Ashtanga: A Guide to the Infinite Within
by Trey Toombs
Let’s get straight to the point: what is life? There are many answers but essentially life is desire. Desire motivates our thoughts and actions. More specifically, life is the desire to expand.
Take an example of an inmate. If released from a prison cell to house arrest, they would be thrilled to have the extra space at first, but quickly that wouldn’t be enough, they will want to have access to the neighborhood, then the city and so on. Today, we have billionaires who can have anything they want on Earth, so now they want to go to Mars. Pick your poison: money, power, prestige. All these external pursuits, which often lead to injustice and environmental destruction, ultimately will not satisfy the basic yearning of life: to expand infinitely. To do that, we must turn within, and to help us on that journey we have the beautiful system of Ashtanga, which provides a roadmap.
Here’s another biggie: what is the nature of existence? Again, there are many answers, but fundamentally, existence spans the spectrum from the gross to the subtle. Think of a paint-soaked brush streaked across a canvass. At first the paint is thick and dripping down the canvas, but by the end of the stroke the paint is barely visible to the point we can’t even see it. Ashtanga, like that brush, leads us from the gross to the subtle. This practice requires us to observe the yamas (abstinences, regulations) and niyamas (observances, purifications, non-violence), it purifies the body through asana, it purifies the mind and the senses through pranayama (controlled breathing) and pratyahara (withdrawing the senses, beginning with drishti) and ultimately conditions us for the subtler practices of yoga: dharana, dhyana and perhaps maybe one day, samadhi.
The beauty of Ashtanga comes from its intense simplicity. Everyday the practice is the same, but what about us? Ashtanga gives us a glimpse into how we are each day. Are we tense? Are we listless? Are we eager? Are we avoiding? And on and on, the practice will illuminate for us what is difficult to notice otherwise. Everyday, through this practice, we have a window into ourselves. This gift is the fruit of our effort. Use this to grow. Use this to flourish. As they say, practice, and all is coming.
