The first of Patanjali’s sutras, Atha Yogānuśāsanam, directs that “Now the exposition of Yoga is being made.” [1] This emphasis on the here and now – the present – is very difficult for many of us to respect. We seem to always be planning for the future and remembering the past without effectively experiencing the now. Patanjali’s first sutra asks us to contemplate living in the present moment while instructing us that yoga is a lived practice in which the now is never reflective of the past: the now of Patanjali, the now of Sri Swami Satchidananda, the now of you.
It is important that we keep this sutra close to our hearts when beginning, developing or maintaining a yoga practice. While it is important to regularly make time for the physical practice of asana, we should also make it a practice to mindfully integrate yoga into every now moment. The practice of mindfulness and careful contemplation of the present is a much more challenging practice than accomplishing certain postures. So instead of thinking about the times past in which you did not go to yoga class or did not practice some postures at home and instead of planning for that class next week and dreaming about the complicated poses you would like to master, be here now and breathe in the present moment. Use this breath and this time to take into account what your senses are doing, how your body parts are moving or not moving, if your mind is actively processing a myriad of separate thoughts. Be with this moment and this practice. Now, this is yoga.
As you continue with this practice of being completely present, see if you are more able to make time to go to a yoga class taught by a favorite teacher or to step away from your desk or the television for some asana practice. Being firmly rooted in the present helps us to realize how we are in control of so much of what we are doing. Being here now, we realize that we can take this moment to give thanks for our lives by activating our bodies and by focusing our intentions.
[1] Patanjali. The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. Translation and Commentary by Sri Swami Satchidananda. Yogaville, Virginia: Integral Yoga Publications, 2008.
