3 CLEANSING STREAMS OF YOGA

Asanas (yoga poses) destroy diseases and

Pranayama (breathing techniques) destroy sins.

Pratyahara (withdrawal) helps the yogi remove impurities of the mind.

Yoga Chudamani Upanishad, mantra 109

There are eight steps in traditional yoga, viz. Yamas (observances), Niyamas (commitments), Asanas (physical practices), Pranayamas (controlling & lengthening of one's breath or Prana), Dharanas (concentration methods), Dhyanas (meditations) and Samadhi (absorption).

In the mantra above, we discuss the three in the middle as they pertain to cleansing.

The practice of Asana is divided into three parts:

The first is purely for physical fitness i.e. the strengthening, firming, flexing, controlling and cleansing of the body.

Along with the above benefits, the second part is meant especially for cleaning the nadis that make up the pranic nervous system and the chakras that act as the safety valves of the nadis. Here the mind subsides to an extent and Pratyahara (withdrawal) occurs naturally.

The third range of Asanas is meant for 'raising the Kundalini', which means moving of Prana in the middlemost nadi i.e. the Sushumna nadi.

This is auxiliary to later meditational practices.

Asanas are practiced because of their ability to provide a thorough cleansing of the internal organs, tissue, bone, marrow and blood - all necessary for the upkeep of good health.

Asanas thus liberate the body from excess phlegm (Kapha), which is considered the No. 1 enemy of our health. Excess phlegm arising from bad nutrition, stress, illness and generally from a mismanaged lifestyle, if not expelled soon, will solidify and become a hard toxic mass that envelops tissue, penetrates intestinal lining and poisons blood. Another unwanted side effect of this toxic mass is the cooling of the Pranas, concomitantly known as Vata, the airy property. This leads to derangements in the bone, marrow, nerves, brain and finally, in the mind.

Regular practice of Asana has a benevolent effect on body and mind.

Excess phlegm not only burdens the internal organs, but as indicated above, burdens Prana as well. Just as electricity in the body requires a nervous system to carry its impulses, Prana requires its own nervous system, viz. the nadis. Nadi means 'river' in Sanskrit; rivers carry water, nadis carry Prana.

The phlegmatic mass floating in the body obstructs the movement of Prana in the nadis too. Asanas (postures) are the remedy. Once this is done, we move on to Pranayama.

The Yoga Sutra claims the following result on Pranayama:

Tatahakshiyateprakashaavaranam

Dharanasu cha yogyatamanasaha

Thence the cover of light is destroyed and

the mind becomes fit for concentration.

Yoga Sutra 2.52-53

Pranayamas are many. There are thousands of breathing techniques applied by wise yogis. While just a few are deemed practical for the common person, others require profound dedication and withdrawal from the world. Moreover, Pranayama should be practiced with mudras (seals) as they help in sealing Prana in the pranic body for health and spiritual purposes. Else, Prana dissipates and one grows weaker in body and mind.

As stated in the Yoga Sutra above, Pranayama removes the cover of light (materialistic vision of the world) for the mind to be fit for concentration. Pranayama is a sure way of eradicating sins (malicious acts) thus rendering the mind pure. Mental impurities (vikara) are inherent and they continuously rise and fall with the relationship between the mind and the objects of the world i.e. attraction and revulsion. The mind, being a product of Jatharagni (the digestive fire) and food, is unstable due to the lack of awareness of the Self, Atman or the spirit. Malicious and grave acts are caused by an unstable and delusional mind, which sees itself as the lord of his immediate and extended creation.

Pranayama is an antidote to the mad mind, which needs to be tamed by regular practice. Fluctuations of the mind happen due to the instability of Prana which, when fanned by the digestive fire, is in no position to remain stable. When the mind is fixed, so is Prana; when the Prana is fixed, so is the mind. Therefore, yogis practice Pranayama regularly.

Pranayama deals with the nadis differently from Asanas. Asanas cleans them, whereas Pranayama, besides cleaning them also ushers Prana into them.

Of the 72,000 nadis (taken at face value from the yogic scriptures), three are vital - Ida (left, lunar), Pingala (right, solar) and Sushumna (middle, graceful). The first two represent the dualities of life wherein our karmas, past deeds, flow (they flow through the other thousands of nadis too), whereas the third is the stairway to liberation from worldly existence.

The following description is meant for those who are completely dedicated and discussion herewith is not intended to compliment the practice. In the nutshell, Pranayama’s aim is to push Prana into the middle channel and up to the crown of the head inducing the state known as Samadhi that is absorption of the Self with the Supreme Self. At other times, Prana moves as directed by destiny (karma), hence control of Prana is essential to liberation from the shackles of the past.

Pranayama is a rather difficult practice if done for the sake of liberation from the pangs of worldly existence. It requires an introspective mind devoted to the search for the meaning and aim of life, certainly not a lifestyle for those engrossed in the pleasures and relationships of life. However, a few simple Pranayamas may be practiced by just about anybody wishing to keep a clean body and pure mind.

Pratyahara (withdrawal) is the last of the "cleansing" practices.

The Yoga Sutra sum it up nicely:

Svavishayaasamprayoge-chittasyasvarupaanukaraha

Iva indriyanampratyaharaha

Withdrawal is that by which the senses do not come into contact with their objects and follow them as it were the movement of the consciousness/mind.

Yoga Sutra 2.54

To restrain one's consciousness and mind, one must restrain the senses first. Our senses get attached to objects that are known (fancy car in the neighbors yard) or to objects that are yet to be manifested (hopefully I get a fancy car myself).

When consciousness is restrained, the immediate result is Self-awareness, which, in its essence, is one-pointedness. This removes any unwanted fluidity in our consciousness. The way to still our permanently flickering mind is given in the Yoga Sutra:

Abhyasa vairagyabhyamtan nirodhaha

They are stilled by the practice (of yoga) and detachment.

Yoga Sutra 1.12

Along with the practices discussed above, observing our own feelings and desires with a healthy sense of detachment and being able to renounce them if they are not conducive to the practice, is also essential.

Pratyahara removes impurities of the mind and the Shandilya Upanishad sums this understanding of the ultimate mind/consciousness withdrawal technique beautifully:

Contemplating everything that one sees as Atman (spirit)

is Pratyahara (disengagement), the fifth stage of yoga.

By seeing everything as the all-pervading spirit,

disengagements of the senses from the sense objects takes place effortlessly.

Just as the tortoise withdraws its limbs into its shell, the yogi withdraws his/her senses into the mind and the mind into the Atman (spirit).

Seeing Atman everywhere and in everyone is seeing Paramatman (Supreme Spirit).

These three streams of yogic practices will keep you pure in body, mind and spirit.

Om Tat Sat