Atha

The expression ‘atha’ means ‘now’ or ‘in the moment’. It also means ‘auspicious beginning’. Sage Patanjali very beautifully begins the Yoga Sutras – a text on Life, with the verse:

atha yoga-anu-śāsanam – ‘And now Yoga’ or ‘Now you are ready for Yoga’

It would not be fair to appreciate the profoundness of this Sutra in merely a small paragraph. But one aspect of its meaning is that Yoga can be experienced when one is completely present in the ‘now’. It also means when,in spite of all previous efforts, self-realization seems elusive but the yearning for personal transformation is still intense, it is in this precise moment that one is ready for Yoga…it is now that one is ready to learn the teachings… now is an auspicious beginning to realize one’s highest potential…and at ‘atha’ we take this journey together…