T.K.V. Desikachar Quotes

To live the life of Yoga, to repeat, is about a faith that continuously guides the teacher toward practices leading to the harmony of body, mind, and spirit.

However beautifully we carry out an asana, however flexible our body may be, if we do not achieve the integration of body, breath, and mind we cannot claim that what we are doing is yoga.

The source of my father’s teaching, and the essence of Yoga, was formulated by the great Indian sage, Patanjali, more than two thousand years ago in this succinct definition: Yoga is the ability to direct the mind exclusively toward an object and sustain that direction without any distractions.

What possibilities are there for preventing actions with negative consequences, actions that we may later regret? One possibility is dhyāna, which in this context means “reflection.”3 Reflection can take many forms. For example, when faced with an important decision, you could imagine what would happen if you did the exact opposite of what your instincts suggest.4 Try to make the consequence of your decision as real as possible in your imagination. No matter what it is or what you feel, before you make an important decision and take action you should give yourself the opportunity to consider the matter with an open mind and a certain degree of objectivity. Dhyāna in this respect is a quiet, alert consideration, a meditation. The aim is to free yourself of preconceptions and avoid actions that you may later regret and that may create new troubles (duḥkha) for you. Dhyāna strengthens self-sufficiency. Yoga makes us independent. We all want to be free, although many of us are dependent on psychologists, gurus, teachers, drugs, or whatever. Even if advice and guidance are helpful, in the end we ourselves are the best judge of our own actions. No one is more interested in me than me. With the help of dhyāna we find our own methods and systems for making decisions and better understand our behavior. There are other ways of distancing ourselves from our actions than reflecting on how it would be if we were to act differently from what we intend. We might go to a concert or go for a walk or do something else that calms the thoughts. All the while the mind goes on working unconsciously, without any external pressure. In the pursuit of other activities we gain a certain distance. However short it may be, time becomes available to cast the mind over everything surrounding the decision that has to be made. Perhaps with ease and distance we will make a better decision. Stepping out of a situation in order to get a better look at it from another standpoint is called pratipakṣa. T

Another meaning of the word yoga is “to tie the strands of the mind together.

Having a point of reference is absolutely necessary. We need somebody who can hold a mirror in front of us. Otherwise we very quickly begin to imagine that we are perfect and know it all. This personal connection cannot be replaced by books or videos. There must be a relationship, a real relationship, one that is based on trust. Q:

Avidyā es la raíz que causa los obstáculos que nos impiden reconocer las cosas como en realidad son. Los obstáculos son: asmitā (ego), rāga (apego), dveṣa (rechazo) y abhiniveśa (miedo)

However powerful or disturbing something may appear to be, it is our reaction to it that determines its effects.

The quality of our breath expresses our inner feelings.

as Francis Bacon put it more than four centuries ago, is that “the mind can be enlarged, according to its capacity, to the grandeur of the mysteries, and not the mysteries contracted to the narrowness of the mind.” — R.

The success of Yoga does not lie in the ability to perform postures but in how it positively changes the way we live our life and our relationships.

it is indeed true that by practicing yoga we gradually improve our ability to concentrate and to be independent. We improve our health, our relationships, and everything we do.

Ha represents iḍā and the cool energy of the moon (candra); ṭha represents piṅgalā and the hot energy of the sun (sūrya).

La recomendación de una práctica regular de yoga sigue el principio de que, a través de la práctica, podemos aprender a estar presentes en todo momento y de esta forma, lograr mucho de lo que antes éramos incapaces de hacer.

There are eight components of Yoga. These are: yama, our attitudes toward our environment. niyama, our attitudes toward ourselves. āsana, the practice of body exercises. prāṇāyāma, the practice of breathing exercises. pratyāhāra, the restraint of our senses. dhārāna, the ability to direct our minds. dhyāna, the ability to develop interactions with what we seek to understand. samādhi, complete integration with the object to be understood.