Many things in life transcend our ability to express them. Poetry, art, and music were created to give expression to the spiritual, mystical, and elusive forces that make the world go round. While practicing yoga poses, the idea of “connecting to the infinite” is just one of those things. It is a concept in which time and space have no relativity, and words often fail to describe its true meaning. When we connect to the infinite, we achieve a state of absolute completeness, an experience that yoga masters have described for centuries in the hopes that all practitioners may someday receive the grace of its blessing. It is the experience where a harmony occurs with our emotions and thoughts and everything directly relates to the spark of consciousness that exists within each of us and throughout the cosmos. Connecting to the infinite is a state of continued inner peace regardless of external circumstances, a feeling of complete and total love.
One of the nice things about yoga is that it contains no religious dogma and allows for anyone who practices it to follow their individual spiritual beliefs. In this way, the religious person might understand his or her connection to the infinite as a process of becoming one with God, while an atheist might call it transcending the human ego. Yoga can be adapted to a variety of belief systems while remaining equally effective and transformative. One of the reasons for yoga’s popularity is that it is extremely adaptable and can be practiced alongside other belief systems. In the end, yoga provides a path to quieting the mind so that we all can feel the innate stillness and joy of being alive. Swami Aranya, the great yogic scholar and practitioner, describes the idea of connecting to the infinite (ananta-samapatti) in the following way: “My body has become like a void dissolving itself in infinite space and I am like the wide expanse of the sky.”
One of the foundational texts on yoga is The Yoga Sutras written around the second century bce by the great Indian sage Patanjali. The Yoga Sutras provides a theoretical and philosophical basis for yoga as well as clarifies many important esoteric concepts. It is a highly influential book on yoga philosophy and practice, and as you feel inspired, I encourage you to read for yourself. Like Swami Aranya, The Yoga Sutras also describes the experience and purpose of yoga, especially the poses, in terms of the infinite: “By relaxation of effort and meditation on the infinite, postures (asanas) are perfected.” The goal of a pose is no different from the goal of spiritual life: to put you in touch with the larger universe or reality.
You may have already had an experience of connecting to the infinite, as there are many paths to it, most of which are spontaneous. It may have happened one day when you were walking in the woods, swimming in the ocean, or witnessing the growth of a child. It could have happened in a church, in a cave, or at the top of a mountain. It could even have happened while you were sitting in your favorite chair next to a roaring fire. There is no predicting when or how grace falls upon us; it comes in a flash and then disappears again. This book offers you the tools to proactively work toward that place of connection in your life, rather than waiting for it to spontaneously happen.
Honor the Process of Discovery:
The Middle Path
The lessons in this book will empower you to discover your true Self through yoga poses. It is my goal to give you new perspectives and enough information for personal reflection in the process to keep you interested for many years to come. In modern yoga, there seems to be an overemphasis on external form. If you do this pose precisely, get into the position, and breathe, then you’re doing everything just fine. If you aren’t flexible enough, use some props and you can get it close to perfect. With minimal teaching on the psychological and spiritual aspects of yoga, students may struggle with the meaning of yoga—which develops and deepens if they are able to commit to it—and are instead left on their own to possibly discover higher states of consciousness along the way. This makes learning yoga more difficult, time consuming, and ultimately less effective.
The Pure Heart of Yoga follows a middle path that offers direction and guidance as to both the physical and emotional aspects of yoga practice, but no definitive answers as to how you “should” go about finding emotional and spiritual freedom. I highlight yoga practices that can help you connect with universal consciousness, but your personal effort and exploration are fundamental to the process. In guiding you through the subtle aspects of yoga while also nurturing your freedom to choose the path that is right for you, this book sets you on a journey that is at once full of the joy of discovery and a profound personal transformational experience. The Pure Heart of Yoga honors both the correct physical form of a yoga pose and the attentiveness to an accompanying internal state of mind.
Determine Your Level of Experience
Everyone can benefit from yoga. The universality of yoga poses allows practitioners to adapt it to their specific experience and fitness level, allowing the practice to progress through an entire lifetime. Most people think that you have to be extremely flexible to do yoga, yet very few students come to yoga able to touch their toes. It’s not the level of flexibility that determines a person’s level in yoga. It’s his or her capacity for patience, dedication, and concentration. After a certain point, the body’s development reaches a maximum level, but transformation of the mind continues. Over time, yoga relates to the mind far more than it does to the body. To know how to best use this material, which is intended for everyone, you will need to honestly assess your level of experience with intentional yoga.
