Beginner's Question on Mental State during Practice

Yoga Discussion General Yoga
#1

I am new to yoga with a mere three months practice. For whatever reason, I do not have a guru to get personal instruction. During my past practice, I have largely concentrate on the asanas, which of course already bring tremendous benefits. I have been wondering how to get into the spiritual aspect of yoga, especially during practicing. Can anyone give me a hint on this? I have heard I should focusing on breathing. However yoga so far is a sports for me only and my breath during practicing is kind of irregular and I really have no clue on how to concentrate on it.

Thanks in advance.

Wayne

#2

Have you tried meditation? This is where I started with yoga!! I would still practice the asanas but meditation will help me achieve that spiritual aspect of yoga. It may take some time to learn to sit still in silence. But just like the asanas…meditation is practice too! Also reading some good texts will help too. Right now I’m reading an Autobiography of a Yogi. Hope this helps!

#3

Hello Wayne,

Answers to this question are likely to vary greatly. And while variety is the spice of life, too many cooks can spoil the stew. So we must find something between these two points on the continuum.

Generally speaking, the student of yoga learns the Yamas and Niyamas before beginning the physical practice of asana. Once the student has learned to live within the context of these ten principles then additional study can begin.

Spirituality in the practice of yoga may, in part, come through the physical practice. However after more than ten years of study I would say that without a more robust practice (embracing other elements or limbs) a deep spiritual practice is very challenging to find (with just asana).

In the physical practice, choppy breath typically indicates an over abundance of effort or an intention of achievement or doing (at all costs) on the part of the practitioner. Therefore it might be beneficial for such a student to find a way to do their physical practice without any strain in the breath at all.

gordon

#4

Extmz,
To help you just on the beginning, the first basic advice would be to simply focus on the breath during asana, instead of focusing so much on the pose itself. The breath should be most important. It should be slow, steady, and deep. If your breath suffers because of the strain of getting into or holding the posture, you should relax the posture a bit until you are able to maintain a steady breath.
Breathing should be down into the diaphragm, not just into the upper chest.
practice by lying down and laying your hand on your diaphragm, just below the ribs. breathe in, and notice, does your hand move up and down, or is it the chest moving up and down? Try again, breathe deeply and slowly, and try to make the belly lift instead of just the chest. Practice this, with the hand on the belly, until it comes easily. Then sit up and try in a sitting position. This is diaphragmatic breathing, or deep breathing.

If you go to http://www.yogatoday.com, you can find some videos there that focus on asana with breathing.

When I learned yoga, every video I ever used focused on breathing with the asana. For sun salutations, with each shift to a new position, the breath was to either come in, or go out. Begin inhale, begin to move to a new position. Begin exhale, begin moving to the next position. Keep the breath steady and deep.

This helps to calm the mind, focus the mind, and help to begin feeling like you are working on spirit as well as the physical.

Just a few suggestions to hopefully point you in the right direction.

There is a whole other world of yoga that focuses on just the breath, and I agree with InnerAthlete, you will have to start working to focus on the spiritual if you wish to really bring it into your practice.
Start with the breath, and let your mind relax and open to being receptive to being taught, knowing that the answers will come. You just have to be open and receptive when they do.

#5

Dear Wayne, regarding how to concentrate on your breath, what you can do is just notice your breath- without deliberately changing it. Just place your attention on your breath. Be aware of the volume of your breath- can you hear it? How does it sound, smooth, ragged, quiet, loud…? Just notice. Locate your breath in your body. Notice where there is movement- perhaps in the side ribs, in your chest. Feel that natural movement. Just notice, you don’t need to change it though it may change naturally. Often the breath does start to become a little more deep and slower just because you have attended to it. But you don’t need to make this happen. Just keep bringing your attention to your natural rhythm of breath for a period of time. Notice the pace of your breath. If your mind wonders off to thinking about something else, just gently direct it back to being aware of your breath. Witness your breath. You can practice this technique during asana, when seated or when laying in bed. I recommend that you practice this technique for several months before practicing any techniques of retaining the breath. During asana as your practice in this technique develops you will be able to have a sense of your whole body breathing and be able to direct your breath into different areas of your body. I wish you the very best on your path. Good on you.
Namaste, Tamara Graham E-RYT 500, YTAA Senior Teacher

#6

[QUOTE=InnerAthlete;29088]Hello Wayne,

Answers to this question are likely to vary greatly. And while variety is the spice of life, too many cooks can spoil the stew. So we must find something between these two points on the continuum.

