The Mirror of Yoga

by Richard Freeman

  Sāṁkhya. Probably the first major, complete system of philosophical thought appearing in the post-Vedic period, during the time of the composition of the early Upaniṣads. First taught by the sage Kapila, it posits the idea that puruṣa (pure consciousness) and the prakṛti (creative energy or all that manifests—thoughts, feelings, sensations, objects, sentient beings, ideas, and so on) are separate, yet prakṛti exists to bind and then to reveal puruṣa.

  Sāṁkhya Kārikā. The primary and most detailed text of the Saṁkhya philosophy; written by Īśvara Kṛṣṇa.

  saṁsāra. Conditioned existence, represented as a wheel of suffering turned by the relentless flow of ignorant habits, karma, and reactions.

  saṁskāra. Habitual patterns within the body and mind (and consequently in action). These are formed when deep sensation patterns within prāṇa become superimposed with memories and concepts.

  saṅkalpa. To think or to imagine into composite wholes, intentions, desires, and aspirations.

  Sanskṛt. The sacred, constructed, and polished language in which most ancient yogic and Indian philosophy texts are written. Though it is still used within the Hindu and yogic traditions when studying texts and chanting, it is not generally used as a spoken language.

  sattva (sattvic). Beingness, or stable, smooth, balanced, bright, integrated.

  sudhā. Nectar of immortality.

  sukha. Happiness, ease; derived from the concept of a good hole in a wheel.

  suṣumnā nāḍī. The central channel of the body, the esoteric middle path which is visualized as a bright hollow reed or tube. When opened so that the prāṇa flows in it, it consumes time and space.

  tamas (tamasic). Slow, sluggish, thick, dull, fixed as in a thesis.

  tantra (tantric). A large group of practices and schools that have existed in and around the orthodox Vedic schools of practice.

  tapas. Heat; the heat caused from work.

  Upaniṣads. Primary philosophy texts that followed the Vedas. There are 10 principle Upaniṣads considered essential to the study of yoga. They define the early period of the Vedānta, or the end of the Vedic period in Indian philosophy. Later Upaniṣads, composed over a period of twenty-five hundred years, bring the total number of them to more than 108.

  vairāgyam. Dispassion, letting go, letting be, release.

  vāyu. Wind, often referring to the different forms of prāṇa inside the body.

  Vedānta. The various forms of non-dual philosophy concerned with direct experience of truth and liberation from conditioned existence. Vedānta arose in the period of philosophical exploration that followed the Vedas.

  Vedas (Vedic). Ancient hymns memorized and chanted to this day by priests. They form the basis for rituals, sacrifices, philosophies, and cultural patterns that today fall under the broad term Hindu.

  vikalpa. To split into categories; the function of the mind that imagines all sorts of constructions.

  viveka khyātiḥ. Discriminating awareness. The ability to discriminate between that which is real, permanent, and considered to be pure consciousness, and that which is unreal, impermanent, and considered to be creative energy.

  yamas. Ethical standards of a balanced yoga practice; delineated in a number of yogic texts, including the Yoga Sūtra.

  Yoga Sūtra. A primary yoga text that is a collection of aphorisms organized into four books (pādas) and that describes the process of yoga. It is said to have been composed by the sage Patañjali.

  Index

  Note: Index entries from the print edition of this book have been included for use as search terms. They can be located by using the search feature of your e-book reader.

  abhiniveśa (clinging to life)

  abhyāsa (repetitive practice)

  Ādi Śeṣa

  ahaṁkāra (ego function)

  ahiṁsā (nonviolence)

  ākāśa (sky, space)

  alabdha bhūmikatva (lack of grounding)

  ālasya (laziness, disinterest)

  aṅgas (limbs) of yoga

  anāhata cakra (heart cakra)

  ānanda (innate joy)

  anavasthitatvāni (instability)

  anusvāra

  apāna (exhaling breath)

  aparigraha (non-grasping)

  apas (water element)

