The Prescription: Part IV
The Lion's Backward Glance: The External Limbs
Om Sri Gurubhyo Namah. Salutations to all the teachers.
आत्मानात्मविवेकः कर्तव्यो बन्धमुक्तये विदुषा।तेनैवानन्दी भवति स्वं विज्ञाय सच्चिदानन्दम्॥AatmaAnaatmaVivekah kartavyo bandhaMuktaye vidushaaTenaEvaAAnandee bhavati svam vijnaaya SatChidAanandamIn order to be free from bondage, The Wise One must discriminate (ie. vivek) between the Self and the non-self.
By this alone does [the Wise One] become fulfilled, knowing themselves as [none other than] Existence-Consciousness-Bliss.- Adi Shankaracharya, Vivekachudamani 152
Trying to separate sand from sugar by hand is an extremely difficult task. However, ants are able to do this easily.
This ability to distinguish between one thing and another is called vivek, and is the basis for any skill.
For example, sommeliers know how to distinguish between one wine and another, while others cannot. Painters can distinguish between colours that look identical to the untrained eye. Musicians can distinguish between different chords, modes, or timbres, electrical engineers can distinguish between different types of circuits, gardeners can distinguish between different types of plants and so on.
Whatever your skill, its basis is in the ability to distinguish.
When it comes to Yoga, we are trying to learn how to distinguish between the Self and non-self. Specifically, we confuse the Purusha with its reflection in the sattvic aspect of the buddhi, and the goal of the eight limbs is to gain sufficient vivek to distinguish between the two.
The more subtle the objects, the more refined the sense of vivek needs to be. The more refined the vivek needs to be, the calmer the mind needs to be.
Now, the buddhi is the most subtle of all the 25 Tattvas of the Universe, and so vivek needs to be more refined than is needed to distinguish between wines, circuits, plants, colours, or anything else that we normally deal with in the world. As a result, the mind needs to be tremendously calm.
This is where the eight limbs come in.
Over the past few weeks, we have been recapping the entire system of Yoga through the fourfold method used in traditional Indian medicine to communicate with patients:
Rogah: The Diagnosis
Hetuh: The Etiology, or the Cause
Aarogyam: The Prognosis
Bhaishajyam: The Treatment
The diagnosis is dukkha - the feeling of incompleteness and dissatisfaction in life that happens after we gain the clarity that nothing can truly satisfy our insatiable desire.
The cause of dukkha is the conjunction between the Seer and the Seen. We are fundamentally confused about who or what we are, most often not even stopping to think about it. We sometimes think we are the body, sometimes the mind, sometimes some combination of the two. In Yogic terms, the Purusha has selectively identified itself1 with certain aspects of Prakriti. This confusion is called avidya, and is the fundamental cause of all suffering.
The prognosis is good - there is a way out of suffering, and this state is called Kaivalyam. It is not something to be put on a pedestal and worshipped, or a state reserved for a few special individuals. Rather, Yoga shows us that anyone can free themselves, given sufficient effort.
Finally, the treatment - the prescription - is Yoga.
This is not to say that this particular Yoga (ie. Patanjali’s Raja Yoga) is the only way. More than a method, Yoga is a framework through which we can understand any method to achieve this goal. We find Yoga not only in the particular method of Raja Yoga that we are discussing here, but also in Islam, Judaism, Christianity, Buddhism, Sikhism, Jainism, and all of the other great traditions of the world.
These are all Yoga.
Patanjali’s Raja Yoga, what has been discussed thus far in this newsletter, is simply a systematization - a tool through which we can understand all other systems, and a systematic method of practice through which we can all achieve the thing we are all after - happiness, satisfaction, and the cessation of suffering.
Thus far in our recap, we have covered the purpose of life, the 25 Tattvas, the 5 Bhumis, the classification of all mental activity into the 5 vrittis and 5 kleshas, the nine obstacles to Yoga, as well as the twin foundation of Yoga - abhyaas (practice) and vairaagya (letting go).
Then, last time, we covered the foundational methods of eka-tattva-abhyaas, the stabilizing techniques, the Brahmavihaaras, and Kriya Yoga.
These foundational methods are ways to weaken the kleshas in the mind, calming it down sufficiently to practice the eight-limbed path.
