… during this way obstacles may also arise…
Is well known that YOGA is a spiritual tradition with thousands of years old. The Vedas say that its origin is APURUSEYA, that is to say: «which does not come from any materially conditioned person and comes from a higher consciousness”. In essence, YOGA is a tool to allow you to reconnect humans with the Divinity.
When Yoga reached the West, it started to separate itself from its original philosophy. A positive fact of this expansion is that has served to reach more people, but unfortunately, as we are saying, losing part of its potential. Yoga is young in the West, we still have a limited vision and we do not know how much higher we can reach with knowledge and proper practice. Therefore, it is important to delve into the traditional teachings of yoga.
For example, in the psychology of Yoga, the sage Patanjali (around year 200 BC) synthesized the YOGA SUTRAS. In this work he names, among other things, the nine distractions (obstacles) that prevent us from advancing on the path of personal development. An applied knowledge, both in practice on the mat and for life in general, since it tells us a lot about ourselves.
Through these SUTRAS (aphorisms) we can understand our character tendencies, what kind of distractions we usually fall into, we can also enter the world of self-knowledge, and to be more real and honest with ourselves. We have at our disposal this tool that brings awareness, we just have to know how to use it. This information has been and continues to be available to all of us since thousands of years:
SUTRA 30.1
1- Illness: deep pain takes away our strength and disturbs all aspects of life. That is why Hatha Yoga induces us to a healthy body and have enough energy to go deeper into more subtle layers.
2- Apathy: “tamasic” quality that is reflected in physical and mental inertia. People with a lot of leisure time, lazy to connect with themselves. Immersed in a false security that the ego lives.
3- Doubt: it is the uncertainty that arises when we go through difficult times and lose faith in life and in our abilities with great ease.
4- Negligence: it is the rush. An act without thinking and without feeling. «The faster we are, the more we stumble.»
5- Fatigue: discouragement. We ran out of strength and «give up in the first round.»
6- Distraction: numerous temptations of the senses produce dispersion and obsessive desire to live only the pleasant part of life.
7-Wrong self-perception: the lack of honesty and criteria leads us to a world of illusions about who and where we are. Living in a false spirituality victim of a pride that is difficult to unmask.
8- Stagnation: the false view of the ego that “we are not evolving” despite we are generating a fertile space for personal growth.
9- Regression: when we are apparently «losing something» and we are tempted to give up and lose what we have achieved. It is the lack of confidence in the process.
Each of the nine concepts can be discussed and studied for hours. I have just wanted to make an outline to open perspectives. As you gain a deeper understanding of Yoga, your practice starts to transform, since you change the concept you have of yourself.
If one of your wishes is to walk on the path of self-knowledge of YOGA and you believe that there are no obstacles, then: either you have been «enlightened» or –more probably- you have not realized what is really happening. The first step to transformation, is to be aware of these obstacles, despite the uncomfortable it may be at the beginning. The important thing to do is to stop to see our «difficulties», to manage them and learn to transcend them. When we can see the obstacles, it is as an opportunity to get to know each other more honestly and not try to self-evade or mask them. This is where the teaching is. In other case, we will only keep reinforcing our self-concept.
I invite you to inquire about the multidimensionality of yoga teachings, which can also be applied and reflected to your life and all of the others aspects of your Being.
«An obstacle in the way is not an obstacle, it is the way itself»
Nora Ávila – Chandra Ibiza
FB: Chandra Ibiza
IG: @chandra_ibiza_nora
+34 653 354 264
chandraibiza@gmail.com
www.chandraibiza.es