Light On Yoga, BKS Iyengar

General Notes

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Foreword: Yoga unlocks capabilities that are otherwise inaccessible. Most of our attitudes have physical counterparts in the body. 

 

Tenacity is gained in practicing yoga postures, which helps both mentally and physically.

 

Goal is to describe as simply as possible asanas and pranayamas.

 

Yoga is to join, attach, or yoke. Also union or communion.

 

Bhagavad Gita says yoga is deliverance from contract with pain and sorrow.

 

Don’t let the fruits of action be your motive. Work in the name of the lord, abandoning selfish decrees. 

 

When senses are stilled, when the mind is at rest, when the intellect wavers not, only then do we reach the highest state. Restless mind is redirected to productive channels.

 

Yoga is a communion with Brahman.

 

The mind controls the activities.

 

Feeble seekers should only be given Mantra yoga. A prayer or thought to be repeated with full understanding of its meaning.

 

The senses are superior to the object of desire.

 

 

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Yamas:

 

Ahimsa: to love, not just not harm; violence is a state of mind, not a diet, people take to violence to protect their interests. It arrives out of fear, weakness, ignorance, or restlessness.

 

Remember every other creature has the right to live as much as you. 

 

The yogi opposes wrongdoing but not the wrongdoer.

 

Abhaya, freedom from fear, goes along with ahimsa, as does akrodha, freedom from anger. 

 

The yogi knows that he is different from his body. He is stern with himself over his faults but gentle with others.
 

Satya: Truth is god and god is truth. Truth cleanses the yogi. Malice towards none and charity towards all.

Asteya: to adore the lord.

Brahmacharya: sees divinity in all. Engrossed in the sacred. One develops a fund of vitality and energy—it is the battery that sparks the torch of wisdom.

Aparigraha: free from hoarding.  Make life as simple as possible.

 

 

 

 

Niyama

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Saucha: Purity of body. Pranayama cleanses and aerates the lungs. Impurities of the mind are washed via bhakti/adoration. 

 

Food gives strengths. Avoid sour, bitter, salty, pungent, burning, stale, tasteless, heavy, and unclean foods. Eat only for sustenance.

Santosa: Feels lack of nothing. Naturally content. This gives an unsurpassable bliss.
 

Tapas: three types: body (kayika), speech (vachika), and mind (manasika)
 

Svadhyaya: self-study.
 

Isvara pranidhana: dedication to the lord. Mere physical strength without bhakti is lethal. Soul feels fullness (purnata) when it faces the lord.

 

Asana: pleasant posture that produces mental equilibrium and prevents fickleness of the mind. Reduces fatigue and sooths the nerves. Gives control over the mind. 

 

The soul is not subject to birth and death. 

 

The body is for your service to fellow man—it is not your soul’s property.

 

Parana is the part of the individual (jivatma) that is a part of the cosmic breath of the Universal Spirit (Paramatma). 

 

Regulating the breath tempers the mind and your spirit is calmed.

 

Emotional excitement affects the rate of breathing.

 

Final mental state is niruddha where the mind (manas), intellect (buddhi), and ego (ahamkara) are all restrained. No sense of me or I.

 

AUM stands for Tat Twam Asti and realization of divinity within yourself.

 

Samadhi: person in this state is fully conscious and altered. No sense of ‘I’ or ‘me.’ The mind can only be expressed as a profound silence. Consciousness and joy am I, and Bliss in dissolution.

 

 

 

 

Prayama detailed description

 

 

It is very dangerous. Do not learn without a guru.
 

Bowls must be emptied first to ensure bandhas. Must be clean.
 

Before sunrise or after sunset are the best times.
 

Recommend at least 15 minutes a day. Same time and same place, with same postures.
 

No strain in face. Tongue should be passive. Ribs expanded both forward and sideways.

 

Perspiration and trembling will decrease with time.
 

Head to collar bone on chest.
 

Keep eyes closed throughout.
 

Left arm kept straight. Back resting on left knee.
 

Right arm bent at elbow and hand regulates the nose.

 

Must wait 1 hour after pranaya to practice asanas.
 

Must do pranayama within 15 minutes of asanas.
 

Do no practice when exhausted.

 

Always shavasana 5-10 minutes after any practice.

 

All three bandhas must be engaged in kumbhaka.
 

Pranayama leads to longevity.
 

Look within! The source of happiness is within.

 

Without bandhas pranayama is lethal.
 

Without Jalandhara pressure is felt on heart and you can become dizzy.
 

Mula should be done when there is retention after inhale.
 

Need a guru to master bandhas.

 

Several specific Panayamas are also listed. Again, buy the book to get the most out of it!

 

 

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Instructions

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Control the mind via the breath.

 

God is within. Keep him in harmony with yourself.

Constant practice is essential. Not just reading.

God is within, do not look heavenward.

 

Do not seek to master pranayama too quickly. Better not to do alone. Prana can only be brought under control slowly. 

 

Empty the mind via the exhale. Inhale, I am the spirit. Sustenance of the mind in the kumbhaka/retention.

 

 

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Lists

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5 classes of chitta vrtti which create pain and pleasure:

 

1. Pramana (standard or ideal)

2. Viparyaya (mistaken view)

3. Vikalpa (imagination)

4. Nidra (sleep)

5. Smrti (memory)

 

4 causes of pain (klesa):

 

1. Avidya (ignorance)

2. Raga (attachment)

3. Dvesa (aversion)

4. Abhinivesa (love of life)

 

Must reduce: craving for sensory objects, laziness, lack of goals, lack of ability to concentrate, and sense of self-importance to be happy.

 

Prana Vaya: 5 directions of wind:

1. Parana (moves in the regional of the heart)

2. Apana (moves in the lower abdomen and controls elimination)

3. Samana (strikes gastric fires)

4. Udana (controls intake of food and breath)

5. Vyana (distributes the energy across the body).

Three Guna: good quality, activity, and the dark activity.

 

 

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Gurus and Yogis

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He who has his mind is a Raja Yogi. Raja = king.

 

The yogi uses all of his resources—physical, emotional, mental, or moral—to relieve the suffering of others.

 

Gurus can remove many obstacles for one’s study. Two way street—they must help you but you must also respect them. 

 

Simply listening to your guru does not allow the wisdom to be absorbed.

 

Yogi does not renounce action.

 

Yogi prefers the good to the pleasant.

 

Dhyana: mind takes the shape of an object (like water the shape of its container). When you concentrate uninterrupted, you get to dhyana (meditation). There is no feeling other than supreme bliss. Like a streak of lightning the yogi sees light that shines beyond earth and heaven. He becomes light onto himself and others.

 

He has a balanced, serene, and tranquil mind. He is a symbol of humility.

 

Detailed pictures and descriptions are provided of all the Asanas. I highly recommend yogis buy this book to get it. 

 

He also offers a few tips—no undue strain in facial muscles, ears, and eyes. Keep eyes closed only when perfect in an asana. Nostril breathing only. When you have mastered an asana there is no pain or discomfort. In all the breaths there is the same universal spirit. Chest is fully expanded to help the breathing.