I recently received a coffee cup as a gift with the message, “Yoga is 99% Practice and 1% Theory” printed on the side. I’ve been thinking about this when I have my morning coffee, even if I use another mug. Firstly I’d like to comment on that by saying that although I don’t necessarily disagree with the sentiment, I do think that even if that ratio is something that we would like to adopt, it doesn’t mean there isn’t a LOT of useful yoga theory. It just means that for the mountains of books on philosophy and yogic treaties you may end up studying, the application of that knowledge is the determining factor as to whether or not the theory can be verified through experimentation.

Secondly I’d like to look at why is the theory of yoga could be important. And to do that there’s a great analogy offered by BKS Iyengar where we can see yoga as a game.

If you make a decision to participate in a game there are two main criteria that we need clarification on to play the game in the way it was designed, namely: What is the goal of the game? and what are the rules?

Engaging in a yoga practice without first investigating the intended “goal” is equivalent to sitting down at a board game you’ve never played before, rolling the die (or some similar device) and then taking a randomly selected action based on the outcome of the first action. As ridiculous as this sounds, it’s happening all the time. While diving blindly into an unknown discipline may seem admirable to some, I don’t see it as wise. Knowing where you are going is useful before starting your journey otherwise you might get lost or end up driving in circles.

On the subject of rules, they are integral to the defining the game. They are also what makes a game a game in general. Why don’t you make up your own rules when you sit down to play a game? And without specific rules, doesn’t the game become something else? It may still be a kind of game, but it’s not the same game as described on the box. Is it still Monopoly if the rules are made up on the spot, or if we decide to change the rules to make the game “easier”? The parallel here is clear.

The rules in yoga are the disciplines that make the practice what it is. They are not constraints for constraints sake. They are boundaries to help us stay concentrated on the practice and the ever illusive goal.

I’m not going to get into what the goal of yoga is, nor will I attempt to explain my understanding of the framework of “rules” that make up the discipline of yoga. All I am trying to emphasis here is my understanding of the importance of a deeper understanding that can not come from practice alone. In my opinion, study and reflection on the theory of the practice is of paramount importance. Without that understanding there is only imitation.