and the mind, the sense organs come to arrest their activity. ~ Yoga psychology identifies four features of the mind: Pradhana - the unconscious Buddhi or Mahat - the intellect or intelligence Ahankara or Asmita - ego or identity Manas - lower or animal mind These features of the mind are ranked or listed in order of levels of consciousness, purity, interiority and subtlety. Manas is the most extraverted, gross, impure and pradhana is the most subtle and pure. Yoga practice involves a gradual movement from manas to pradhana, a gradual shutting down of the more external awareness, a dissolving of the gross into the subtle, a stilling of the waves and fluctuations of sensation, memories, drives, passions etc resulting in a resting in inner peace, quiet, concentration and absorption. These four levels of mind emerge one out of the other as awareness becomes more extraverted - from the subtle to gross - and then merge back in a reverse order in the process of meditation. Like matter that goes through different states as it is heated - from solid to liquid to a gas to a point of complete dispersion - the process of meditation dissolves the gross contours of mind merging the mind back into its subtle source.. Each of these levels of mind requires more definition. While unconsciousness, which I have associated with the level of pradhana, might seem an unlikely description of a higher or highest state of mind, intellect, ego and animal mind are unsatisfying labels without further elaboration. I will leave the more precise definition of each of these terms for now and focus on the more extraverted feature: manas. ~ According to yoga psychology, this most extraverted feature of mind is associated with five sense organs and five motor organs. The five sense organs, familiar to all are: sight, hearing, smell, touch and taste. The five motor organs or organs of action are: the legs (for locomotion), the hands (for grasping), the mouth (for speech and eating), the sex and excretory organs. Manas is considered to be an eleventh organ that processes sensory data and initiates motor actions. Due to its connection to the external world, manas is constantly active. It has been likened to the monkey mind that constantly jumps, chattering, from branch to branch, incessantly in motion. This feature of the mind is the first initial target in any attempt at meditation - the process of controlling or curbing the actions of manas is called pratyahara. Pratyahara is often explained as introversion or internalization of the senses. In the yoga sutra, which does not explain the process, Patanjali explains pratyahara as the consequence of concentration: when the mind is concentrated through the practice of pranayama, the sense organs and organs of actions follow suit - they also become absorbed in their source - eg the mind. Vyaasa, in his commentary on the Sutra explains it as follows: "Due to lack of contact with their corresponding objects, the senses, as it were, imitate the nature of the mind, i.e. like the mind which has suspended its functions, they also cease their functions, rendering unnecessary the application of other means for control of the senses. Just as bees follow the course of the queen bee and rest when the latter rests, so when the mind stops, the senses also stop their activities. This is Pratyahara." But to find an extensive commentary on the definition and practices of pratyahara, we need to look at the Yoga-Yajnavalkya Samhita. While in the yoga sutra, pratyahara is regarded as a consequence of concentration, in the YYS, pratyahara is explained through various intentional practices. In this text Yajnavalkya explains four different techniques: 1. Conscious effort. 2. Regarding everything that one sees as being in and of the Self. 3. Following daily duties with concentration. 4. Moving the prana from one point in the body to another, holding it in the 18 marma points. In this fourth workshop on Yoga as a Spiritual Practice, we will focus on yoga psychology and the nature and practice of Pratyahara - mainly through wonderful practices explained in the Yoga-Yajnavalkya Samhita. Sunday November 15 - 9-11am EST https://www.ashtangayoga.nyc/workshops All workshops have been recorded. If you are unable to attend in real time, recordings are available for viewing.

"We have no direct control over prana. However, the flow of prana in the body can be changed by altering the posture of the body. It is also possible to change the flow of prana by changing the pattern of breathing or mental focus, because, as noted earlier, prana and mind are closely connected. Furthermore, breath is also an expression of prana. therefore, when we change the activities of our mind, the posture of our body, or the pattern of our breathing, we alter the flow ...Continue reading

Every day we breathe approximately 21,000 times - breathing is probably the most important action we perform. Life starts with the first breath and we expire wi...th the last breath. The quality of breath informs our health but also informs our mood. Yogis measure the life span according to the number of breaths. If you breathe quickly, life will be short, if you breathe slowly, life span lengthens. If you temporarily hold the breath, life expectancy is increased still further. Mind and breath are intimately connected. Our mental states are reflected in the way we breathe - but conversely, through conscious modification of the breath we can affect our minds. We can affect our health, our mood, our balance, our ability to concentrate. Modification of the breath is the most important technique in yoga practice and one of the most valuable tools to improve health and well-being.

