Ashtanga yoga—the intermediate series : mythology, anatomy, and practice

INTRODUCTION

My aim in writing this book is to supply Ashtanga Yoga practitioners and teachers with the information they need to practice the Intermediate Series of this yoga safely and effectively. To this end, I have included extensive descriptions of all the postures that make up this series and in-depth discussions, in Western anatomical terms, of the main themes.

This book also informs the reader of the larger context in which the Intermediate Series and Ashtanga Yoga in general exist, which consists not only of the mythological basis of the Intermediate Series but also the relationship of Ashtanga Yoga to other forms of yoga. It explains the role of asana practice — specifically that of the Intermediate Series — in relation to the spiritual path of the practitioner.

The book is divided into three parts. Part 1 covers the spiritual and mythological foundations of this yoga; part 2 discusses the anatomical and other practical issues of the practice; and part 3 provides a detailed description of the postures of the Intermediate Series. With its varied content, this book will interest not only intermediate practitioners but also those who would like to learn more about Ashtanga Yoga in general and Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga specifically.

Regardless of the use to which you put this book, I encourage you to consult my first book, Ashtanga Yoga: Practice and Philosophy. It describes the Primary Series of Ashtanga Yoga, which needs to be mastered before undertaking the Intermediate Series. It also contains a commentary on Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra, the defining text of yoga philosophy, as well as an essay on yoga history.

Origins of Ashtanga Yoga

Most Indians identify the ancient seer Patanjali as the father of all yogas. Traditionally, they have viewed Patanjali as a semi-divine being, a manifestation of Ananta, the serpent of infinity. Patanjali displayed an incredible level of mastery in compiling the Yoga Sutra; he also published texts on Sanskrit grammar and Ayurvedic medicine. Thus you can think of Patanjali as a master of advanced yoga techniques, a professor of various branches of classical knowledge, and a mythological, semi-divine being all wrapped in one. The Indian masters I have studied with report that Patanjali lived six thousand years ago, though some Western scholars claim that he lived more recently.

Ashtanga Yoga can be traced all the way back to Patanjali. Ashtanga Yoga is mentioned in many ancient texts, such as the Mahabharata, the longest Indian epic. These references make it clear that the termAshtanga was always used to refer to Patanjali’s yoga. Ashtanga is derived from the Sanskrit words ashtau, meaning “eight,” and anga, meaning “limb.” These words describe the essence of Ashtanga Yoga — a discipline built of eight distinct practices, or limbs. The postures, or asanas, that most Westerners associate with the term yoga make up only one of these eight limbs.

The following are the eight limbs as described by Patanjali:1

1.      Restraints (Yamas)

2.      Observances (Niyamas)

3.      Postures (Asanas)

4.      Breath extension (Pranayama)

5.      Internal focus (Pratyahara)

6.      Concentration (Dharana)

7.      Meditation (Dhyana)

8.      Ecstasy (Samadhi)

I say more about these limbs in short order.

One of the outstanding features of Indian spiritual traditions such as yoga is that through the ages their practices have adapted to meet the changing requirements of an evolving society. Ashtanga Yoga is no different, and in the past few millennia it has taken many forms. For example, a fairly recent form, only about one thousand years old, is Hatha Yoga, a Tantric yoga that focuses on the body and proper execution of elaborate techniques. One of Hatha Yoga’s defining texts, the Hatha Yoga Pradipika, calls the practice a “ladder” for those who want to reclaim the heights of Ashtanga Yoga.2

Another school or mode of Ashtanga Yoga is Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga — the practice that is the subject of this book. Today this school is often called simply Ashtanga Yoga. This abbreviated form of the name is a bit confusing because it could refer to either Ashtanga Yoga as a whole or the subdivision that is Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga. The term Ashtanga Yoga is now universally accepted, and that’s the one I use in this book. The reader will have to judge from context whether Ashtanga refers to the general mantle of Patanjali’s yoga or the specific discipline of Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga.

Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga was founded by the seer Vamana, who according to my Indian preceptors lived four thousand years ago. During that period, cities in India were growing rapidly, and as a result the people felt increasing demands on their time.3 The society needed a practice that encompassed all the elements of Patanjali’s original yoga but took up less time. Rishi Vamana fulfilled this need by introducing the concept of vinyasa in his text Yoga Korunta.

