Guruji, Shri K. Pattabhi Jois head of the Ashtanga Yoga lineage, has been quoted as saying “Yoga is knowing where to look for the soul. That is all.” A simple statement about something very difficult in practice. Where in fact does the soul sit? And how does yoga bring us there? Yoga, the eight limbs of spiritual practice, is a method of discovering the pure, true, divine form of the self. The self that yogis call Atman. All encompassed practices provide tools to that end including the behavioral codes, the yamas and niyamas; the physical postures, asana; the breathing practices, pranayama; the subtle practices of sense withdrawal, pratyahara and concentration, dharana.
The practices ask us to move through challenging experiences and turn an inner eye to our own reactions, to access and to learn about ourselves. That inner eye is Atman. As you move through your asana practice on your mat, or as you sit in a meditation or pranayama practice, allow yourself to become an observer. Settle yourself into a space in the center of your head as a witness. Following the movement of the breath, without controlling it, observe. Notice the sensations of the body, notice pains or tensions and realize that as witness to the physical experiences of the body, you are not that pain in your knee, you are not the body. Notice the movements of the mind, like images or words flashing across a movie screen, you can watch the mind’s activity and realize that as witness to your thoughts, you are not that question about what’s for dinner, you are not your thoughts. Notice your emotional experiences, your mood, feelings and reactions. If you can observe from a place of detachment that you react in anger to certain situations, or fear, or joy, you are the witness and as witness you are not your emotions. It is the self that remains unattached to the experiences while gaining insight and learning through them that is the true you, Atman.
It is not an easy task and this is one reason that we often begin with the asana practice. The mind is strong, powerful and tricky. But when we turn the mind to become witness to the physical experience, as we move through this asana to that, feeling pains and resistance, we make mental statements about our experience and have emotional reactions about our experience. As our mind observes our body's experiences, we come to accept and acknowledge that the sense of self, the “I” is not the body. Each repetition of this experience solidifies it in truth and we are able to move to more and more subtle layers, the mental experiences and emotional ones. With even more practice we come to realize that the thoughts that arise during practice, “I’m too short for this pose.” or “I will never move on in the series.” or even “I am terrible at this!” are just words that arise in reaction to the experience. As practice continues and a pose is improved, you realize you weren’t really too short. Then, then next pose is given, and you realize that thought of never moving on was not truth. And whatever judgment we pass on ourselves eventually losses all power and application. If even beliefs and judgments from the mind are transient and proven false over and over, then we accept that the “I” cannot be the mind. Most difficult is dealing with the emotional level, but the same process is applied here. With every experience emotional reactions begin to change. You are less quick to anger, and fear becomes something you learn to move through, and even joy, happiness and hope are enjoyed but not clung to because they are recognized as experiences the Atman has and do not alone define it. This is where the yamas and niyamas become innate and our true nature.
This is the practice of non-attachment that Patanjali explains in the Yoga Sutras. Yoga teaches us how to release our tendencies to identify with these things outside of ourselves: our bodies, minds, emotions. These are things the self is capable of experiencing but the self is not that. In an asana practice, there is constant fluctuation. We have good days and bad days, tight days, open days, energetic days, lethargic days. But as these fluctuations swirl we find an inner steadiness. Even as the practice fluctuates from one pose to the next, one breath to the next, we challenge ourselves, to stay, ground, center and steady. This inner hum of calm is Atman, the self that has the experiences but can remain unaffected by them. This is the place that a yoga practice directs us to, this is where we look for the soul.
