108 Postural Practice Pointers – 51 – When looking at the means to explore the art of improvisation…

When looking at the means to explore the art of
improvisation within the choice and application
of Āsana, we need to be specific in our intention.

For example,
we could look through the lens of two questions:
1. What are the areas that we wish to investigate?
2. What are the ways to explore these in Āsana?

If we are specific in regard to the first question,
as in what is the area or areas to be investigated,
then we can explore these in the second question,
through utilising the art of improvisation in Āsana.

Link to Series: 108 Postural Practice Pointers

Āsana and Mudrā Glossary
– Grouped into Standing, Kneeling,
Lying, Inverted, Backbend, Seated & Sitting

108 Postural Practice Pointers – 50 – One aspect to the art of modification in and of Asana…

One aspect to the art of modification in Āsana,
is in order to sustain a specific direction of Candra
according to the primary Lakṣaṇa of and in an Āsana,
amidst a contrary potential to stimulate a dispersion
of Candra, because of the demands of the secondary
Lakṣaṇa overpowering that of the primary Lakṣaṇa.

This also implies that we have personally embedded
a theoretical and experiential understanding, through
study of the process in the Viniyoga of Āsana, according
to their inherent primary and secondary characteristics.

Link to Series: 108 Postural Practice Pointers

Āsana and Mudrā Glossary
– Grouped into Standing, Kneeling,
Lying, Inverted, Backbend, Seated & Sitting

108 Postural Practice Pointers – 49 – The art of improvisation in Āsana functions…

The art of improvisation in Āsana functions
through two core practice principles, namely
that of the modification in and of the Āsana
and that of the variation in and of the Āsana.

Each can be defined more specifically in that:

Modification is that which brings you closer to
the Lakṣaṇa or core characteristics of an Āsana.

Variation is that which can take you away from
the Lakṣaṇa or core characteristics of an Āsana.

Link to Series: 108 Postural Practice Pointers

Āsana and Mudrā Glossary
– Grouped into Standing, Kneeling,
Lying, Inverted, Backbend, Seated & Sitting

108 Yoga Teaching Path Pointers – 51 – If we can accept that Yoga is more than just Āsana…

If we can accept that Yoga is more than just Āsana,
what would you see as the difference between
Āsana as a practice and Yoga as a Sādhana?

Link to Series: 108 Yoga Teaching Path Pointers

108 Yoga Teaching Path Pointers – 50 – When talking about Yoga as if a practice…

When talking about Yoga as if a practice,
I feel it could be helpful to distinguish
between which aspects of Yoga practice
we are actually referring to as they tend to
have differing, and at times even seemingly
contrasting, facets, paradigms and purposes.

Link to Series: 108 Yoga Teaching Path Pointers

108 Yoga Study Path Pointers – 38 – Perhaps be careful that the habits you are re-habituating towards…

“Perhaps be careful that the habits
you are re-habituating towards
are not just as blinding as the
habits you are de-habituating from.”

Link to Series: 108 Yoga Study Path Pointers

108 Yoga Planning Pointers – 48 – Responses should be looked at according to the psychological…

A third factor, that of Respect for Responses

2. Responses should be looked at according to
the psychological attitude of the individual.
We need to consider what is the end
and what are the means.
This is also seen as cause and effect.
The responses to the voluntary action
should be considered as a safety valve.
All this assumes we have respect for the individual and
the individual has or develops respect for themselves.

Āsana Mudrā & Prāṇāyāma
– Collected Viniyoga of Practice Planning Principles

Āsana Mudrā & Prāṇāyāma
– Collected Practice Planning and Practice Theory Questions

108 Yoga Study Path Pointers – 37 – According to the Paramparā of  Krishnamacharya and Desikachar…

According to the Paramparā of
Krishnamacharya and Desikachar,
Āsana begets Mudrā,
Mudrā begets Prāṇāyāma,
Prāṇāyāma begets Pratyāhāra,
Pratyāhāra begets Dhāraṇā,
Dhāraṇā begets Dhyāna.
Of these five Upāya, only
Dhyāna is Meditation.