In vinyasa, postures (asanas, the third limb) are combined with internal muscular contractions (bandhas) and breath control or extension (pranayama, the fourth limb) to form what are called “seals” (mudras). The postures are performed in particular sequences and further combined with focal points (drishtis) for the eyes. These modifications “turbo-charge” the postures. When practiced correctly with the fifth and sixth limbs (pratyahara, the sense withdrawal technique, and dharana, the concentration technique that involves listening to the breath), the postures lead to a meditative state (dhyana, the seventh limb). Over time the regular practice of these integrated limbs purifies the mind and body and eventually leads to ecstasy (samadhi, the eighth limb).

The following section presents an overview of the eight limbs of Ashtanga Yoga; a more detailed exploration appears in chapter 1.

The Eight Limbs

Patanjali had achieved the state of samadhi, which refers to an experience of oceanic or divine ecstasy. Today the term ecstasy often connotes a drug-induced state of euphoria or the peak of sexual pleasure, but there is a passage in the scriptures wherein samadhi is said to have about a trillion times the intensity of sexual pleasure.4 In other words, it is far beyond anything you can imagine in normal experience. Because he existed continually in this state of absolute freedom, Patanjali described a path that could lead all of us to it. He asked himself, Which state immediately precedes divine ecstasy? The answer was meditation (dhyana). Samadhi is our true nature, but we cannot receive it if our minds are too busy to listen, he reasoned; therefore, the path to samadhi lies in quieting the mind, which is accomplished when one achieves the state of relaxed openness that occurs in meditation.

Patanjali then asked himself, Which state immediately precedes dhyana? The answer was concentration (dharana). Concentration is the state that enables one to stay in meditation (or in any other state, for that matter). Many people achieve a spontaneous meditative state for split seconds only. The goal is to perpetuate that state, and that is made possible by dharana.

What does one need for concentration to arise? One needs inward focus (pratyahara), answered Patanjali; concentration is destroyed by outward distractions.

Patanjali then inquired, What state is the prerequisite for inward focus? The answer was easy. Since the mind goes wherever the breath or its subtle equivalent, prana, goes, one needs breath regulation (pranayama) to achieve inward focus.

Which state is necessary for one to practice breath regulation? asked Patanjali finally. Since breath and prana are dispersed in an unhealthy body, and health is produced by the practice of postures, the answer was asana.

Patanjali saw that these six steps had to be placed on a foundation of ethical guidelines governing one’s inner and outer life. On this basis he stipulated the first two limbs, the restraints (yamas) and observances (niyamas). Without these limbs as the foundation for the others, all the benefit accrued by practicing the other six limbs would likely be lost.

Although Patanjali conceived of the eight limbs from the top down, we must practice them from the bottom up, starting with the ethical precepts of yama and niyama.

The Russian-Doll Model of the Eight Limbs

Patanjali portrayed the eight limbs of yoga as sequential in nature, which can be understood through the following metaphor: Conditioned existence was likened to confinement in a prison tower, with yoga as the means of escape; practicing the first limb was like dangling a silken thread from the tower, practicing the second like tying a thicker cotton thread to the silken one, practicing the third like following the cotton thread with a cord, and so on until the strong rope of the seventh limb allowed you to descend. In this metaphor, which I introduced in Ashtanga Yoga: Practice and Philosophy, the limbs of yoga are introduced sequentially and shown to work one after the other. This is a workable model, but it has its limitations; in particular, it insinuates that each limb of yoga is abandoned once the next one is achieved. But one cannot abandon any of the limbs until one has achieved all of them and is about to enter objectless samadhi, the highest form of samadhi. Those of us who haven’t yet achieved objectless samadhi need to practice the lower limbs as we progress through the higher ones.

A useful way to understand this aspect of the limbs is to think of the limbs as a set of Matryoshka dolls. These Russian nesting dolls are usually painted wooden figures, each of which can be pulled apart to reveal another, smaller figure of the same sort inside. When the outermost doll is opened, we find another doll in it; that second doll opens to reveal another inside it; and so on. If we think of yoga’s eight limbs as similar to these Russian dolls, the outermost doll would be the first limb, yama, and the last, innermost one would be the concluding limb, samadhi. Each successive doll is contained within the dolls outside it, just as each successive limb is supported by the already perfected limbs that lead to it. As you progress in your practice, each new limb brings you further along your path only if you adhere to it within the context of the earlier limbs or stages.

