Читать книгу Ashtanga Yoga - The Intermediate Series - Gregor Maehle - Страница 21

Yoga Chikitsa means “yoga therapy” and refers to the process of eliminating the basic causes of diseases and balancing the doshas in the body (vata, pitta, and kapha) and gunas in the mind (tamas, rajas, and sattva) through regular practice of postures. Some dancers, gymnasts, and very flexible people can do the postures of the Primary Series right at the beginning. But this is not enough. They need to practice the Primary Series until the health and balance of Yoga Chikitsa is achieved.

Patanjali lists the obstacles to yoga.⁹ The first, sickness, results primarily from an imbalance of the doshas; Yoga Chikitsa improves this balance. Attaining Yoga Chikitsa does not mean that you will never become sick again, since disease stems primarily from its root cause, the mind, and also from the environment and from karmic influences. Yoga Chikitsa will, however, improve your health and increase your resistance to disease and your capacity to recover quickly.

Yoga Chikitsa can be obtained by practicing the complete Primary Series every day for approximately one year. Please note that this is only a rough guideline, and the time required varies from person to person. Only a qualified teacher can determine if you have achieved Yoga Chikitsa.

Patanjali states that practice can succeed only when it is sustained uninterruptedly, for a long time and with a devotional attitude.¹⁰ So, as indicated previously, the Primary Series needs to be performed daily and in an uninterrupted fashion for an entire year. If the student is not able to practice daily in a devoted fashion, then she or he is not ready to commence the Intermediate Series.