  Arjuna, dilemmas and lessons

  asaṁprajñāta samādhi

  āsana (postures): in aṣṭāṅga yoga; and body/mind awareness; characteristics; and facing fears/discomforts; in haṭha yoga; learning and practicing; as one limb of yoga; samasthitiḥ posture

  asmitā (I-ness, I-am-ness)

  aṣṭāṅga yoga

  asteya (not-stealing)

  ātman (truth, self awareness): debates about meaning of; nondual nature; perceiving in self and others; permanence of; and yogic sacrifice

  avidyā (ignorance, not knowing): asmitā and; facing, in tantric yoga; overcoming through practice; suffering and

  avirati (hankering, physical desire)

  Bhagavad Gītā (“Song of God”)

  bhakti (devotion), bhakti yoga: links to jñāna yoga; practices associated with; relationships and

  bhrānti darśanam (bad/extreme philosophy)

  bindu (point, seed, droplet)

  Brahman (the whole, pure consciousness)

  brahma nāḍī

  breathing. See prānāyāma

  Buddha

  buddhi (intelligence), buddhi yoga: and awakening process; insight from; and yoga sacrifice

  Buddhism: Buddha, saṅgha, and dharma; evolution of sacred texts and scriptures; Mahāyāna school; yoga tradition in

  cakra system

  central axis of the body. See suṣumnā nāḍī

  chanting, chants: in bhakti yoga; chants; mantras; purpose; salutations; in tantric yoga; Vedic hymns

  cit-acit granthi (ego process)

  citta (mind, intelligence), citta vṛttis

  Closing Chant

  death/dissolution: accepting; and the practice of yoga; and relationships; resistance to, fear of; and tantric yoga

  dhāraṇā (concentration)

  dharma (duty, obligation, essence)

  dhyāna (meditation), dhyāna yoga

  dogma, avoiding

  dualism

  duḥkha (suffering/bad hole)

  elements, five

  ethical principles. See yamas

  food, diet

  Gaṇeśa (elephant-headed god)

  Ganesha Mantra (chant)

  guṇas (strands of creative energy)

  guru (teacher): choosing and assessing; function; student-guru relationship; surrendering to; as suṣumnā nāḍī; teachers of; two feet paradox

  haṭha yoga: body/mind awareness; Gaṇeśa as patron saint; practices associated with; tantric elements

  Haṭha Yoga Pradīpikā

  Heart of the Gītā (chant)

  Hindu religion: pillars of yogic practice; taboo activities. See also Veda, Vedic practices

  iḍā nāḍī (moon channel)

  impermanence/change: facing in tantric yoga; fear of; nondualism and; and relationships; as theme in the Bhagavad Gītā; understanding and accepting

  inaction, path of

  indriyas (senses)

  interconnectedness: and body/mind awareness; experiencing directly; and nondualism; perceiving during practice; relationships; among the three guṇas

  Invocation to the Guru and Patañjali (chant)

  Īśvara Kṛṣṇa

  Īśvara praṇidhāna (surrender to God)

  “Jeweled Net of Indra”

  jñāna (knowledge, wisdom): action and; experiencing directly; links to haṭha yoga; practices associated with

  kaivalya (aloneness)

  kāma (lust)

  Karma Mīmāṁsā

  karma yoga: and the action-inaction paradox; and dharma; practices associated with; and yajña (sacrifice)

  kleśas (torments/miseries)

  kliṣṭa (tormenting thoughts)

/>   kriyā yoga (yoga of action)

  Kṛṣṇa: as archetype of the guru; as ātman; coming together with Rādhā; physical manifestations; teachings;

  kuṇḍalinī (serpent, coiled energy of pure consciousness): awakened, Gaṇeśa as symbol of; kuṇḍalinī-cakra; releasing; salutation to; in tantric yoga

  love/compassion. See also bhakti; relationships

  Mahābhārata

  manas (mind)

  maṇḍala of prakṛti

  mantras (repeated phrases or sounds)

  meditation: and body/mind awareness; on the five elements; and the contemplative limbs of practice; invocations; in aṣṭāṅga yoga; tanmātras of the five senses; work involved in. See also dhyāna (meditation), dhyāna yoga