The Importance of Asana

Modern (and particularly modern Western) practitioners of yoga can easily jump to the conclusion that yoga postures are mere gymnastic exercises, without spiritual or philosophical significance. One purpose of this book is to correct this misconception, to make it very clear that the asanas are part of a spiritual culture that aims at nothing short of bringing practitioners to a state of complete and absolute freedom in which they realize their innermost divine potential.

For the majority of modern people, mere sitting in meditation is not sufficient to achieve any lasting spiritual progress or transformation. If you practice only sitting meditation or self-inquiry or the study of scripture, you can easily fool yourself about your state of attainment. True knowledge is not something that occurs in one’s mind alone; it has a physical dimension as well. The Armenian mystic George I. Gurdjieff expressed this in the words, “True knowledge is of a chemical nature.”5 What he meant is that authentic knowledge has a biochemical and bioelectrical component; it has substance. This component is what traditional yogis called siddhi, which is sometimes translated as “supernatural power” or “proof.” Asana lays the groundwork for achieving the biochemical and bioelectrical changes in our bodies that are necessary for gaining true knowledge.

Sitting in meditation is sufficient only for those fit to practice Jnana Yoga. The term Jnana Yoga is more closely investigated in chapter 1, but in a nutshell it refers to gaining freedom by the mere contemplation of the fact that one’s true self is identical with the infinite, pure consciousness, without resorting to any other techniques. Jnana Yoga and the associated seated meditation (that is, sitting upright with the head, neck, and spine in one line) can be practiced only if one’s intelligence is completely freed from the stains of rajas (frenzies) and tamas (dullness).6 If you are not tainted by these states, go right ahead and try to achieve samadhi through sitting. If, however, your intellect oscillates, as mine does, between frenzy and dullness (with some bright moments in between), then the practice of asana will be useful for you.7

Richard Freeman, in his collection of discourses called Yoga Matrix, likened the practice of postures to going through your body with a fine-tooth comb. Thoughts and emotions that are powered by rajas ortamas leave imprints in your bodily tissue that make it more likely that rajasic or tamasic states will be repeated. These imprints are released through posture practice, thus forming the bedrock for higher yogic technique.

Putting Technique in the Proper Context

Those who practice Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga (or any of the many other forms of Karma Yoga, a term that is explained in chapter 1) face a certain danger: becoming attached to technique. They can get comfortable with repeating techniques that they have already mastered without ever relating them to the ultimate purpose of the techniques, which is to allow the practitioner to abide in infinite consciousness. The yogic techniques become empty of meaning and an end in themselves. In modern Ashtanga Vinyasa practitioners, this may surface as a one-sided emphasis on asana practice and a refusal to invest any time or energy in the higher limbs. It is unlikely that this is what Patanjali wanted to see in students when he compiled the Yoga Sutra.

Ironically, it is often those yogis who have become very proficient at what they do who are most strongly attached to their techniques. Their breathtakingly athletic skill in practicing postures has become the basis of their self-image, and they are reluctant to progress to stages in which proficiency in asana is no longer the point. Understandably, they don’t want to surrender their abilities and knowledge. But this surrender is necessary if one wishes to progress along the spiritual path. According to Patanjali, one must undergo paravairagya (a complete letting go) to achieve super-cognitive (objectless) samadhi and through it liberation.

In this book I try to counteract the tendency to get caught up in technique, by reminding you that the purpose of asana is to recognize yourself as infinite consciousness (jnana) and as a child of God (bhakti). The purpose of chapter 1 is to convince you that the essence of all modes of Karma Yoga — everything you do to become free and yourself, including asana — is still just jnana and bhakti, which are one. In chapter 4, you will learn that the essence of each posture is its underlying divine form.

An effective way to avoid an attachment to technique is to place yourself right from the beginning in the service of one of the aspects of the Supreme Being. You need to continually remind yourself that the ultimate purpose of the eight limbs is not to become good at their execution. Their purpose is to realize the Brahman. As Shri T. Krishnamacharya expressed it, “The eight limbs are the eight limbs of Bhakti.”

The Intermediate Series of Postures

The Intermediate Series in Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga serves as an important part of the discipline that may lead to mastery of the eight limbs and, ultimately, to liberation. Let’s now look briefly at the structure of the Intermediate Series, which I cover in detail in chapter 6 and, of course, in part 3.

