Hence the distinctions of mild, moderate, and ardent.
Even among the vehement yogin-s (tīvrasaṃvegaḥ) there are differences regarding to their progress: slow, moderate or ardent.
This sūtra reinforces the idea of the previous one:“More intense the faith and the effort, closer the goal”, but it also tell us about how yoga recognizes our nature, that we all are distinct human beings, having different character and being surrounded for different circumstances. Some of us need more time to get some results because our progress is slow, but there are also people who have the capacity to progress quicker than the average yogin. So, there is hope for everyone: we can all reach the goal of yoga, with a different practice, at a different pace.
There is this story of Indra Devi, one of the greatest yoga teachers, when she relates about her practice with Sri Krishnamacharya: “I remember in one of the classes in the beginning, everybody was doing Pascimatanasana. Well almost everybody. You know [the posture where your] feet stretched on the floor, and inhale – exhale you touch the toes. My hands were so far from the toes that I asked one of my co-students to push me from the back. Sri [Krishnamacharya] told me, ‘No, no, no! You can injure muscle. You can do it by and by’. And I remember I’m on the floor, looking up at him and saying, ‘in my next incarnation.’” She reached a special place in yoga at her own pace…
Next time that you rush into a posture in your asana practice, or try some new pranyama without being prepared, try to remember this sūtra: inhale-exhale and be aware of your own capacity, and work accordingly: even if you are such an enthusiastic yogin, you should try to follow your own right pace: slow, medium or intense; just keep the faith !.
mṛdu – mild, soft
madhya – moderate, medium
adhimātratva – intense, ardent
tatah – hence
api – also, indeed
viśeṣaḥ – distintion, difference
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Thanks Hanuman for reviving the yoga sutra discussion.
This is a great explanation of the sutra. I remember doing asanas a few years back. I enjoyed the asana classes so much, but I could not do most of the asanas in a perfect manner. I still cannot do a picture perfect sandwiched pascimatanasana. But you know, I simply don’t care. The ballet dancer yoginis don’t affect me one bit. It never did. Just attempting to do these asanas are so joyful for me.
I understand that progress is different for every body. The structure of the bodies are so different. There is no need to rush when you understand the real intent of yoga. Just being consistent is more important.