Basic Concept of Yoga

Philosophy


Often today, when people hear about yoga philosophy, they
react by saying that yoga is a practice and not a philosophy; and
of course they are completely right.

Yoga is a Practice, a practice that is not just limited in the way
you shape and arrange your body on the mat, but a practice that
extends to the entire way we look at our existence, a life style.

So its important for a practitioner to know and understand the
basic principles that are hidden behind the practice of yoga
poses (asana), otherwise their practice remains a simple
physical exercise (that of course is still a good thing).

The Yoga Philosophy is the map that show the practitioners the
path they are travelling during the yoga practice.

Personally I think that the two most important aspects that a
yoga practitioner should know and understand about yoga are:

1) Patanjalis system of yoga
2) The theory of the five koshas
Patanjali Yoga
One of the most important texts about Yoga is the famous Yoga
Sutra written by Patanjali. Its a document made of four
chapters, where the philosophy of yoga is explained.
Patanjali describes the meaning of Yoga in the second verse of
the first chapter:
yoga chitta vritti nirodaha
This is usually translated as: yoga is the cessation (the
mastering) of the activity of the mind.
In the following verse Patanjali continues to say:
Tada drashtuh svarupe avasthanam.
Translated in English:
At this point the observer rests in his own nature.
Those two verses explain that having full control over mental
activity, its possible to go behind the mind and realize the true
nature, the Self (Atman), the principle that goes behind the Body-
Mind.
How do we do this?
The eight limbs of Yoga (Ashtanga Yoga)
Patanjali explains the method that allows the realization of the
real nature.
This method is called Ashtanga Yoga (the eight limbs of yoga),
not to be confused with the most popular Ashtanga Vinyasa
Yoga of Pattabhi Joys.
The eight limbs are:
1) Yama
2) Niyama
3) Asana
4) Pranayama
5) Prathyahara
6) Dharana
7) Dhyana
8) Samadhi

Yama e Niyama are rules to follow so that we can regulate our
behavior with the others (yama) and with ourselves (nyama).
These rules should not be seen as the Christian
commandments, that if followed lead to heaven and if not lead to
eternal damnation. Yama and Niyama are conditions that allow
our mind to become more satvic more balanced so that the
movement of the mind (chitta vritti) can be easily mastered.
Asana is the comfortable and steady posture that we assume in
order to get a balanced state of mind, useful for the process of
meditation / witnessing / listening.
Pranayama means extension of the prana where prana
indicates the vital energy. The awareness of prana is obtained
through the correct use of the breath, thats why the term
pranayama usually refer to breathing exercises. The breath is
considered to be the bridge between the body and mind.
Pratyahara means withdrawal of the senses, its a prerequisite
to meditation practices, during prathyahara we shift our
awareness from the external to the internal.
Dharana means concentration, where the attention is fixed on an
object, and the perfection of concentration leads to
Dhyana (Meditation) where the attention is fully absorbed by the
object, the perfection of dhyana lead to the state of
Samadhi where the difference between subject, object and
action that connects the two disappears, the self-identification of
the mind ends at this point.
The stages from Yama to Prathiahara (1-5) are known as
bahiranga (external) yoga.
The stages from Dharana to Samadhi (6-8) are known as
antaranga (internal) yoga.
Bhairanga yoga is the prerequisite for antaranga yoga.
The five Koshas
According to Yoga, the individual consciousness is an
expression of the universal consciousness. Basically the
individual consciousness and universal consciousness are one.
The human consciousness is described as folded in five layers
called Kosha around an immovable central point (Atman). The
five layers are called:
Annamaya-kosha
Pranamaya kosha
Manomaya Kosha
Vigyanamaya kosha
Anandamaya kosha

1. Annamaya Kosha (kosha made of food)
As the name suggests, this is the first sheath, the physical body
and all the physiological processes, fed and sustained by food
and water.
2. Pranamaya Kosha (Kosha made of prana)
This sheath is the energetic body, Prana refers to the vital
energy that allows the body to function. According to the tantric
tradition, the pranic energy flow through particular channels
called nadis. According to the yogic scriptures there are 72,000
nadis, among these, the most important are Ida, Pingala and
Sushumna.
3. Manomaya Kosha (Kosha made of mind-thought-
emotion)
Residing within this kosha is the entire mental - emotional
pattern that makes up the personality of an individual. The
feelings, stimulations and reactions to different situations,
thought and actions all come from this kosha. This kosha shows
the way we interact towards the different situations we face in
life.
4. Vijnanamaya Kosha (Kosha of the intellect)
This Kosha is also situated on a mental level, but here we refer
to the intellect. While in manomaya kosha the mind works on a
level of stimulation / response, here it is possible to understand
and discriminate. This is the level of cognition, condition and de-
conditioning of our knowledge and beliefs, at this level we come
across the identification we have with ourselves (ahamkara-ego).
5. Anandamaya Kosha (Kosha made of Bliss)
This is the most internal of the koshas, the first sheath that folds
the Atman, the eternal center of consciousness. Ananda means
bliss, however this bliss is not an emotional / mental experience.
Ananda is the bliss that goes behind the reality perceived by the
mind. Its peace, joy and love independent from any reason. This
bliss is just a sheath that folds the pure consciousness of the
Atman. At one point this experience also fades away in a way
that its possible to experience the center.
Atman is the true Self, the eternal center of consciousness,
never born and never dead.
Atman cannot be described. The realization of the Atman is the
aim of Yoga.
At the beginning of the yoga journey, the attention goes on
annamaya kosha, the physical body. Once we connect with this
sheath its possible to use the breath to connect with pranamaya
kosha, the energy manifested in the body.
The awareness of body, breath and pranic flow absorbs the mind
and the thought reducing the chitta vritti and calming
manomaya kosha. In this way its possible to get in touch with
vijnanamaya kosha increasing our intuitive knowledge and
wisdom.
In this way we go behind the first four kosha and taste the
divine ecstasy of anandamaya kosha.
The final step happens when all the kosha dissolve and we
become absorbed is the Self.