Attachment is expecting pleasure.
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Two verse 7
T Krishnamacharya Yoga Sūtra Study Quotes Collected and Collated
TKV Desikachar Yoga Sūtra Study Quotes Collected and Collated
Paul’s Yoga Mālā – A Thread of Pearls from Patañjali’s Yoga Sūtra
Paul’s Yoga Sūtra Study Keywords – Collected & Collated into Chapters
Paul’s Yoga Sūtra Study Questions – Collected & Collated into Chapters
Egoity is when the
power of the Seer
and power of Seeing
are as if one essence.
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Two verse 6
T Krishnamacharya Yoga Sūtra Study Quotes Collected and Collated
TKV Desikachar Yoga Sūtra Study Quotes Collected and Collated
Paul’s Yoga Mālā – A Thread of Pearls from Patañjali’s Yoga Sūtra
Paul’s Yoga Sūtra Study Keywords – Collected & Collated into Chapters
Paul’s Yoga Sūtra Study Questions – Collected & Collated into Chapters
Don’t let Meditation become
just another form of security,
rather than an inquiry
into the nature of insecurity.
Link to Series: 108 Yoga Study Path Pointers
Don’t let Āsana become just
another form of security,
rather than an inquiry
into the nature of insecurity.
Link to Series: 108 Yoga Study Path Pointers
Illusion is the field out
of which the others grow,
though they may appear
as if asleep, or arise weakly,
be inconsistent or dominant.
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Two verse 4
T Krishnamacharya Yoga Sūtra Study Quotes Collected and Collated
TKV Desikachar Yoga Sūtra Study Quotes Collected and Collated
Paul’s Yoga Mālā – A Thread of Pearls from Patañjali’s Yoga Sūtra
Paul’s Yoga Sūtra Study Keywords – Collected & Collated into Chapters
Paul’s Yoga Sūtra Study Questions – Collected & Collated into Chapters
Anguish arises from the illusion feeding
the conflation of I-ness and Am-ness,
the consequences of pleasure and suffering,
and underpins the fear of not feeling alive.
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Two verse 3
T Krishnamacharya Yoga Sūtra Study Quotes Collected and Collated
TKV Desikachar Yoga Sūtra Study Quotes Collected and Collated
Paul’s Yoga Mālā – A Thread of Pearls from Patañjali’s Yoga Sūtra
Paul’s Yoga Sūtra Study Keywords – Collected & Collated into Chapters
Paul’s Yoga Sūtra Study Questions – Collected & Collated into Chapters
“Its purpose is to cultivate a feeling
of integration and help placate
the dominance of the afflictions.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Two verse 2
T Krishnamacharya Yoga Sūtra Study Quotes Collected and Collated
TKV Desikachar Yoga Sūtra Study Quotes Collected and Collated
Paul’s Yoga Mālā – A Thread of Pearls from Patañjali’s Yoga Sūtra
Paul’s Yoga Sūtra Study Keywords – Collected & Collated into Chapters
Paul’s Yoga Sūtra Study Questions – Collected & Collated into Chapters
Containing the Body,
or Kāya Nirodha
doesn’t always imply that…
you can contain the Breath.
Containing the Breath,
or Prāṇa Nirodha
doesn’t always imply that…
you can contain the Mind.
Containing the Mind
or Mano Vṛtti Nirodha.
doesn’t always imply that…
you can contain the Psyche.
Containing the Psyche,
or Citta Vṛtti Nirodha
doesn’t always imply that…
Link to Series: 108 Yoga Study Path Pointers
Within the teachings of T Krishnamacharya,
as transmitted to TKV Desikachar,
the role of Śavāsana within an Āsana practice was as
a transitional link pose between categories of Āsana.
For example between Standing and Lying Āsana,
or Lying and Inverted Āsana,
or Inverted and Prone Backbends,
or Prone Backbends and Seated Āsana,
or Seated Āsana and Sitting Practices.
The extent of its use and length of rest at each stage,
when transiting from one category to another within our
Āsana practice journey, was dependent on the facility
of the practitioner and the intensity of the practice.
