Most people in the west think of yoga as just a kind of "Indian Physical Exercise" in which yogis tie themselves in knots, or fly around with their feet tucked into their groin in the lotus position. I suppose I thought along these lines myself at one time, and even when I started yoga, my purpose was to use yoga to lose some weight and tackle migraine.
It was a few years before I began to realise that there was much more to it than this. Yoga is a philosophy, a lifestyle, a way of looking at the world. The problem is that many western yoga teachers are scared of losing students if they advance much beyond the more straightforward yoga postures and a bit of relaxation. This is a pity. They may lose some, but then they might well gain others.
According to Patanjali, yoga is the "control of the fluctuations of the mind" (Yoga Sutras, I, 2). You begin by controlling the body - the physical postures or asanas train you to do this. Then you learn to control the breath, and you can't effectively do this until you can control your body. Eventually, you can use control of the breath to connect with the mind, and begin to control the mind as well. This brings an enhanced sense of awareness. You are more aware of who you are and what you are. With the awareness comes a greater sense of well-being and mental calmness. And that is worth more than all the medical pharmacopoeias the western world can produce.
So, yoga is far from a simple matter of standing on your head or sticking your left foot behind your right ear.
There are many styles of yoga, although - interestingly enough - the three Indian yogis who have had most influence on styles of yoga in the west (B.K.S. Iyengar, T.K.V. Desikachar and Patabhi Jois) were all taught by the same man - T. Krishnamacharya, who was probably the greatest yogi of the Twentieth Century (he died, aged 101, in 1989). I find that the teachings of Krishnamachrya, as disseminated through Desikachar and his students, are what mean most to me. These teachings apply the techniques of "viniyoga" which basically means that you teach what is most appropriate to each individual. Some people are flexible, some aren't. Some want to do the really tough postures, some want to learn breathing techniques, and some (like me) want to study philosophy and chant.
And because I have such a deep interest in yoga philosophy, that's what I want to put on this website for others to learn from.
© Margo von Romberg
Personal Site hosted at sanskritdocuments.org
