A few months ago, I listened to a lecture, on YouTube, given by B.K.S. Iyengar on how learning yoga was like climbing a mountain. There would be time of progress and there would be time of no progress. In fact , for a long time, I felt no progess until two months ago in which I experienced the meaning of the Sanskrit word Dharana, concentration. Dharana was the ability to focus the mind on the body.
The break through experience of Dharana occurred in a morning class where only two students arrived. There was bad weather and a holiday. Normally, I didn’t talk to much, or ask questions; however, under the circumstances, I decided to ask questions in hope of improving my yoga practice.
While in the downward dog pose, I would be able to keep my legs straight for three seconds then I did a micro bend. I would do this all through the pose, three seconds, micro bend, repeat until pose finished. Almost ever class I would be yelled at, “Straighten your legs!!” There was a constant battle of my mind against the body. I explained this to the instructor. She gave me a yoga strap which she made in a loop and put around the elbows as I executed down ward dog. She told me to NOT listen to the teachers but to focus on my legs. With the stap on the elbows, I could bring full attention to the legs. With the aid of a yoga strap, I was able to keep the legs straight for 30 seconds or more; thus, experiencing concentration. This was a big change. When in a pose, I have to block out distractions to maintain focus. I had gain clarity into what needed to be done.
Brahmcharya has been very difficult. I failed a few time but with each failure, I gained insight and a stronger resolve to keep the path. Recently, I discovered the sattvic diet via YouTube videos. Yogis ate this diet to aid in keeping celibate.
The Yoga Bridge 