Recently, my Uncle Dobi and I discovered our mutal interest in yoga. He is an expert in the Bhagavad Gita.

The Bhagavad Gita is an ancient text, a philosophy on human life. The Bhagavad Gita is about the fundamental quest of man for freedom from limitations. The Gita describes the values and methods that help to develop a free mind. ‘The Gita is only about spiritual Yoga, including meditation’. And for my uncle it is clear; ‘You are spirit (awareness) and have a body and not the other way around.’ Interesting, I have to chew on this a bit longer, read and think about it.

‘Within Eastern philosophy, you can choose to focus on the body (matter) or on the mind,’ writes my uncle. There is physical yoga and spiritual yoga. The forms that I offer according to my uncle, fall under the material Yoga, except for meditation. In Kundalini yoga, also known as the yoga of awareness, you use exercises to get deeper into meditation (Sadhana). You use physical yoga as a tool to practice spiritual yoga.

I wonder where this distinction between body and mind comes from. Where in the world, in which culture did it see light, did it spread or did it arise simultaneously in different places? And what about Northern and Southern thinkers? How did they approach this topic. I once worked as a neuropsychologist for a few years, and my thought about body and mind stems from that period. ‘Mind is a product of matter, from processes and energies that arise from that matter’. Maybe it’s time to revise this image…

There are many texts about consciousness. The Bhagavad Gita is important for yogis. The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali are also considered important. They are seen as the fundamental texts of classical yoga philosophy. According to my dear uncle, ‘The writings of Patanjali are about meditation, and therefore also deal with spiritual yoga.’ The state of higher consciousness is described and explained in detail in these texts.

Both texts require time to be understood. You need different levels of awareness. An awareness of the way you are aware, helps. So far for now. I am going to think about what the distinction between physical and spiritual yoga entails. What can I know about it from my consciousness during my yoga practice? And do I find a distinction meaningful? We are, after all, our own Gurus who have to come to our own conclusions. Where are you in your thinking about this? I would love to read your response.

Shine your light!

Amar