Sutra III.12

Sutra III.12
tatah punah santa uditau tulya pratyayau cittasya edkagrataparinamah

*When rising and falling thought processes are in balance,  one-pointed conciousness emerges.  Maintenance of awareness with keen intensity from one-pointed attention to no-pointed attentiveness is edkagrata prainama.

(I am taking this right out of Light on the Yoga Sutras by B.K.S. Iyengar because it is so awesome)

**At times,  consciousness is thoughtfully silent but then it suddenly gushes out into vibrant activity.  In a split second, this activity may be controlled and balance regained.  This control requires effort, and effort involves time.  By skilful practice, the depth of silence which at first apperas only in glimpses,  is made to permeate and fill the entire citta.  Then the feeling time disappears.  Past and future are reabsorbed into the timeless.  

***This sutra is exactly how my practice was this morning.  I sometimes cannot believe that it is me who is doing it.  Starting once again with the chant to Patanjali,  reading of this sutra and a little quiet time. Then the asana practice began.
  Most of the time my mind is constantly churning and jumping from place to place,  never staying in one place very long.  It is not only in my mind and practice,  but in life. Yoga teaches us not only to be flexible in the body,  but encourages our minds to focus,  to be attentive to the little things.  The little things being,  how does this asana pose affect my back,  not just my back,  but the lumbar on the right side.  Am I crunching and bending and forcing?  Or am I able to step back and go about it the right way,  the nourishing way.  
This sutra explains the 3rd transformation,  which is ekagrata parinama, the uninterrupted flow and intensity of attention.  When we all practice asana it is imperitive that we maintain this flow of uninterrupted concentration to keep our bodies safe and our ego out of it.  
 This week while practicing, whether at home or in class,  keep in mind this sutra.  Stay committed to yourself and your mind-body connection.  That is why we do yoga anyways right?  To know our true self and what we are capable of.