Generally speaking, the student of yoga learns the Yamas and Niyamas before beginning the physical practice of asana. Once the student has learned to live within the context of these ten principles then additional study can begin.

Spirituality in the practice of yoga may, in part, come through the physical practice. However after more than ten years of study I would say that without a more robust practice (embracing other elements or limbs) a deep spiritual practice is very challenging to find (with just asana).

In the physical practice, choppy breath typically indicates an over abundance of effort or an intention of achievement or doing (at all costs) on the part of the practitioner. Therefore it might be beneficial for such a student to find a way to do their physical practice without any strain in the breath at all.

gordon[/QUOTE]

Thanks InnerAthlet and other friends. I am learning.

When you mention “other limbs of yoga”, I am not sure what exactly you mean. I heard there are several (eight?) limbs but still not clear about them. Do I come to realization of them during my practice, in a natural way, or I need to learn from a guru. In terms of spiritual part of yoga, I found the book from Deepak Chopra is very helpful (7 Spiritual Rules of Yoga). However I do not see anyone from this forum recommends it. Maybe it is not a authentic yoga instruction book. Anyway I found it is enlightening due to its nature of plain English.

I tried some meditation before so I will trry to focus on breathing during asansa, though I found it is a lot different from what you do during meditation. For the later, you can spend all focus on breathing, for asanas, you are actually moving and breathing is hardly to notice. I guess time and practice will get me more into this.

Thanks again and will post progress later.

Wayne

#7

Wayne,

sadly in the current society we have allowed/chosen very few are teaching a yoga that includes anything more than choreographed postures linked together while breathing. Of course such a definition could also describe modern dance, authentic movement, or running for the bus.

There are seven other limbs commonly referenced which come from the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. Bear in mind this is only one of a myriad of classical texts on yoga, not to mention that which as passed orally from teacher to student before their inception.

While it is possible to blend other limbs into one’s practice of posture (asana) I have not found that to be complete. Asana is not a complete form of yoga practice as it does not address the lifestyle, nutrition, pranayama, and meditation one on the path of yoga surely will need to overcome the obstacles present for us all.

If you can find a very god teacher, that would be most helpful. In the meantime, perhaps reading the Yamas and Niyamas and considering how you might incorporated them into your living, along with your asana practice, might be enough for now.

As for the author you mention, his works do not speak to me, though that is only relevant for me. If a certain work or teacher speaks to YOU then that is what really matters - for you:-)

#8

Certainly in my own practice, I’ve found Patanjali’s Sutras to be extremely helpful.

The version entitled “How to Know God” by Christopher Isherwood & Swami Prabhavananda has been great. InnerAthlete, I’d be curious to know: what version of the Sutras do you connect most with? (In translation that is).

As InnerAthlete says, much of Yoga gets filtered out of Western practice - we scarcely recognize many of the forms of Yoga as yoga at all. I’ve found Vivekananda’s books on the various types of Yoga clear and inspiring.

#9

[QUOTE=extmz;29077]I have been wondering how to get into the spiritual aspect of yoga, especially during practicing. Can anyone give me a hint on this?
Wayne[/QUOTE]Try awakening of Kundalini.

#10

Maybe I am still a beginner and has not gotten the essence of yoga yet. Though I feel fairly comfortable after practicing and have been trying to deploy the philosophies learnt from yoga theory in daily life, I have difficulties to comprehend the close link between asanas and enlightenment. Will time and practice tell? Or I just get myself convinced because of common wisdom of yogis from generation to generation?

Please shed some light here.

Wayne

#11

Hey Wayne, the practice of asanas are to achieve great health and balance of body with its connection to mind and spirit. The Siddhas would correct certain things about their bodies, or achieve certain energetic (pranic) currents through the mastery of asanas.

