Now Begins My Practice of Yoga (Atha Yogānuśāsanam)

अथ योगानुशासनम्॥१॥

I.1 Atha Yogānuśāsanam

It was in the summer of 2018 (March 2018) when my Ashtanga Yoga guide, Nitesh Batra, got us started on reading and reciting Chapter 1 of Patanjali's Yoga Sutra (a collection of 196 Sutras--aphorisms-- divided into 4 chapters on the theory and practice of yoga, compiled by sage Patanjali). My reaction then was a mix of wonder, excitement & apprehension. For one, it meant going back to school, sitting in a place with concentration and memorizing. This meant mental discipline. Over the previous 7 months or so, I had become reasonably disciplined physically, and was showing up at the shala, getting on the mat every morning at 5.30 am--about which I wrote in fair detail in my first blog post. But this was a different ball game altogether.

The last time I memorized a topic in Sanskrit was in school, 30 years ago. Thus, there was a sense of excitement with quite a bit of self doubt as well. 20 years of corporate life and out of academics had trained my brain to get accustomed to speed reading documents, power point slides, websites, blogs, WhatsApp forwards and a whole load of casual reading. I had to drive myself back to school and kick myself into a state of mental discipline.

The goal was to memorize the entire 1st chapter. I must confess that at one point I thought my guide was being over optimistic about our (my) abilities. Just one glance at the pages told me it was going to be a daunting challenge and a very steep climb.  He encouraged us to learn in bite sizes and informed us that Sutras 11-20 were supposedly the hardest for a beginner and after that, a fairly smooth ride. As for me, every Sutra that I attempted to learn: 1-5, 6-10 and so on, seemed like a tongue twister. I was doubtful of reaching 20, leave alone 51!

In the 1st month, each of us was made to recite and chant the 1st 10-15 Sutras (depending on where one was in one's Sutra learning) after the asana practice, face to face in a quiet corner of the Shala (Ashtanga Yoga Sadhna). This slowly built the confidence in memorizing. 

The expectation was to do serious home study and be self driven. Over the months, while I progressed a bit, I also slowed down owing to multiple reasons--lack of time, mood, motivation, time off on holidays and all other mundane things that easily make us busy. I can't recall when the turnaround happened but about 5 months later, I found myself rapidly progressing and I was able to cover 5-8 Sutras at a time. Every night just before bedtime, I would sit with the print outs and the audio file and chant along repeatedly. At times, I played the audio while driving. To my utter delight and disbelief, sometime in mid- October, it dawned on me that I had actually reached 51. I did not broadcast what I considered a feat, to anyone until I was sure😊. I tested myself quietly and recited every day without referring to the written text. Soon, I had the confidence to declare to my guide that I had actually covered the entire Chapter 1. In parallel, another practitioner and a friend at the Shala had also completed memorizing the 1st Chapter.

Winter Solstice Celebration at Ashtanga Yoga Sadhna, Bangalore (Dec. 21,2018)

The culmination of all the efforts came together on December 21, 2018. As part of our Winter Solstice celebration when we do 108 rounds of Surya Namaskaras and sing kirtans at the Shala, our guide got me and my friend to chant the 1st Chapter.

The ambience was charged with positive energy after the turbo charged Surya Namaskara workout, with the golden, winter sunshine streaming into the Shala. The setting and the mood seemed magical. 

Chanting with my shala mate (Dr. Usha Rani-Left) 

Our duet chanting turned out to be beautiful and put everyone in a state of meditative calm. We were rather pleased with what we had accomplished! Sincere gratitude to our guide, without whose encouragement and faith, this would not have happened. 🙏

So what next? It occurred to me just when I had completed memorizing the 51 Sutras, that memorizing the Sutras itself did not mean much. Do I understand the meaning of each Sutra? Not quite. Should I not be trying to imbibe the wisdom of the Sutras and attempt to live by them? Absolutely yes! For it to be meaningful and fulfilling, the next stage is to reflect on, understand and attempt at following the path laid down here which of course, is a lifelong quest. Plus, the other 3 chapters to memorize!! 😁

Thus, Now Begins My Practice of Yoga (अथ योगानुशासनम् -- Atha Yogānuśāsanam: Sutra 1, Chapter 1).

#Patanjali Yoga Sutra#Ashtanga Yoga#AshtangaYoga Sadhna Bangalore#Surya Namaskara#Winter Solstice Bangalore 2018