[‘Self Study’] – Svadhyaya – the 4th Niyama
The meaning of Yoga is union. Union of the body, the mind, the soul and the spirit đŸ™‚ On our class we practiced Svadhyaya, the 4th Niyama from the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali which function as a guide towards that union.
The Yoga Sutras is one of the yoga philosophy texts. It contains 196 Sutras, it discusses the aim and the practice of yoga. Each Sutra has a teaching, but we today will focus only on the 4th Niyama.
Patanjali describes the essence of the first sutras: ‘Yoga is the progressive settling of the mind into silence. When the mind is settled, we are established in our own essential state, which is unbounded consciousness. Our essential nature is usually overshadowed by the activity of the mind’.
During weekly class we bring meditation and asana as part of our practice. This week during our Meditation, we used the mantra ‘Tat tvam asi’ which can be translated as ‘you are what you seek’. Our intention was to bring introspection into our practice, allowing us to be grounded on our breath.
During our Asana practice we focused on connecting to our breath. Noticing where we held tension in our bodies, becoming aware without any judgement.
Practicing Svadhyaya will allow you to find your individual yoga practice, as well as the life purpose that will resonate with you as an individual.
