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As yoga practitioners, we often Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras Patanjali expounds on the Sutras as his basic teachings and primary texts of philosophy, but the part of the Sutras we rarely talk about is in chapter 3, where Patanjali details the magical powers that can be gained through practice.
He warns us not to become attached to these powers, but he shares them nonetheless. SamyamaHe explains that meditation can produce these magical results: for example, meditating on a feather grants you levitation, meditating on someone’s physical form allows you to read their mind, meditating on an elephant grants you access to the elephant’s powers, meditating on the sun gives you knowledge of the entire solar system, meditating on your own mind gives you knowledge of your own mind, and so on.
Modern yoga practitioners are probably more interested in longevity than levitation, but there is a magic there that has not been thoroughly explored. Yoga was in fact designed to provide an effective way to exercise the mind and channel energy, or prana. Yoga asks us not to simply go through the motions but to address the essential elements of life itself: energy and consciousness.
Everyday Magic
It’s easy to forget the magic that surrounds us. Our nervous systems are designed to pay attention to what changes and largely ignore what stays the same. We tend to overlook the everyday magic in every breath and every step. Yoga helps us raise our awareness and shift our perception so that we can recognize the extraordinary in the seemingly mundane.
There’s an everyday quality to chair yoga. Most of us can easily imagine ourselves practicing it: “Just sit in this chair, stretch a little, and breathe.” It’s almost too simple.
But therein lies the magic: you just need to open your mind to the possibilities. Start your yoga practice and let it do the rest. As you practice simple movements, connecting your breath to your body, you suddenly find that a sense of calm emerges from nowhere. Peace seems to appear out of nowhere, like a magician pulling a rabbit out of a hat.
In reality, the rabbit was in the hat and it has been there all along. Our peace is like that rabbit: sometimes it is hidden from us, but always just below the surface, waiting to be revealed.
What makes yoga yoga?
The challenge is, how do you find a yoga practice that effectively reminds you of that magic?
We tend to make yoga more complicated than it needs to be. Any activity can be transformed into yoga if you do it with the awareness to cultivate an inward rather than outward focus. Try it now. You can cultivate a state of yoga by simply lengthening your spine as you inhale, or lifting your arms while noticing every sensation.
When I train yoga teachers to teach chair yoga, I often ask them what the difference is between a chair yoga class and a chair exercise class. On the surface, they may seem the same. The answer is how and where you focus your mind.
The magic of yoga is the transformation that occurs when we shift our perspective. This can feel especially magical when we feel stuck in a difficult situation and can’t see a way out of it. By focusing the mind, we can access the power of yoga in countless ways. We let go of traditional asanas (postures) and focus on the more essential elements of the practice. We become conscious of how we move, breathe, feel and act.
And we begin to make conscious choices where previously we might have responded in mundane ways. Harnessing the power of the mind through focused practice is where the magic happens, and it’s available to all of us.
Related:
A Calming Chair Yoga Practice to Reconnect with Yourself
How to Practice Sun Salutations While Sitting in a Chair
Try Warrior Flow from the comfort of your chair.