Yoga as a Spiritual Practice All Eight Limbs - The True Practice of Ashtanga Yoga Sundays 9 am - 11 am EST (3 - 5 pm European Time): October 4 & 18 and November 1, 15 & 29... https://www.ashtangayoga.nyc/workshops

Overcoming Afflictions In the second chapter of the Yoga Sutra - the Sadhana Pada, Patanjali explains two methods for controlling the distracted mind - the firs...t he calls Kriya Yoga, or the yoga of action, and the second he calls Ashtanga Yoga - the eight-fold path. For those who are afflicted by ignorance (avidya), ego (asmita), desire (raga), aversion (dvesha) and the fear of death (abinivesha), he recommends - purifying practice (tapas), Self-study (svadhyaya) and surrender to the higher nature (ishvara pranidhana). By ignorance (avidya) Patanjali is referring to the fact that we do not know our true nature. It is not ignorance in the common sense of the word, but lack of awareness of the inner Self. In the first chapter, Patanajli explains that yoga is Samadhi and that through Samadhi one is able to identify with the true inner nature of being. Samadhi is a natural state that should be experienced by all healthy individuals but due to our unhealthy lifestyles, it is a condition that has been mostly lost today. Because we do not experience samadhi - which is the experience of pure consciousness or the true Self as distinct from the mind and its activities - we do not understand our true nature or identity. From this lack of understanding we develop ego (asmita) - an identification with the activities, successes and failures of our embodied existence. This ego acts as a substitute for the authentic Self. Through this identification of ego - we become attached to the sensual pleasures through the body and become pained when those pleasures are denied to us - these are called raga and dvesha. And through this identification with the body, we fail to recognize that our true essence is pure consciousness, that is eternal, deathless and independent of the physical nature. As a result of this we believe that death of the body is the end to existence. This is the meaning of abhinivesha. This fear of death or survival instinct underlies all fears. If you know yourself to be pure consciousness, independent of the mind and body - what is there to fear? What can harm you? ~ The remedy for these afflictions is tapas - intense purifying practice - svadhyaya - study of the Self - and Ishvara Pranidhana - identification with the higher nature - or pure consciousness (the Self). These three practices reduce the five afflictions (five klesha) and facilitate the experience of Samadhi. ~ For those, whose suffering is still deeper, Patanjali recommends the practice of Ashtanga Yoga. These eight limbs of yoga are - yama, niyama, asana, pranayama, pratyahara, dharana, dhyana and samadhi. Yama and Niyama are the ten commandments of yoga - the first is ahimsa - which means to cause no harm. While moral behavior protects others and cultivates harmonious and healthy society, Patanjali's teaching is primarily about personal health and wellbeing that is attainable through the practice of meditation. What stands in the way of our health? What stands in the way of experiencing Samadhi? The self-inflicted harm we have caused to ourselves - our bad habits - our unhealthy lifestyle, our poor diet, sleeping habits - our departure from what is natural and wholesome. This is what prevents us from experiencing samadhi. Samadhi is nothing but a deep state of peace. All the limbs of yoga are subcategories of ahimsa - they correct for the fundamental harm we cause to ourselves. The second yama is satya, or telling the truth, the third is asteya, not stealing, brahmacharya is the protection against squandering our vital energy, aparigraha is protection against greed. Shaucha is protection against physical and mental toxicity. These are all stresses that make us unhealthy and incapable of deep concentration or absorption in samadhi. We are never content - always stressed - samtosha means contentment from which, according to Patanjali, the ultimate happiness is derived. ~ We are constantly desiring something. We believe that getting what we desire will bring us happiness but we find that we are never truly happy. Even if we get what we want, pretty soon we want more. Yoga explains that happiness is a quality of the soul. We do not experience it because we are stressed. When we get what we desire, that stress is eliminated for a moment and as a result, the natural inner bliss of the soul is revealed. It is not the object that makes us happy. Attaining the object just reduces our stress temporarily - the happiness comes from inside. A true and deep happiness comes from contentment - samtosha. ~ The last three niyamas have already been mentioned - tapas - discipline or purifying practice, svadhyaya - Self study and Ishvara Pranidhana - drawing close to the true inner Self. The most important tapas in yoga is food disciple - you are what you eat - literally! Your body - and that includes your brain and nervous system is made of the food you eat. If you live on hamburgers and french fries, you will have a mind like Donald Trump. Instead of being able to find deep peace, you will be tweeting into the small hours in response to all the personal sleights and attacks you will imagine have been targeted at you. ~ Asana is the next step. Asana can be understood in two senses - on the one hand asana means a comfortable seated position suitable for meditation - on the other hand asana can be thought of as practice that leads you to attain a comfortable posture - in the same way that the word yoga can mean either the state of yoga (samadhi) - or the practices required in order to achieve the state of yoga. Once asana is established, the next step is pranayama. In the ashtanga practice, rudimentary pranayama is already integrated into the way we practice asana. But to get to the next stages of deeper concentration and meditation, we need to develop a seated practice of pranayama that includes not just lengthening and control of breath, but also the suppression or holding of breath. Pranayama is perhaps the most important tool in yoga - it is the principal way to control the mind. Mind and breath are intimately connected and pranayama is the gateway to deeper concentration - or the internal limbs of yoga. The first four limbs are external - dealing with the physical body and the last three limbs are internal - leading towards samadhi through concentration and meditation. The fifth limb, pratyahara is an intermediate step that takes one from the external to the internal - pratyahara means sense withdrawal and it leads to the internalization or introversion of mind. Dharana (the sixth step) means concentration and dhyana (seventh step) is usually translated as meditation. All the limbs of yoga are interconnected. Although ashtanga yoga is often promoted as a step by step method, this interconnection means that the development of any limb implies the simultaneous development of the other limbs to some extent. For instance, it is impossible to practice asanas without a degree of concentration, or dharana. When you practice asanas you learn how not to hurt yourself (ahimsa) you start to control and deepen your breathing - this is pranayama. Drishti leads towards pratyahara etc.. Dharana means fixing the mind but it also implies that the mind can be distracted and move away from the point of concentration. Focusing on the bandha is a form of dharana, but we all know that maintaining that focus continuously is almost impossible - at least while we continue to move the body. Only when you come to seated practice does dharana begin to move towards dhyana. In dharana the mind does not remain continuously fixed - there are distractions but in dhyana (meditation) all thoughts flow in the same direction, all thoughts become identical. The difference between the two has been explained by comparing the pouring water and oil: when you pour water, droplets form - in the same way - the thoughts formed in concentration are like individual droplets, with spaces in between. When you pour oil, there is a continuous flow - thoughts in meditation are like this - all thoughts flow in the same direction without distraction. Samadhi is the complete merging of the mind with an object. This is the next stage beyond dhyana. The ashtanga system leads towards samprajnata samadhi - samadhi with seed or samadhi with an object that is meditated upon. The continuous practice of samprajnata samadhi may eventually lead to the higher level of asamprajnata samadhi - in this case the mind dissolves and only pure consciousness shines. ~ Follow our in depth study of the Patanjali Sadhana Pada: Tuesdays at 10:30am EST via Zoom https://www.ashtangayoga.nyc/yoga-philosophy

