What is Yoga?
Yoga, in its wholeness is a Practice! It’s often misconstrued as merely an exercise regime and while moving the physical body is part of Yoga, it is not ALL of it! We are endowed with countless texts & accompanying commentaries on said texts to teach us the entire syllabus & culture of Yoga but I think the most valuable text, in terms of learning about your Practice is The ‘Yoga Sutras’ of Patanjali. As with all worthwhile writings, there are many translations and interpretations, so if you’re exploring online or indeed buying/borrowing books, make sure to studiously, steadily & patiently drink in as many different perspectives as you can, you’ll always understand the specifics of any subject more clearly if you open your mind to variation, Yoga is non-dogmatic so it’s best to explore in the groovy spirit of that and not fall into the very human habit of tunnel vision addiction!! The word ‘Yoga’ comes from the Sanskrit root word ‘Yug’ which means to join or unite, initially as we step onto our mats, we’re encouraged to blend the breath, the body & the intellect as a kind of trinity and to observe all 3 as one entity from a place of ‘Saksha’ or Witness Consciousness. It’s important to note here that in Yoga we make a distinction between the cognitive mind and the Consciousness, the teachings give us a very cool opportunity to learn that we are not our thoughts, we are simply observing them, also that we are not even our bodies but rather the watcher of our embodiment! This initial union of breath, body & mind is a preparatory state for Yoga as a reality. Both the Tibetan Buddhists and the Yogis believe that the source of all our misery is our habitual identification with our psychophysiology …..so then…. the REAL Yoga or union which manifests is the identification with the Witness Consciousness…THAT’S who we are and when we genuinely realise this, that is what we call Enlightenment. Aligning with your Witness Consciousness is not something you just DO, you cannot proactively practise enlightenment, the Practice of Yoga allows us to be in a state of readiness for our inner light to reveal itself ! …The Sutras will instruct you in the art of initiating that readiness, The text teaches us of the ‘8 limbed system of Yoga’ our first limb is ‘Yama’ this limb describes moral codes for maintaining healthy relationships. The second limb ‘Niyama’ guides us in a Practice of self-regulation & management, tis a hefty thing being embodied as a human so we need all the help we can get! Our third limb is ‘Asana’ this actually translates as ‘Seat’ but it has come to mean Posture and this limb is what we’re normally taught in the west as Yoga…..so you’re starting to see now that Yoga Postures are only one eighth of the Practice of Yoga! The Fourth limb is ‘Pranayama’ this is our beautiful breathwork study and with regular effort in a plethora of guided & appropriate breathing techniques we can bring great health to our systems. The next item on our list of limbs is called ‘Pratyahara’ this is withdrawing from the temptation to constantly respond to distractions that feed in to our nerves & brains through our senses, pretty tough this one as we are sensory beings, however I believe this to be one of the most important sections of our personal Practice as we tend to get overloaded without that discipline. ‘Dharana’ is the sixth limb and it is the noble Practice of concentration, giving our chosen subject the attention it deserves so we can become deeply focused, this is an excellent portion of our Yoga Practice because actually we can apply it to anything, learning a language, reading your emails properly, truly being a listener, successfully hammering a nail into the wall without injuring yourself….you get the idea! Our final 2 limbs are ‘Dhyana’ Meditation and ‘Samadhi’ or being one with the Consciousness and the reason I have mentioned these together is because these 2 limbs both happen spontaneously when we have practised the other 6 daily, what I’m saying here is similar to my earlier comment on not being able to ‘do’ enlightenment as an action, Meditation happens when you gain a bit of mastery over & grace in the body, the breath, the psyche & your interpersonal relationships and a subsequent realisation of oneness with the Consciousness happens when Meditation repeatedly invites itself to the increasingly receptive table we become!! Yoga is a Practice which weaves itself through life….. not just an hour long workout on a Yoga mat! Enjoy your Practice! Namaste