If you are new to Yoga, or if you feel that your mind is restless, these foundational techniques are the best place to begin.
This time, we will continue our singha-avalokana-nyaya - the Lion’s Backward Glance - glancing over the first five of the eight limbs of Yoga.
The Eight Limbs: Ashtaanga Yoga
In the West, Yoga is often presented as a series of complicated physical postures - a method of physical exercise through which we can gain strength and flexibility.
This is problematic for many reasons, but one consequence of this is that it leads people to feel that Yoga isn’t for them.
It is common for people say things like “I’m not good at Yoga”, or “I’m not flexible enough.” Not only is this untrue for Aasana - all bodies are built differently, and Yoga is for all types of bodies - but it also focuses the conversation on Aasana alone, pushing away people who can benefit from Yoga even without any physical practice.
Additionally, a focus on Aasana practice alone can lead to further identification with the body, strengthening the very problem that Yoga sets out to solve.
Having said this, these methods are a part of Aasana practice - the third limb of the eight-limbed method - and are extremely beneficial.
However, Yoga is far, far more than this. The goal of Yoga is not strength or flexibility, but freedom from suffering and Realization of the Self.
How the limbs are structured
Imagine looking out of a car window on a rainy day. In order to see the world outside the window, we must look through both the glass and the raindrops. If we wish to focus on the raindrops rolling down the window, we must, in a sense, let go of what is going on in the outside world. It is not like we do something special to let go of it, rather, we just bring our attention to the raindrops.
We can even go one level further, and focus on the window itself. In doing so, we automatically let go of both the goings-on in the outside world, as well as the raindrops rolling down the window. We are vaguely aware of the two external layers, but our attention is primarily on the window.
In this example, there were three layers - the outside world, the raindrops rolling down the window, and the window itself. One can imagine a similar exercise with four, five, or even more layers. This is how the eight limbs of Yoga work.
The eight limbs start from the most external, or gross, aspects of our being, and systematically move inwards once the external layer has been sufficiently stabilized, just like moving in one layer at a time when looking through the car window on a rainy day. They are:
Yama (यम): External observances
Niyama (नियम): Personal conduct
Aasana (आसन): Posture
Praanaayaam (प्राणायाम): Lengthening the Praana
Pratyaahaar (प्रत्याहार): Sense withdrawal
Dhaaranaa (धारणा): Concentration
Dhyaan (ध्यान): Meditation
Samaadhi (समाधि): Meditative absorption
The first 5 limbs are the external limbs, and the last three are known as the internal limbs. In today’s article, we will recap the external limbs, and next time we will dive deeper, into the internal limbs.
Yama: External observances
The Yamas are five practices that help us to stabilize our interactions with the external world so that they are no longer a distraction to the mind. They read a lot like commandments or moral injunctions, but this is not their purpose. There are no diktats in Yoga. Rather, they are ways in which we can weaken the apparent boundary between “self” and “other” helping us to achieve a state of mental calm.
Like many of the foundational techniques, they are daily life practices that allow the Yogi to use their everyday activities as opportunities to practice Yoga.
There are five Yamas, but they are, essentially, all an extension of the first one:
Satya (सत्य): Truthfulness (including speaking at the right time, speaking to the benefit of others, speaking less, speaking for understanding, and speaking lovingly)
Brahmacharya (ब्रह्मचर्य): Non-indulgence
Aparigraha (अपरिग्रह): Non-ownership
P: What should one do in case of a conflict between the Yamas?
Jogi: Prioritize non-violence. All the other Yamas are simply ways to explain non-violence.
Each of these Yamas is to be practiced not only through the actions of our bodies, but also in words and, eventually, in thought.
This is the first limb, and by far the most important.
These are fundamental to the practice of Yoga - without these, progress will be extremely slow. With these, progress accelerates tremendously.
The Yamas are so essential to Yoga that they are called the mahaavrat - the great vow. There are no exceptions to this practice. That is, they are to be observed regardless of the individual, place, time, or circumstance.
Click on each of the Yamas above to read about each of them in more detail.
Niyama: Personal conduct
The next layer of distraction for the mind is all the things we need to do in our daily lives. When we sit down to meditate, if we carefully notice our thoughts, we will find that thoughts about what we need to do after we get up can be fairly dominant. In order to remove this layer of thought, the Yogi can make sure to systematically practice the Niyamas - both in daily life as well as during the seated practice.