After taking a break from teaching, our shala is re-opening for virtual classes and limited Mysore practice after Labor Day. No doubt many students have also ta...ken a break from practice. There is a simple formula for returning to practice pain free... https://www.ashtangayoga.nyc//returning-to-practice-pain-f

Ashtanga Yoga and Pranayama Pranayama is an essential feature of Ashtanga Yoga, occupying one of the eight steps or practices of this integral yogic method. Eve...n for those who do not associate the physical practice of asanas with the comprehensive system that integrates all eight steps as explained by Patanjali and others, breathing is an essential feature. Pranayama is a composite of two words: prana - breath and ayama - to increase or control. Even in asana practice, lengthening, co-ordinating and controlling the breath is a key characteristic of the method. While the focus on breath in asana is a clear factor in Ashtanga asana practice, what are the features and purposes of pranayama as an independent practice? On the one hand pranayama greatly benefits asana practice by specifically focusing on control of breath in isolation - something that can then be applied as an enhancement to asana practice, on the other hand, pranayama is a bridge to meditation. So often, in our tendency to project our Western values and preferences onto Eastern practices, we fall into the trap of assuming that intensity and extremes will take us to the next level. Pattabhi Jois did nothing to undermine this idea - if anything he seemed to support it. Just as we erroneously tend to think of Samadhi as an ecstatic state, a highly exalted and difficult to attain state that requires intense effort and dedication, we also tend to believe that the practices that might lead there should be characterized by this intensity. This is nothing but the projection of our own character and prejudice! The first principle of yoga is ahimsa. Not doing harm is characterized by gentleness, softness, peace, quiet - not by intensity, extreme effort and "feeling the burn". This intensity is a feature of our character, not of the practice that will take us to the next level. On the one hand, KPJ was an intense individual and the emphasis of his teaching was on the physical, not the subtle. On the other hand he was confronted by intense and toxic Western individuals who were competitive, athletic, stressed out and distressed - he concluded that these individuals wanted or needed extreme methods. KPJ only taught pranayama to students who attained advanced asana practice and neglected to share this practice with students who did not show the ambition to attain peak physical fitness. His teaching of pranayama was also characterized by extremes and the intentions behind his sequencing of pranayama exercises have to be questioned. Rather than leading towards a quiet and introverted state that moves the mind towards meditation, the practices he put forward were more focussed on energizing and extraverting the mind. There are a few individuals who have dedicated long term practice to the method he put forward, but most most have recognized that this method is not effective in moving the practitioner towards the next steps of ashtanga yoga. There are even individuals, who having dedicated decades to these practices have experienced serious negative health outcomes. Even Sharath teaches pranayama differently. KPJ would have mocked Sharath's teachings - not intense enough! You can see his views on simple pranayamas such as Sharath teaches here (at 2:45): https://www.youtube.com/watch Putting aside the question of intensity, the pursuit of a sequence that does not expressly intend to take the practitioner deeper into meditation is also dubious. While it may be valuable for teachers to learn an array of practices for the benefit of teaching, without a specific intention or insight into the means of guiding the student deeper, these practices can be at best meaningless and at worst actually harmful. The warnings about the potential harm are evident in the hatha literature. https://www.ashtangayoga.nyc/pranayama