Why study yoga philosophy? What about history? As I argue in an article for Yoga Magazine (January 2024 edition), it's important to see how things change – and to acknowledge our own adaptations. To quote the article: "no ancient text teaches sequences of postures. Instead, they offer many different options, and few apply to modern life without a bit of reinterpreting. Teachers often do that without even realising, then source their new ideas to Patañjali – the influential author of the Yoga Sūtra – creating confusion..." Read on for tips on how to do things differently!
An article for Dipika, the magazine of Iyengar Yoga London, addressing the question “Why study philosophy?” This makes most sense if it’s combined with history – exploring what's practised and why, and how things change. Yoga was originally a meditative state that involved sitting still. The ultimate goal was avoiding rebirth through ascetic detachment. New methods and objectives have evolved in the meantime, but modern forms of yoga can still be connected to older traditions – which is where the philosophy comes in… Find out more at truthofyoga.com.
What’s the ultimate goal of yoga? How many of us strive to avoid rebirth, as originally taught? If priorities have changed, what does freedom mean now? I think it’s important to ask these questions. Unless we acknowledge that traditional texts might have different objectives, it’s tempting to assume that they say what we think. The most striking example is the Yoga Sutra, which is generally seen as the blueprint for practice, despite teaching ways of renouncing the world. There seems little point pretending we can follow ancient teachings to the letter. So what sets us free?
This article was published in the journal Tarka. It includes some excerpts from my book, The Truth of Yoga. The theme of the issue is death, and I explore its connections to yoga philosophy – from transcending the mind and the body to attaining liberation. Here's how it starts: "Death plays a pivotal role in the history of yoga—the original objective of practice was ending rebirth…” While practices have changed in the intervening centuries, one constant remains: “Whatever the framework behind liberation, it depends on reappraising the meaning of death.”
On the occasion of International Yoga Day 2021, I’m sharing some excerpts from The Truth of Yoga. Their focus is yoga and politics. Whatever the merits of acknowledging yoga as India's gift to the world, this message has political objectives. That's increasingly common in globalised yoga, with various agendas now at play. Some of these issues are discussed in The Truth of Yoga, from campaigns against injustice to questions of cultural appropriation and decolonisation. One of those chapters is entitled “Power Yoga” and included here…
The academic study of yoga is subtly at odds with its practical objectives. Intellectual gymnastics are clearly a block to the ultimate goal of transcending the mind. Although many scholars perform a great service—translating texts and explaining their history—this is largely detached from applying their teachings. Scholarship and practice are rarely combined. Even those who do both tend to highlight the former, while keeping the latter a private matter. It might inform their research, but not how they present it. They mainly write for each other, not yoga practitioners.
The best-known parts of the yogic body are often the most misunderstood. Chakras have become a general shorthand for subtle anatomy, transcending distinctions between the mental and physical realms. One of the biggest contributions of Tantra to physical yoga is to channel awareness for transformation. Regardless of whether chakras exist in a dissected corpse, they are brought into being through visualization. As a result, they have powerful effects, but this is not quite the same as the logic of workshops that teach how to “cleanse” them…
This essay was inspired by the question “what is yoga?” Texts describe the answer differently, so generalisations are often misleading, but one common theme across yogic traditions is inward focus. As a result, the basic aim is self-inquiry. Ironically, defenders of traditional yoga – as well as its critics – tend to focus on what other people do instead, imposing norms through definitions of yoga. Drawing on quotations from traditional texts, the essay argues that censuring others in the name of authenticity is therefore the epitome of “unyogic” conduct.
The Gorakshashataka – or “Hundred Verses of Goraksha” – is one of the earliest texts to teach the physical methods of hatha yoga. Among the text’s innovations are dynamic ways of controlling the breath such as ujjayi, whose rasping sound is widely heard in modern classes. Less often taught today are such esoteric methods as sarasvatichalana, by which the coiled serpent goddess Kundalini is roused from her slumber and made to ascend the practitioner’s spine. A recent reading with James Mallinson at SOAS included the verses that teach this technique.
