Current Letter | John's Letter Archives

Fall 1995

NAMASTE,

Every now and then my left knee plays tricks on me, slipping out of alignment when I bend it into Janu Sirsasana (Head to Knee Pose) or, occasionally, Baddha Konasana (Bound Angle or Cobbler Pose). It gets sore when that happens, and I know that over time, if I’m not careful, the joint will become more and more unstable, leading to increased problems in the knee and elsewhere.

I’ve had experience with this. Over ten years ago my right knee had become so loose that occasionally it would dislocate with a loud clunk, and I would have to sit down wherever I was and manipulate it to get it back in place. Sometimes this would take five or ten minutes. The medial collateral ligament was seriously overstretched. With an important piece of advice from Kofia Bosia and a lot of exploration, discovery and persistent practice on my part, I was able to stabilize the joint within a year. For years now that right knee has been steady and completely pain free. I can do anything with it.

Although the symptoms are less severe in my left knee, they are similar: instability and pain. I suspect a different problem exists in this instance, although, probably in the meniscus or the anterior cruciate ligament. In any case, as before I am exploring, discovering, and working persistently to recreate stability and avoid pain in that knee.

Return to top

I have observed that if I support the knee on a blanket and hold it open with a cloth, the hip will release better and I can move more deeply into the pose I’m doing without straining my knee at all. This and other measures are helping my knee to gradually improve.

Yet in spite of the fact that I know what damage is possible because of my scary experience with my right knee, I still occasionally try to do a pose without taking the proper precautions to stabilize my left knee. It’s so stupid, especially knowing what I know about the ramifications. But once in awhile I’m too lazy to get up and get a cloth or a blanket, or too careless to respond to the subtle sensations my left knee and leg are sending. As a result I strain the knee a bit and disrupt the healing process.

I observe the same tendencies in my students. They are occasionally too lazy to get a prop that will help them, or too careless to use it correctly, or ignore a pain, thinking it really doesn’t make any difference as long as it’s not unbearable.

The presence of these tendencies is not unusual. In fact they are so much a part of human nature that Patanjali, in the Yoga Sutras (I.30), lists nine specific ones, describing them as obstacles or impediments (viksepas) on the path of yoga.

The nine are: disease, listlessness or languor, doubt, carelessness, laziness, worldly-mindedness, delusion, inability to make progress, and inability to maintain progress.

In fiddling around with my knee, I have at one point or another encountered most of these. The looseness in the joint (disease) keeps me from practicing at some levels. At times I have doubts: maybe my methods aren’t correct for my current knee problems, and this knee won't heal like the other one did. I've already described my occasional carelessness and laziness. And sometimes I get so busy with various projects (worldly-mindedness) that I don’t take the time I should to tend to my knee. For awhile, in the early stages of the problem, I thought this situation was like my previous one. It isn’t (delusion). I go through long spells where my knee doesn’t seem to be improving at all (inability to make progress) or where what progress I’ve made seems to disappear (inability to maintain progress). The only obstacle I can’t clearly say I’ve encountered in this particular challenge is listlessness. And if things don’t get better, and I get really depressed and lose the will to persevere, I suppose I’ll run into that one, too.

Return to top

Of course there are many distractions in our lives. Patanjali has singled out these nine specific ones, however, as obstacles we encounter as we attempt to create an inward movement of awareness. This redirection of our awareness from its habitual external orientation toward more internal and increasingly subtle levels of consciousness is at the very heart of the practice of yoga.

Fortunately, Patanjali has also provided a means for dealing with these obstacles (I.32). He says that they can be overcome through single-minded effort. By this he means that rather than taking a negative approach, like trying not to be lazy or careless, we should instead dedicate our attention and energy toward one clear purpose. For yoga practitioners, although we undoubtedly have lesser goals along the way, our purpose is ultimately to come face to face with our own true nature, to know ourselves. The eight limbs of yoga (astanga yoga) are the tools we employ in this single-minded effort.

One of the beauties of Hatha Yoga is that in exploring the microcosm of the body very deeply from our periphery to our core, we are also confronted with the microcosmic truths concerning the nature of mind and spirit. Because our body is tangible, and therefore more accessible for most of us, it is a superb starting point from which to embark on our inward journey. The obstacles we encounter in performing a pose are the same we encounter in moving our awareness inward toward our real nature. After all, body, mind, and spirit are, in the end, indivisible. Thus as we work on our postures and breathing in our practice, coming up against the aspects of our character that impede the inward flow of awareness, we at the same time set in motion the very force, that dedication to purpose, that will enable us to overcome those impediments and carry us toward our goal.

Have a great practice and a delicious autumn.

Namaste,

       

Return to top