When I first began studying yoga in 1985, and I had the opportunity to have long discussions with one of my teachers about the greater context of yoga. He was a younger teacher beginning to explore philosophy, and I was an eager student. After class I would stay, sometimes an hour or more, while we would debate the meaning of life.
That spark of interest never went away. The more I practiced on the mat and observed the changes within me, the more I wanted to understand the historical and philosophical context of the practice.
At that time, yoga was still on the fringes, and there were just a few academically oriented translations of texts like the Yoga Sutra available. I formed different study groups with my fellow practitioners in which we struggled to understand the teachings. They had some utility, but generally it was very frustrating. With continued practice and studies, some of the teachings started to make some sense, and as I brought them into my classes, students started asking for more, and the next thing I knew I was teaching a class on yoga philosophy. As yoga gained popularity, various scholars started emerging with books and seminars that were extremely helpful, and I continued teaching by inviting students to my house for study groups.
Through this process I discovered several things about studying yoga philosophy. First, many of the teachings are purposefully cryptic. Originally an oral tradition, many of the texts are comprised of pithy aphorisms, not unlike a present day power-point presentation, intended to be further unpacked. Or it could be intentional to occlude the meaning to the uninitiated. So second, it is really necessary to have a teacher. And third, all of the translators and teachers have their own bias that they bring to the teachings, so it is necessary to look at multiple translations for a broader perspective. Fourth, the teachings come alive when one reads, recites, and actively engages with them through contemplation, writing, and discussion. As I observed myself and my students, I noticed that those who “got” the most, were those most actively engaged in practice, writing and discussion.
As I struggled in these early days, I vowed that I would do whatever I could to make the teachings more accessible given the challenges I faced as a young yoga student. When the philosophy scholars began to emerge, I considered whether I needed to keep teaching philosophy since I was far from an expert. I continue to struggle with this, and with the format of my offerings. But ultimately, I think I bring something of value because I am NOT a scholar in the traditional sense, and can make the teachings accessible in a unique and interactive way.
From my years of experience, here’s five reasons I’ve found studying philosophy important and rewarding.
1. It is exercise for your brain! Yoga for your mind. Just like we stretch and strengthen our bodies with the asana practice, wrapping our bodies into seemingly impossible postures, studying philosophy forces us to wrap our minds around concepts we may have never imagined.
2. Theory and practice supplement and support one another. As in many modalities, understanding the theory behind a practice can enhance your understanding of your experience, and vice versa. Understanding the philosophy can help explain and authenticate your experience.
3. Discussing philosophy gives you an opportunity to interact with fellow practitioners in a meaningful way, build community, give and receive support. There is an unvoiced connection with those people on their mats next to you in yoga asana class which can become voiced as you consider the teachings, creating an opportunity to solidify connection and create community with like-minded individuals.
4. Contemplation of the teachings allows you to examine how you might live your life more skillfully and in line with your yogic values. As we move further down the path of yoga, we become increasingly interested in aligning what we learn on the mat and through our studies with our actions in the rest of our lives. Yoga philosophy can provide a perspective to enable this.
5. The teachings are a word stream of the great lineage of yoga. They are products and descriptions of heightened states of awareness. As we immerse ourselves in that stream through reading and contemplation, we immerse ourselves in this flow. We connect ourselves to those yogis who produced the teachings and to that flow of energy they describe.
Please comment below on your experiences studying yoga philosophy.
