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The Philosophy of Yoga
At Susquehanna Yoga, we believe that
understanding and studying the ancient philosophy behind the practice of
Yoga helps our students get the most benefit out of their class time. For
this reason, we include the ‘Philosophy of Yoga’ Lessons in
sequential order in our newsletter. All lessons are also
archived for reference and are
available on this page.
This lesson is primarily instructing a student on how to get to center, or
soul. Yoga is prescriptive - IF you do this, then that will happen.
Yoga teachers sometimes describe to their students how certain poses should
feel, or what happens to their body in a particular posture. But students
must learn to listen to their own body and find their own way.
Classic Yoga instruction takes out the descriptive and is solely
prescriptive, and is therefore the most direct route to the center.
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The Philosophy of Yoga (Yoga
Sutra 1.27)
1.27 Tasya Vacakah Pranavah
God is identified with the sacred syllable aum: He is represented in
aum.
Aum is a sacred mantra and is to be repeated
constantly. It is called praise of the divine and fulfillment of divinity.
Sound is vibration which is at the source of all creation. God is
beyond vibration, but vibration, being the subtlest form of creation, is the
nearest we can get to God in the physical world.
The impersonal essence and source of all being is known as
Brahman, who is within each heart. The student is meant to
concentrate deeply and “hit the target” of the heart with the sound
of aum so that the individual self and the Universal Soul can
become one.
Aum is composed of 3 syllables a, u, m. They are universal and therefore are
the seed (bija) of all words. “A” symbolizes speech, “u” is mind and “m” is
breath of life.
Aum is the everlasting spirit, a symbol of serenity, divinity, majestic
power, omnipotence and universality.
The 3 letters of Aum represent the 3 genders, 3 gunas, 3 aspects of
time (past, present, future) and 3 gurus (the mother, father and preceptor.)
The letters also represent the triad of divinity: Brahma the creator,
Visnu the sustainer and Siva the destroyer.
Aum as a whole stands for the realization that liberates the human spirit
from the confines of body, mind, intellect and ego. By meditating on
aum the student remains steady, pure and faithful. He finds the
presence of the Supreme Spirit within and earns peace.
Paraphrased from:
Light on the Yoga Sutras of Pantanjali
By B.K.S Iyengar |
Philosophy of Yoga Archives:
Invocation Chant
Yoga Sutra 1.13
Yoga Sutra 1.15
Yoga Sutra 1.16
Yoga Sutra 1.17
Yoga Sutra 1.18
Yoga Sutra 1.19
Yoga Sutra 1.21 & 1.22
Yoga Sutra 1.23 - 1.26
Yoga Sutra 1.27
Yoga Sutra 1.28
Yoga Sutra 1.29 & 1.30
Yoga Sutra 1.31
Yoga Sutra 1.33
Yoga Sutra 1.35 & 1.36
Yoga Sutra 1.37
Yoga Sutra 1.39
Yoga Sutra 1.40
Yoga Sutra 1.41 & 1.42
Yoga Sutra 1.43
Yoga Sutra 1.44
Yoga Sutra 1.45
Yoga Sutra 1.46
Yoga Sutra 1.47 - 1.49
Current Yoga Sutra
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