how to start the study and practice of yoga?
I receive emails from people who want to start to study and practice astanga yoga and ask me on several questions we have all wondered about.
How to start? In which school? Can I practice at home? Can I start with just a book? Which asanas are recommended for such and such health problems?
There is only one answer to all these questions: they all need a teacher.
Why? Yoga’s tradition is ORAL and is transmitted in-person, from teacher to student, from teacher to disciple. So it has been for centuries and so it will ever be. There is no other way for it. We cannot short-circuit or replace the on-site learning of a teacher with other means such as books, DVDs, web sites, etc. Tradition is oral and on-site. The student puts himself under the teacher’s guiding, which fulfils all the requirements to make it an adequate learning instrument.
So what I usually answer is “Find a teacher near your home to whom you can regularly call on until you acquire the sufficient skill”.
The address to find teachers that are “certified” and “authorised” by BKS Iyengar is:
http://bksiyengar.com/modules/Teacher/teacher.asp
The Spanish Association web site is: http://aeyi.org
The Mexican Association: http://www.yogaiyengar.org.mx/amyi.php
And what can those not having access to a teacher in their own town do?
If there are no teachers in your town you can go to in-depth studies or retreats of several days or weeks that take place yearly in various towns all around the world and that are imparted by the teachers listed above. This is your best choice and will let you start study and practice in a safe and optimal way. If you are particularly concerned, then you will need to find your teacher.
Reference books
As a last resort you can always turn to books in which the practice principle, guides and sequences of general practice programs are shown. Nevertheless, no book can in any way replace a teacher. A good book, though, is always better than a bad teacher.
- Light on Yoga. Author: BKS Iyengar.
- Yoga for women. Author: Geeta Iyengar.
Both books show programs of practice that the student can follow. Especially in “Yoga for women” achievable programs are held. Nonetheless, as I already said, one needs a teacher to be guided until one’s practice comes to fruition.
And how can I study Yoga’s Phylosophy and Scriptures?
Tough maybe not too many, some people do show interest in these matters, which equally are an integral part of yoga.
As we all need a teacher to begin “practicing”, we also need one who can guide us in the teachings of the Scriptures. As said before, tradition is oral and the presence of the teacher is compulsory.
A book is not enough. It is almost nothing compared to sitting in front of a teacher and listening to him, to analize, contemplate, question and ask.
The study via books only will always be poor and unsufficient to reach real knowledge. A teacher is always needed to unwrap and show the vision so that the student is able to grasp it. This is how it all works.
A good example are the Greek phylosophers and the way they assimilated the knowledge and the vision given to their students. As for yoga and vedanta, a direct and lasting relationship between the teacher and the student is necessary to assimilate the teachings.
This is why I usually answer that one has to go to a teacher’s and I also forward the Arsha Vidya address: this is an organization that superbly represents the Vedic culture from a vedantic point of view and that, to me, is the most serious, dedicated and recognised of all: http://arshavidya.org/avg_teachers.html.
If there is no near teacher to you you can go to a several day retreat with a teacher authorised by Swami Dayananda or with Swami Dayananda himself. I say “from a Vedantic point of view” because I did not find any Iyengar yoga teachers who publicly teach the basic Scriptures and who master both the teaching methodology and Sankrit, and who are yoga adepts. Or you can study BKS Iyengar’s texts, though they can be somewhat rough without the help of somebody who perfectly knows and understands both his own therminology and his interpretation.
Groups of Study
I believe that forming a group of study is a good choice when a teacher is not easily accessible. If you know of persons who are interested (2-3 or more), gather study material, start meeting them regularly and read and discuss on it. If any doubts arise just send them to a teacher who can direct you.
This study material of the Baghavad Gita’ course (in English language) can be purchased at:
http://books.arshavidya.org/cgi-bin/process/shop/display/middle?type=display&subtype=category&arg=category&value=Bhagavad%20Gita%20Home%20Study%20Books
And if you do not form a group, you can study it on your own. But how?
Start with some prayers that will help you in your study and read 5 to 10 pages daily. Write a short summary or do whatever you are used to for studying.
An audio format for this course is also available and can be combined with the reading. Audio or video formats might be better as we connect more directly with the teacher, and so the impact is deeper than from a book.
By sitting and listening through headphones the audio format before a photograph of Swami Dayananda’s you will be closer to an ideal situation of being in front of a teacher, since you expose yourself to his teaching and vision through his words and his intelligence and to his way of operating the words to produce the necessary vrttis so that the knowledge and the removal of the wrong notions take place.
I hope I have helped you in finding a way to begin this path convincingly and as a long-term objective.
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