Yoga or meditation - what comes first?
July 30th, 2008 10:39 amLast week there were a few minutes to spare before I was teaching my class. One of my students asked: “What comes first, yoga or meditation?”
I had to think for a moment on how to answer that question. Historically, traditionally the opinion is that the end goal of any type of yoga practice is enlightenment. Enlightenment is the ability to live in a permanently blissful state regardless of what is going on around you. The blissful state arises from the knowledge that there is no separation from the divine (however you define this for you). This is the highest goal of yoga. The word “yoga” actually means “union”. Some argue it is the union of body and mind, or breath, body and mind, others are of the opinion that it is the union with the “source”.
According to the traditional teachings, to reach that enlightened, blissful state, regular meditation practice is required. Meditation was done sitting cross legged and motionless for long periods of time. It is thought that all the yoga postures were designed to make the body supple and flexible, pain-free and disease free so that the practitioner was able to:
- sit cross legged
- sit upright with a straight spine without slumping
- sit for long periods of time without the body distracting him/her
- have a healthy and undisturbed energy flow along the meridians (energy channels) in his/her body
- stay healthy
- live longer and therefore have more time and more of a chance to reach enlightenment (remember life expectancy a few thousand years ago was not what it is today!)
So, answering the question from a traditional point of view, I would have to say that the physical yoga postures (or hatha yoga as it is commonly referred to) are only a means to facilitate meditation and eventually enlightenment. They are the vehicle to reach that blissful state. They are secondary to the desired goal of enlightenment. My first teacher, Acharya, fully supported that view and tried to live and teach accordingly.
In our modern times, not many people in the western world are striving to reach enlightenment. Even if they did, it would be a long, hard road. Most people are unable to sit cross legged on the floor with a straight spine for long periods of time. Hip flexibility is at an all time low in the developed world.
Lots of people are struggling to get a reasonable amount of sleep due to too many commitments. A lot of women in particular arrive at my class totally exhausted.
One of my classes at the gym has a 5 minute relaxation at the the end. (A classic case of “Yoga in a Hurry”). As soon as I get people to lie down, a number of them fall asleep literally within seconds.
It is a pity, because they don’t hear what I say, they are unable to pick up the skills to eventually put themselves through the process of relaxation without me. They don’t internalise the breathing techniques so they will never become second nature to them and help them through difficult times in their lives. The only time they let go and relax is during class.
For a number of my students, doing the yoga postures with a lot of awareness and staying in one single pose for up to 60 seconds is a massive challenge. It is not the physical level that is so challenging, but the emotional and mental side of things is extremely difficult. Most people are not used to spending time with themselves and their bodies. 60 seconds of silence and complete focus on oneself is stressful and disconcerting. Mental images may arise, memories might surface, uncomfortable questions may pop up, physical pain suddenly gets noticed…..All of this is covered up during normal, everyday life through overcommitment and being busy.
I think this is scary. What are we doing to ourselves? As a society, as human beings in general, as parents and as partners?
Coming back to my student’s question: What comes first, Yoga or Meditation?
For a lot of people in the western world the physical yoga postures double up as their meditation. Yoga students have to slow down, become aware of things they normally never observe (like their breath, their posture, they way they use their joints and many more….). Awareness gets rotated around the body, breathing slows down, the mind becomes less restless. Just having the mind track only one thing for a full hour provides immediate relief for stressed-out minds. It is like a holiday. No multitasking. Not 100 things clamouring for our attention all at the same time. The only task is to be present in class to focus on only one thing at a time.
So my answer to the question: “What comes first, Yoga or Meditation?” is:
- traditionally physical yoga precedes meditation
- physical yoga postures are a tool to prepare the body and mind for meditation
- meditation is considered more valuable than the physical postures
- meditation is a tool to reach enlightenment
BUT my opinion is:
- for a lot of students doing the physical yoga poses actually is their meditation
- western minds are in great need of relaxation
- relaxation has to be re-learnt, most of my students have the lost the ability
- relaxation has to be mastered before meditation can be attempted
- the body has to be comfortable for the mind to be able to relax
- meditation needs to be introduced slowly and gradually, in short bursts
So this is my long answer to a seemingly simple question. You may have a completely different opinion. I would love to hear your comments.
Connie,
Your Yoga Partner
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