Hi Kristen,
Thanks for your reply! What books do you recommend on the Sutras. It is one area of yoga that I also have felt intimidated by. There is so much rich information that I feel that each time I read a single Sutra I get more out of it. Any book recommendations you have would be much appreciated.
Thanks for checking out WikiHealth. I have been happy to see the small but growing base of yoga articles there. It definitely needs one on the Sutras 
Elizabeth, Heart of Yoga by Desikachar contains the YS with commentary/interpretation…I like it because the commentary is not too lengthy, but enough to be explanatory.
I am really enjoying [I]The Secret Power of Yoga[/I] by Joy Devi. It is solely a Yoga Sutras commentary, and one of the very few YS interpretations by a woman that I could find. Her writing style is very inviting and much of her commentary is placed in present-day context. I’m sure you would enjoy it. I got it through Amazon.
I also have [I]Inside the Yoga Sutras[/I] by Rev. J. Carrera. It is called “a comprehensive sourcebook for the study and practice” of the Yoga Sutras - and it is indeed very comprehensive. It is set up almost like a textbook, and I think it is a book I will hold onto though right now it feels like too big a bite for me. :eek: Yet, it may be just right for someone else.
Hope that was helpful. I will keep popping into Wiki to see what is new! Feel free to drop a note or e-mail anytime.
Namaste.
Kristen/SeekingLight
Hi Kristen,
Thanks so much for the overview of these books. You have motivated me to buy Desikachar’s book as it has been on my list for awhile. I have not read Nischala Joy Devi’s book but will add that to the list too. I have met her and was very impressed with her approachable nature and deep insight into yoga.
I look forward to connecting again soon on the yoga circuit
meditation is impossible without asana and concentration . so u can start by asana and pranayam.
Nimal, I find this statement (above) bit one sided. I personally started with meditation years before I did any asana or pranayama, and I had extremely deep meditations then already without the help of asana or pranayama.
In the West many people do meditation without doing yoga simply because it suits them better due to their body types. In South Africa anyway most Europeans as well as Africans are heavy in their physical composition so yoga is not always suitable to them, but meditation is.
So must I say no to them when they just want to do meditation because they can’t do asana and pranayama?
Here is an article that tells how I got into meditation. You can see that everyone will have their own unique story. It also shows that psychologists know about this exerience that people are trying to get from it. They have researched it. See this site Finding Happiness.
Yes…everyone has their own unique story.
I’ve only been meditating since November, two months after starting classes. Nobody mentioned how to do it, and I wasn’t reading anything about it, but I just decided to give it a try. I wasn’t sure how to sit, or for how long, or what I was supposed to think about. But, time passed and I practiced more. Now I can sit absolutely still for 30 minutes every night. And I don’t even swallow! And I’m perfectly comfortable. I miss it if I skip it and notice on the crazier days, I can sit longer. I like that things always seem to be happening (on the inside) even though it looks like (from the outside) that you’re not doing anything at all. I’ve watched my thoughts flickering in and out, and have trained my mind not to linger there. I’ve dealt with numb legs and twitches and jerks, and have felt energy moving. I notice that my hearing seems extra “sensitive” (or something) and figure that might be me simply being (finally) mindful of things around me. I’ve been trying mantras lately, but find it too “mechanical,” so my mind wanders. I need to get the hang of focused concentration. All these years of painting have given me the ability to focus for an extended period of time on a fixed object, but it’s not coming easy in meditation. I guess I find reciting mantras more boring than painting and so now I assume I’ll need to learn to sit with boredom. All of these discoveries - whatever they are - continually surprise me but keep me going.
Now asanas are a different story. Never having been a physical person and barely even aware there’s a body attached to my head, this part of my practice is lagging far behind. Yesterday in class, I was feeling all proud of myself because I was holding a balance pose (don’t even know which one I was doing), but as soon as I started to come out of it, I toppled over. I laughed out loud - at my pompous self. The teacher said I had just created a new pose…oh well…a lot to learn…
hi Pandara ,i agree to what you have to say , " I find this statement (above) bit one sided. I personally started with meditation years before I did any asana or pranayama, and I had extremely deep meditations then already without the help of asana or pranayama."
but i am a strict follower of ashtang path , and i dont want to try my own meathods.
[quote=moth;9240]Yes…everyone has their own unique story.
Now I can sit absolutely still for 30 minutes every night. And I don’t even swallow! And I’m perfectly comfortable. I’ve been trying mantras lately, but find it too “mechanical,” so my mind wanders. I need to get the hang of focused concentration.
