The Deeper Purpose of Yogic Path:
Most people practice yoga for its physical benefits including weight-loss, health conditions, strength building, flexibility, stress-release, and to attain a state of calm.
While yoga helps us maintain physical health, there is a deeper understanding of Yoga philosophy about living Yoga as a lifestyle that focuses on the importance of attaining and maintaining body-mind purity and balance in all areas of existence including physical, mental, spiritual & psychological levels.
The ancient texts including Yoga Philosophy and Bhagavad Gita focus on aspects of ‘Balance’, ‘Purity’, ‘Calm’ and ‘Light’, in the layered meaning of its sutras. These virtues are a state of conscious energy flowing within us and are the subtle aspects of a yogic lifestyle that each Yogi seeks to attain for a fulfilled life and to become their best version. The art and science of living and walking this path is the attribute of abundant ‘Sattva’ guna that can be attained by modifying our diet, lifestyle, thought patterns, daily routines and practices, following the principles of a sattvic lifestyle. For a Yogi, to attain the best from their Yoga practice, it is important to maintain the virtues of sattva guna. Sattvic living is the path & direction that leads us towards balance & purity and helps us become our best version in all spheres.
So what is Sattva Guna?
“tatra sattvaṁ nirmalatvāt prakāśhakam anāmayam sukha-saṅgena badhnāti jñāna-saṅgena chānagha“ – Bhagavad Gita [Chapter 14 verse 6]
Here Lord Krishna explains to Arjuna, “Sattva guṇa is the mode of goodness, being purer than the others, being illuminating and full of well-being. O sinless one, it binds the soul by creating attachment for a sense of happiness and knowledge.”
In Sanskrit, Sattva Guna means the quality of purity, harmony, and balance. Sattva creates a balance between our overactive and under active tendencies. According to Ayurveda, Sattva is the force that fuels the virtues of ‘balance’, ‘peace’, ‘purity’, ‘light’ and ‘clarity’, which is what a Yogi seeks and attains in a Yoga practice.
How Sattva Guna Relates to Yoga: In a Yoga practice we work towards attaining the oneness of body and mind and reach a state of complete stillness signifying a state of harmony. An over-energetic, overstimulated or dull mind is a hindrance in reaping the full benefits of a Yoga practice. However, living in a modern world is all about stimulation, activity and the constant use of our energy reserves that keep us in a state of sympathetic response or stress (rajas) or dull (tamas) mode most often. A mind with its rajasic tendencies lives in a chaotic and confusing state of mind. A mind with tamasic tendencies lives in a dull, inactivity and a state of passive state of mind. Sattva is that positive yet subtle force that balances the impact of rajas and tamas and brings us to a state of complete inner balance.
All yogic practices cultivate sattva that brings stability to a person’s mind and creates vibrations that that allow a person to live peacefully, mindfully and with a purpose. Cultivating a steady, quiet and peaceful mind is the purpose of yoga. Sattva Guna is the state that each Yogi aims to attain.
How Sattva Guna Impacts Our Body & Mind: Cultivating Sattva Guna positively impacts our physical, mental and spiritual body. It influences our thoughts, actions, choices, perception, habits and everything else about us. The other two counterparts of sattva guna are rajas and tamas, shrink as the sattva guna increases. Rajas causes over-stimulation leading to the overuse of nervous system capabilities and creating imbalance in our physiology and psychology at the level of digestion, elimination, metabolism, circulation, absorption, which becomes the root cause of many health concerns like anxiety, stress, digestive concerns, metabolic concerns and more. Tamas causes under-stimulation leading to the under-use of nervous system capabilities and creating imbalance in our physiology and psychology causing dullness, toxin accumulation, sluggish circulation, sluggish metabolism, low immunity, and other such concerns.
Sattva guna creates balance in our physiology and psychology balancing the root factors that are behind most health concerns body and mind including balancing nervous system functioning. This helps create balance at the hormonal level, digestion, brain functioning, stable moods, proper elimination, active metabolism, happy, cheerful, and joyous persona.
Daily Practices to Cultivate Sattva on a Yogic Path:
• Consume sattvic food comprising of fresh, local and organic produce, whole grains, nuts, seeds, beans, legumes, natural sweeteners like dates and jaggery, spices and herbs.
• Go to bed early and wake up early. Early morning time is called ‘Brahma Muhurta’ (3.30 am-6am) and considered to be the best time to imbibe the sattvic qualities of the nature and nourish mind with positivity, stabilize the mood and help cultivate calmness.
• Maintain daily hygiene by keeping yourself and your surroundings clean. Our surroundings create a similar vibe, therefore staying hygienic, wearing clean clothes, keeping our house clean, deeply impacts the mind energy deeply.
• Create balance in work and leisure activity to balance your rajasic quality (over working) or tamasic (dull) quality with sattva.
• Take care of your senses. A sense of desire is driven from what senses, see, feel, think, hear or smell. Keeping senses under control and exposing them to positivity helps build sattva guna.
• Keep company of positive motivating people. Our company also define our behaviour. A person who uplifts helps you stay in a positive frame of mind helping build sattva.
• Spend time in nature. Lord Krishna mentions in Bhagvad Gita, “vanaṁ tu sāttviko vāso” indicating the positivity that prevails in the forest. It helps elevate a sense of self-consciousness.
• Meditate first thing in the morning cultivating a deep sense of consciousness and detachment with the material world. This helps one become fearless and focused on the karma rather than the fruit of karma. This helps cultivate sattva by clearing the consciousness of worldly affairs.
• Practice asana, pranayama daily to purify body and mind of physical and mental toxins created daily. A purified body enhances the sattva guna.