Direct Experience: Understanding Asana

Direct Experience: Discovery Through Immediate Sense Perception

When Confucius said, “I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand,” he was describing the value of direct experience. Direct experience is the most effective way to deeply understand something. What is direct experience?

Someone can tell me how to ride a bike. I can watch someone ride a bike. But it is only when I get on a bike and pedal that I truly understand how to ride a bike. Until we’ve had a direct experience of something, our knowing is theoretical and our doing is imitation.

In terms of asana (yoga postures), direct experience is what happens when I am no longer thinking about what I am doing but, instead, am feeling my way through it. I become aware of my physical relationship to the space around me, the earth beneath me and the shape my body parts are making. I become aware of my body experientially - awareness of the body through the body as opposed to awareness of the body through the mind.

One of the first times I had a direct experience was in a yoga class. I remember that a sense of awe came over me. The teacher was not giving much instruction and I could feel what my body “wanted” to do. It wasn’t something I was thinking about and then executing consciously. I was following what felt like requests from my body, without any thought or evaluation; without mental will being actively involved. 

When I was no longer simply following my teacher’s verbal direction and/or imitating her movements, I was able to “hear” my body; I was able to follow its instruction. This is direct experience, in the context of asana and, for me, it was the prerequisite to becoming more deeply aware of my unique - and shifting - physiological habits and capacities. Through direct experience I was able to feel my way through postures, finding greater ease and discovering new and more effective ways of moving my body into and out of the different shapes that we call yoga postures. 

The magic of yoga is in what happens as we are able to drop into a direct experience of the postures.

Do you give yourself and your students quiet moments in class so that they can discover the magic of direct experience? 

Ayurveda: A new way of seeing ourselves and the world around us

With Ayurveda we see through new eyes.

Why are some people intense and others laid back? Why do some want to shine in the spotlight while others are happy to work quietly behind-the-scenes? Why is one person content with routine and constancy while another craves change and excitement and a third seeks challenge and accomplishment?

Ayurveda says we’re all made up of the same stuff but in varying amounts. Because of this, each one of us has a unique physiological and psychological make-up. This is called our Ayurvedic Constitution or sometimes, simply, our Dosha.

The Five Elements

Space, Air, Fire, Water, Earth. Ayurveda says each person’s Dosha is a combination of these Five Elements, or Pancha Mahabhuta as they’re called in Sanskrit.

Each element is associated with particular qualities. When we observe these qualities in human beings, someone with a lot of the Fire element will have an intense character and be drawn to challenge, compelled to be productive and desirous of influencing others. If Space (sometimes called Ether) and Air predominate, you find a person who thinks creatively, is quick to embrace change and enthusiastic about all that is new and different. When Water and Earth are the main constituents we see someone stable and steady, who enjoys going slowly and adhering to routine.

The Tridosha Theory

The ancient “Seers” who observed these tendencies developed the Tridosha Theory of Ayurveda; the three Doshas are: Vata, Pitta and Kapha.

Vata was the name they gave to a human - or any natural phenomenon - that exhibited the qualities associated with Space and Air. So whether it was a person, a type of food or a season - if it was primarily cold, light (as opposed to heavy), dry and mobile, they would say this specimen was Vata predominant. If the dominant attributes were hot, sharp (think mind or tongue), oily and penetrating, this person, season or food would be called Pitta predominant. Kapha predominant is how we’d describe a subject - human, animal or vegetable - that is cool, heavy, slow, stable and unctuous.

Because we’re all a little different, we all need an individualized diet, daily routine and exercise regimen or yoga practice. So, knowing your Ayurvedic Constitution is the essential first step in discovering the most effective route to a healthier mind and body for you.

Are you ready to become the orchestrator of your own health and well-being?
Ayurveda can show you how.
Book an Ayurveda Consultation today by clicking here.

Take this Dosha Quiz to discover your unique Ayurvedic Constitution or Dosha.