I have been contemplating the concepts of information, knowledge and wisdom a lot lately in my practice and in consideration of the world around me.  In today’s world, we are constantly bombarded with information.  We can find the answer to any question within seconds.  We are never far away from learning the answer to even the most obscure questions and we never have to wait for these answers or spend a lot of time uncovering them.  We are, in a way, drowning in a sea of information.

It appears to me that, these days, humans need to know all the information before they can proceed.  If there is any unknown information or some mystery to a scenario, we feel on edge and unsure.  I believe that we have cultivated a false sense of security by the constant gleaning of information.  If we stop to think about it, much of the information we consume in a day, a week, a month or even a year is of little or not value.  Why, because we don’t actually do anything with it and so it just gets shoved into the back of our minds much like the clothes we don’t wear anymore get shoved into the back of the cupboard.

When I started practicing yoga in 1998 information resources were potent but fairly limited.  There was, of course, the initial source of information that came from your teacher, visiting teachers, books, articles and perhaps a handful of videos or film footage and trips to India.  Back then, it was inherently understood that if you sought information from your teacher or other resources, you were on the path of practice and committed to taking that information in and translating it into knowledge by unpacking it and really taking the time to digest, absorb and assimilate it.  This was also feasible because of the somewhat limited amount of information resources (in comparison with today’s standards).  It wasn’t overwhelming.

Fast forward to 2024 and the world, indeed the yoga world, is a completely different place. 

Information surrounds us.  It summons and entices us.  It distracts us and gets us comfortable in the gathering of it – under the guise that we truly know/understand the contents of said information. We spend a good amount of time in our days just gathering information almost without purpose or intention.  I can’t help but think that in our eagerness to gather information, we have lost the initiative to delve deeper into its essence.

Information: Just the Beginning

When I first moved to Collingwood, Ontario, I could not get over how vast Georgian Bay is.  Georgian Bay is the bay of Lake Huron (one of the Great Lakes).  It is 190 km long and 80 km wide, and its depth, while generally 100–300 feet, reaches a maximum of 540 feet. All of that is just information.  You can’t really experience Georgian Bay without seeing it, feeling it, being in it in and experiencing its vastness.  From there you would need to experience the Bay in all its seasons, all of its shores, weather conditions and times of day and night.  Even that would be merely skimming its surface and not truly understanding the secrets of its depth. I have lived on the shores of Georgian Bay for almost ten years and I realise how little I truly know about it.  I find this both exciting and daunting!  Similarly, the information we encounter is merely a starting point—a collection of facts, figures, and theories awaiting deeper exploration.

In the realm of yoga, information manifests in various forms—books, videos, classes—all offering insights into the practice. However, until we engage with this information through our own practice, it remains abstract and detached from our being much like that vast body of water we have only admired from afar.

Knowledge: The Inner Exploration

“Yoga is effort. Only practice is important. The rest of knowledge is only theory.”

BKS Iyengar

Knowledge is a Middle English word that means “understand, come to recognize“.  By that definition alone we can glean the concept that knowledge was always meant to be something deeper.  In order to recognize something, we must be familiar with it.  

As we embark on our yoga journey, we move beyond the realm of information and into the realm of knowledge through practice.  Practice is the conduit that turns information into knowledge.  We can read about a certain asana (pose) and look at pictures or videos of someone practicing it but, at that stage, it remains as just information.  Until we take that pose and practice it with and through our own body we cannot recognize it.  

Take deep backbends/backwards extensions, for example, if you have experienced these poses in your own body you have that lived experience of them which cannot truly be explained to someone who has not.  Sure we can use certain descriptive words, draw images and provide the background information on these poses but until someone actually attempts to turn that information into knowledge by practicing a backbend on their own it just remains as information on the very surface of our existence.

Knowledge arises when we actively engage with the information, allowing it to penetrate our awareness, our bodies, and our souls.  I think a good example of this is a recipe.  The first time you follow a recipe, you read every word, measure the ingredients, check and double check the instructions, make sure the heat is accurate and the cooking time appropriate.  If that recipe becomes a favourite and you make it often, eventually you know it.  You recognize it.  You rely on the information about the recipe very little or not at all.  

Through diligent practice, we begin to internalize and understand the teachings of yoga. Each asana, each breath, becomes a pathway to deeper insight. We no longer passively consume information; instead, we actively participate in the process of learning and discovery.

“Ignorance has no beginning, but it has an end. There is a beginning but no end to knowledge.”

BKS Iyengar

Wisdom: The Fruit of Experience

With time and dedication, knowledge blossoms into wisdom. Wisdom is not merely knowing; it is the embodiment of understanding gained through direct experience. It is the integration of mind, body, and spirit, rooted in the soil of our lived experiences.

In the practice of yoga, wisdom unfolds gradually, like the petals of a lotus flower unfurling in the morning sun. It is the intuitive knowing that arises from the depths of our being, guiding us on our path with clarity and grace.

If we come back to the recipe analogy, once we have become familiar with the recipe, we have made it many times, we know the ingredients, temperature, cook times, etc. by heart then we start to adapt and adjust.  Adding or subtracting various ingredients.  Using what we have on hand but materfully knowing how to adapt and adjust.  It is here that knowledge turns into wisdom where we make the recipe our own and then can share and teach it to others with confidence that can only come from a place of deep knowing, a place of lived experience.

“Knowledge of yoga is no substitute for practice.”

BKS Iyengar

The Yoga of Information: Going Beyond the Surface

In a world saturated with information, it is easy to remain on the surface, content with gathering facts and figures without delving deeper. Yet, the true essence of yoga lies in going beyond the surface, in diving deep into the ocean (the Georgian Bay!) of knowledge and emerging with the wisdom that can only come from a true place of knowing.

“The Yoga of Information: Going Beyond the Surface”

BKS Iyengar

As practitioners, let us not be content with mere information. Let us cultivate a practice that transforms knowledge into wisdom—a practice rooted in experience, exploration, curiosity and understanding. For it is through this journey of self-discovery that we truly embody the teachings of yoga and awaken to our fullest potential.

At its very core, its essence, yoga is a journey of self-discovery, a path of transformation from information to knowledge to wisdom. May we embrace this journey wholeheartedly, diving deep into the ocean (the Georgian Bay!) of our own being and emerging with the radiant light of wisdom illuminating our path.

Namaste, Lori

“Illuminated emancipation, freedom, unalloyed and untainted bliss await you, but you have to choose to embark on the Inward Journey to discover it.” 

BKS Iyengar