Swami Pragyamurti (Director of the London
Satyananda Yoga Centre) kindly agreed to answer
some questions about Sadhana, your daily
yoga practice.
If you
have questions about Sadhana, email us and
we'll try to answer them in the next issue of the
eNewsletter.
Swami Pragyamurti, could you say something
about Sadhana and how it can help in our daily lives?
The importance of daily sadhana cannot be
underestimated - it is really important, as it is the
best way of helping us to live our daily lives the way
that we want to. If we spend a little time at the
start of each day tuning in to our body, our thoughts
and feelings and being consciously quiet for a few
minutes this will get us off to a good start - much
better than watching breakfast TV or checking your
mobile phone for new text messages.
How much time do I need to spend each
day on my sadhana?
I would suggest starting with a reasonable amount of
time that you can manage, that is easy for you to
integrate into your life. So in the morning do 15-30
minutes - a few asanas, a short focus on your breath
and then simply sit or lie for about 5 minutes with
utmost awareness, maybe observing your thoughts,
maybe listening to the birds singing, but mindfully.
Later in the day, when you get back from work, for
example, treat yourself to 30 minutes with the Yoga
Nidra CD of your choice.
Does coming to a yoga class or yoga day
count as daily sadhana?
No, not really! Your weekly yoga class is where you
get ideas and inspiration for your own sadhana,
where you check up that you are practising
correctly, where you get a bit of a boost from the
group energy.
If I’m too busy to do my daily Sadhana,
can I skip a few days and do one long practice at
the weekend instead?
There are various answers to this one... Firstly, do
your daily practice because it is for you and you
deserve this precious time to nurture yourself, so
learn to put yourself first for a short time each day.
And a little practice each day actually works much
better than a rather guilty long session on the
weekend, although of course it is good to take
advantage of having some time to extend your
practice - a bit of a luxury really.
Think of your daily yoga practice like cleaning
your
teeth in the morning - you don't feel too great if you
don't clean your teeth each day, and certainly a long
scrub on Saturday morning would hardly compensate
for the previous mornings when you went without,
would it?
And finally, do you have any advice or
encouragement to help maintain and develop a daily
practice?
Start with a short session, or even 2 or 3 short
sessions in the course of the day, something that
you can manage and can't really make excuses
about - sitting with attention on your breath for 5
minutes, for example, is hugely beneficial.
Don't beat yourself up if you fail - establishing
self-discipline is not easy in the beginning, and we all
take time to learn this. And remember that yoga is
not just something that we “do” once a week - it is a
lifestyle, a philosophy that brings joy, balance,
strength, health and self-esteem into our lives; it
helps us feel at home here on earth, with each
other; it helps us become effective, generous and
loving human beings. And I'm sure that you will
agree that is no mean achievement in these troubled
times. And very important.
Swami Pragyamurti, thank you!
If you believe that peace starts with the individual
then here is an opportunity to learn a chant which
can contribute to peace in your life and the world.
