Historical Yoga Room newsletter — originally prepared in February 2014 and restored from the Yoga Room archive. References to classes, workshops, retreats, prices and events below are retained as part of the historical record and are no longer current Yoga Room offerings.
February is the month to be motivated by what inspires you. It is the month to realign yourself with what lights you up, to immerse yourself in it, and to share it.
Thanks to Saint Valentine, February 14 has become a day to celebrate love.
What a great opportunity.
In this newsletter
- Asana of the Month — Ustrasana
- Article of the Month — The Richness of Yoga
- Question of the Month — Is Faith Dangerous?
- Patanjali Yoga Sutra of the Month
- Quote of the Month
- From the 2014 Events Archive
Asana of the Month — Ustrasana
Ustrasana, or Camel Pose, is a kneeling backbend that strongly extends the front of the body and spine.
The original February 2014 newsletter described the pose using B.K.S. Iyengar’s instructions in Light on Yoga. From kneeling, the thighs remain active and upright as the spine extends backwards and the hands work towards the heels.
The pose requires extension through the thighs, hips, chest and spine, together with appropriate mobility through the shoulders and neck.
The original newsletter noted the value of Ustrasana for opening the chest and counteracting a rounded or hunched posture.
As with any strong backbend, the pose should be approached progressively and with appropriate guidance.
Reference: B.K.S. Iyengar, Light on Yoga, pp. 60–62.
Article of the Month — The Richness of Yoga
By Daniela Casotti
I’m in a shopping centre and there are lots of chocolates in the shape of love hearts and Saint Valentine’s Day cards.
But did you know that the truth about Saint Valentine is something of a mystery?
Today he is widely marketed as the face of romance, but I wonder if his message has been diluted.
One traditional account tells of Valentine as a priest living in Rome during the rule of Emperor Claudius. According to the story, Claudius prohibited young people from marrying because he believed unmarried soldiers would make better fighters.
Valentine opposed the law.
He believed that human love connected us with universal love and with an experience of the Divine. Couples are said to have gone to him secretly to be married.
Valentine eventually suffered for his refusal to abandon those beliefs, and February 14 became associated with his story.
Whatever the historical details, the story raises an interesting question:
What is it about love and faith that can carry us through adversity?
The yogis call it Bhakti.
Bhakti is the inspiration that facilitates motivation. It is the “juice” that can lift us from our deepest, darkest thoughts.
It is heartfelt.
Logic alone cannot necessarily create it.
It is part of the richness that yoga has to offer.
Bhakti and motivation
In moments of cynicism, the mind needs to be interested in order to stay interested.
Bhakti creates interest.
For those of us who have experienced periods of separateness and disconnection, that “juice” of Bhakti can become diluted.
One way yogic philosophy suggests strengthening it is through the practice of Isvara Pranidhana.
Isvara Pranidhana is one of the five Niyamas — principles concerned with maintaining inner harmony.
It is commonly associated with surrender to something greater than our individual ego.
For many of us, the idea of surrender can initially feel intimidating. It may suggest defeat or loss of control.
Yoga sees surrender differently.
Rather than defeat, surrender can become a means of loosening the endless agitation created by a mind that continually wants to control everything.
Practising surrender
One way we can explore Isvara Pranidhana is by treating a challenging asana as a small-scale version of life’s difficulties.
When tensions arise in a posture, they can limit our connection with body, mind and spirit.
Our instinct may be to fight those tensions.
But instead of fighting, we can observe them and gradually surrender some of the resistance surrounding them.
That shift can change our perspective from a small, crowded inner world characterised by tension and inflexibility towards something more spacious.
In the same way that layers of tension may gradually fall away before the quietness of Savasana, Isvara Pranidhana offers a pathway through some of our mental obstacles.
It can open us to the simple miracle of being alive.
Isvara Pranidhana is a practice that strengthens the heart and develops trust and devotion.
It asks us to remain open to something greater than ourselves, whatever circumstances arise.
And so, when we celebrate Valentine’s Day, perhaps there is an opportunity to look beyond the chocolate hearts and remember the deeper qualities of love, faith, devotion and generosity.
Happy Valentine’s Day.
Question of the Month — Is Faith Dangerous?
Faith is a powerful phenomenon with the potential to uplift human beings.
But faith can also become distorted when the ego becomes involved.
Faith often requires us to set aside some of our need for control.
When ego dominates — with its narrow concerns and perspectives — that urge to control can take over.
One person or group may begin to believe that their faith is superior to another person’s faith.
Opposition and rivalry can then follow.
History provides many examples of conflict justified in the name of religious belief.
So faith by itself is not necessarily enough.
The original newsletter expressed the idea this way:
Faith without wisdom can be dangerous, while wisdom without faith can feel empty.
When faith and wisdom work together — with the intention of uplifting humanity rather than elevating one individual or group above another — they can help keep both ego and blind faith in check.
With wisdom beside it, faith can become a gift.
Patanjali Yoga Sutra of the Month
Chapter 1, Sutra 23
Isvara Pranidhanat va
This sutra introduces surrender or devotion to Isvara as another means by which the movements of consciousness may become quiet.
The original newsletter drew upon B.K.S. Iyengar’s discussion of Pranidhana as a surrender not only of ego, but also of our actions, successes, failures, pleasures, pains, joys and sorrows.
Rather than continually placing ourselves at the centre of everything that happens, the practice encourages us to relinquish some of that identification.
This connects directly with the February article.
Isvara Pranidhana does not ask us to become passive.
It asks whether we can act fully while loosening our insistence on controlling the result.
In doing so, devotion becomes less an abstract idea and more a practical way of working with the mind.
Reference: B.K.S. Iyengar, Light on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, p. 73.