  Meditation on the Serpent of Infinity (chant)

  meta-patterns. See interconnectedness; yoga matrix

  mūlabandha

  mūla prakṛti (core of unfolding experience)

  mudrā (pressing together)

  mūlādhāra cakra (pelvic floor)

  mythology, Indian

  nabhi cakra (navel)

  nāḍīs (little rivers): cleansing; visualizing

  Nāgarāja (serpent king)

  nectar from the moon

  neti neti (“not this, not this”) methodology

  nidrā (sleep)

  nirodha (stillness of mind)

  niyamas (internal disciplines): āsana (postures); dhāranā (concentration of the mind); as one limb of yoga; pratyāhāra (release of the senses, sense withdrawal); śauca (cleanliness); saṅtoṣa (contentment); svādhyāya (self-reflection)

  no-ātman

  nondualism

  nonviolence

  oṁ

  pañcamakāra practice

  paradox: action-inaction paradox; dissolution of boundaries as; as intrinsic to yoga; relationships as; self-reference paradox; tortoise paradox

  Patañjali. See also Yoga Sūtra

  piṅgalā nāḍī (solar channel)

  prajñā (discernment, clear perception)

  prakṛti (creative energy, the seen): and the awakening process; and buddhi (intelligence); changing representations of; constant dissolution and transformation of; dependence on context; fluid nature of; and learning to live in the present; relationship with puruṣa; in Sāṁkhya philosophy

  pramāda (delusion, carelessness)

  pramāṇa (true perception)

  prāṇa (internal breath)

  prānāyāma (breathing practice): in aṣṭāṅga yoga; and body/mind awareness; cleansing nāḍīs; effort needed for; in haṭha yoga; maṇḍala of prakṛti; as one limb of yoga; practices associated with; switching dominance; as yogic sacrifice

  pratyāhāra (release of the senses, sense withdrawal)

  pṛthivī (earth element)

  puruṣa (human, experience of consciousness): and awakening process; and buddhi; conceptualizing; relationship with prakṛti; in Sāṁkhya philosophy; as Vedic term. See also specific schools and practices

  questioning, value of

  rajas, rajic state

  Rāmāyaṇa

  rasas (juice, essence)

  relationships: ahiṁsā (kindness/love); and dissolution, impermanence; ethical principles guiding; with gurus, paradoxical elements; interdependent, as core of yoga experience; redefining, as part of awakening process; student-guru relationship; suffering from

  ṛṣis (seers)

  śāstra (scriptures)

  sacrifice, yogic

  The Sādhana Pāda

  sādhu (holy person)

  sahasrāra (thousand-petaled lotus)

  salutations. See also chanting, chants

  saṁyama (drawing together)

  Sāṁkhya Kārikā

  Sāṁkhya philosophy: ahaṁkāra (ego function); buddhi yoga; dualism in; the five elements; the five senses; historical context; manas (mind); puruṣa and praktṛti; the three guṇas; understanding and using

  samādhi (deep meditation): in aṣṭāṅga yoga; in kriyā yoga; nidrā (sleep) vs.; as one limb of yoga; Patañjali’s definition; saṁprajñāta samādhi; and surrender; in tantric yoga; with and without content

  samasthitiḥ (equal standing pose)

  saṃśaya (doubt)

  saṁsāra (cycle of existence)

  saṁskāras (habitual body/mind patterns)

  saṅgha (community of practice)

  saṇkalpa (unifying mind)

  Sanskrit language

  saṅtoṣa (contentment)

  sattva, sattvic state

  satya (truthfulness)