The five Niyamas are:
Svaadhyaay (स्वाध्याय): Self-study
Ishvarpranidhaan (ईश्वरप्रणिधान): Self-surrender (here and here)
You may notice that the last three Niyamas are the same as the three components of Kriya Yoga. This is an example of how Yoga builds on itself.
Click on each of the Niyamas to learn more about them in more detail.
Pratipakshabhaavanaa: Classifying and counteracting “negative” thoughts
Once we have gotten sufficiently familiar with the Yamas and Niyamas, we can use this framework as a way to classify and counteract thoughts which push us in the direction of violating them.
With practice, we can learn to catch these thoughts - which we colloquially refer to as “negative” thoughts - before they turn into words or actions. This happens systematically. First, we catch ourselves in the act - for example, we may notice that we violated the Yama of satya by speaking badly about someone else after we already said something about them. Over time, we can start to notice that we are about to say something, and stop ourselves before we speak. Eventually, we can start to notice before we even think it.
The method to do this is called Pratipakshabhaavanaa - the cultivation of opposing thoughts. You can find more on it here:
Aasana: Posture
The next layer of distraction is the body. We unconsciously put effort into our muscles, even when we are not using them. This manifests as a tightness - called sankocha - which eventually becomes habitual.
You can notice this unconscious tightness right now, perhaps in your eyebrows, your jaw, or your shoulders.
Aasana is defined as a stable and comfortable seat, where the effort (or tension) has been completely released, and the mind can be absorbed in infinity. By releasing all tension, and allowing the physical body to be completely at rest, the mind is free to go beyond the body and dive further inward.
P: Wait a second, what about all the postures? Isn’t that a part of Yoga?
The Yoga Sutras do not mention any of the postures that we see in Yoga studios today. However, some postures are mentioned in the traditional commentaries.
Additionally, there are several later texts (fourteenth century onwards) such as the Hatha Yoga Pradipika, the Goraksha Shataka, and the Garuda Purana, which describe a number of the physical postures and techniques that one may see at a Yoga studio today.
This type of Yoga is known as Hatha Yoga - literally the Yoga of force - wherein the goal is to Realize the Self by awakening the Kundalini - a hidden force that resides at the base of the spinal column - and forcing it to rise up the central channel (known as the sushumna), thus forcing an awakening.
However, even in the texts on Hatha Yoga, it is made clear that the purpose of Hatha Yoga is Raja Yoga (ie. the path of meditation that we are discussing here).
P: So should I practice these postures or not?
Jogi: The postures are helpful to increase awareness of the body, and to increase strength and flexibility to the Yogi can sit in meditation for long periods of time without getting distracted by various aches and pains. They also help to keep disease away - the first of the nine obstacles. However, do not get attached to the postures - remember that they are only a step along the way. Yoga is far more than physical postures.
The main goal of Aasana practice within the context of Raja Yoga is to find a posture in which you can sit for an extended period of time without even the slightest movement.
To read more about Aasana practice within the context of Raja Yoga, take a look at the articles below:
Praanaayaam: Lengthening the Praana
If you are reading this, you are, most likely, alive.
The body by itself does not give life. Rather, it is the functioning of the various systems in the body that give life.
This “functioning”, in Yoga, is known as Praana, and can be seen as a force which modifies itself in different ways.
Praana is often translated as “breath”, but it is far more than that. Breath is only one type of modification of the same underlying force. Other modifications include digestion, circulation, excretion, speech, blinking, burping, and so on. Each of these modifications is grouped into a subtype of Praana, based on how it is experienced.
The five main Praanas are:
Praana: Inhalation
Apaana: Exhalation + Excretion
Samaana: Digestion + Assimilation of nutrients + Retention of breath
Vyaana: Circulation + Nervous system + Anything that pervades the whole body
Udaana: Blinking + Walking + Grasping + Speaking + Burping
There are also 5 subsidiary Praanas, known as Upapraanas. Notice, there is some overlap with the first five:
Koorma: Blinking
Krikaara: Hunger + Thirst + Sneezing + Coughing
Devadatta: Sleep + Yawning
Naaga: Hiccups + Burping
Dhananjaya: Lingers immediately after death
Praanaayaam is often presented as a series of breathing exercises. However, it is far more than that. The goal of Praanaayaam is to lengthen the Praana and gain a degree of control over it through repeated practice. Once this happens, and the Praana has become extremely subtle, we are able to let it go - with vairaagya - and move further inward.