Within this individualised variance is the guiding
principle that the role of Śavāsana is to facilitate a
smooth transition for the flow of the breath and also
the pulse through and beyond the Āsana practice,
as a marker for the practitioner’s state of mind.
However according to Desikachar the Viniyoga of
Śavāsana was seen in terms of recovery from the
fatigue of the preceding aspect of the practice rather,
than say recovery from the preceding aspects of one’s life.
Regarding the approach for the recovery
from the preceding aspects of one’s life,
amongst other things such as Āhāra and Vihāra,
the wider purpose, content, duration and frequency
of the Āsana practice must be carefully reconsidered.
Link to Series: 108 Postural Practice Pointers
“Working together with and directed by past impressions,
the three Guṇa, Sattva, Rajas and Tamas determine
whether the mind is calm, agitated or dull.”
– T Krishnamacharya on Yoga Sūtra Chapter One verse 4
“Past impressions also determine the
mind’s direction and quality of perception.”
– T Krishnamacharya on Yoga Sūtra Chapter One verse 4
The less we act from within the field of the present moment,
the more we re-act from within the field of past memories.
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter One verses 4
“The mind acts in countless ways and all of them
stem from the power of past Karma Vāsanā.
This is why individuals differ from one another.”
– T Krishnamacharya on Yoga Sūtra Chapter One verse 6
You are presuming when working with Prāṇāyāma
that the student has already put three things in place.
1. A physical possibility in terms of access to a steady seat.
2. An energetic possibility in terms of access to open channels.
3. A psychological possibility in terms of access to concentration.
Link to Series: 108 Prāṇāyāma Practice Pointers
The aim of this Series, and its companion page (Paul’s Yoga Sūtra Study Questions), with its Sūtra by Sūtra guided study question 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.
In this post, 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, to invite the reader to form their own opinion as to what is implied.
On the companion 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, 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.
108 Yoga Sūtra Study Word Pointers – 10
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
We observe what we experience
through the eye of the Indriya
The eye of the Indriya observes
through the I of the Manas
The I of the Manas observes
through the I of the Ahaṃkāra
The I of the Ahaṃkāra observes
through the I of the Buddhi
The I of the Buddhi observes
from the eye of the Puruṣa.
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Four verse 18
T Krishnamacharya Yoga Sūtra Study Quotes Collected and Collated
TKV Desikachar Yoga Sūtra Study Quotes Collected and Collated
Paul’s Yoga Mālā – A Thread of Pearls from Patañjali’s Yoga Sūtra
Paul’s Yoga Sūtra Study Keywords – Collected & Collated into Chapters
Paul’s Yoga Sūtra Study Questions – Collected & Collated into Chapters
Initially, our relationship with Yoga is more
concerned with what we get out of our practice.
From this point, it can evolve into us being more
concerned with what we put into our practice.
Ultimately, it is neither what we get out nor what we
put in, as there is a cessation of intentions in practice.
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Four verse 25
T Krishnamacharya Yoga Sūtra Study Quotes Collected and Collated
TKV Desikachar Yoga Sūtra Study Quotes Collected and Collated
Paul’s Yoga Mālā – A Thread of Pearls from Patañjali’s Yoga Sūtra
Paul’s Yoga Sūtra Study Keywords – Collected & Collated into Chapters
Paul’s Yoga Sūtra Study Questions – Collected & Collated into Chapters
According to Patañjali, the process of Abhyāsa needs
to be in place before Vairāgya is a viable reality,
as one is an increasingly subtle developmental process
arising from the initial engagement with the other.
Hence Abhyāsa is the attentive and consistent effort
to remain there and Vairāgya is our relationship with
what arises from and within our effort to remain there.
Here is a psychological drama where the internal play
of our neuroses acts itself out on the stage of the mind.
Though at least, with our efforts with Abhyāsa, the inner
audience can look at the play, rather than from the play.
