By Gabriel Halpern
In order to make the American dharma more mainstream than it has already become, svadhyaya (self-study) has to be extended into something much more broadly luxuriant than simply studying yogic scriptures or chanting mantras. Yoga has to impact our personal relationships as well as our civil, social and political responsibilities.
The fierce grace of our daily life is where we have the most ongoing opportunities to test ourselves and see whether or not our yoga practice is really bearing fruit. If our yoga merely serves to stretch our hamstrings and help us stand on our head but doesn’t change the way we bring kindness to our family and the people we work with in our businesses and communities, our victory is both shallow and self-centered.
The gift of yoga has to impact the way we act in the world and not just the way we show progress on the mat. Anything less than a radical transformation of our outlook and lifestyle is not the miraculous realization that we are living Spirit. Svadhyaya is the study of yoga that leads to redemption, not just to postural improvement.
Gabriel Halpern has been practicing yoga since 1970 and trained at the Iyengar Yoga Institutes in San Francisco and Pune, India. In 1985, he founded and directs the Yoga Circle, voted the best traditional yoga studio in town by Chicago Magazine in 2013.
by Cynthia Woods
One of the original meanings of svadhyaya was to find enlightenment through studying and memorizing ancient texts.
Many years ago, I had to memorize scores of Bible verses in order to be confirmed into my church. I can still recite some of them. At the time, the verses had unknowingly become a mirror into myself, revealing the cause of my pain, discomfort and even joy.
My method of svadhyaya has changed over the years through studying different writings and poetry from many spiritual disciplines, spending time on my yoga mat, walking in nature and meditating. I had always been looking for something on the outside, or for an epiphany to move up a few rungs on the spiritual ladder.
Then one day, I truly did have an epiphany! It was that there would be no epiphany, no bells or whistles, no angelic appearances telling me what to do. My joy and connection to the divine would come from small moments of stillness, being in nature, reading, being truly present with family and friends and spending time on my yoga mat.
Many aspects of my daily life reveal my inner self—if only I pay attention to them. So at this moment, svadhyaya means to me paying attention to my life.
Cynthia Woods is a yoga instructor at Power Yoga on Main in Downers Grove. She earned a bachelor’s in holistic nutrition from Clayton College of Natural Health.
by Eddie Stern
Excerpted from an interview with illumine during his Nov. 2013 visit to Chicago
Svadhyaya means to move firmly towards oneself. At its most traditional, svadhyaya is the repetition of personal mantras that have been passed down through your family lineage. The Vedas, especially the Upanishadic portion, are about ritual and self-knowledge. You are repeating all of the mantras associated with sva (the Self). The mantras are transmitted and recited over thousands of years by the family lineages who are energizing, keeping alive and charging these teachings on the Self.
Another understanding of svadhyaya is self-study or reflection, which has come about in some of the modern translations. Sva means “one’s own” and adyaya means “a chapter.” Svadhyaya can mean “one’s own chapter,” such as the narrative of one’s life. How are you examining the narrative of your life? Are you creating a new narrative that is liberating? Or are you reinforcing an old narrative? Are you creating a narrative of honesty and self- reflection? Or do you allow yourself to be a slave to your biases, judgments and opinions—even while practicing yoga?
Svadhyaya in that regard refers to a willingness to examine your narrative with honesty and to be open through different practices to creating a new one that leads you away from bondage and towards freedom.
Eddie Stern directs Ashtanga Yoga New York (AYNY), opened in 1995 as the New York City branch of Pattabhi Jois’s institute in Mysore, India.
by Jim Kulackoski
Svadhyaya is 
the art of truly knowing oneself. It is the cornerstone of the philosophies and practices Jnana and Karma Yoga, which seek to understand the nature of individuality as a means to transcend its limitations.
Svadhyaya is composed of the two Sanskrit words
Sva 
& Adhyaya 
Sva means “self,” referring to both the self in the sense of an individual as well as Self in the cosmic or universal sense. Adhyaya means “lesson,” something that is learned or accomplished through study. Svadhyaya, therefore, refers to the mastery of Self though internal study and examination of self. Svadhyaya is a type of yoga in which one inquires deeply into the nature of one’s own individuality.
Each of our personalities is made of a unique set of beliefs, from which we construct the individual universes we each inhabit. These beliefs determine the specific meanings we attribute to the things and situations we encounter. Our thoughts and emotions, both pleasant and painful, are a product of them. By examining the beliefs and preferences one identifies with, it is possible to gain perspective, insight and ultimately freedom from those beliefs.
The value of svadhyaya is that it gives us insight into the very beliefs that compose our identity, allowing us to transcend its limitations and act from a place of creativity and spontaneity. We then have access to choose how we may respond to any situation from a sense of possibility, rather than simply react due to an emotional reflex.
The ultimate lesson of svadhyaya is the realization of Self, the underlying consciousness, which pervades all of existence. When one identifies with Self, one is free to act from a level of complete congruency with the moment at hand. The result is choice, free will, in which life becomes an opportunity to consciously create, moment to moment, regardless of circumstance.
by Trayci Handelman
Ending Savasana, I often ask my half- conscious students, “Do you feel content? If you only had what you have right now, could you be happy?” In a society that depends on our wanting more for its economic survival, our contentedness is a hard trick to pull off.
Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra 2.42 (santosha) says to be happy with what you are given, not just with what you have. Embracing santosha, one of the five niyamas (observances), helps me as a yoga teacher to let go of expectations both on and off the mat. I experience “teaching an amazing class” as giving perfect cues, syncing the playlist with the poses smoothly and ensuring the students leave the studio glowing. The santosha comes when I feel content with myself, with what I am given and what I create in that moment— regardless of the outcome of a particular class or the accolades I receive.
Yoga teaches us to turn inward for sustenance, to be happy from the inside out. Welcome the curveballs of life. Let go of our war with reality. Like many of the things we seek and run towards, the more we search, the more it eludes us. In asana, we want to nail that pose and move on to the next challenging one. Santosha invites us to look in, to see the beauty of what is there and to feel it is enough.
Each of Patanjali’s niyamas overlaps. For instance, it is vital to tap into svadhyaya (self-study) to find santosha. Consider your desires. Is desire bad? Should I not desire a bigger crowd in my class? Does the size of the crowd depend on how well I teach? If the crowd is small, will I be content?
Whether teaching or practicing and in Savasana, contentment is a challenge, a place toward which to strive. Start with gratitude for the now.
Tracy Handleman teaches yoga at several studios in Highland Park and by private instruction. yogalibra68@gmail.com
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