Outside Reading Blog #1 - Adam Paquette

Bhagavad Gita 4/27/2021 - I was reading the Bhagavad Gita for another class and noticed it mentions yoga all throughout the text. One thing I found interesting is that everyone practices yoga without knowing it. This being said, there are three levels of yoga. Sahaja is the first kind of yoga which is partial or naturally occurring yoga. The second level of yoga is Sadhana, which is practical or applied practice of yoga. Third, is Sadhya which is the perfective or liberated state of yoga. Each of these stages have the same eight concepts under them (known as the eight limbs of yoga): good ways to act towards others (yamas), good practices for oneself (niyamas), moving and positioning the body (asana), continuous respiratory activity (pranayama), withdrawal from the world (pratyahara), greater focus on an object (dharana), sustained attention on an object (dhyana), immersive state within one’s world (samadhi). These concepts however can be viewed differently at each stage (partial, practical, or perfective). In partial yoga, it’s the bare minimum because it naturally occurs and we unconsciously do these things. In practical yoga, all of these eight concepts are being applied, but it is not perfect. In perfective yoga, it is the same eight concepts but they are all performed perfectly. When we get to the perfective stage, we excel at being human because our health, mind, and spirit are uplifted. It is in this perfective stage that one is in union with their self and with Krishna. It is good to master these eight limbs because your quality of life will increase. One must focus on every act they perform, their body positioning, controlling the senses and their breathing, focusing on an object, and be immersed in yoga. Yoga is more so of an internal act (and sense of healing) than it is of a physical act.


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