Question: Namaskaram, Sadhguru. There is a part of my head where there seems to be some kind of blockage. This impedes my ability to focus and be totally involved. What can I do about this?
Sadhguru: Hatha yoga is a way of paying attention to the various layers of the body—Annamaya Kosha, Manomaya Kosha, Pranamaya Kosha, Vignanamaya Kosha, and Anandamaya Kosha—physical body, mental body, energy body, transitory body between the physical and the non-physical dimension, and the non-physical bliss body. Even on the level of the physical body, in different asanas, you may notice that certain parts of your body do not bend.
There are different levels of information or memory in this context. There is evolutionary memory, there is genetic memory and there is karmic memory. Depending upon the nature of your karmic memory, certain parts of the body will behave in a certain way. No matter what you do, they do not cooperate, even though, if you check them out with your doctor, they seem perfectly fine. If you pay close attention to the body, you will see in certain parts, there is no sensation. There are blocks or gaps in the sensory process because of your karmic structure.
Do not pay attention to such gaps. You cannot consciously fix them. If you try very hard to do so, they may even increase in size and intensity. Just keep doing your sadhana. Sadhana is about generally creating a conducive atmosphere. There are certain aspects of you that can never be changed with conscious effort. This does not mean they cannot be changed at all, but that is not within the realm of your conscious will. Your effort should just be to create a conducive atmosphere within you. When you have done everything that you can do, just wait, without counting the time.
Using the Physical to Transcend the Physical
If you do not know how to wait, your entire life will be limited to the physical. When you want to go somewhere, you want to cover a distance, which means it is within the physical realm. In a way, time is also a physical quantity. For your daily activities, you may have to fix a time. But for your own growth, never fix a time. If, let us say, you start counting how many asanas you can do within a particular time, yoga becomes a circus. The important thing is to melt into it. Every asana is a way of becoming fluid.
We are using the physical to transcend the physical, not to strengthen it. But we understand and respect that the physical has a power of its own. If your body is not in a good shape, it will take your entire attention. Only when it is really well, you can completely ignore it. We are not doing yoga to build muscles. Hatha yoga is about making the body so strong and subtle that you do not even know if it is there. If it sits here, it just sits here, without even asking for water, food, or going to the toilet. This means it is very low maintenance. That is the quality of a good machine, it does not seek your attention.
Do not worry if a certain part of your body does not cooperate. Do your sadhana and create a conducive atmosphere within yourself. Then a little push, and things will clear up.
Sadhguru is a yogi, mystic, visionary and a bestselling author. He was conferred the Padma Vibhushan in 2017. Isha.sadhguru.org