What is Yoga
It’s National Yoga Month! But…what exactly IS yoga?
Most people think yoga is an exercise regimen of stretching and standing on your head while wearing tiny shorts on a white sand beach. This is actually so far from the truth.
Yoga means “to yoke” also known as “union” or “unite”. It’s a system of practices and disciplines that include breathing techniques, mediation, self-study and yes, asana which are the physical postures. There are actually five paths of yoga (more on that later) and eight limbs of yoga (see below) A few of the limbs even branch off into deeper explanation.
Yoga originates in ancient India, some say more than 5,000 years ago. While ancient texts reference yoga, they mostly reference Dhyana, or meditation and say very little about the physical postures. Ancient yogis used asana to create change, direct focus and energy and to prepare the body for meditation.
Yoga is a way of life that helps unite you with your higher self. You can describe higher self as consciousness, god, goddess, the universe or whatever personal beliefs you hold. You can also think of yoga as uniting mind and body to better connect to spirit.
Most people know yoga from the asana, or postures, because those are parts of yoga that you can see.
Trying to define yoga is like trying to define love. There are so many aspects and ultimately one must experience it to even begin to understand it. It may take many lifetimes before one feels like they truly understand and practice all aspects of yoga. But, we can begin simple and understand how we can use aspects of yoga to improve our mental and physical well-being as well as how we approach life and interact with others.
Throughout the month of September, I’ll share a variety of topics related to yoga, it’s paths, limbs, practices and theory. A lot of what I share will be related to asana as this is the area where people begin to get out of their heads a little and feel the change you create…at least that tends to be the case in our modern world.
For those interested in the asana practice, join me Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays for live classes over on fcbdU.com