Why are you teaching both yoga philosophy and postures, instead of just postures, "moving and stretching"?
Much of yoga taught in the West focuses solely on the physical aspects of yoga practice. While I used to feel there was nothing wrong with just focusing on asana or posture, as we use our bodies to experience this Reality - ultimately, if we get stuck in using yoga practices solely as a physical workout, we're missing out on much of the greater benefits it provides (not to mention, participating in and perpetuating a form of cultural theft that looks to yoga as merely a means of entertainment or beautification.)
As well, I have found students are often left hankering for more depth in their yoga practice, and thus, begin seeking answers to questions that ultimately arise: Why is yoga practice so transformative? What is it doing to me and how? How can I be a better yoga practitioner? and even Who am I? Why am I here? Is this all there is?
When we confine ourselves to yoga as a solely physical practice, as "exercise", we miss the opportunity to begin exploring these universal questions, and as well, we avoid (either through a sense of cultural superiority or a fear or the unknown) the spiritually-evolving and liberating aspects offered by classical yoga teachings. These beautiful but rigorous teachings were designed with the intention to bring freedom from suffering, for practitienors to attain kaivalya, freedom or liberation from the suffering inherent in life on this planet.
Still, asana has become a vital part of modern yoga, and is beneficial for our overall health and wellbeing, and also because Patanjali himself said that illness and injury were the primary impediments to attaining ultimate freedom from spiritual suffering. As well, if we only experience these concepts on a solely philosphical level, without rooting them as praxis or a habit of existing in our physical reality - relating to the concept esoterically and not as lived experience in other words - we can become or may remain cold, indifferent, ungrounded, detached, rooted in a false sense of intellectual superiority and egoism - and thus, even more lost!
I really just want to de-stress and/or get more fit and flexible. What will I get out of learning yoga philosophy?
I think it's safe to say that people come to yoga because they are seeking a transformation. Even if it's just on the physical level, ultimately, there's a desire beneath the desire for physical change, rooted in a discontent with the limited identity we're currently inhabiting, and that limited identity is, in some way, causing us suffering (either mental, emotional or physical.) Yoga practice that includes spiritual teaching is even more transformative and literally clears the gunk and sludge from our limited identities. I have witnessed how students get so much more out of their yoga practice if and when they've been exposed to these teachings, frankly. Asana is great, but it's just the tiny, blunt tip of an iceberg of mind/body and spiritual evolution! Believe me, we will be moving and experiencing a somatic class, not just "dry" philosophy. Learning these things will help you experience your physical body in a much more holistic way!
Why the Yoga Sutras?
Consistently practicing yoga for both a physical and an emotional/spiritual evolution within and through our mind/body helps us find and experience a more well-rounded, complete and even joyful life - helps us attain the transformation we are seeking - and ultimately prepares us for a more awake and aware death, too. The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali is one proven means to this end; it is the primary classical yoga text upon which much of Western yoga rests, and it describes a philosophical and spiritual goal of kaivalya - "enlightenment" through yoga and (amongst other esoteric subjects) providing practical descriptions of eight yogic practices that lead to freedom from suffering. (All in just 196 short Sanskrit aphorisms!) Many students have already been exposed to these teachings, especially those who've participated in Yoga Teacher Trainings. I've been studying the Yoga Sutras almost since the start of my life as a practitioner, from some the best Sanskrit teachers in the world, and have integrated their deep philosophical concepts in a meaningful, life-changing way. Their wisdom and benefits have unfolded for me over almost three decades of consistent contemplation, self inquiry and practice. Repetition, abhyasa, is the key to learning and experiencing true knowledge and wisdom, and even if you've heard exerpts from the Sutras before, I guarantee you'll enjoy another fresh take.
Much of yoga taught in the West focuses solely on the physical aspects of yoga practice. While I used to feel there was nothing wrong with just focusing on asana or posture, as we use our bodies to experience this Reality - ultimately, if we get stuck in using yoga practices solely as a physical workout, we're missing out on much of the greater benefits it provides (not to mention, participating in and perpetuating a form of cultural theft that looks to yoga as merely a means of entertainment or beautification.)
As well, I have found students are often left hankering for more depth in their yoga practice, and thus, begin seeking answers to questions that ultimately arise: Why is yoga practice so transformative? What is it doing to me and how? How can I be a better yoga practitioner? and even Who am I? Why am I here? Is this all there is?
When we confine ourselves to yoga as a solely physical practice, as "exercise", we miss the opportunity to begin exploring these universal questions, and as well, we avoid (either through a sense of cultural superiority or a fear or the unknown) the spiritually-evolving and liberating aspects offered by classical yoga teachings. These beautiful but rigorous teachings were designed with the intention to bring freedom from suffering, for practitienors to attain kaivalya, freedom or liberation from the suffering inherent in life on this planet.
Still, asana has become a vital part of modern yoga, and is beneficial for our overall health and wellbeing, and also because Patanjali himself said that illness and injury were the primary impediments to attaining ultimate freedom from spiritual suffering. As well, if we only experience these concepts on a solely philosphical level, without rooting them as praxis or a habit of existing in our physical reality - relating to the concept esoterically and not as lived experience in other words - we can become or may remain cold, indifferent, ungrounded, detached, rooted in a false sense of intellectual superiority and egoism - and thus, even more lost!
I really just want to de-stress and/or get more fit and flexible. What will I get out of learning yoga philosophy?
I think it's safe to say that people come to yoga because they are seeking a transformation. Even if it's just on the physical level, ultimately, there's a desire beneath the desire for physical change, rooted in a discontent with the limited identity we're currently inhabiting, and that limited identity is, in some way, causing us suffering (either mental, emotional or physical.) Yoga practice that includes spiritual teaching is even more transformative and literally clears the gunk and sludge from our limited identities. I have witnessed how students get so much more out of their yoga practice if and when they've been exposed to these teachings, frankly. Asana is great, but it's just the tiny, blunt tip of an iceberg of mind/body and spiritual evolution! Believe me, we will be moving and experiencing a somatic class, not just "dry" philosophy. Learning these things will help you experience your physical body in a much more holistic way!
Why the Yoga Sutras?
Consistently practicing yoga for both a physical and an emotional/spiritual evolution within and through our mind/body helps us find and experience a more well-rounded, complete and even joyful life - helps us attain the transformation we are seeking - and ultimately prepares us for a more awake and aware death, too. The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali is one proven means to this end; it is the primary classical yoga text upon which much of Western yoga rests, and it describes a philosophical and spiritual goal of kaivalya - "enlightenment" through yoga and (amongst other esoteric subjects) providing practical descriptions of eight yogic practices that lead to freedom from suffering. (All in just 196 short Sanskrit aphorisms!) Many students have already been exposed to these teachings, especially those who've participated in Yoga Teacher Trainings. I've been studying the Yoga Sutras almost since the start of my life as a practitioner, from some the best Sanskrit teachers in the world, and have integrated their deep philosophical concepts in a meaningful, life-changing way. Their wisdom and benefits have unfolded for me over almost three decades of consistent contemplation, self inquiry and practice. Repetition, abhyasa, is the key to learning and experiencing true knowledge and wisdom, and even if you've heard exerpts from the Sutras before, I guarantee you'll enjoy another fresh take.