Beginner: Starts with the first yoga class. The beginner is learning how to develop proper intention and how one’s attitude relates to physical movement. This stage focuses on the basics of proper physical alignment and how to coordinate breathing with movement. While all yoga practitioners are concentrating on these aspects of a yoga practice, the beginner is learning how to integrate intention, attitude, physical alignment, and breath for the first time.
Intermediate: Intermediate students begin to integrate the lessons learned from yoga poses into their daily life and probably also dabble with yoga poses at home, habitually becoming aware of their breathing on a daily basis. The positive effects of yoga start to influence their intention and attitude in daily affairs and they work to maintain a state of relaxation and equanimity throughout their day. Intermediate students continue to refine their experience of yoga poses, deeply discovering their subtle aspects, as highlighted in Part II of this book.
Advanced: Advanced students have started to master the techniques and practices described in this book while developing new levels of internal sensitivity. They practice and refine all of the foundational practices in this book and work with Steps Eight through Ten at a slow and steady pace with the goal of discovering their true Self. They are living their yoga in every aspect of their life while maintaining enthusiasm in their daily practice. And, of course, truly advanced students realize that in many ways, they will always be beginners.
Yoga Instructor: Yoga teachers can be at the level of intermediate to advanced practitioners, depending on the level of their learning and teaching experience. Regarding this book, I suggest yoga teachers review the beginner-level material in order to communicate most effectively with beginner students. Teachers must recognize the vastness of yoga and how much there is to learn. Yoga teachers remain committed (and inspired) throughout their lifetime to understanding new aspects of themselves and discovering new depths of yoga every day.
Every student and practitioner is different, and timing varies as to how long it takes a beginner to become an intermediate and an intermediate to become advanced. Assessing your level is important for your own growth and expectations, but people at any level can benefit from the steps outlined here. Try not to get caught up with the labels, instead working to create a program that allows you to have a disciplined and consistent practice. Bring an open beginner’s mind to each yoga pose session and let the learning continue to unfold.
The Ten Step Approach to Mastering Yoga Poses
The foundation of The Pure Heart of Yoga is based on the following ten steps that I have experienced and fine-tuned throughout my career in yoga:
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one |
Intention (Samkalpa) |
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two |
Attitude (Bhava) |
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three |
Posture (Asana) |
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four |
Breathing (Pranayama) |
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five |
Archetypes (Purvaja) |
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six |
Energy Centers (Chakras) |
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seven |
Concentration (Dharana) |
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eight |
Locks (Bandhas) and Seals (Mudras) |
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nine |
Psychological Blocks (Klesas) |
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ten |
Emotional Transformation (Bhavana) |
Treat this material as a gateway to experiencing the richness that yoga has to offer rather than as a strict, methodological program. Working through the steps is not a timed, set program; you will move back and forth, depending on your own personal challenges and goals. While the steps do build upon each other, don’t get caught up in “checking off” the steps to get to the “finish.” Even experienced yogis at times come back to the beginning steps in their yoga practice. The steps are a template that will grow with you over time as certain steps become more relevant at different times in your life than others. Be careful not to be in a rush to experience all the benefits these ten steps have to offer. Enjoy the process and honor your patience, and in doing so, you will notice shifts in your practice in the months and years to come.
Go to www.pureheartofyoga.com right now to download your free copy of the workbook so you can begin the transformation while you read the book.
Part I: Foundational Practices
Steps One through Four explore the aspects of Intention, Attitude, Posture, and Breathing. These four steps form the foundation of yoga practice and should be integrated into every yoga pose session.
Step One: Intention. Setting an intention to practice yoga immediately connects your mind and body to the practice in one seamless unit. From beginners to advanced students, having a meaningful purpose for practicing yoga is very important. Intention keeps you rooted in your yoga practice through time.
Step Two: Attitude. As you probably already know, yoga relates to your life before the first pose is formed. Closely aligned with your intention for doing yoga, an awareness of your attitude helps you connect with the nonphysical essence of yoga pose practice. The ideas in Step Two will improve your yoga pose experience and can be applied to
daily life.
Step Three: Posture. This step clearly explains the physical alignment of yoga poses. I recommend attending a structured yoga class when possible to have an experienced yoga teacher further assist you with physical alignment.