The Intermediate Series is constructed of the following elements:

1.      An opening consisting of some twisting (Pashasana) and forward bending (Krounchasana)

2.      An extensive backbending sequence consisting of eight postures (Shalabhasana, Bhekasana, Dhanurasana, Parshva Dhanurasana, Ushtrasana, Laghu Vajrasana, Kapotasana, and Supta Vajrasana)

3.      A forward-curling arm balance (Bakasana) to counteract the backbends, combined with some more twisting (Bharadvajasana and Ardha Matsyendrasana)

4.      A leg-behind-head sequence consisting of three postures (Ekapada Shirshasana, Dvipada Shirshasana, and Yoganidrasana)

5.      A dynamic forward bend (Tittibhasana) to link the preceding and subsequent postures

6.      An arm-balance section consisting of four postures (Pincha MayurasanaKarandavasana, Mayurasana, and Nakrasana)

7.      A wind-down consisting of a hip opener (Vatayanasana), another forward bend (Parighasana), a hip and shoulder opener (Gaumukhasana), another twist (Supta Urdhva Pada Vajrasana), and a sequence of headstands (Mukta Hasta Shirshasana and Baddha Hasta Shirshasana)

The three essential parts of the series are the backbends, leg-behind-head postures, and arm balances (items 2, 4, and 6 above); the other four sections function mainly to connect and prepare. The Intermediate Series strongly differs from the Primary Series, which is made up of forward-bending postures and hip rotations.

The Benefits of Practicing the Intermediate Series

Practicing the Intermediate Series yields many benefits to the gross body — that is, the body that is perceptible to the senses. Your body will become healthier, stronger, leaner, and athletic, much like that of a racehorse. And yes, of course, the shape of your derriere will also improve. (You see, I know what motivates many modern yogis.) But let’s leave jokes aside and focus on what’s really important: the effect of the Intermediate Series on the subtle body.

The subtle body is chiefly made up of chakras (energy centers), pranic currents called vayus (vital airs), and the receptacles of the vayus, the nadisNadis are the conduits, or energy channels, of the subtle body, along which the various forms of life force (prana) move. The nadis are clogged in most people and must be purified if one is to progress to the higher limbs. The Intermediate Series serves this function of purification; in Sanskrit it is called Nadi Shodhana, which means “purification of the nadis.”

Some have translated the term Nadi Shodhana as “purification of the nervous system,” but this translation is problematic. The nadi system is much subtler than Western anatomy’s nervous system. The nervous system refers to part of the gross body, which is obviously very different from the subtle nadi system. Many nerve ganglions of the gross body are several millimeters in diameter and can easily be seen by the naked eye. Nadis, on the other hand, are considered to be one one-thousandth the diameter of a hair. As part of the subtle body, they cannot be perceived by the senses.

As one practices the Intermediate Series, and later the Advanced Series and meditation exercises, the nadis are gradually purified. Since prana ascends through the body via the nadis, this purification clears the way for prana to ascend all the way to the crown chakra, a culmination that marks the physical dimension of divine revelation or, in other words, of the state of liberation.

The nadis also require balancing, so that prana can flow through them evenly. The three primary nadis are the pingala (the right, or solar, nostril), the ida (the left, lunar nostril), and the sushumna (thecentral energy channel). When the breath flows predominantly through the pingala, the mind tends to adopt a solar or fundamentalist attitude, which means adhering to one truth while overlooking the many other truths.8 When the breath flows predominantly through the ida, the mind tends to adopt a lunar or relativist attitude, which means that one is attracted by many truths but unable to pick the one that is most appropriate in a given circumstance. During a samadhic state, there is no such imbalance, because either the prana flows in the sushumna or, as some authorities maintain, there is no pranic movement at all.

When a race car driver prepares for a championship race, he or she makes sure that the car is in perfect condition, ready for peak performance. The car is taken apart to make sure that all its parts are clean and in working order. If there are any blockages in the fuel ducts, air intakes, hoses, combustion chambers, exhaust pipes, or manifolds, the parts are cleaned to unclog them; otherwise they will impinge on the optimal flow of energy. In a similar way, if you see samadhi as the peak human experience and want to achieve it as much as the race car driver wants to win the race, you must make sure your nadi system is in top condition. If it isn’t, you either won’t have the mystical experience or won’t be able to put it into context and integrate it into your life. This necessary cleansing and fine-tuning of the nadi system is achieved by becoming proficient in the practice of the Intermediate Series of postures. Thus the practice of this series helps lay the foundations for higher yoga.

