An idea of Yoga
Finding that point within us where everything is stable and everything can simply exist, without attachment, without tearing, without projecting into a future or being rooted in the past, in a sharing where everything is offered in great freedom, leaving only the simple joy of our existence vibrating and lighting up in the present moment.
The Yoga tradition speaks of 3 goals
1/ Bahya Lakshya: the goal of well-being, the "beginner's" goal
Rather like the leisure sailor in the world of sailing and boats, here we find many classes, training courses in India as everywhere else, and teachers who bring well-being to a stressed world.
Posture and "breathing" are the practices at this level, in "dynamic yoga" styles aimed mainly at the body.
It is a practice that can bring well-being, and in that sense it is positive. It can also be a good stepping stone towards a deeper practice for those who wish to go further.
This Yoga is the source of a very big business worldwide, and there are, sadly, all kinds of excesses far removed from even the simplest tradition. You have to be original to ride the latest trend, and very often the practitioner at this level knows nothing of the reality of the open sea...
2/ Madhyama Lakshya: mastery of the mind The mind (manas) is a central element in our architecture. It brings the 3 states of "consciousness" (waking, dream sleep, deep sleep), the memory of our history and feelings. It is also the master of the senses (jnanendriyas) and the master of the means of action (karmendriyas). So mastering it allows us to master all of this...
Pranayama, whose aim is the absence of breath (Kevala kumbhaka), plays a leading role at this stage.
We enter the world of energy and master it.
3/ Antarika Lakshya, the inner or spiritual goal
The Goddess (shakti) is fundamentally what allows us to meet the spirit and its light.
Yoga then becomes slow: postures, pranayamas, mudras, pujas and concentrations are held for a long time, and we enter the state of meditation.
The absence of breath is the small doorway in...
Everything is reintegrated in the depth of the being, where fervour, prayer, devotion and ceremonies reveal the unsuspected possibilities of the spirit, up to Samadhi.
In practice
In the course of Yoga practice, the posture prepares the next step, mastery of the breath (pranayama). It rebalances the energies within us and brings good health to the body. It must sometimes be held for a long time to reveal its secrets and allow us to go deeper within.
The posture should be seen as a complete practice!
It must include pranayama, specific contractions (bandhas), visualisations (drishtis), concentrations and sounds. All of this serves a deep and secret science of managing and channelling energy, in order to increase our knowledge and abilities.
Notions of "performance", "aesthetics" or the "perfect posture" must give way to grace and inner silence. The eyes close, and we must no longer see ourselves as a body, a character and its story, but let immensity unfold within us.
Mastering our breath (pranayama) allows us to control our mind and our states of consciousness.
Indeed, each state of consciousness has its own specific breathing, as we can clearly see in sleep, in someone crying, in someone stressed, or in orgasm.
By momentarily stopping the breath, and therefore the mind, our consciousness can open and reveal itself, allowing us to discover our true nature, which is vast, serene and luminous.
The approach to mastering the breath goes through mastery of the body, but above all through the ability to stop our thoughts and find a perfect silence, renewed from moment to moment, and for a long time.
The practice of Yoga brings real well-being into our lives, because we take charge of ourselves and let awareness arise of our physical, psychological, emotional and behavioural troubles so that we can reintegrate them, but above all because we discover the power of the spirit and connect with universality.
With diligent practice, wonderful qualities appear, such as the ability to master and enter stability, calm and openness of heart, to discover our inner architectures (energy, nadis, centres, worlds, Gods...), and to know the states of meditation and samadhi. We also gain considerable energy, which often gives us the feeling of having a very fluid body and a fine perception of everything around us.
Yoga allows us to connect with the present moment, and so step out of the idea of what we think we are. For a while, Yoga lets us step out of our attachments and our identification with the body and with our story, which freeze us into a character with a story, a past and a future.
There, in the present moment, peace and calm appear, the "fact of being" appears and carries us towards fullness and bliss.
But we will have to work on ourselves to be able to find this present moment and to settle into it so as to prolong it.
Yoga is a long journey towards the liberation of our deep nature, there in the present moment.
The path leads to the present moment.
Denis Billo