Asanas and prayers

One might say that Asanas are my prayers , but prayer is not an asana, Prayer is a surrendering

to the higher power our body mind and senses and heart and when we do achieve this

which is very arduous but possible, we dont need to worry about asana practice. It is easy to master an asana but surrender is not so easy. Hence we must spend all our energy on the latter.

No hatha yoga for realization.

Hatha yoga cant lead one to realization. Its only a tool on the path. To say this is possible is a distortion of concepts.

Yoga is peace

True yoga is peace in our heart and mind , not in the cells of the body. That is not needed , for

if our head and heart is composed we are undisturbed by the changes in the body. Hence we must try to reduce attachment to the body.

The Middle path

The Middle path is one where we do take care of the body but not excessively

and focus on the divine and make Him the entire object of our life. We do not depend

on yoga for our life but Him. We also make sure that we dont get bogged down by too many details in yoga practice or no details while practising the asanas either.

Asana for quality change

One cannot "do" an asana for a quality change. We need to introspect and for e.g. one is petty & mean see the good in others and try to change. No amount of hatha yoga practices can change such qualities in human kind. The simplest way to evolve is as Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba says: " be good, see good , do good, - this is the way to God". Things could not be made simpler- we dont need hours of back bends or forward bends or setu bandas for such issues. The truth is they do not work that way - which is another issue we will take up later.

Too much detail during hatha yoga practice

Some schools of hatha yoga hardly emphasize details while practicing an asana while others

go to excessive detail. Both are not necessary- there is a middle path as always. Medically, too much detail is not needed for practicing yoga poses. This is a generalized approach- though each pose has instructions which vary, however too much detail is better avoided as it has no good or ill effects on the body.

No hatha yoga for changing our inner qualities

There are no asanas for jealousy, greed, dishonesty, arrogance etc. We have to work from inside,

not from the outside. We have to be clear that whatever the theory that ha and tha get balanced by the practice of hatha yoga, this does not happen in practice. Moreover we cannot practice for qualities of our being, we can only do for the body, which is matter. The amount of time we spend for hatha yoga practice, if we use this for contemplation of God, we will progress faster on the path.

Arduous tasks

Developing the intelligence in the body is not very difficult after some years of yoga practice. But cleansing our heart and mind to reach the top is very difficult and this is more needed than cleansing the body. We need to get insights into our heart and mind - not in the body and its tasks.

Think of God

God Whispers" Do not worry in constantly thinking if GOD is with you.Focus,instead,if you are persisting at every moment to be with HIM.Realize that it is your negligence and ignorance that allows your consciousness to drift away from the cosmic consciousness"

To be with him means to make sure that all actions we do meet with His approval- so we will do the right

things all the time. This is far superior any body culture- in fact there is no comparison- we should not think of the body beyond a limit. For this we need His grace.

Mental Health, physical /physiological health

Mental health- Yamas and Niyamas

Physical/ physiological health - Asanas and Pranayama

Asanas are only physical exercises- but far more sophiscated than the usual. We should refrain

from too much digression on them- they are not spiritual- yamas and niyamas are as they form a basis for life.

Mind and body

When our thoughts are always on God, non stop, even in the midst of our work, in the background

why bother about our body. He will look after us. Body becomes insignificant then, the obsessive need to look after the body becomes trivial, He becomes all important.

God's name is superior to yoga

Let us constantly think of HIM. This is superior to any yoga practice we do. Simple and straightforward. No fuss or pretension.

God knows the way!

The bird with you, the wings with Me;
The foot with you, the way with Me;
The eye with you, the form with Me;
The thing with you, the dream with Me;
The world with you, the heaven with Me;
So are we free, so are we bound;
So we begin and so we end;
You in Me and I in you.
Sri Sathya Sai Baba.

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Let us try to surrender to God- not yoga

Let us try to improve our capacity to surrender to God who is beyond all yoga. He stands as a beacon waiting for us to reach him. The only way we can reach Him is with a pure heart filled with love for all. No role for hatha yoga here. It does not matter if we do asanas or not. We surrender at times and mostly it is a conditional one! To make an unconditional surrender is arduous. Let us use all our energies to achieve this. Sure beats mastering physical poses which mean little when we think of a heart that has opened to Him and feels His love working inside.

We need to work on our mind and its content.

Mastering the body means little. In itself , it may be praiseworthy, but in the larger spectrum

of the universe, we need to delve deep within and this is more difficult than mastering asanas. Whatever the system of yoga that one may follow, asanas are only physical and cannot refine the mind and heart.

Prema yoga and not any other yoga

"There are some who are attracted by various systems or methods like hatha yoga, kriya yoga, and raja yoga which claim to help people realize the Self. None of these can make you realize God. The Prema yoga- discipline of Love alone can lead you to God"- Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba.

The heart devoid of Love is devoid of spirituality. Spirituality is not mastering poses or having a daily practice of poses - however alertly we might do them. The heart needs tendering and this needs removal of our inner blemishes which each one of us need be aware unto oneself.

Peace in the mind is more important than poise in the body.

Peace in the mind is more important than poise in the body. Peace in the body need not be accompanied by peace in the mind as our day to day problems and other issues my tear us apart. But if our mind is at peace , whatever happens in the body will not disturb us. Classical example- Ramana Maharishi. So we need to first control our mind. This is why yamas and niyamas were the first step and not asanas - in the system of Patanjali.

Heart- the temple of the indweller

We may consider our body as a temple and follow hatha yoga but the pure heart is the home of the indwelling God. Hence we need to make sure that we cleanse ourselves in our heart. This is adequate and a more difficult task than mastering asanas.

