WHAT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT POSE IN YOGA? PART ONE

Most who attempt to answer this question ,if based on their specific routines,methods, concepts & theories, would be understandably reluctant to assign any onepose or stance or asana this status. Still an attempt to lessen the many hundreds, actually thousands, of such(which include all the seemingly possible variations) has been done and is still being done to creat specific routines of brevity, for extremely busy Americans and others,especially those who cannot or will not enter ashrams found in India and elsewhere...

ARE YOU A 'YOGI'? (WHAT IS A YOGI? PART TWO)

'ARE YOU A YOGI/" is a question I now ask all who take 'yoga' lessons of any variety and flavor, or 'special mixture' for 'American Palates' and especially of those heading up, directing, etc. 'yoga activities' and 'practices' especially classes,etc. I will not record any answers that I receive or have received for now, but only point out that claimants for the title of 'YOGI' or 'YOGINI' or those who aspire for such a title, should know what it means and of what it is all about, based on the experience of THE WAY OF THE YOGA (THE WAY OF THE YOGI). This is especially true for those who embark on the path of teaching such. The popular consensus about yoga is that it is a series of health promoting physical exercises that everyone can do and should do, if possible and time permits, and they can afford such. Consequently, the commercial, if not educational, aspects of yoga as a 'health enterprise' or an alternative to other systems of exercise and 'physical culture' et al, has become more evident in recent years.

WHAT IS A YOGI? PART ONE

During my sophomore English class in high school we were assigned to present a topic following the format of such talks to be given on a subject we were to choose. I decided to talk about YOGA and as we had to state the topic beforehand in class, one of my classmates, a girl I remember,exclaimed,"Oh,yogis are people who stand on their heads!" I'd seen a recent movie, comedy, which involved 'wrestling' matches of the usual type seen in such, that had been showing not too long before and which some of my classmates,probably this same girl, had seen in the local movie house.... However, my interest in yoga did not arise form that movie as I had been aware of yoga since childhood in various ways, mostly through reading and listening to certain radio programs. In fact, I had read what few books concerning yoga and related topics that were in the Fiske Free Library in Claremont where I attended Stevens High School. But the main and specific reading source for me at the time, was a section on yoga in a large, heavy volume of a Home Medical Book of various remedies,etc. that belonged to my grandparents and which I still have. This large volume had some photos of the 'yogi' practitioner doing mostly breathing exercises....he was very popular at one time and did them in a business suit....he also wrote books on 'mental science' and the like.... I answered or defined the question,'WHAT IS A YOGI?' by answering this way, 'A YOGI IS A PERSON WHO DOES YOGA.' Then I defined yoga, if I recal as coming from the word, 'yoke' and from there demonstrated three or four breathing exercises and arm stretches as I knew them and understood them at the time. Everyone agreed that I really knew my subject and from that point on, I was expected to do or give unuusal talks whenever class speeches or presentations were to be held. I must say, however, that this topic of yoga was probably my best one compared to any of the others I ever gave that school year. So, the two answers to thsi question are still valid: A YOGI IS SOMEONE WHO DOES OR PRACTICES YOGA, AND A YOGI IS SOMEONE WHO STANDS ON HIS OR HER HEAD! These 'definitiions'are most sufficient for ordinary minds to grasp and accept, though, in all fairness, they will fail to satisfy 'die-hard' yoga enthusiasts or those with pretense to being 'yogis'.

BEFORE YOU ASK...

I do not 'teach' yoga, I learn Yoga, and if you like, I will learn yoga with you. I do not teach any martial arts, I learn martial arts, and,if you like, I will learn martiala rts with you. But though I will learn some things with you does not mean I will seek you out. You must seek me, find me, learn from me at your own expense-which means money, effort, and suffering sacrifices. There are no contraints-no restrictions other than thsoe you impose on yourself and others... What,if anything, you learn with me as we learn together, is yours and yours entirely, as I lay no claim to any of it...it is your responsibility, your problem, your effort, however miniminal, your sacrifice however little sweat is raised...your pain how ever excruciating it may be and the AIM, if any, is one you have to forumulate for yourself, if you in learning with me, can REMEMBER YOURSELF.....

A RECENT EXPERIENCE IN A YOGA CLASS I ATTENDED

Recently I dropped in on a Yoga Class for 'beginners' of all sorts, but mostly mostly women(I was the second male in the class but did not participate,preferring to observe,but which made me actuely aware of things). The 'instructress',younger than myself(I am 74 as of this writing)but not, as is said,'a tender spring chicken' 'SELF-PERFORMED' her routine and the 'beginners' imitated as best they could what she did and listened to her suggestive,hypnotic voice in the partially darkened room as she covered a number of areas, none of which were defined or fully explained but merely tossed out,here and there. She rang some cymbals adn later struck a Tibetan Singing Bowl at the class conclusion. She also interjected a few words on 'CHINESE MEDICINE' and gave a sort of 'QIGONG" methodwhich made me realize that her mention of this had no real bearing on 'yoga' which she was demonstrating but a pretense to knowledge she might not possibly have,but had only read about. The 'yoga poses' and routine I do not fault,but only criticize the way she presented them and how she ignored the students for the most part except for when she got up off her spread,plastic mat and went around to a few,but not all,to 'adjust' which was very limited,which told me she was not aware of concerned with anyone actually to the extent of really teaching them.

GREAT SYSTEMS OF YOGA

Great systems of YOGA exist but they are not to be found in store front studios,health spas or clubs or mixed martial arts dojos and seen easily on DVD's or read at lelisure in New Age Books that proliferate so easily these days-though perhaps a few 'gems' may shine here and there. It is not merely sincerity and honesty that is important for yoga practice but UNDERSTANDING. This is often lacking in its full meaning in both the instructors and the students,though both may well be able to utilized the jargon and do many complex,rubbery stretches of various kinds.

SADHAKA & YOGI

SADHAKA is the CORRECT TERM for those who practice or attempt to practice YOGA-WHICH MAY RESULT IN ONE BECOMING A YOGI or YOGIN, as NOT EVERYONE WHO TRIES OR DOES YOGIC/YOGA PRACTICES OR EXERCISES EMERGES AS A 'YOGI'....let alone a swami or mahatma....contrary to much fantastic popular belief or conceptions.... The modern, contemporary notion that one is a 'yogi' by virtue of mere exercise has been fostered by well-meaning,trendy advocates along economic lines to partially offset the notion(s) that yoga is strictly 'Hindu" or 'religious' which, of course, it may be looked at from those particular perspectives..... YOGA CAN BE, and has, been looked at from THE OCCULT POINT OF VIEW by both those who are 'yogis' and those who are not....and by those who share the concept of RE-GENERATION of MANKIND or 'spiritual transformation(s)' of mankind...as well as mastery of certain things too numerous to detail or list here at the moment but are well known to readers of yoga books, magazines, and viewers of numerous and varied DVDs many of which blend all kinds of things into a special format that really should require more time to learn,study, and practice than most care to undertake, do, or spend, while they go in a variety of ways that are also somewhat, 'non-productive' or expect overnight results despite suggestions, hints, and warnings etc.... I shall place several books that I have found somewhat useful and also important to those who want to investigate THE WAY OF THE YOGI beyond the certified venues now available on nearly every street corner and byway...even in rural America....and also discuss more on all this....