Atha Yoganusasanam
Now begins the practice of yoga
I love this sutra for many reasons, but primarily, it’s because now happens again and again. Now begins the practice of yoga. Now begins the practice of yoga. Now begins the practice of yoga! Over and over again. It is such a simple and forgiving philosophy. Every moment is a chance to practice yoga; a state of balance, union, and peace, which is our natural state. We get to try again and again because as humans we often send ourselves into disequilibrium.
One of my favorite definitions of Yoga is that Yoga is the pause between action and reaction. The pace of life and our own human nature often result in skipping over the moment between action and reaction. The pause is the space where we can make a conscious choice.
As my yoga practice has progressed, I am becoming more skilled at remembering to pause, and to pause for longer and longer. I am still endlessly refining this skill to be able to access it more easily and in increasingly uncomfortable situations. I still feel like a beginner, and just because I notice the moment of consciousness doesn’t always mean that I make a choice that I am happy with. Already the new practice becomes making the choice that moves me towards peace. Peace with the present situation and its accompanying sensations, peaceful thoughts, peace with my environment, and peace with the world and people around me.
I love the first sutra because it suggests the grace and patience required to live in a constant state of Yoga. Now, now, and now, moment by moment. Every moment is an opportunity to release the patterns of the past and the expectations of the future. Every moment is a chance to step into our greatest selves. We get to start over and over again regardless of past choices, both those that led us towards light and those that led us away from light. If we fall into habits or make choices that deplete our vitality, we have again another opportunity. If we have chosen peaceful options in the past, we get to choose it again now. The practice is continuous. Now is our chance to thrive. Now is our chance to belly laugh until we are sore. Now is our chance to sing, and love, and dance, and study, and connect.
The practice of yoga is in the present: in our current choices, our current breath patterns, and a opportunity to practice being our best selves and stoking the light within. The practice of yoga is our state of mind when we study, practice, work, play, love, and laugh. It is the state of mind now.
Yoga invites us to sit comfortably with random thoughts, feelings, sensations, words, and actions; both those that are vitalizing and those that are demoralizing. Now we can we be engrossed in what we are doing. In this moment we can interact with the world free from our past, expectations, judgments, fears, and limitations. Just as much as it is valuable to notice the moment between action and reaction with others, we need to practice the pause with ourselves. In order to succeed, we must be present in the moments between our actions and our own self judgments. Before we feel proud or ashamed we must allow ourselves the grace, compassion, and encouragement to be ok with the process over and over again no matter how many times it takes to move past each particular obstacle. There is no rush. There is another hurdle on the horizon providing a height and lightness to which to aspire, each bringing us closer to a constant state of Yoga. The state of Now. Right now we may be fluttering in and out of a state of Yoga, but now begins again.
Now begins the practice of yoga.
Atha Yoganusasanam