Prerequisites for Practicing the Intermediate Series

Practicing the Intermediate Series is incredibly beneficial. However, just as a farmer must till and fertilize the soil before yielding the harvest, you can reap the many benefits of the practice only if your ground — your mind and body — is properly prepared. Before starting the Intermediate Series, you need to fulfill the following three conditions:

·   Be able to correctly practice all the postures of the Primary Series (as explained in Ashtanga Yoga: Practice and Philosophy).

·   Attain Yoga Chikitsa (yoga therapy), the goal of the Primary Series, by practicing the Primary Series for a sufficient length of time.

·   Have built a sufficient amount of strength and endurance.

Let’s look at each of these conditions separately.

PROFICIENT PERFORMANCE OF POSTURES

Attempting the Intermediate Series too soon is like building a second story on a house before the concrete in the supporting pillars of the first story has cured. Inevitably, your building will soon show cracks. The cardinal postures of the Primary Series are Pashimottanasana and Baddhakonasana, and you should display sufficient proficiency in these two postures. It is difficult, however, to define the required level of proficiency. You need to be flexible enough in both forward bending and hip rotation so that you can satisfactorily perform the three energetically most effective and important postures of the Primary Series, namely Marichyasana DSupta Kurmasana (which includes Kurmasana, a vinyasa of Supta Kurmasana), and Garbhapindasana. You can read about the importance of these three postures in Ashtanga Yoga: Practice and Philosophy.

ATTAINMENT OF YOGA CHIKITSA

Yoga Chikitsa means “yoga therapy” and refers to the process of eliminating the basic causes of diseases and balancing the doshas in the body (vatapitta, and kapha) and gunas in the mind (tamasrajas, andsattva) through regular practice of postures. Some dancers, gymnasts, and very flexible people can do the postures of the Primary Series right at the beginning. But this is not enough. They need to practice the Primary Series until the health and balance of Yoga Chikitsa is achieved.

Patanjali lists the obstacles to yoga.9 The first, sickness, results primarily from an imbalance of the doshasYoga Chikitsa improves this balance. Attaining Yoga Chikitsa does not mean that you will never become sick again, since disease stems primarily from its root cause, the mind, and also from the environment and from karmic influences. Yoga Chikitsa will, however, improve your health and increase your resistance to disease and your capacity to recover quickly.

Yoga Chikitsa can be obtained by practicing the complete Primary Series every day for approximately one year. Please note that this is only a rough guideline, and the time required varies from person to person. Only a qualified teacher can determine if you have achieved Yoga Chikitsa.

Patanjali states that practice can succeed only when it is sustained uninterruptedly, for a long time and with a devotional attitude.10 So, as indicated previously, the Primary Series needs to be performed daily and in an uninterrupted fashion for an entire year. If the student is not able to practice daily in a devoted fashion, then she or he is not ready to commence the Intermediate Series.

ATTAINMENT OF STRENGTH AND ENDURANCE

The final condition that one must fulfill before starting the Intermediate Series is to possess a sufficient amount of strength and endurance. The Intermediate Series is much more demanding than the Primary and requires more lengthy practice. You will need to have ample reserves built up before embarking on the long trek through the Intermediate Series.

You probably have adequate strength if you can cleanly jump from Dandasana to Chaturanga Dandasana and move from Downward Dog to Dandasana in a controlled fashion. Sufficient endurance is indicated by the ability to sustain indefinitely a six-day-per-week practice of the full Primary Series. In addition, you should be able to perform the Primary Series with ease on your worst days, energetically speaking.

Before you commence the Intermediate Series, ask yourself whether you have the extra time and energy to invest in your practice. If you are not confident that the answer is yes, staying with the Primary Series for another year until you have made the space in your life is a safer bet.

A Final Word on Readiness

Each person begins his or her practice at a different level of readiness and progresses at a unique pace. This concept is central to Vedic teaching. One needs to practice that stage (bhumika) of practice that one is fit or ready for (adhikara). The term adhikara is formed from the verb root kri, “to do,” and the prefix adhi-, meaning “on either side” (as opposed to above or below). Adhikara, therefore, means to do that which is at your level and not something that is beyond your understanding or capability (or not challenging enough).