The Yoga Sutra does not directly discuss the various techniques of Praanaayaam. Most of these techniques are found in later texts on Hatha Yoga. Rather, the Yoga Sutra focuses on the fundamentals of Praanaayaam that are applicable to all techniques - whether established or created by the individual practitioner.
For those new to Praanaayaam, it is suggested to start with established techniques before trying to create your own practice. However, ultimately, you can use the fundamentals to find what works for you.
The first thing in Praanayaam is Deergha Shvaasam - literally “big breath.” This involves using the three locations of the breath - the belly, the ribs, and the upper chest - in sequence to maximize the amount of air you inhale and exhale from the body, using the diaphragm.
Once you have this down, you can move on to the various techniques.
Fundamentally, every possible technique within the scope of Pranaayaam involves playing around with the three modifications and the three different measurements. These are nine variables that you can use to create your own techniques and measure your progress.
The three modifications are:
Antara: In
Baahya: Out
Sthambha: Hold/Pause
The three measurements are:
Desh: Space/Place
Kaal: Time
Sankhya: Count
To make this clear, one example variation of these variables is inhale for four, hold for sixteen, exhale for eight, hold for eight.
These techniques are some of the most powerful in all of Yoga in that they have an immediate effect on the mind. We can use Praanayaam to regulate our nervous system at will, calming ourselves down or increasing our energy just by changing how we breathe.
In this newsletter, we spent a significant amount of time on the various techniques, with detailed instructions on how to practice them. You can click the links below to learn the techniques.
We began by discussing one primary technique, which functions both as a Praanayaam as well as a cleansing technique. This is known as naadi shodhana (नाडी शोधन), and is a form of alternate nostril breathing.
We then went over six cleansing techniques, to be practised prior to Praanaayaam. These are methods of cleaning out the body and the naadis - the channels in the subtle body that carry Praana from one place to another.
They are called the shatkarmas (षट्कर्म, pronounced shut-kuhr-muh):
Then, we discussed how varying the ratio of the inhale versus the exhale can produce different effects in the mind and body. The two types of breathing here are:
Samavritti (समवृत्तिः): Same-length movement (this generally has a calming or balancing effect)
Vishamavritti (विषमवृत्तिः): Odd-length movement (longer inhalations generate energy, while longer exhalations create a sense of calm)
We then went over the eight Kumbhakas (कुम्भकाः).
These are the eight traditional techniques of Praanaayaam, and are meant to generate a deeper awareness of the movement of the underlying Praana. However, they also have very practical psychophysical effects such as balancing, calming, or energising the body and mind. The eight Kumbhakas are:
Suryabheda (सूर्यभेदः): The Secret of the Sun (an energizing technique)
Ujjaayi (उज्जायी): The Victorious Breath (a calming technique)
Seetkaari (सीत्कारी): The Hissing Breath (a cooling technique, effects may vary)
Sheetali (शीतली): The Cooling Breath (another cooling technique, effects may vary)
Bhastrikaa (भस्त्रिका): The Bellows Breath (a heating technique)
Bhraamari (भ्रामरी): The Bee Breath (a calming and balancing technique)
Moorchhaa (मूर्च्छा): The Swooning Breath (a tranquilizing technique)
Plaavini (प्लाविनी): The Gulping Breath (don’t try this at home!)
Finally, we discussed four non-traditional techniques which can have calming or energizing effects, depending on the ratios between inhalations and exhalations:
Anulom (अनुलोम): Partially closed nostrils on the exhalation
Pratilom (प्रतिलोम): Partially closed nostrils on the inhalation
Anulom-vilom (अनुलोम विलोम): Alternate nostril breathing with counts and breath-holds
Not all of these techniques need to be practised. Experiment with them and see what works best for you.
The goal is not to practice all of them, but to try them and see what works best for you. Not all techniques work for everyone, so - as with all of Yoga - it is a matter of experimentation.
