shakaizen
Philosophy
Philosophy integrated directly with practice through text study, inquiry, and application to what arises during practice. We work with sutras from the Yoga Sutras, verses from the Bhagavad Gita, and testing what the texts claim through experience.
"Ignorance, ego-identification, attachment, aversion, and clinging to life are the five afflictions." — Yoga Sutra 2.3
Most contemporary yoga practitioners can name a few asanas, maybe explain ujjayi breath, possibly sit for meditation—but ask them to articulate the philosophical framework that contextualizes why any of this matters, and they draw blank.
This isn’t their fault. Western yoga systematically stripped away philosophy, keeping only the techniques and discarding the understanding that gives those techniques purpose and direction.
The result: millions of people practicing yoga without knowing what they’re practicing for, what problems the practice is meant to solve, or what transformation it’s supposed to produce. They’re operating tools without understanding the tool’s function—like using a microscope as a paperweight because no one explained it magnifies things.
What yogic philosophy actually is:
Yogic philosophy isn’t feel-good aphorisms, inspirational quotes, or positive thinking repackaged with Sanskrit terms. It’s a systematic investigation into the nature of consciousness, suffering, reality, and liberation—developed over thousands of years by practitioners testing claims through direct experience.
The major philosophical texts form an integrated framework:
Yoga Sutras of Patanjali (circa 400 CE): 196 sutras outlining the nature of mind, how suffering arises, and the systematic method (eight-limbed path) for liberation. Dense, technical, precise. Not poetry—more like technical manual for consciousness.
Bhagavad Gita (circa 200 BCE – 200 CE): Philosophical dialogue between warrior Arjuna and Krishna on the battlefield, addressing karma, dharma (duty), devotion, and the nature of action. Contextualizes yoga practice within lived life rather than monastic withdrawal.
Upanishads (circa 800-200 BCE): Collection of texts forming the philosophical foundation of Vedanta. Explores Brahman (ultimate reality), Atman (individual consciousness), and their relationship. Asks: What is real? What am I? What is consciousness?
Samkhya Philosophy: The dualistic metaphysical framework underlying yoga practice. Distinguishes Purusha (pure consciousness) from Prakriti (material nature/phenomena) and maps how consciousness becomes entangled with material existence.
Hatha Yoga texts (Pradipika, Gheranda Samhita, Shiva Samhita): Practical manuals for physical and energetic practices, grounded in the philosophical premise that body and breath are vehicles for liberation, not obstacles to transcend.
These aren’t separate teachings—they’re different angles on the same fundamental questions: Why do humans suffer? What causes suffering? Is liberation from suffering possible? If so, how?
The core philosophical claims:
Yoga philosophy makes specific assertions that can be tested through practice:
Suffering is inevitable given current human consciousness: The default state of human mind creates dukkha (suffering/dissatisfaction). Not because life is inherently miserable, but because of how consciousness relates to experience—constantly grasping, avoiding, misidentifying, projecting.
Suffering has identifiable causes: The Yoga Sutras identify five kleshas (afflictions):
- Avidya (ignorance/misperception) — seeing the impermanent as permanent, the self as non-self
- Asmita (ego-identification) — mistaking consciousness for its contents
- Raga (attachment) — clinging to pleasant experiences
- Dvesha (aversion) — pushing away unpleasant experiences
- Abhinivesha (fear of death/clinging to existence) — the root survival drive that colors all perception
These aren’t moral failures—they’re cognitive-perceptual errors that can be corrected through practice.
Consciousness is not identical to mind: Samkhya philosophy distinguishes Purusha (pure witnessing consciousness) from Prakriti (everything else—body, mind, thoughts, emotions, perceptions). Liberation means recognizing consciousness as distinct from mental phenomena, not eliminating thoughts but ceasing identification with them.
Practice produces verifiable transformation: The eight limbs of yoga aren’t faith-based rituals—they’re systematic training that produces observable changes in how consciousness operates. Like physical conditioning transforms the body, yogic practice transforms relationship to thought, emotion, sensation, and identity.
Liberation is possible: Kaivalya (liberation/isolation) means consciousness recognizing itself as distinct from phenomena, no longer bound by the mind’s patterns. Not escape from life, but freedom within it—participating fully while identified with awareness rather than content.
What happened to philosophy in Western yoga:
When yoga migrated West, it encountered a culture more interested in techniques than frameworks, immediate results than long-term transformation, and fitness than philosophy.
Studios couldn’t sell philosophy the way they could sell flexibility, stress relief, or toned bodies. Teachers trained in weekend programs lacked depth to teach philosophy coherently. Students wanted workout classes, not philosophical investigation.
The solution: keep the Sanskrit terms for exotic flavor, sprinkle in quotes from texts (often mistranslated or decontextualized), add some karma/chakra/om references, and call it “spiritual fitness.”
Philosophy became decoration rather than foundation. “Good vibes,” “letting go,” “living in the now,” “finding your bliss”—contemporary yoga speak that sounds philosophical but carries none of the rigor, precision, or challenge that actual yogic philosophy demands.