“To know what you are you must first investigate and know what you are not. And to know what you are not, you must watch yourself carefully, rejecting all that does not necessarily go with basic fact ‘I am’. The ideas: I am born at a given place, at a given time, from my parents and now I am so-and-so, living at, married to, father of, employed by, and so on, are not inherent in the sense ‘I am’. Our usual attitude is ‘I am this’ or ‘that’. Separate consistently and perseveringly the ‘I am’ from ‘this’ or ‘that’ and try to feel what it means to be, just to ‘be’, without being ‘this’ or ‘that’. All our habits go against it and the task of fighting them is long and hard sometimes, but clear understanding helps a lot. The clearer you understand that on the level of the mind you can be described in negative terms only the quicker you will come to the end of your search and realize your limitless being.” Nisargadatta Maharaj
The practices ask us to move through challenging experiences and turn an inner eye to our own reactions, to access and to learn about ourselves. That inner eye is Atman. As you move through your asana practice on your mat, or as you sit in a meditation or pranayama practice, allow yourself to become an observer. Settle yourself into a space in the center of your head as a witness. Following the movement of the breath, without controlling it, observe. Notice the sensations of the body, notice pains or tensions and realize that as witness to the physical experiences of the body, you are not that pain in your knee, you are not the body. Notice the movements of the mind, like images or words flashing across a movie screen, you can watch the mind’s activity and realize that as witness to your thoughts, you are not that question about what’s for dinner, you are not your thoughts. Notice your emotional experiences, your mood, feelings and reactions. If you can observe from a place of detachment that you react in anger to certain situations, or fear, or joy, you are the witness and as witness you are not your emotions. It is the self that remains unattached to the experiences while gaining insight and learning through them that is the true you, Atman.
It is not an easy task and this is one reason that we often begin with the asana practice. The mind is strong, powerful and tricky. But when we turn the mind to become witness to the physical experience, as we move through this asana to that, feeling pains and resistance, we make mental statements about our experience and have emotional reactions about our experience. As our mind observes our body's experiences, we come to accept and acknowledge that the sense of self, the “I” is not the body. Each repetition of this experience solidifies it in truth and we are able to move to more and more subtle layers, the mental experiences and emotional ones. With even more practice we come to realize that the thoughts that arise during practice, “I’m too short for this pose.” or “I will never move on in the series.” or even “I am terrible at this!” are just words that arise in reaction to the experience. As practice continues and a pose is improved, you realize you weren’t really too short. Then, then next pose is given, and you realize that thought of never moving on was not truth. And whatever judgment we pass on ourselves eventually losses all power and application. If even beliefs and judgments from the mind are transient and proven false over and over, then we accept that the “I” cannot be the mind. Most difficult is dealing with the emotional level, but the same process is applied here. With every experience emotional reactions begin to change. You are less quick to anger, and fear becomes something you learn to move through, and even joy, happiness and hope are enjoyed but not clung to because they are recognized as experiences the Atman has and do not alone define it. This is where the yamas and niyamas become innate and our true nature.
This is the practice of non-attachment that Patanjali explains in the Yoga Sutras. Yoga teaches us how to release our tendencies to identify with these things outside of ourselves: our bodies, minds, emotions. These are things the self is capable of experiencing but the self is not that. In an asana practice, there is constant fluctuation. We have good days and bad days, tight days, open days, energetic days, lethargic days. But as these fluctuations swirl we find an inner steadiness. Even as the practice fluctuates from one pose to the next, one breath to the next, we challenge ourselves, to stay, ground, center and steady. This inner hum of calm is Atman, the self that has the experiences but can remain unaffected by them. This is the place that a yoga practice directs us to, this is where we look for the soul.
“To know what you are you must first investigate and know what you are not. And to know what you are not, you must watch yourself carefully, rejecting all that does not necessarily go with basic fact ‘I am’. The ideas: I am born at a given place, at a given time, from my parents and now I am so-and-so, living at, married to, father of, employed by, and so on, are not inherent in the sense ‘I am’. Our usual attitude is ‘I am this’ or ‘that’. Separate consistently and perseveringly the ‘I am’ from ‘this’ or ‘that’ and try to feel what it means to be, just to ‘be’, without being ‘this’ or ‘that’. All our habits go against it and the task of fighting them is long and hard sometimes, but clear understanding helps a lot. The clearer you understand that on the level of the mind you can be described in negative terms only the quicker you will come to the end of your search and realize your limitless being.” Nisargadatta Maharaj
