The Secret Power of Yoga, Revised Edition

Auteur

Nischala Joy Devi is a renowned Yoga expert who has been teaching internationally for more than thirty years. She is the author of The Healing Path of Yoga, which is regarded as the definitive guide to the subtle use of body and mind in healing and stress management.

Texte du rabat

The definitive feminine interpretation of Patanjali's Yoga Sutras, now expanded to include all four padas. Yoga is best known for its power to create a healthy body, but the emotional and spiritual benefits of the practice are even greater. In The Secret Power of Yoga, Nischala Joy Devi offers a simple, elegant, and deeply personal interpretation of Patanjali's Yoga Sutras--the principles at the basis of Yoga practice. Hers is a heart-centered, intuitive, feminine perspective, and the first translation intended for women. Her interpretation beautifully captures the spirit of each sutra, and her suggested practices offer numerous ways to embrace the spirituality of Yoga throughout your day. The original edition summarized the final two padas with the intention of encouraging curiosity about further practice without overwhelming the reader. But today, there is more focus on the importance of understanding the foundation of yoga than ever. With so many making a commitment to the practice of Yoga to further their own spiritual growth and development, Devi believes now is the time to give more, and has provided additional commentary and practices, making The Secret Power of Yoga a complete scripture.

Échantillon de lecture
**PART I

THE YOGA SUTRAS: Its Wisdom and Practices

Whether you are a beginner or a continuing student of the Yoga Sutras, a whole new way of viewing yourself, others, and the world awaits you.

That statement in a curious way is a caution. When you begin this journey, many beliefs and previous ways of being will come into challenge; it may even contradict the way you live your daily life.

Studying the sutras over time will invoke a yearning to know yourself, your true self. Altering the way we live our lives can either enhance inspiration or diminish this yearning, causing it to hide in the shadows.

As you explore these sacred teachings, new ideas will surface. Some you will instantly embrace, while others may seem distant, foreign. Acknowledge the contrast, welcome the new ideas. Give yourself the gift of time to decide which to pursue or discard.

Books I and II give us a glimpse into the sacred ways of Yoga, revealing who we are in the highest sense. They establish our perception that when consciousness unites, our birthright as a Divine Being is revealed. To the delight of many, this supreme wisdom is enhanced by an abundance of practices, allowing the wisdom gained to be experienced.

Many of us, while enjoying the bounties of the material world, are eager to have a foothold in the spiritual as well. A time will come when our spiritual being will seductively beckon, and we will willingly obey. For many it will come after we have exhausted every effort to satisfy our wants and desires in the material world.

**BOOK I

SAMADHI PADA

Union with the Divine Self

Book I, “Samadhi Pada: Union with the Divine Self,” offers generous insights into those parts of our being seldom visited and establishes the perception that when consciousness unites, we know we are Divine Beings.

Here Samadhi Pada carefully and methodically reveals guidance to explain how our lives would differ if we believed we are at once both human and divine. It brings to light the simple fact that if we nurture only one aspect of our being, the other will withdraw.

It is time to recognize that when our humanity is in harmony with our divinity, every moment, thought, emotion, or action is infused with spiritual essence.

CHAPTER 1

HUMBLE BEGINNINGS

With humility (an open heart and mind), we embrace the sacred study of Yoga.

i. With humility (an open heart and mind), we embrace the sacred study of Yoga.

This simple beginning holds many truths. Often this very first sutra is read quickly or even disregarded, which is unfortunate since this sutra is placed first to set the tone. It is here to remind us that our study and spiritual path benefit most when they are paved generously with humility.

DEVELOPING AN OPEN HEART AND MIND

As students of life, we often need to look at where we have come from to see where we are going. I was always enthralled by the subway in Paris. At each station a giant board helps you find your way. A little arrow indicates where you are, and with the push of a button you select your destination. As the destination registers—voilà!—a path lights up the most efficient way to get there. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if our life path were that clear and simple?

Our present position has been determined by the past—all those crossroads where we made decisions, each path we’ve taken that brought us to our life as it is. We might be able to understand how we got where we are, but what would it have been like if other options had been followed? Another choice could have radically changed the present. Perhaps we took the tried-and-true course because it seemed easiest, or safest; perhaps at the time, it just didn’t seem like there was any alternative.

What you are is what you have been. What you will be is what you do now.

—Lord Buddha

Occasionally we meet someone who took an uncharted route, one less established. What in her life led her to become a trailblazer? What inspired her to leave behind the beaten path? The found path may have brought great adventures or great peril. Most of us are content to know that our future will be spiced with a few obstacles and sprinkled with safe adventures. Very few of us want to risk our comfort.

Custom and tradition play a major part in shaping our lives. We are so embedded in them that unless we are repeatedly shown a different way, we tend to live out our days under their sway. “We always have yams for Christmas. Why do you want to change tradition this year and have mashed white potatoes?” This tendency toward inaction and stasis can be difficult to overcome. But being creative and trying something different can be exciting and can expand your horizons. If it is carried beyond what is understood, it can cause rejection. Not wanting to offend, we may choose to reject the “new” idea that might have brought us renewed happiness and expansion.

Most of us in modern societies are very blessed. We are literate and have books as resources. Sacred texts can be downloaded from the internet. But even though they are so easily accessible, it is important to have the same regard and reverence for these sacred teachings as in times before.

One of the key teachings of Yoga which we will find sprinkled throughout the sutras are the gunas. From this understanding we can adjust our habits to calm any interference with our spiritual growth and ultimate liberation.

THREE GUNAS (ASPECTS OF NATURE), TEACHERS OF HUMILITY

As students of spirituality, our yearning for the truth varies in intensity. Some of us may fit in a few spiritual practices at our convenience; others may dedicate their entire lives to their spiritual unfolding. Born with certain tendencies called the trigunas, or three attributes of nature, we are part of nature and are perpetually influenced by her.

This wisdom is drawn from the Chandogya Upanishad. It explains that all of nature, people included, contains an uneven mixture of the three gunas. One of the characteristics is always dominant. (See more on the gunas in sutra i.16, page 57.)

Sattwa is best translated as a sense of balance. Rajas is reflected in activity and overactivity, taking things to the extreme, while Tamas is inactivity, or being withdrawn, and ca…