Saturday 10.30a Intro — Week 12 (May 23, 2009)

Focus: Deep breathing in supported poses. No new students.

Discussion: Samskara literally means “with a mark” and is commonly translated as “imprint.” Malas are impurities, as in malam sarirasya, the “impurities of the body” that are cited in the Patanjali invocation. Our impure thoughts and actions leave imprints. The body stores the physical samskaras; the citta, consciousness, stores the emotional, mental, and intellectual samskaras left by feelings, intentions, and words, etc. These impure imprints result in malam sarirasya, a defective body, and citta-mala, a scattered mind. [PYS IV.5] .

Samskaras multiply like the problems that result from a leaky roof: At first when the roof leaks, we catch the drip with a pan. But eventually, although the pan prevents damage to the floor, the leak may begin to cause mold or destroy the ceiling. Plus, there is the additional responsibility of emptying the pan. In the long run it causes less work and damage to fix the leak at its source.

Similarly, even if we bandage an ankle sprain, it must be correctly rehabbed, else it leaves a samskara that causes secondary samskara problems — in the knee or hip, perhaps.

Likewise, duhkha daurmanasya, sorrow and ill-mindedness, leave their marks in the citta. If these impurities are not washed away, secondary samskaras are formed, then tertiary samskaras based on the secondary ones, and so on.

Just as we repair and remodel our house, so can we remodel, reconstruct, and renew our citta. But, to purify citta, we have to purify our actions first. This is the purpose of .i.astanga yoga;, which leads to knowledge, jnana. [PYS II.28] The process of astanga yoga replaces these impure bhogic samskaras with pure yogic samskaras.

Anga Effect on Citta Yoga Sutra
yama prevents citta from gravitating towards bhoga II.29-31, II.35-39

niyama disciplines the citta II.32-34, II.40-45

asana purifies citta and eradicates duality II.46-48

pranayama energizes and invigorates the citta II.49-53

pratyahara re-channels, controls, and reverses the flow of citta II.54-55

dharana fixes citta on a goal III.1

dhyana propels citta centripetally towards the soul III.2, II.16, 11; I.39, 35; IV.6

samadhi makes the citta translucent, absorbing the rays of the soul III.3

Source: B.K.S. Iyengar, “A Thought on Dhyana”, Astadala Yogamala Vol. 8, Allied Publishers, Mumbai, 2008. P.181


Invocation in Swastikasana

1. Upavistha Konasana

2. Parsva Upavistha Konasana

3. Baddha Konasana

4. Viparita Karani (10 min straight legs)
a. On 3 blankets folded in half widthwise and staggered.

b. Menstrual period: Supta Baddha Konasana.

5. Deep breathing in Viparita Karani (5 min Swastikasana legs - several cycles)
a. Swastikasana legs widens the back waist more than with straight legs.

b. Take the navel back towards the spine and move the breath to the back waist at the first blanket fold.
Patanjali Yoga Sutra II.49 urges gati-vicchedah, to control the erratic movements of the breath. The first stages of pranayama focus on cutting, dividing, and diverting the breath to guide the prana. [See Monday 6.30p Asana I — Week 9 (April 27, 2009)]

c. Slow, smooth inhalation. Slow, smooth exhalation. Only take half of your deep breath to learn how to not overdo.
Take control of labored breathing to stabilize the citta. Involution works backwards, retracing from effect to root cause. Normalize the breath, the effect, by imbuing it with a smooth rhythm to relieve duhkha daurmanasya, sorrow and ill-mindedness. [See PYS I.31: Tuesday 4.30p MS — Week 1 (Mar 3, 2009), and Thursday 6.30p Intro — Week 2 (Mar 12, 2009)]

d. Menstrual period: Deep breathing in Bolster Supta Baddha Konasana. Bolster support of the back chest allows the breath to be more easily felt at the back chest in lieu of the back waist when the blanket supports the pelvis in Viparita Karani.

6. Savasana
a. Blanket beneath head.