Indian scriptures generally state who is qualified to perform the actions described therein. Such an injunction may consist of only one stanza or even only one word. For example, the Yoga Sutra starts with the statement “atha yoga anushasanam,” which can be translated as “Here starts the discourse of yoga for the benefit of those who have realized that the objects of this world cannot quench their thirst.” Much of this message is encrypted in the important word atha. The author, Patanjali, wishes to express that those who still believe that they can achieve freedom merely by becoming smart, sexy, powerful, and wealthy are not qualified (adhikarin) to receive this instruction. Other texts devote several lengthy stanzas — usually titled adhikarin or adhikara — to the recitation of an entire catalog of conditions that the yogi needs to meet before embarking on his or her practices.

In days past, many yogic disciplines severely limited their audiences by imposing hard-to-meet conditions. The schools were concerned with not the quantity but rather the quality of the students. Many yogic schools targeted a very particular bandwidth of students, and all applicants above or below that bandwidth were sent off to look somewhere else. In the ancient days, teachers did their best to drive students away rather than collect them. It is a modern phenomenon for teachers to project the idea that their teaching suits everybody’s needs. Traditionally, it was the teacher who chose what type of practice the student was ready for.

In days of yore, teachings were categorized according to bhumikaBhumika means step, degree, or stage. As there were people of many different stages of evolution, there were many different teachings to suit the various stages. The right teaching for a particular person was considered the teaching that accommodated the person’s present stage and was capable of lifting him or her to the next higher stage. Nowadays, influenced by the democratization of society, everybody wants to have the highest teaching, whether it is suitable or not. The highest teaching is generally accepted to be Jnana Yoga (also called theBrahma Vidya), the discipline in which only pure knowledge and no form of practice is used (see the more detailed discussion in chapter 1). For this reason Jnana Yoga has gained many fans in Western society. However, according to the traditional view only a few are qualified (adhikara) for this highest path. Further, if you do not practice the path you are fit for, not only will you achieve no results; you will also waste your time and that of your teacher. To prevent this, you need to judge objectively which practice you are fit for (adhikara). Once you have reached a certain stage, you then progress to the next higher stage (bhumika) without attempting to skip ahead.

Patanjali provided an easy way of navigating this problem when he created the eight limbs, which are neatly organized according to stage. That he adhered to the bhumika doctrine becomes clear when we read “tasya saptada pranta bhumih prajna.”11 This sutra says that complete and authentic knowledge of objects (prajna) is arrived at in seven stages.

If you have the time and energy to continue your journey through Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga by embarking on the Intermediate Series, you will find that you have an incredible tool at your disposal. Although the Intermediate Series initially requires a great deal of energy, time, and determination, the outcome is worth the effort. The daily practice of the full Intermediate Series deepens your quality of life so much that once you are established in this regimen, you simply will not want to live in a body that does not undergo this type of yogic training.

1 Yoga Sutra II.29.

2 Hatha Yoga Pradipika I.1.

3 The oldest excavated Indian city, Mergarh, is now confirmed as being eight thousand years old. It had 25,000 inhabitants.

4 Brhad Aranyaka Upanishad 4.3.33.

5 My translation, from P. D. Ouspensky, Auf der Suche nach dem Wunderbaren [In Search of the Miraculous] (Munich: Otto Wilhelm Barth Verlag, 1982), p. 52.

6 According to yoga, the intellect is made up of three gunas (qualities), which are tamas (dullness), rajas (frenzy), and sattva (wisdom). The first two qualities need to be reduced through practice, study, and devotion.

7 Some modern teachers claim that when Patanjali wrote about asana, he was referring only to the sitting posture of meditation. But the Rishi Vyasa has spelled out in his commentary on the Yoga Sutra that posture in yoga is not just sitting with one’s head, neck, and back in a straight line but is the practice of a complete course of yogic asanas (Swami Hariharananda Aranya, Yoga Philosophy of Patanjali, Albany: State University of New York Press, 1983, p. 228).

8 Terminology courtesy of Richard Freeman.

9 Yoga Sutra I.30.

10 Yoga Sutra I.14.

11 Yoga Sutra II.27.


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