First, Miss Bite Size would like to clarify this: When folks talk about ashtanga yoga, they may not be talking about the same thing!

When you go to practice Ashtanga on a mat in a studio or a gym, you’re practicing Pattabhi Jois’s system of Ashtanga Yoga, a school of Vinyasa Yoga. It’s a specific school of physical practice (an awesome, challenging and beautiful one).

The ashtanga I’m talking about here translates as “eight limbs” and comes from Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras. One diligently practices ashtanga yoga in hope of  achieving a steady, unwavering control of mind.

As quickly discussed in the definition of asana, there are eight limbs one practices. The first are the yamas. There are various numbers of yamas depending on the scripture, but Patanjali prescribes five. One can look at the yamas as the commandments for one’s behavior toward others:

Ahimsa: non-violence. A yogi must not harm or injure living things. This is where the whole vegetarian thing fits in (which shall be discussed ad naseum on this site – trust me). But it’s not just limited to sporting a vegan diet – that would be missing the wider picture. We’re talking about non-violence in one’s words, deeds and thoughts, not just to others but to oneself. A-ha! Now it gets complicated and all Freudian. Awesome.

Satya: truth. Don’t lie. Tell the truth. We all know how hard this is. Who among us mortals only speaks the absolute truth? Not even a little white lie to be polite in public? Liar.

Asteya: no coveting. If it’s not yours, then it’s not yours. Don’t bother thinking about it. It’s only going to disturb your mind. Pretty straight forward, no?

Brahmacharya: abstinence. That’s right. No sex. In today’s Western world, this isn’t exactly applicable to the fullest extent. We also note that most of the gurus we know of were/are married with children. Miss Bite Size has learned from her teachers that basically one must avoid being a total ho and find joy in a meaning partnership. Reasonable, no? Afterall, we’re trying to quiet our minds. Sex, lust, love, relationship dramas all tend to work against that.

Aparigraha: no possessiveness. Don’t grab. Don’t hold on to things. Didn’t your mommy teach you to share? Well, it’s not just about your Barbies. We don’t like to let things, people, emotions go. We define ourselves with what we hold on to. Think about it. Do you want to do that?

Well, guess what? It’s only the first of eight limbs! Better practice.

OSSSO        Om Shanti Shanti Shanti Om

PS        Patanjali’s Sutras

NTE        Namaste

BBL        Back Bending Later?

LMAO        Laughing My Asana Off

OOL        Oming Out Loud

OMG        Oming Mid-Garudasana

TAV        Take a Vinyasa

LDC        Lowering Down Chaturanga

RFOMTACTSIA        Rolling Forward Over My Toes and Coming To Stand in Tadasana

BOF        Breath of Fire

F*CK!        Hanumanasana

Z        Firelog or Agnistambhasana

Zzz        Falling asleep in savasana

$        Old Navy

$$        American Apparel

$$$        Lululemon

)!(        Oh god! I let one out in the class.

x        Don’t breathe! Someone farted in the class.

:- x        Teacher said I was moaning too loud

<3        In a heart-opening Flow

x-(        In Corpse Pose

: -P        Doing Lion’s Breath

xxooxxoo        My teacher was adjusting me but then it got creepy, please call the authorities

0:-)        I have attained Samadhi, bye!

If you do the kind of Yoga that I do, then you find yourself singing. A lot. Mostly in a language you don’t understand. A language the kids like to call “Sanskrit”.

Now, if you’re new to Yoga, like I am not, you may feel confused and even intimidated by said singing. You may want to look for a Yoga class that has no chanting, like in a gym or at (shudder) Bikram, of which more on at a later date.

I would like to suggest that you embrace your inner “American Yogi Idol” and chant it up! It’s a wonderful way to connect to the spiritual side of your practice, and also to connect with the community. Yoga is at best, a team thing, a place to find union and to be part of the whole. There is no “I” in Yoga. (Ok there is an “I,” in “Yogi” fine. Leave me alone.)

Let’s look at a few famous chants and explore what they might mean.

ALL TRANSLATIONS ARE WAY LOOSE BUT THE MEANING IS INTACT.

EVOCATION TO PATANJALI

OM
YOGENA CHITTASYA PADENA VACHAM
MALAM SHARIRASYA CHA VAIDYAKENA
YOPAKAROTAN PRAVARNM MUNEENAM

PATANJALIM PRANJALI RANATOSMI

This is a tribute to Frank Patanjali, Capo Regime of the Corleone Family who testified that he “didn’t know no Godfather”…

I’m sorry what? Oh. Ok, my bad. It’s actually an homage to the famous sage who devised the “Eight Limbs of Yoga,” of which Asana (physical posture) is only one. (Imagine doing Yoga with 8 limbs? Omigod we gotta find an Octopus and teach it Half-Moon.) Patanjali is also rumored to have written a Sanskrit Grammar dictionary but my library doesn’t have it.

Here’s that chant in English

I bow to the sage Patanjali, who cured the imperfections of the mind through yoga

the imperfections of speech through grammar and the imperfections of the body through medicine

So yeah, you gotta love how this guy rolled.

PRAYER FOR ENLIGHTENMENT

OM
ASATOMA SADGAMAYA
TAMASOMA JYOTHIRGAMAYA
MRITHYORMA AMRUTANGAMAYA
OM SHANTI, SHANTI, SHANTI

Lead us from darkness to light
From ignorance to truth
And from death to eternity

Let peace prevail everywhere

My Yoga journey started with the Hatha classes at Integral Yoga in the West Village of NYC. Slow but intensely spiritual. We ended each class with the above prayer. Dickens said “ignorance” was our greatest danger, and us Yoga peeps are warriors in the fight against said stoopidness. (Well, he said the first part, the 2nd part is me)

THE CHANT OF GANESH

Ganesh, my favorite god. Head of an elephant, body of a guy who’s had a lot of peanuts. God of obstacles. He puts them in your path to challenge you, and takes them away when you’ve learned. I love this guy.

Om gam ganapataye namaha!

LOOSE MEANING

OM= The primordia sound or vibration, can be used to say Hello Ganesh. How You Doin’?
GAM= the sound o’ Ganesh, or the Bija Mantra.
Ganapataye= Ganesh, thank you for screwing with me and then making everything better. Really.

Namahah=I honor you, Elephant Dude”

For more chants and how they sound in mp3, visit theyogasanctuary.net. Until next time, Peace and don’t choke on your mantras!

By Jim Catapano, as posted on namayay.blogspot.com