The teacher said I had just created a new pose…oh well…a lot to learn…[/quote]
do some research on trakta and start doing it , this will help you.
u need to sit still for 4 hrs at a strecth , until u achive this you should maintain chastity . Do all this ONLY IF U WILL CONTINUE YOGA ALL YOUR LIFE AND NOT LEAVE IT… after this comes pranayam .
As long as the posture is comfortable u dont need not change it . but make sure that ur spine is erect.
[FONT=Arial]I appreciate your advice lucastp, but…[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial]What is trakta? Can’t find a definition anywhere. And…In another thread, I was all worried that I have to give up something as unimportant as chocolate so I don’t think maintaining my chastity is going to happen. Too late. Also, while I think I might like to increase my meditation time to maybe an hour, sitting for 4 hours is never going to happen either. Too busy.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial]But…I guess I could try and keep an open mind.:eek:[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial]Thanks anyway.[/FONT]
I think lucastp meant to type [B]tratak[/B], which means “fixed gaze” in Sanskrit. This is used both as a meditation technique and as an Ayurvedic shatkarma (cleanse) for your eyes. If you are interested, you can see any copy of the Hatha Pradipika for the details on this.
Cheers,
It is not about quantity (so many minutes or hours), but quality of the meditation. 
[quote=Pandara;8722]Hi All,
… But then, my own teacher always said and I experienced it now again in India as well, you never meditate, what we mostly do is concentration, meditation is something that will happen to you when you are ready. Are we ready? …[/quote]
This is very perceptive and prolly quite accurate. In not a very broad range of reading, one can see the vast expanse of what ‘mediation’ is considered to be, by those held in high regard in different disciplines.
“concentration”, “meditation”, “mindfulness”, “focus” all symantically lead to some confusion of reference. A confusion of words under which we all have to suffer
ALong the way, most of us will develop our reference based on what we ‘assimilate’ from teachers, writers, our own experience. So mediation and its purpose becomes a very personal thing, as it rightfully is. I’m sure some will take dissent with that notion - but then you’ll just have to do my meditation for me.
More importantly, if we take our lead from yoga in general; not every yoga practice will find us ‘in the moment’, doing our asanas at our zenith of awareness and ability. Each practice may be varied like a terrain of a country landscape. And yet we are prompted to accept our practice for what it happens to be, at the moment, without judgement, without disapointment.
IIn that vein, if we bring ‘expectation’ to mediation, that expectation quickly pre-empts and blocks the path of experiencing in the moment. Setting parameters of ‘how’, ‘how long’, ‘why’ quickly funnels one down a narrow restrictive and less fruitful path - not what could be an expansive universe.
I say, seize the moment, by being open, even if its only for a few dozen breaths. Learn the things that help let your barriers fall, rather than build.
Accept that each journey into your meditative self is different and each will have a different mix of concentration, mindfulness, focus and therefore, realization.
It really is all good… if you can let it be
namaste
[quote=cyclezen;9297]
I say, seize the moment, by being open, even if its only for a few dozen breaths. Learn the things that help let your barriers fall, rather than build.
Accept that each journey into your meditative self is different and each will have a different mix of concentration, mindfulness, focus and therefore, realization. It really is all good… if you can let it be
namaste[/quote]
Cheers to this Cyclezen!
Thanks for adding Cyclezen, I hear what you say.
[quote=moth;9264][FONT=Arial]I appreciate your advice lucastp, but…[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial] I don?t think maintaining my chastity is going to happen. Too late. Also, while I think I might like to increase my meditation time to maybe an hour, sitting for 4 hours is never going to happen either. Too busy.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial].[/FONT][/quote]
hi,
i understand that u r too busy, u can still try the yama and niyama, the 2 limbs of yoga ,
YAMA: [B]Ahimsa[/B] (non-voilence) ,[B]Satya /B ,[B]Asteya[/B] (Non-stealing),[B]Brahmacharya /B
,[B]Aparigraha[/B] (Neutralizing the desire to acquire and hoard wealth),
NIYAMA: sauca: cleanliness , Santosha: contentment. Tapas: austerity. Svadhyaya: self-study or study of spiritual scriptures. Ishvarapranidhana: self-surrender.
U DONT NEED TO PERFORM ALL OF THIS. just do what ever is possible for you. if u do all of this , ull end up being a saint.
to add to what i have stated above , if you can become a pure veg, that would be great .
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