  śauca (cleanliness)

  sensation: during āsana practice; during chanting; and body/mind awareness; during prānāyāma (breathing practice); and recognizing habit patterns. See also yoga practice and specific practices

  sexual energy. See also kuṇḍalinī; tantras, tantric yoga

  Śiva

  smṛtayaḥ (deep memory)

  smṛti (memory, perception of patterns)

  soma plant, elixir from

  śraddhā (faith and trust)

  styāna (dullness, being stuck)

  sūtras

  sudhā (nectar of immortality)

  suffering: alleviating; sources of. See also avidyā; duḥkha

  sukha (happiness)

  surrender: to God or Īśvara; grounding nature of; to the guru; and relationships

  suṣumnā nāḍī (central channel): accessing; awakening energy of; brahma nāḍī within; the guru as; location in body; and understanding change. See also kuṇḍalinī

  svādhyāya (self-reflection)

  svāra (flow of breath)

  swan at the pot of the belly

  tamas, tamasic state

  tantras, tantric yoga: abuse of; and awakening the kuṇḍalinī; and bhakti yoga; facing fears; facing ignorance; facing impermanence; as haṭha yoga; historical context; misconceptions about; practices associated with

  tapas (“heat”)

  tejas (fire element)

  Tejo Bindu Upaniṣad

  trikoṇāsana (triangle pose)

  two feet of the guru meditation

  Two Verses from the Gītā Dhyānam (chant)

  uḍḍiyāna bandha

  Upaniṣads

  upāya (skillful means)

  vairāgyam (nonattachment, letting go)

  vāyu (wind, air element)

  Vedas, Vedic practices: hymns, chants; and origins of Buddhism; rituals, sacrifices; scriptures and sacred texts; Vedānta

  Verse from the Bhagavad Gītā on Fire (chant)

  vicāra (deep inquiry)

  vikalpa (categorizing)

  viparyaya (misperception)

  vīrya (vigor)

  vitarka (deep concentration)

  viveka khyātiḥ (discriminating awareness)

  vṛtti (mental processes, mind)

  vyādhi (disease/sickness)

  work, action. See dharma; karma yoga

  yajña (sacrifice)

  yamas (ethical standards)

  yoga matrix

  yoga practice: barriers/obstacles; beginning studies; choosing an approach; consistent, importance of; as dialectical process; gurus (teachers); observation and; passing on yoga traditions; reasons for studying; starting a session; student-guru relationship; ubiquity of in daily life; work involved in. See also specific schools and practices

  yoga schools: choosing an approach; historical context; interconnectedness of. See also specific schools and practices

  Yoga Sūtra: abhyāsa and vairāgyam; eight limbs of knowledge; five yamas (ethical practices); historical context; kaivalya (aloneness); layers of samādhi; mahāvrata (great vow); nirodha (stillness of mind); niyamas (yoga disciplines); obstacles to practice; opening phrase; Samādhi Pāda; sources of suffering; viveka khyātih (discriminative awareness)

  About the Author

  Richard Freeman began the study of yoga in 1968 at the Chicago Zen Center while earning an MA in philosophy. Over the course of the next ten years
he traveled extensively and lived in Asia, studying Indian and Buddhist philosophy, Sufism, yoga āsana, prāṇāyāma, and meditation. His early years with āsana practice were deeply influenced by B. K. S Iyengar. Later Freeman found an integrative vision of the practice in the Aṣṭāṅga Vinyasa yoga tradition as taught to him by his primary teacher K. Pattabhi Jois. He currently travels throughout the world teaching yoga, philosophy, and meditation. He has produced three best-selling āsana practice DVDs and several highly acclaimed CDs on the subjects of chanting, prāṇāyāma, and basic yoga philosophy, including The Yoga Matrix, a CD set that served as the springboard for this book. Freeman is also the founder and owner of the Yoga Workshop in Boulder, Colorado, where he teaches and lives with his family. For more information about Richard’s teaching, online recordings, and other work, you can find him at www.yogaworkshop.com.

  About the Illustrator

  Susan Chiocchi, BFA, worked as a professional illustrator for many years and now has a private healing practice in Boulder, Colorado, where she lives with her family. She has studied and practiced yoga for more than twenty years, has been a student of Richard’s since 1986, and teaches at the Yoga Workshop. Susan is a certified Reiki master teacher, has a diploma in Brennan Healing Science, and continues her studies of the human energy body in relation to healing, yoga, and consciousness through yoga and Bön Buddhist studies.

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