The Theory Underlying Iyengar Yoga

 The Theory Underlying Iyengar Yoga

The Theory Underlying Iyengar Yoga

A man’s original state is one of wholeness and harmony of body, mind, and spirit. However, time and the stresses of life tend to make men’s lives scattered and fragmented.

Iyengar Yoga aims to help practitioners achieve the ultimate goal of yoga: unification of body, mind, and spirit.

Yoga is an immense system. It is an art, a science, a philosophy, a discipline, and a therapy. Iyengar likens yoga to a tree, which he calls the tree of yoga. He likens each of the eight steps of yoga (see web site) to a part of a tree. Yamas (“abstentions”) are the roots of the tree. Niyamas (“restraints”) are the trunk. The various asanas (“postures”) form the many branches of the tree. Pranayama (“regulation of the breath”) practices are the leaves, which interface between the external and internal worlds. Pratyahara (“withdrawal of the senses”) forms the bark of the tree. Dharana (“concentration”) is the life sap of the tree. Dhyana (“meditation”) is the flower of the tree. Samadhi (“ecstasy”) is the final offering of the tree—its fruit.5 The asanas, or physical postures, of the tree of yoga are considered vitally important because they are meant to bring the body to its greatest state of well-being. They prepare the body to receive the inflow of vital life force that pranayama practices promote. The asanas also allow the mind to unite in consciousness with the body so that self-realization can take place. When mindfully performed, asana practice is meditation, which leads to self-realization .