The texts remained theoretically available but practically ignored. Most yoga teachers haven’t read the Yoga Sutras beyond excerpted quotes. Most students don’t know the texts exist.
Why philosophy matters practically:
Without philosophical framework, practice becomes aimless technique accumulation. You do asanas without understanding they’re preparing for pranayama. You practice pranayama without knowing it enables concentration. You attempt meditation without comprehending what you’re actually trying to accomplish.
Philosophy provides:
Purpose and direction: Understanding that the goal is chitta vritti nirodha (cessation of mental fluctuations) gives coherence to why you’re sitting still, controlling breath, training attention. It’s not about relaxation—it’s about investigating consciousness itself.
Diagnostic framework: When you understand the kleshas (afflictions), you can identify which one is operating when suffering arises. “This is raga (attachment)—I’m clinging to how I want things to be rather than meeting what is.” That recognition itself begins loosening the pattern’s grip.
Realistic expectations: Knowing that yoga aims for liberation from identification with mind—not elimination of thoughts or achievement of permanent bliss—prevents chasing impossible outcomes and enables working with what’s actually achievable.
Integration with life: The Bhagavad Gita’s teaching on karma yoga (yoga of action) addresses how practice relates to daily life—work, relationships, responsibilities. Philosophy isn’t escape into abstract theory; it’s framework for living skillfully.
Protection from bullshit: Understanding source texts makes you immune to contemporary distortions. When someone claims “yoga means union” or “chakras are real energy centers proven by science,” you know enough to recognize oversimplification or fabrication.
How philosophy is taught at Shakaizen:
Philosophy here isn’t separate from practice—it contextualizes practice, emerges from practice questions, and gets tested through practice experience.
Through direct text study: Reading actual sutras from the Yoga Sutras, verses from the Bhagavad Gita, passages from Upanishads—not commentaries or modern interpretations, but the source material itself. Translations vary, so we work with multiple versions, noticing where they diverge and why.
Through Socratic inquiry: Not lectures where I tell you what texts mean, but investigation through questions: What is this sutra claiming? Does your experience confirm or contradict it? What would it look like to test this? How does this relate to what arose during meditation this morning?
Through application to practice: When concentration keeps breaking, we examine Patanjali’s explanation of chitta vritti (mental fluctuations) and why they arise. When emotional reaction disrupts practice, we investigate the klesha operating underneath. Philosophy becomes practical diagnostic tool, not abstract theory.
Through integration with experience: After pranayama session that produced unusual energy states, we examine what Hatha Yoga texts say about prana and nadis. After meditation where self-sense temporarily dissolved, we look at what Upanishads describe about Atman/Brahman. Theory meets lived experience.
The relationship between philosophy and practice:
Practice without philosophy is blind—technique without purpose, effort without direction. You might develop concentration, flexibility, breath control, but not understand what they’re for or where they’re leading.
Philosophy without practice is empty—intellectual understanding divorced from lived experience, concepts about meditation without ability to actually meditate, sophisticated talk about liberation while remaining thoroughly bound.
The relationship is reciprocal:
- Philosophy contextualizes why you’re practicing and what to expect
- Practice tests whether philosophical claims match reality
- Experience raises questions philosophy can address
- Philosophy suggests experiments practice can conduct
They’re meant to inform each other continuously, creating iterative refinement of both understanding and capacity.
For whom:
This approach to philosophy is for practitioners who want to understand what they’re doing and why, not just accumulate techniques.
For those willing to engage difficult texts that require repeated reading and sustained contemplation.
For people who recognize that “spiritual” doesn’t mean avoiding intellectual rigor, and that thinking clearly about consciousness, suffering, and liberation is itself part of practice.
For practitioners ready to test philosophical claims through their own experience rather than accepting or rejecting them based on personal preference.
The honest assessment:
Yogic philosophy is demanding. The texts are dense. Translation from Sanskrit loses nuance. Commentaries contradict. Cultural context differs radically from contemporary life. Understanding develops slowly.
You won’t “master” the philosophy—scholars dedicate lifetimes to single texts. But you can develop working familiarity sufficient to contextualize practice, investigate experience, and recognize when contemporary yoga deviates from source teachings.
This depth isn’t required for practice to produce benefits. You can gain concentration, reduce stress, improve flexibility without studying philosophy. But you’ll be operating tools without understanding what they’re designed to accomplish—which works until it doesn’t, until technique plateaus and you don’t know why or what comes next.
Philosophy provides the map. Practice is the journey. You need both.
Without philosophy, yoga is just stretching, breathing, and sitting quietly—beneficial activities with no coherent purpose.
With philosophy, yoga becomes systematic investigation into consciousness, suffering, and liberation—a complete framework for transformation that techniques alone cannot provide.
That’s why philosophy isn’t optional for serious practice. It’s the foundation that makes sense of everything else.