Link to Series: 108 Yoga Study Path Pointers

108 Mudrā Practice Pointers – 28 – As with Pranayama, the role and practice of Mudra needs to be considered…

As with Prāṇāyāma, the role and practice of Mudrā
needs to be considered from two distinct, but
complementary and developmental viewpoints.
In other words, there are Mudrā that are primarily
utilised within the context of Haṭha Yoga and there are
Mudrā that are utilised within the context of Rāja Yoga.
Within these two viewpoints, there are also those Mudrā
that can be applied in either context, depending on the
Saṃkalpa and Bhāvana employed by the practitioner.

Link to Series: 108 Mudrā Practice Pointers

108 Sūtra Study Pointers – 157 – Dhyanam is both a Sadhana and a Siddhi…

Dhyānam is both a Sādhana and a Siddhi.
In that, it is a Siddhi of Dhāraṇā,
as well as a Sādhana for Samādhi.
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Three verse 2

Paul’s Yoga Sūtra Keywords – Collected & Collated into Chapters
Paul’s Yoga Sūtra Questions – Collected & Collated into Chapters
Paul’s Yoga Sūtra Reflections – Collected & Collated into Chapters
TKV Desikachar Yoga Sūtra Quotes – Collected & Collated into Chapters
T Krishnamacharya Yoga Sūtra Quotes – Collected & Collated into Chapters

108 Yoga Planning Pointers – 47 – There is also a third factor besides voluntary efforts and involuntary effects…

A third factor, that of Respect for Responses

1. There is also a third factor besides the relationship
between voluntary efforts and involuntary effects,
namely a person’s response to the notion of effort and effect.
In the travel from our everyday postures to Yoga postures
we need to consider respect for the idea of responses.
We can often ignore the body’s response to our efforts
within our aims and intentions for ideals, such as in Āsana.
Voluntary efforts and involuntary effects are the variables.

Āsana Mudrā & Prāṇāyāma
– Collected Viniyoga of Practice Planning Principles

Āsana Mudrā & Prāṇāyāma
– Collected Practice Planning and Practice Theory Questions

108 Gītā Study Pointers – 9 – The Yoga of dejection, rejection and projection.

“The Yoga of dejection, rejection and projection.”
– Paul Harvey Introduction to Bhagavad Gītā Chapter One

Link to Series 108 Gītā Study Pointers

View All Bhagavad Gītā Quotes Collected & Collated
View All Gītārtha Saṃgraha Quotes Collected & Collated

108 Gītā Study Pointers – 8 – The journey with and through the Bhagavad Gītā is one of a Vinyāsa Krama…

“The journey with and through the Bhagavad Gītā
is one of a Vinyāsa Krama with three distinct stages.
Firstly, the Pūrva Aṅga aspect of our journey in the ascension
from confusion to clarity, as epitomised in the first hexad.
Here we start from being disturbingly yoked to Viṣāda
as in the first Chapter, and through a chapter by chapter
process, we deepen our self-inquiry into the nature of who.
In other words, this hexad is an exploration of our relationship
with what we perceive and identify with as if our perennial self.
Through chapters two to five, we learn how to approach and
refine the practice of Dhyāna as in Chapter six, through which
clarity arises in our efforts to cultivate a sense of an inner guide.”
Paul Harvey on Gītārtha Saṃgraha of Śrī Yāmunācārya Śloka Two

Link to Series 108 Gītā Study Pointers

View All Gītārtha Saṃgraha Quotes as Collected & Collated
View All Bhagavad Gītā Quotes Collected & Collated

.

108 Sūtra Study Pointers – 156 – Dhāraṇā is both a Sadhana and a Siddhi…

Dhāraṇā is both a Sādhana and a Siddhi.
In that, it is a Siddhi of Pratyāhāra,
as well as a Sādhana for Dhyāna.
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Three verse 1

Paul’s Yoga Sūtra Keywords – Collected & Collated into Chapters
Paul’s Yoga Sūtra Questions – Collected & Collated into Chapters
Paul’s Yoga Sūtra Reflections – Collected & Collated into Chapters
TKV Desikachar Yoga Sūtra Quotes – Collected & Collated into Chapters
T Krishnamacharya Yoga Sūtra Quotes – Collected & Collated into Chapters

