Embodying The Sutra

As interpreted by Lucienne Vidah

- Lucienne Vidah

FIXING YOUR MIND in one place can provide steadiness during times of turmoil and deep sadness. This type of concentration, called dharana, is the sixth limb of yoga. It’s akin to focusing a camera lens on something specific: At first, the object in front of the lens appears blurry, but gradually it’s brought into focus until it’s sharp. In the practice of asana, you can focus your lens on a specific place or area (desa) of your body, such as your eyes, navel, or heart. This discipline helps center your mind, allowing it to settle into stillness and find clarity—even on particularly rough days. Recently I was confronted with the passing of a dear colleague and friend. She was a kind, beautiful, and devoted Iyengar Yoga teacher who, about a year earlier, had learned she had an aggressive type of cancer. In the months after her diagnosis, she taught yoga classes intermittently between her chemotherapy treatments. We talked regularly after class in the teachers’ dressing room, and she was quite open about the chemo progress and setbacks.