We’re exited to be getting back to meeting on Thursday April 25th and returning to our discussion of Light on Life! We hope that you’ve had a chance to read the chapter and take some time to reflect on it, the first two chapters, and some of the sutras that you might already be familiar with.
In Chapter 3 of Light on Life, BKS Iyengar moves from the annamaya kosa deeper to the pranamaya kosa. While we’ve previously discussed the practice of pranayama last year, it’s relation to asana, and relation to pratyaraha, here Iyengar relates his personal struggles with the practice and uses it to demonstrate how pranayama bridges the practices of asana and pratyahara.
YS II.49 states, Tasmin sat svasa prasvasyoh gati vicchedah pranayama – pranayama is the regulation of the incoming and outgoing flow of breath with retention. In Light on Life, Iyengar explores the concept of pranayama more fully as “the technique of generating cosmic vital energy.” The practice of pranayama creates an alert mind, where the senses are primed to become further quieted and focused in the practice of pratyahara. Asana controls the body, pranayama clears the mind and pratyahara trains the withdrawal and focusing of the senses inward. Pratyahara is the priming of the mind and senses for the internal and spiritual quests that follow. Asana, pranayama and pratyahara all have a role to play in the path of yoga it transitions from the external bahiranga practices towards the interal antaragna practices – just as the chapters of Light on Life move from the surface of the skin through to the layers of the soul.
The pranamaya kosa is disrupted by the nine antarāyāh (obstacles) of daily life falling into the physical, mental, intellectual, and spiritual categories.
Physical: Vyādhi – disease; Styāna – mental laziness
Mental: Samśaya – lingering doubt; Pramāda – pride; Ālasya – idleness; Avirati sense gratification
Intellectual: Bhrāntidarśana – living in a world of delusion
Spiritual: Anavasthitatvāni – lack of perseverance; Cittaviksepah – oscillating mind causing distraction.
There are four additional antarāyāh that further exacerbate these aforementioned obstacles: duhka – grief; daurmanasya – despair; angamejayatva – unsteadiness of the body; and viksepa śvāsapraśvāsāh – scattered breathing.
The emotional disturbances of lust, pride and obsession, anger hatred, and greed discussed in this chapter all play into these antarāyāh. They can be quelled through discrimination and reasoning (viveka and vicara), practice and detachment (abhysasa and vairagya) and the courage to study one’s self (svadhaya).
When we meet on Thursday, we’ll discuss the antarāyāh and only begin to touch on some of the many sutras that discuss ways to access these remedies for the antarāyāh. Which sutras do you think best address these remedies?
Comment below and/or bring your thoughts to our meeting!
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