In his book Light on Prānayāma BKS Iyengar says that there are four stages to yoga: commencement, intent endeavour, intimate knowledge and consummation.
As you’re reading this blog, I’m going to assume that we can tick the ‘commencement’ box. And that’s a big tick, as the first step is the hardest step of all.
We all start out with good intentions, but it’s much harder to translate those intentions into consistent action, especially when we have so many pulls on our time and energy.
In fact, the sage Patañjali lists nine obstacles to Yoga: physical illness, apathy, doubting your ability, indifference, burnout, uncontrolled desire, living under illusions, lack of concentration and inability to maintain achievements. And that doesn’t even include, ‘desire to socialise’ or ‘inability to keep eyes open due to lack of sleep’. Basically, there are a lot of hurdles to jump before we even get onto the mat.
So, to give you a boost, I’d like to give you some reasons for staying on the path or re-finding it, because it’s always there waiting for you.
Be Inspired by your Teacher
The ancient tradition of yoga has been reinterpreted for the way we live today, but the basic structure of the way yoga is learnt has not. You, the student, learn from your teacher. That teacher will be more experienced, will see things that you do not, and will have experience of how different bodies can access yoga poses. As Iyengar says:
“The obstacles, trials and tribulations in the path of yoga can be removed to a large extent with the help of a Guru.”
Unlike other forms of exercise, like running or body building, your teacher will guide and correct you, will encourage you and push you when you start to flag. And your teacher will have their own teacher who will do the same for them.
Make use of their experience and energy. That’s what I’m here for and I love my job!
Focus on the Needs of your Body
Once you’ve taken your first steps into yoga you start to get to know your body a bit more – it might be that you need a small tower to sit cross-legged, maybe your shoulders are where your tension gets held – you’ll have become aware of your strengths and weaknesses.
You’ll also have started to work out which poses you feel more comfortable doing, and which ones make you feel like running a mile. You’re starting to form a yogic relationship with your body.
By practising the sequences of poses, our bodies are gradually extended and strengthened. The more we do the poses, the quicker the transformation, but whether you go once a week, or have established a daily practice, any time spent on the mat is time well spent with your body.
Give Up Results
In work, in life, we have become ‘goal’ driven. We are looking forwards, making lists, aiming to achieve our dreams. This is all well and good, but sometimes this preoccupation takes us time-travelling out of the present and into the future.
When we are in a class, wobbling in Warrior 1 (Vῑrabhadrāsana I), we have no choice but to be in the moment, now, pressing down the big toe mound, or straightening the back leg, as without this concentration we flail and fall.
The results of yoga are tangible and real, but just because we can’t sit on the floor in Seated Hero Pose (Vῑrāsana) or get that other foot up in Lotus Pose (Padmāsana), however much we heave, it doesn’t mean we’re failing. Every effort, every inhabited pose is a result.
How Do You Do, Me
The previous two reasons have touched on this one, but it’s worth stating that yoga is as much about the mind as the body.
Some of the poses, such as the backbends, work on opening up the chest, and this opening can leave you feeling vulnerable. By opening up the body, we open up the mind to things that sometimes we’d rather leave hidden, which can be an uncomfortable experience. Many beginners find that this can manifest through tears or giggles.
In Light on Pranayama, Iyengar says that the hardest pose can often be Śavāsana. The frantic mind is forced to be still, which for the doers among us, can feel excruciating. That little itch on our nose becomes a torture as the mind fights to keep up a constant chatter.
But when we allow that jumping bean of a mind to fall still, even for the smallest moment, we open a chink in the door to eternity.
Finding Joy
The eighth limb of yoga is ‘samādhi’ or ‘super-consciousness’. Only the very devoted yogis reach this state in its purest form, but a glimpse of it is available to the humblest and stiffest of practitioners at any point. When do you last remember experiencing joy? It tends to be when we give in to the moment, and that burden of care or stress that we didn’t even know we were carrying drops away, leaving us feeling light and open.
To sum up, B.K.S. Iyengar says:
"In some postures, we lose the sense of duality and we live in peace, in a joy we cannot express in words. And even if we have to fight all our life to find this joy once more, it is worth doing it."