Haha now I have to comment and upvote on it (private joke, for anyone reading this). It's great to see a post on the yamas and niyamas on Steem - so many posts about asana, but there's the more spiritual side of the physical practice where the magic happens. I always think yoga is like a gateway drug to the rest of the yogic world.
I love Donna Farhi's writing - I have a book of hers on my shelf. I also have Light on Yoga too, and a few other Iyengars. I've been reading the Gita a little of late, just a few pages daily.
I always wonder about samadhi. Do you think it's a final result of years of practice, or do you think we get glimpses of it on the way that help us understand true bliss? I'm for that - little glimpses of divinity. xx
It's funny, I think I go through most things backward, and ended up practicing every limb except asana first. For a really long time that was extended due to an injury. Then I realized that the majority of Yoga teachers had no idea about the other limbs, and we as westerners were impressed if they introduced some light meditation at the end of a session. So I decided to put what I could down in writing, so anyone who wanted to learn more could.
A pretty famous Yogi once said that we "westerners" were so motivated by the physical things, that this is how Yoga had to be introduced to us. There was no other way, and that over time, the real intention would seep into our culture like drops of water.
As far as Samadhi goes, I believe there are glimpses where everything aligns, but that even in that glimpse, it can be so much more each time. I feel like every time we catch a moment of complete union, that it pushes something else into our awareness or lives which is the opposite of that. Like a little Cosmic teeter-totter whose only goal is to maintain a perfect balance.
I also think that along the way, our thoughts and ideas concerning what that union is, and what the Divine is, evolves and sheds away some predisposition of pleasure and comfort. Something I think only poets can write about. ;-)
Thank you for your help in editing the format and adding some special riverflows touches to make it beautiful. <3