“Transformation” in Yoga

“Transformation”—the word has an enticing ring to it; a taste of the renewed person you might enter. 

In many ways, transformation is a marked waypoint in the yoga process; a movement from limited understanding to greater and greater grades of perception.

In personal-development circles transformation is often a selling point: “seven steps to change your life,” presumably in a favorable direction. However, the perennial forces of change stir in one way or another, often independent of our wishes.

Change is the rule rather than the exception.

In my own experience, transformation has come in two essential forms: gradually by way of regular practice and sudden upheaval. 

In both cases and in a yogic context, change is an involutionary progression from tamas (density), to rajas (activity), to sattva (clarity), cultivated through dedication and allayed release.

The serpent–with its earth-bound body, its deft ability to burrow and climb, its milky pre-moult eyes, and the shedding of its skin–is an iconic emblem of transformation. 

Shiva, whom some consider the Lord of Yoga, adorns such serpents around his neck and they slither through his hair. From their ascendent perch the snakes, acutely sensitive to vibration, behold the depth of reality underlying all forms of transformation.