Spirituality and Asanas

Some of us may be good at standing poses and some at all others. Nevertheless these are not necessary to help us focus on higher levels. Yet keeping our limbs fit and agile and weight under control we need to have our priorities right. We cannot lay claim to being omnipotent while in an asana. God wants our heart, not our bodies. He wants our sincerity, not perfection in the physical. The physical is always prone to problems and hence perfection there is not a sensible approach. Without going overboard, we need to keep our mind always God centered. We need to remember that Lord Krishna has said in the Gita- Higher than the yogi is he who surrenders to Me- he is a maha yogi, So strive O Arjuna to be a maha yogi.

Inner silence is more needed than bodily silence

Hatha Yoga can make the body quiet and one may feel a certain sensitivity. However an "inner silence" brought about by change in our outlook is far superior and long lasting than asana practice. So we must strive for this rather than depend on asanas and pranayama. This requires daily introspection and reflection.

Missed yoga some days? Dont feel bad about it.

Many hard core students and teachers tend to feel guilty if they miss practice. Neither will helath deteriorate if we dont practice yoga for a few days nor are we ensuring bullet proof health by regular practice. We need to remember to move as life takes us and try to do the best we can. Building up resistances inside ourselves for not practicing or for practicing is not so appropriate for our health.

Arm ourselves with faith in God and self confidence

These two steps are enough. The body cells will transform with these qualities if nurtured. In addition if one needs to practice hatha yoga one can do so. But when there is a radical change in our outlook, the body behaves differently too.

Dont get caught in yoga of the body

Yoga aims at mental transformation - not the physical. The physical can be transformed if the mental is changed. Yamas and niyamas are more than adequate for this. Goodness, Goodness more Goodness- thats all we need. Divine life, truthful life, peaceful life.

Instructions on hatha yoga practice

Some practice hatha yoga with too detailed instructions which are not medically needed and some schools teach with no alignment and only breathing during practice of asanas. There is a middle path- minimum and necessary techniques and instructions and breathing needed to execute the asana. Hatha yoga instructions should not become a information overload pathway.

Less instructions in asanas, the better

Medically we do not need too many instructions while attempting an asana. There are a few

basic rules we need to follow- and this ensures perfection. Medically, trying to complicate the doing of the asana achieves little. Keep your practice simple and non- abstract.

Think of God and not the body

We may be able to keep our mind silent , unoscillating while in an asana . This may be good but its far superior to think of God who bestows the benefit of the asana itself! We cannot think of God while in an asana as we need to connect to the body and the mind has to focus. We may say we forget the body while in the asana but that is only to a point in that we initially do with effort and later the asana comes sans effort . This does not mean we can forget the body in the asana. If we do we will fall from the asana- a core degree of connection is needed.

Hatha yoga is only a step

Fantastic inner changes dont happen with asana practice. The moment we change our attitudes life appears different. The only sadhana to be done is in said in a very simple manner " Be good, see good, do good"- Sathya Sai Baba.

Connect with God- nothing else is necessary. He will give all that is needed for us. The gopikas who loved Lord Krishna were approached by Uddhava who wanted to teach them Janana yoga. The gopikas rejected his idea - "we dont want yoga, mantra etc. Give us one simple way to reach Krishna as He is everything to us. We dont want to waste time on yoga" My dear Students Vol 2 by Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba - page 31.

We should have this approach. When the creator is waiting to shower His divine glory on us why should we waste time on asans and pranayama? When the creator is there why should we waste time with other things? We should strive to keep our heart and mind pure- that is enough said. This is more difficult than doing asanas and pranayama. If we focus on Him , He will make sure that we have the health that is necessary.

Sthira sukham asanam

This does not mean ease in the asana alone. We need to have poise inside ourselves. Many a time this yoga sutra is incorrectly understood. Let us put our efforts for inner balance and not outer. The body may be the envelope of the soul but we need to nurture the inner being. Today hatha yoga is a fashion and a diversion for many of us. It is only one step in the path. We need to keep moving to the next step.

Chant the Lord's name!

To asana practitioners, our grammar is yoga- and nothing else. Shankaracharya says in the Bhaja Govindam -O fools , chant the name of the Lord as grammar wont save us in the end!

Keeping consciousness steady in asanas

I can keep my consciousness unwavering in many asanas from start to finish. But this does not get me anywhere as this has nothing to do with transformation or being a better person. Even a gymnast can do this if they want to excel in that art.

It is important that we remove all our inner blemishes. Body can never be made perfect or free of disease. Only God can choose to be that way. Hence we need to focus on surrender. But this is easier said than done- this is more difficult than all paths. Then and only then are we a true devotee of the Lord. Perfecting the body or attempting the same does not lead us to God. The heart has to be pure- that is enough. God only looks at the heart. Not at anything else. If we observe carefully, saints in Indian lore have not got salvation through asana practice.

Do inverted poses balance body mind and spirit?

Body mind and spirit will be balanced if the heart is balanced. This means we do not need to work on inversions- surrender to the Highest power and balance will come. We dont want organic balance with the asanas. We need something deeper than that which only dharana, dhyana and on top of it God's grace can give. So the message to us is to keep the body healthy but focus on God. Time is fleeting and if we spend all energies on the body, its not appropriate. God makes us do yoga and we need to focus on Him.

Hatha yoga is the end- its a stepping stone. How ever much we try to make it divine - it has its limitations. We need to change our quality of the inner being which any organic movement cannot do. We need trikarana shuddhi- integration of thought word and deed. This can be achieved by one and all with God's grace and this does not need asana practice. However we can continue practising asanas to keep our body healthy. We need to see deep within- not inside the body- inside our mind and change our thoughts and outlook in life.