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Yoga dictionary. Vritti
More often than not, the mind is either in a state of experiencing the past or planning for the future. This forces a person to experience many times again the suffering already experienced in the past, or to worry about their future. All these actions of the mind are due to its fluctuation. The Yoga sutras of Patanjali deal with the concept of Vritti.
Translated from Sanskrit “Vritti” means ‘excitement’, ‘hesitation’. A comparison may be made with a pond whose water is at rest. And in this case, it reflects the Moon. By the Moon one can understand objective reality, which, provided the mind is calm, is reflected in it without distortion. When the water begins to be affected by the wind, it begins to fluctuate, and the reflection of the moon becomes distorted. The water in the pond is the mind of the living entity, and by the wind one can mean just Vritti — its vibrations. And under the influence of Vritti, the mind begins to distort objective reality. That is the danger of such a thing as Vritti. Continue reading
The purpose of yoga. Ashtanga Yoga Patanjali (part 1)
In order to achieve any goal, you need to clearly see this goal in front of you. Therefore, in order for the practice of yoga to be fruitful, you need to understand exactly what we expect from the practice, what the result should be. The sage Patanjali has long described the 8 steps of classical yoga. These steps are also called ashtanga yoga (Ashta translates as eight from Sanskrit). These steps are as follows: yama, niyama, asana, pranayama, pratyahara, dharana, dhyana and samadhi. That is, the ultimate goal of yoga is samadhi.
So what is samadhi? Samadhi is a state of direct comprehension of reality. This condition is also called enlightenment. Enlightenment from the word “light.” Light is what illuminates the darkness. So there must be darkness and light? What is this darkness and what is this light? Continue reading
Oh teacher
I was recently invited again to Radio 4 in the morning air – to talk a little about yoga and about our upcoming yoga camp in Spain. Before turning on the microphone, the dear presenter asks: “how to introduce you?” – Honestly, this question always baffles me. Yoga instructor? Yoga trainer? Yoga teacher? What is hidden behind these labels? How are ordinary listeners listening to them?
The hackneyed word “guru” in Sanskrit only means “dispelling the darkness of ignorance.” Although in fact it is closest to the truth, in our world with distorted concepts it is worth calling yourself a guru and tomatoes and accusations will fly into you, but this is not even the point. I really do not want to belittle the meaning of this word, devalue it. “Guru” – only your students can call you, not you yourself. So who am I? ! Continue reading