For example, the asana Siddhanasa, is designed for meditation. Mastery of that asana encourages deep meditations and the raising of kundalini (especially because the ball of the foot is at the perineum).

Kundalini, if you dont know, is the dormant energy at the base of the spine (like a coiled serpent). When one reaches certain states of samadhi (super consciousness) the serpent uncoils and travels up the spine through all of the chakras or (energy/pranic centres) until it passes through the top of the skull.

Part of practicing asanas is helping to align the physical spine and body to a more “perfect” state to allow for a more cohesive conductivity. The chakras are not actually in the spine itself. They are along the pranic path called the sushumna, which is an energetic tube connecting the bottom chakra to the top (base of the spine or coccyx, to the back of the neck or medulla). This energetic tube is influenced by the alignment of our physical spine and vice versa. This is why it is important to sit up straight in meditation.

Now, not only is there a sushmna pathway, but there is also a ida and pingala. These are like right and left channels. One is hot, one is cold. The idea is to balance these. This can be achieved with alum vilanom pranayama (sp?).

And BTW, I must say that Pranayama is a great tool for raising the kundalini, and clearing the nadis. The nadis are your astral nerves, and there are 72,000 of them. Pranayama, and yoga asanas help clear the nadis to increase your spiritual sensitivity.

Think of it this way, if your nadis are clogged, and your life is not balanced, it will be very hard to achieve enlightenment. There are also karmas bound to us which keep us from ascending. It is said that pranayama helps to burn up karmas.

Meditation helps you gain control and insight of your thoughts, so that you can transcend them, and reach samadhi. It all works together. Mastering the mind is by far the most difficult task anyone could do, but it is essential in reaching the deepest states of bliss. There are two main types of meditation, one of them is one pointedness (or unbroken focus on one single thing), or non focus (just being). srry can’t remember the sanskrit names for these.

The whole idea here is awakening to the soul, and unifying into the absolute. The absolute being you know… the universe… god… it is inexplainable (you must experience it, and if you practice you will, and it is amazing, and you will understand how you can’t explain it). And the soul, being your true essence, (just being).

This is the meaning of yoga = “union”.

Anyways… Just remember, lead a balanced life, and practice your sadhana(spiritual practice) regularly(dont stop). The best results are obtained from sticking to it and never quitting. Your sadhana may include: hatha yoga(ie. asanas), meditation, pranayama, and many other things. As you practice these, and study yogic texts, many things will come into place via the siddhis obtained. The siddhis obtained can be very subtle at first, and strong later on, and they can get in the way of the mind being free if one is attached to them, or even attached to getting spiritual results.

So the moral of the story is, don’t get attached to results. Just do! Just practice. Don’t worry about a thing! Relax! Be! But still take action! and Do! Be fully immersed in it by not thinking of the outcome!

Hope that helped! Oh also, read this! google search “sivananda pranayama” and read the free online book, it is awesome! Autobiography of a Yogi is also a great book. I highly recommend it.

#12

Thanks YoHomieYogi. Not sure I quite understand everything you said, especially about the theory of kundalini. I am a Chinese and there are similar systems in Chinese Medicine called Jin Lou (accupuncture is based on this) but I have not truly believed in it since my medical background let me only draw conclusions from clinical evidence. Anyhow, what I can consent is the true lies in the practice itself even though the enlightment state is still beyond my imagination. I did feel something amazing from a sitting meditation (only a few times because my meditation is in a casual way and most time end up with sleeping). It has been difficult to be in a meditative state since attention currently is still in the motion and pose themselves. Asanas for me are still a sports and the spiritual benefits are from the books I read.

I have been appealed by Yoga from the first try and hope can keep up the practicing. I really like the detachment from the results since there is no ending, like many other things in life.

Thanks again, Wayne

#13

Light on life by BKS Iyengar, give’s a good explanation of what your mental state should be like in this book. I downloaded the audiobook in iTunes.

Basically he says, you should be very aware of what your doing in your asanas, as to not close your eyes, focus on your breath, and imagine creating space in the areas that your stretching.

Good book! Give it a listen or read.