I recently had the pleasure of interviewing Ranju Roy and Dave Charlton, who have written a book about practical engagement with yoga philosophy (which I recommend). Their approach to the Yoga Sutra is a refreshing combination of accessible and scholarly, as we discuss on their podcast. Although the text has the ultimate aim of renouncing the world, they show how its underlying psychology can also be applied in daily life - improving our relationships with each other and ourselves.
It can be hard to express liberating insights without sounding banal. Perhaps mindful of the limits of words, some of the earliest teachings on oneness say it is conveyed by a single syllable. Chanting Om is said to teach the meaning of all of the Upanishads. This message is meant to be realised, not discussed, but some interpretive guidance is helpful. The first author to offer it as a philosophy was Gaudapada, whose verses - or Karika - on the Mandukya Upanishad laid the foundations of Advaita Vedanta, a widely influential system of ideas.
Control of the breath - or pranayama - is one of the earliest recorded forms of yogic practice. It was described by the Buddha, and in Vedic Upanishads, which describe how it helps to train the mind. The ultimate aim of manipulating breathing is to eliminate obstacles to getting absorbed in meditation. In contrast to the modern fixation on bodily postures, the defining practice in ancient texts is pranayama.
As you may be aware, the best-known text about yoga philosophy has little to say about modern yoga. But what if someone told you that Patanjali's sutras weren't even a practice guide, because they only existed to be chanted by priests? This is what happened on a recent course with Michel Angot, the latest charismatic teacher to use the Yoga Sutra to promote other ideas: in his case, the importance of Brahmins and their role in oral transmission of sacred teachings.
In which Hamish Hendry, a certified Ashtanga teacher, talks about putting yoga theory into practice. Pushpam, his new magazine, aims to help students do this. The latest issue, on the Bhagavad Gita, has just been published. It features essays on philosophy and personal experience, some practical guidance, conversations with teachers and even a recipe. Oh, and a free origami Ganesh.
Modern yoga seems synonymous with postures, yet very few of them are described in ancient texts. So where did they come from and what are they for? And how does one practice authentically? Try sitting and holding an arm above your head for several decades. That's the essence of original yoga in ascetic traditions. This got combined in the medieval era with esoteric techniques from Tantric sects. Modern styles are a hybrid of exercise, wellness and threads from the distant past...
I make a few huffing-and-puffing contributions to this week's Something Understood, discussing yoga and demonstrating pranayama breathing. The programme, entitled "Breath, You Invisible Poem", was broadcast this morning on Radio 4. It features readings from Rilke, Haruki Murakami and Maurice Merleau-Ponty, among others. There's also music from Maria Callas and Nick Cave, plus a haka by New Zealand's All Blacks - and Sanskrit read by me.
Modern yoga is synonymous with postures. Hardly any of these are described in ancient texts. They get performed for a mix of contradictory reasons, from working out (and showing off the results) to quests for internal transformation. The latter are in keeping with tradition. Physical practice began with ascetics, whose austerities had esoteric rationales. They got combined in the 20th century with health and fitness. Disentangling who does what, let alone why they do it, became more complicated.
The Iyengar style of yoga is precise. It lines up the body to still the mind and access insight. It's renowned for strictness and control. Its founder, B.K.S. Iyengar, was bullied by his guru. He passed this fierceness on to students via his family. Their teaching is often dogmatic: it seeks obedience in the name of liberation. It's helped me a lot, but I find it stifling in some ways. I've learned to combine it with other techniques. No approach to yoga works for everyone; to be devoted means exploring for oneself.
Practitioners and scholars can see the world through different lenses, which are challenging to reconcile. We cannot observe what another perceives, just what they say about it, or the neural activity it entails. The experience of insight amounts to: "I do not think, therefore it is." And yet precisely what it is, we cannot say. Academics still need to engage with first-hand evidence. More subjective research should be inter-subjective, acknowledging fluidity between observers and the observed.
Straddling the Ganges, beneath Himalayan foothills, Rishikesh calls itself "Yoga Capital of the World". As Yoga Journal tells visitors: "your destination is ultimately the Self.” Spending a morning in one of its cafes makes this clear: plenty of tourists are getting absorbed in self-indulgence, along with higher-minded matters (sometimes drug-fuelled). Still, it's a beautiful place, and you can train to teach yoga in less than a month, with no experience. Which isn't to say there aren't good local teachers...