Try each technique for at least a few days in a row to notice the effects on your mind. Then, once you know what works best for you, select three or four techniques and add them to your daily practice prior to meditation, to prepare the mind to go deeper.
After a long, repeated practice of Praanaayaam, one may find that there is a dissolution of the distinction between what we normally refer to as voluntary and involuntary actions. If you feel this way, read the article here for more on this topic:
Pratyaahaar: Sense withdrawal
Once thoughts about external interactions, personal conduct, the body, and the-life functions are stabilized, the next layer of distraction is the indriyas - the five sense organs and the five organs of action.
The mind is easily distracted by sounds, sights, tastes, smells, and textures, both in our daily lives as well as during meditation. This is especially the case when the sensations are coloured with a klesha - the mind is automatically pulled to a conversation about you (a sound coloured with asmitaa), or a bad smell (a smell coloured with dvesha).
In addition to the senses, the mind is also easily distracted by the organs of action - excretion, procreation, movement, grasping, and speech.
The indriyas are not limited to their physical organs (e.g. the physical ears or the physical mouth), but include their mental counterparts (e.g. you can hear or speak within the mind itself).
Given this, Pratyaahaar is the withdrawal of all sense contact - beyond just physically cutting yourself off from sensations, it is the mental withdrawal of attention from these capacities.
Pratyaahaar can begin as a daily life practice, where we are mindful about what we ingest through our senses, in much the same way as we try not to eat foods that will make us sick. What we ingest through the senses ends up as thought patterns, after all!
Eventually, however, Pratyahaar is a seated practice, with a few different techniques and levels. The goal is to be able to withdraw attention from the senses just like a turtle withdraws its limbs, so that attention is no longer drawn outwards, and can so be directed inwards.
There are various methods of Pratyahaar, including the popular technique of observing sensations without judgement.
These techniques are not meditation in themselves, but rather ways to release the mind from the hold of sense objects, so that the Yogi’s attention can turn towards meditation.
Eventually, the mind is sufficiently free of the hold of sense objects so as to be able to see sensations as groupings of momentary arisings of sense contacts.
That is, rather than seeing a red flower, you can see a series of momentary “pixels”, or pratyayas of sense contacts, and notice how the mind groups these pratyayas into the singular “object” you normally referred to as a flower, based on your past conditioning.
Pratyaahaar has five levels in increasing degrees of subtlety:
Non-addiction to sense objects, rather than addiction
Experiencing only non-prohibited sense objects, rather than all objects
Experiencing only those sense objects that you decided to enjoy, rather than anything that comes your way
Experience all sense objects without attachment or aversion, rather than with the layer of conditioning
Ceasing contact with all sense objects, altogether.
These are different degrees of practice, depending on the maturity of the practitioner’s mind, and level of practice.
Eventually, with practice and letting go - the twin foundations of Yoga - the muscle of Pratyaahaar becomes strong enough that the Yogi can withdraw their mind from their senses at will. While normally, attention scatters itself through the various senses like a leaky pipe, through Pratyaahaar, the attention can be focused only where the Yogi wants it to go, thus allowing for meditation to deepen.
TL;DR
Over the past several weeks, we have been reviewing everything that we have covered thus far in this series. This is our singha-avalokana-nyaaya - the Lion’s Backward Glance. Just as a lion majestically stops to look back over the distance it has traversed, we are now looking back upon the understanding we have gained through the past 109 weeks of this newsletter.
Thus far, we have gone over the initial framing of Yoga:
We then discussed a few frameworks which are helpful throughout the journey:
The twin foundation of Yoga: Practice and Letting Go
Next, we began a discussion on the techniques, starting with the foundational methods:
Eka-tattva-abhyaas: Focusing on one thing at a time
Six stabilizing techniques: Spot-fixes to calm the mind
The Brahmavihaaras: Four attitudes to calm the mind regardless of external circumstance
Kriya Yoga: The method to weaken the kleshas, and build willpower and discipline
This time, we began our discussion on the eight limbs, specifically focusing on the five external limbs of Yoga.
Next time, we will begin our review of the internal limbs - Dhaaranaa (concentration), Dhyaan (meditation), and Samaadhi (absorption).
Next time: The Prescription: Part V
More accurately, a portion of Prakriti has appropriated the awareness of the Purusha, and created within itself an idea of “self”, which it then gives particular importance to.