During my first three years of study of yoga I found that many books and teaching methods focus almost exclusively on asanas, or the various physical postures associated with yoga. My research into primary source materials (e.g. the Yoga Sutra and the Bhagavad Gita), however, revealed a much sophisticated and intriguing landscape that encompassed ethics, psychology, physiology and philosophy.
Part of the problem may be that due to its recent commercialization and popularization, yoga has been assimilated into a cultural fitness craze that tends to value appearance over substance, or more specifically, the appearance of the body over the substance of the person. Another part of the problem may lie in our limited ability to access and comprehend cultural material that is foreign to our own intellect and beliefs. And perhaps another part of the problem lies in our limited capacity to creatively apply yoga in a comprehensive and compelling manner directly in the reality of our own life.
Understanding the original intent of yoga as presented through primary sources and extending that understanding into a contemporary and personal practice is the foundation of learning. I believe there is no one method, no one way of teaching and no one way of practicing yoga. Instead, practitioners of yoga are responsible for extending the tradition in a personalized manner. In this sense, yoga is a set of principles, strategies and techniques that are there to be creatively applied to life in a personally relevant manner.
- How can we develop a personal yoga practice that honors ancient principles in a way that informs our own reality?
- How can we apply the insights found in primary sources such as the Yoga Sutra and the Bhagavad Gita in a way that helps to inform our lives in the here and now?
- How can we overcome our own cultural bias in order to be free to explore unfamiliar and perhaps “mystical” sounding ideas in a practical and concrete manner?
- What does a personal yoga practice really look like?
- How can we learn yoga in a comprehensive way?
These are the kinds of explorations that I wish to pursue, share with you, and hopefully receive insight from you here in this weblog.
Namaste (The light in me honours the light in you),
Brian Alger
September 2008