Step Four: Breathing. Learning how to breathe very deeply is one of the primary benefits of yoga practice. The instant stress-reducing benefits of deep breathing satisfy those who like to experience immediate progress and also have many other powerful effects on the mind, body, and spirit.
Part II: Inner Yoga
At different times in my yoga teaching career, as well as in my own personal practice, I have felt bored. I love yoga, yet after a few years, even I started to daydream. Recently, this kind of boredom has been termed “yoga burnout.” Part II of this book reveals many perspectives that will keep your yoga pose practice fresh and full of new personal discoveries for many years to come.
Step Five: Archetypes. This step connects yoga poses to nature and explains the story of each yoga pose by examining where it comes from. You can develop a deeper perspective on yoga by discovering the qualities that are inherent in the creative history of the pose.
Step Six: Energy Centers. This section explores the mind-body connection of the chakra system (energy centers). Step Six offers clear language and straightforward definitions to explain the holistic experience of yoga poses. While the information is simple, it is a vital component in learning how to deepen your awareness of the relationship between your body and mind.
Step Seven: Concentration. There are many distractions related to our five senses, mainly sight and sound. We explore these distractions and concentrate on select body points while in poses and notice how concentration affects your experience of the poses.
Step Eight: Energy Seals and Physical Locks. This section delves into the power of symbolic energy seals (mudras) and physical locks (bandhas) on the body to deepen your awareness of the body’s energy. This step will help you understand the subtle energy bodies and how to consciously understand the flow of energy throughout your body.
Part III: Self-Exploration and Psychology
Steps Nine and Ten, concerning psychological blocks (klesas) and emotional transformation (bhavana), are placed near the end of the book but are suited for all levels of students. The power and simplicity of yoga psychology is summarized in these two chapters. Practice these concepts in your daily life, and you will learn ways to transform stress and more easily manage your daily life.
Part IV: Practices and Poses
Part IV begins with a general discussion of the logistics of yoga practice. While this section shows you how to integrate the information covered in the ten steps, you may wish to review this section first, especially if you are at the beginning of your yoga path.
As you read the ten steps in this book, you will see that I have also included a list of suggested yoga poses that correspond to the lessons learned in that step. All of these poses are described and illustrated in the catalog of twenty-three poses at the end of the book. As I mentioned before, this book is intended to be a gateway that allows you to understand and experience the greater riches that the full repertoire of poses has to offer. In other words, as you experience the relationship between these ten steps and twenty-three poses, you will begin to be able to apply everything you have learned in this book to every yoga class and pose that you encounter.
The complete study of yoga includes theory and practice. This book communicates the theory in simple ways that allow for immediate practice. The program begins by asking you to devise a personal intention and the ends with poses for you to practice. To make the theory understandable, reflection exercises are provided at the ends of several chapters. Throughout this book, I use three case studies to assist you with applying the theories we discuss in each step of the book. These stories serve as practical reminders of how to apply the information to better understand your own life. As you read, try to see how the yoga principles I outline relate to the real-life examples. The people I describe are Mary, a mother of two; Steve, a businessman; and Laura, a young professional. Each step highlights a case study with the three characters integrating the exercises and ideas into their yoga practice. These case studies are used throughout the text to show how theory can relate to practice. I also offer personal stories and tips from my studies in India and from twenty years of teaching and training yoga instructors. Scattered throughout the chapters, you will find “Connecting to the Poses” features, offering tips and ideas for studying and practicing yoga poses. Each chapter concludes with a “Connecting to the Infinite” section, recapping the current step for personal transformation and looking forward to the next steps.
At times in the text, meeting with an instructor is recommended, as learning yoga on your own can be a daunting task. If you don’t have a yoga teacher nearby, feel free to contact us with your questions at www
.pureheartofyoga.com.
As you are practicing, remember that each individual performs yoga poses differently, as every one of us has a different body with varying abilities and limitations. Experiment with personal variations and allow the experience of the pose to intuitively come from within yourself, rather than becoming preoccupied with forming a prescribed shape with your body. Also, there are many different yoga traditions and each of one of them has a series of poses that may not be included in this book. If you come from one of these traditions, remember that the ten steps discussed in this book are universal and can be applied to any yoga pose. Cultivate an open mind and sense of curiosity in experiencing yoga and you will greatly benefit from all that it has to offer.