Effect of the Asana

 

"The effect of the asana is the dualities between body and mind, mind and soul vanish."

 

-B.K.S. Iyengar

 

 

It is hard work to reach this state though and that is why yoga is a discipline, not just merely physical exercise.

Mr. Iyengar writes, in an article I just read titled, "Yoga: Where All Paths Merge into One", where the title says it all, but he explains nicely that all yoga is one, there is no difference.

 

Yogacharya BKS Iyengar says that in the olden days, what is now called Karma Yoga was then Karma Marga. Jnana Yoga was Jnana Marga and Bhakti Yoga was Bhakti Marga, and the last one was called Yoga Marga.

 

Marga means a path, a way and Yoga means union. He reminds us that there is a difference between a path and a union.

 

There is much confusion, Mr. Iyengar writes when branding our individual practices in various categories to say I am practicing a superior path and the other one is practising an inferior path. This should be washed off.

 

So, for the new year, use your tapas, or desire to reach the true goal of yoga knowing that karma, jnana and bhakti all intermingled. 

As Mr. Iyengar clearly illustrates,

"Hands and legs are meant for action; head for knowledge; heart for conscience is for love.

Can we separate these three in one human being?

Is this not Karma, jnana and Bhakti?"





So, the path of love, path of action and path of knowledge are all yoga of action, because they all have action in them.  "In all three, there are actions so Patanjali uses the word - kriya yoga."

Namaste.
Pamela Nelson
www.plnyoga.blogspot.com
plnyogastudio@gmail.com