What [Guruji] said [is] that it is believed [that in the beginning] we all practiced yoga. He said, "One doesn't know one's Self. One has to know. There's no choice. One has to know one's Self if one [is] to really be happy. And, for this one should have yoga. Knowing one's Self is called jñānam. Jñānam without yoga is not jñānam. And yoga without jñānam also is useless. Jñānam means Self knowledge. Therefore, yogaḥ without jñānam, jñānam without yoga [neither] work ..?.. And this, yoga, aṣṭāṅgayoga (yama, niyama, āsana, prāṇāyāma, pratyāhara, dhāraṇā, dhyāna, samādhi), and in this aṣṭāṅgayoga, the first four are important for your life. The second half are called pratyāhāra, dhāraṇā, dhyāna, samādhi. The first four - yama, niyama, āsana, prāṇāyāma - are to make ourselves healthy and to prepare for that knowedge. Therefore, yoga becomes a step for jñānam; it is very important."
The practice of Hatha Yoga, [Sri Vatsa Ramaswami] claims Krishnamacharya (KM) told him, should eventually lead to Bhakti Yoga. When no other thing is important, than to see, worship and experience the love of the Divine in everything that exists and everything we do.
The final peak of yogic awareness Ramaswami claims can only be reached in high stages of meditation, but for that to actually happen, there is plenty of work to do in order to remove many of the obstructing layers that prevents us from seeing it.
The most important aspect of the practice of Yoga he consider to be Dhyana, the uninterrupted flow of one-pointedness that gives the mind the focus it needs to experience its inert nature. But for this to happen we need proper practice, then it will all gradually be revealed to us.
When we talk further about the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali he is quick to admit that he shares the view of his great mentor that "Ishvara Pranidhaanaad vaa" (Yoga may also arise from a total surrender to God) is the easiest way to experience the true meaning of Yoga and refer to how KM made a paraphrase of the sutra and simply called it "Ishwara Eva" (Only God [is Yoga]).
… After, deathing (you are dying) one day, what can you do? Your wife is deathing (also dying) … Is your wife coming with you? Is your name (fame) coming with you? Why? What is the use. That is why you put it, your mind, with your Guru’s feet. Every day pray. You take practice. Is given (by) God good nature and good habits. That is real. Do you understand? …
“It began with a line of plastic bags ghosting the surface, followed by an ugly tangle of junk: nets and ropes and bottles, motor-oil jugs and cracked bath toys, a mangled tarp. Tires. A traffic cone. Moore could not believe his eyes. Out here in this desolate place, the water was a stew of plastic crap. It was as though someone had taken the pristine seascape of his youth and swapped it for a landfill.”
“A stiff body has a good potential for learning Yoga. A flexible body is usually more caught up in Bhoga.”
On being a mother: “It took me ten years to learn the asanas well, then two children to forget about it, but the Yogic experience I got from that was more than any asana could ever give me.”
“She is the steady link in the Jois family that looks after her father as well as her son, keeps them in line and makes sure they behave properly.”
According to The Hindu: It was a nostalgic reunion for two well-known Yoga exponents... Iyengar visited Mysore on Tuesday [26 July] to meet his childhood friend K. Pattabhi Jois, who celebrated his 90th birthday recently... [They] savoured memories of the days when they learnt the art from Krishnamacharya... They also drew comparison between ... the amount of time they spent learning Yoga before they started teaching it. They regretted that today, teachers with only two years of training handle yoga classes.
You may have heard that garlic is contraindicated for yoga practice & meditation and thought, “but garlic is so good for you.” Read Reuters report on the newest vigorous scientific testing of this herb. Conclusion: Trust ancient yogic knowledge.
