Transformation in my life through yoga

 Astanga Yoga has bought a lot of discipline in my life. There are ups and downs in life. There are success & failures, good news & bad news to digest, moody sad say and happy enthusiastic day. Opposites are just complementary in life. Both co-exist. As Purusha defined in Sankhya yoga, we tend to get either of these extremes. It takes wisdom to take the middle path and not be swayed by the 3 gunas i.e. Prakruti. Astanga Yoga is the wisdom shared by Maharshi Patanjali.

I got a news that turns my life upside down, that comes at a least expected time, that adds wings to my fear of loneliness. Entangled in maya I was sad, bitter, showing all signs of a disturbed mind. It implies I was stuck in one or more of 9 obstacles. Maharshi Patanjali says  Eka Tattva Abhyasa i.e. one pointed practice to overcome these 9 obstacles. So next morning however difficult I just pushed myself on the mat and just did my regular yoga practice with asana, pranayama and meditation as described in Astanga Yoga. Through the practice I saw my tears rolling out uncontrollably, emotions coming out in full flow but I didn’t stop, I kept practicing. Towards the end I sat down for meditations and I could stay still surprisingly and meditated. By the end felt empty and relaxed and blissed out. Now if I think, I am extremely grateful to have received this knowledge to understand the deeper secrets of Purusha in its true form. I am also grateful to all the masters to have passed this knowledge from generation to generation. 

This is just one incident in the last 1 month. But there are several days when I see myself stuck in these extremes. It is through the knowledge of yoga sutras and actual yogic practice that I am able take the middle path and become more aware. Yoga has bought a lot of self-discipline in my life. I can clearly see what effects Prakruti has when I miss a day’s practice. Such awareness pushes me to make Yogic practices like Astanga Yoga as my priority and be a Yogi for life.