Until we embrace the skills to remain there consistently,
we cannot consistently engage within the very erratic
relationship we have with the neurotic characters
that populate the drama/mystery/romance plays we
stage on a daily basis in our mind, as if a plat du jour.
Essentially until we choose to desist from not stopping,
we cannot begin to observe how much movement there is.
Thus, firstly there needs to be a consistent effort at
Abhyāsa Dhyānam, then we have the developmental
correlative of Vairāgya to help contend with what arises.
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter One verse 12
T Krishnamacharya Yoga Sūtra Study Quotes Collected and Collated
TKV Desikachar Yoga Sūtra Study Quotes Collected and Collated
Paul’s Yoga Mālā – A Thread of Pearls from Patañjali’s Yoga Sūtra
Paul’s Yoga Sūtra Study Keywords – Collected & Collated into Chapters
Paul’s Yoga Sūtra Study Questions – Collected & Collated into Chapters
Another lesser-known facet to the practice tool of Pratikriyāsana
is the application of it in the practice planning steps, not in the
more usual sense of its perception as a postural counterpose,
rather its application in order to reduce a negative state of being
and the impact that we are currently experiencing, whether at a
physical, energetic, psychological or emotional level of being.
In this context, Pratikriyāsana means the practice planning steps
when choosing and arranging Āsana that will effect an counter action
on our current state of negativity expressing itself and impacting on
our sense of well-being, whether body, mind, energy or emotions.
Thus, opposite action Āsana to a currently unhelpful sense of being.
Link to Series: 108 Yoga Practice Pointers
Laṅghana Kriyā is a Viniyoga methodology with its reducing, lightening or contractive potentials within the practice of Āsana, Mudrā and Prāṇāyāma. As a practice process it is actualised through an understanding of the primary principles that inform Haṭha Yoga and Āyurveda.
The Viniyoga, or application of Laṅghana Kriyā effects a concentration of Agni from the periphery to the core. This outcome is approached traditionally through effecting systemic changes, primarily in the systemic energies of digestion and elimination. Thus from an Āyurveda perspective, the use of practices which bring about a functional energetic change in the qualities of Vāta, Pitta and Kapha Doṣa.
“Duḥkha is the Space in the Heart
feeling constricted because of
‘not getting what I want’, or
‘getting what I don’t want’.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Two verse 16
T Krishnamacharya Yoga Sūtra Study Quotes Collected and Collated
TKV Desikachar Yoga Sūtra Study Quotes Collected and Collated
Paul’s Yoga Mālā – A Thread of Pearls from Patañjali’s Yoga Sūtra
Paul’s Yoga Sūtra Study Keywords – Collected & Collated into Chapters
Paul’s Yoga Sūtra Study Questions – Collected & Collated into Chapters
The Vinyāsa Krama or planning steps in the practice will be for a total of 60 working breaths.
– It will be based around Āsana especially Parśva Uttānāsana and Janu Śīrṣāsana.
– In this instance, the practice will not include any Mudrā, Prāṇāyāma or Dhyāna.
– In the planning structure, any link Āsana such as Samasthiti, Śavāsana, Vajrāsana, do not count in the breath tally.
– Make notes on what you have discovered from this practice
– Justify to yourself your choice of supporting or compensatory Āsana within the scheme.
– This planning question was first proffered within Study and Practice Courses whereby the student’s responses would be shared during the next meeting along with being offered a sample response.
Accordingly, I will post this example by adding it as a PDF resource to this post after 10 days.
To Download or View this Question as a PDF Study Sheet
To Download or View a Sample Practice Response as a PDF
Yoga Practice Planning and Theory Questions – Collected & Collated
We might want to consider the notion that the
most important standing Āsana is Samasthiti.
Its role is to ensure we engage with the next Āsana
from a place of attention and aware anticipation,
and after it, return to a place of fullness and reflection.
As if we are experiencing the fullness of the aftertaste
that naturally follows the ingestion of well-cooked food.
It’s learned Bhāvana is a quality of stillness within any
moment of inaction, ere to a transition to the next action.
Link to Series: 108 Postural Practice Pointers
