Yoga Sutra I.35: The Subtle Body

Transcript

foreign hey everyone it's Kino here thanks for joining me on this yoga Sutra study course today we're going over a yogurt sticker book one number 35. a fast sort of way of understanding this is that patanjali says that subtle sense perception can create strength and steadiness of Mind in other words focusing on the subtleties of the senses the subtlety of what's available through the faculty of perception will allow your mind to begin to reach a more steady calm and equanimous point of focus let's bring the hands together and enter the devotional space of spiritual study [Music] keep the eyes closed for a moment and bring the Mind first into the body at first you may simply be aware of the body and then having a little bit of a hint at the deeper reflection of the Sutra bring your mind Into the Heart Center and as the Mind drops into the spiritual heart behind the sternum tune into the subtle body the subtle awareness of the sensation of your own body and then gently allow your eyes to open you may have noticed yourself that at first if you're just generally aware of the body the mind has a certain level of awareness but if your mind can then drop into a more specific point of focus and that point of focus is more subtle the Mind must become even more calm and steady I'll say this Sutra all together once in the sunscreen then we'll break this down word by word [Music] okay let's start off with that first word repeat after me vishayavati vishayavati vishayavati containing a sense object so this means that the focal point will revert to some sort of an object within the fields of your senses now traditionally this could be anything but it's ideal if it happens within the context of your own body so your body is a sense object that is within your sensory awareness however you could also be focusing on a flame or have another object of meditation it is simply the sense object which now begins to be your object of attention Okay repeat that after me [Music] tear so here we're talking about the vritis the vritis if you remember from the beginning of this course in yoga Sutra book one number two the veritis are the Revolutions of thoughts the waves on the ocean of Consciousness so how do we create a space where the British seem to still or seem to create a little bit of a break in their never-ending wave so we're looking at the subtlety of sense perception to help still the British visir now repeat after me foreign arises or this brings about so by focusing the mind on the subtlety of sense perception this brings about a particular state of the mind let's move on to the next word [Music] here patanjali is making reference to the Manas which also from the second Sutra book one number two you know that the fields of the cheetah the fields of the mind is comprised of those three qualities the ahamkara the ego or the sense of I and Manas the mechanical or information processing part of the Mind where our thoughts and our memories are stored and the buddhi the higher intelligence so here we're talking about the Manas or the mind how can we create a sensation within the field of the body where the mind and the fluctuations of thoughts stop okay so we're looking at subtle sense perception subtle sense perception creates strength and steadiness of Mind using the root from Banda to bind the mind or keep the mind focused on a single point of attention now we're looking at this Sutra altogether subtle sense perception creates strength and steadiness of mind if you focus only on the gross feelings of the material objects of the senses whether you're just feeling generally your body then the mind will be sort of General it won't really have a very strong internal Banda so we're looking at creating to be able to bind the mind and keep it steady on that single point of attention subtlety of sense perception heightens the power of perception itself so if we think about this if you generally have a sense of where your body is the Mind itself has a quality of generality but if you need to focus on a very specific point try this with me now focus on the space directly between your sitting bones between your sitting bones take your mind and phone Focus between the sitting bones this is a hard place to feel you could wiggle around for a moment and then think space between the sitting bones so your mind has to get more subtle the subtlety of the sense perception then in the space between the sitting bones what exists are you aware of tactile sensation or are you aware of the subtle body the body of energy the body of feeling underneath the skin in between the cells of the body where things are delicates where things are perhaps more refined and subtle so patanjali essentially gives you a direction that will help create the idea of stability the idea of heightening your power of perception by first dropping your attention into the field of the body and then allowing that to get more and more refined so that the more subtle your point of focus the stronger the Mind becomes as though you have to turn your attention so deeply inward that nothing else matters subtle sense perception is an invitation to the inner body as though patanjali is inviting you to experience the world of the senses when the objects of the senses are invited to their deepest possible level only in the state of direct perception of that subtle experience of the inner body will the Mind still I invite you to try this during your Asana practice instead of focusing on shapes instead of focusing on well I've got to make this pose I've got to tone up my abs I've got to do this I've got to do that I got to get a workout and hit it hard think about feeling the inner body open yourself up to a higher level of body intelligence by letting your mind steady and as the Mind studies the Waters of the minds still and you're allowed and are able to really perceive the deepest truth that deepest truth of the subtle body of the inner body is one of the greatest Gifts of your yoga practice because in that state of Inner Harmony it doesn't matter what poses you're doing because the state itself is the goal of the practice invite yourself to subtle sense perception keep bringing the Mind deeper cultivate body intelligence drop your attention into the inner body and then let the world of your practice transform let's say the Sutra all together [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] let subtle sense perception take your mind into a state of steadiness and allow this to create the calm and equanimous inner Focus that is the true Testament to a lifetime of spiritual practice bring your hands together [Music] thank you so much for letting me be your guide and to the inner tradition of yoga namaste