108 Sūtra Study Pointers – 155 – Pratyāhāra is both a Sādhana and a Siddhi…

Pratyāhāra is both a Sādhana and a Siddhi.
In that, it is a Siddhi of Prāṇāyāma,
as well as a Sādhana for Dhāraṇā.
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Two verse 55

Paul’s Yoga Sūtra Keywords – Collected & Collated into Chapters
Paul’s Yoga Sūtra Questions – Collected & Collated into Chapters
Paul’s Yoga Sūtra Reflections – Collected & Collated into Chapters
TKV Desikachar Yoga Sūtra Quotes – Collected & Collated into Chapters
T Krishnamacharya Yoga Sūtra Quotes – Collected & Collated into Chapters

108 Postural Practice Pointers – 48 – In supporting the cultivation of the subtler aspects of…

In supporting a cultivation, within or through Āsana,
of the subtler aspects of Bāhya Aṅga Sādhana, such
as Pratyāhāra, it can be a more helpful marker to be on
the lookout for sensory incontinence, rather than say,
being more preoccupied with physical choreography.

Such as how we can unconsciously leak, through randomly
opening the eyes or vaguely keeping the eyes open, when
transiting into or changing sides around such as seated Āsana.

For example, arriving into or departing from a choreographically
demanding asymmetrical Āsana such as Ardha Matsyendrāsana.
In other words, remaining alert and using the space between the
breath when moving from or returning to its link Āsana, Daṇḍāsana.

Another example is the potential for sensory incontinence when
moving into or out of or especially when changing sides, with
more popular or familiar seated Āsana such as Janu Śīrṣāsana.

Link to Series: 108 Postural Practice Pointers

Āsana and Mudrā Glossary
– Grouped into Standing, Kneeling,
Lying, Inverted, Backbend, Seated & Sitting

108 Yoga Study Path Pointers – 36 – Haṭha Yoga is about the vitality of our Prana…

Haṭha Yoga is about the vitality of our Prāṇa.
Rāja Yoga is about the clarity of our Citta.
Krishnamacharya’s teachings reflect their
relative importance, in the correlation and
integration of both within our Yoga Sādhana,
as beacons for our outer and inner journey.

Link to Series: 108 Yoga Study Path Pointers

108 Yoga Sūtra Study Question Pointers – 17 – In Sūtra 1.17 Patañjali presents Saṃprajñāta as four levels of meditational experience…

The aim of this series, and its companion series (Paul’s Yoga Sūtra Study Keywords), with its single guided Sūtra word within a parallel flow, is to progress through a themed reflective journey across the four chapters or Pāda that comprise the Yoga Sūtra of Patañjali.

On this page, a question will be proffered as a reflection and inquiry into a single verse. Here each verse in the text will be explored successively, via a link to its translation, word-by-word breakdown and added commentaries collated from the website, to invite the reader to form their own opinion as to what is implied.

On the companion page, a word will be listed as a symbol for a specific verse or set of verses as we progressively traverse each chapter. It will offer an exploration, via a link to the Saṃskṛta Glossary, of all the connected quotations and posts, collated from within the website these past 12 years, again to invite the reader to form their own opinion as to what is implied.

My wish is to offer an insight into the spectrum of Yoga teachings received from T Krishnamacharya mainly via TKV Desikachar, in terms of both breadth and depth.

Chapter One Samādhi Pādaḥ verse 17

vitarka-vicāra-ānanda-asmitā-rūpa-anugamāt-saṃprajñātaḥ |

In Sūtra 1.17 Patañjali presents Asmitā, or the
sense of oneness, as the culmination of four
successively subtle forms of a meditational
process, collectively described as Saṃprajñāta.

How do we compare Asmitā in this verse
with the Asmitā described as one of the
five Kleśa listed in Chapter Two verse 3?

To Download or View this Question as a PDF Study Sheet

Paul’s Yoga Sūtra Keywords – Collected & Collated into Chapters
Paul’s Yoga Sūtra Questions – Collected & Collated into Chapters
Paul’s Yoga Sūtra Reflections – Collected & Collated into Chapters
TKV Desikachar Yoga Sūtra Quotes – Collected & Collated into Chapters
T Krishnamacharya Yoga Sūtra Quotes – Collected & Collated into Chapters