What is Yoga?
Part I
"They consider that keeping of the senses steady as yoga." ~Katha Upanishad, 2.3.11
"Equanitimy is yoga." ~Bhagavadgita 2.48
"Yoga is the cessation of the Fluctuations of the mind" ~ Patanjali's Yoga Sutra 1.2
"Yoga is the union of the indiviual self with the transcendental self." ~Yoga Yajnavalkya 1.44
"All life is yoga." ~Sri Aurobindo
I've
been on an internal peace quest for the past few months. Some personal
and some about what I want to do regarding my business. One of the
questions I needed to find an answer to is, “What is Yoga and why teach
Yoga?”. The reason for the question is, I have come to a place with Yoga
to either really teach Yoga or stay where I am with it. Meaning... do I
continue with keeping it light within my Yoga classes and just teach
Yoga Nidra and Restorative Yoga. So… I've been doing the “Understanding”
(Reflecting or mulling it over)....
I
can't totally explain my “Understanding” process, but I can say whom I
resonate the best with when it comes to the explanation of what Yoga is. B.K.S. Iyengar's book, “Light on Yoga”, explanation is this; “Yoga is derived from the Sanskrit root ‘yug’ [also:
‘yuj’] meaning to bind, join, attach and yoke, to direct and
concentrate one’s attention on, to use and apply. It also means union or
communion.” He also describes it as “wisdom in work or skillful living amongst activities, harmony and moderation.” In his book “Light on Pranayama” the explanation goes a bit deeper.
I
have to say this is where I get it. In a compact version... Iyengar
says in “Light on Pranayama”, my understanding of it is, that Man
(Human) has gone through several levels of awareness as we evolved
throughout time on Earth. Iyengar says, “That we began to
realize our own potential and through this came civilization. Within
that we created words like God (Purusa) and Nature (Prakrti), Religion
(dharma)”. He also says, “Because it is difficult to define these concepts out right, so we learned to define them personally.” That is a wonderful explanation of the process I do to “Understand”...
Iyengar
says, “The personal route of understanding awakened the web of worldly
joys and found himself (Human) separated from God and Nature. He became
prey to the polarities of pleasure and pain, good and evil, love and
hatred, the permanent and the transient. Because Man (Human) was caught
up in this swirl of stuff, we felt the need for a higher divinity Purusa
or God to who was supreme, unaffected by afflictions, untouched by
actions and reactions and free from the experience of joy and sorrow.
This led Man (Human) to seek the highest ideal embodied in the perfect
Purusa or God. Thus the Eternal Being, whom he called Iscara, the Lord,
the guru of all gurus became the focus of his attentions and of his
concentrations and meditation. In this fundamental quest of
reaching Him, man devised a code of conduct whereby he could live in
peace and harmony with Nature, his fellow beings and himself.”
Iyengar
also says, “That Man (Human) learned to distinguish between good and
evil, virtue and vice and what was moral and immoral. Then arose a
comprehensive concept of right action...Religion (dharma)”.
As
man evolved, he realized that he should keep his body healthy, strong
and clean in order to follow Dharma and to experience the divinity
within himself. The Indian seers in their search for light distilled the
essence of the Vedas in the Upanisads or words/books and Darsanas
(mirrors of spiritual perception) The Darsanas or schools are: samkyhya,
yoga, nyaya, valsesika, purva mimarhsa and uttara mimarhsa.
So
for me, Yoga is a school of the spiritual perception of mind, body and
self/soul and its union of the Purusa, the higher divinity or God, in a
personal journey and understanding through practical. Yoga
helps you recognize God (Purusa) and Nature (Prakrti) and Religion
(dharma). It is not the only way to do this; it is one out of many ways.
I also get this recognition through gardening, cooking, my dog and even
reading the Bible. The school of Yoga is for the Man
(Human) who seeks the higher divinity within and with a healthy, strong,
clean mind, body and self/soul in order to follow the right action,
Religion (dharma). The Religion (dharma) is a personal “Understanding” distinguishing between good and evil,
virtue and vice and what is moral and immoral.
In the Yoga practice there is a gesture done among Yogi's. It is the “Namaste”... It
begins with the very first posture of the asanas (yoga poses) which is
Tadasana or commonly known as Mountain Pose. This pose represents the
stability of the earth element and in Indian mythology; Mount Kailash
(in the caves of this mountain is where yoga is said to have been born)
symbolizes the axis around which the whole of creation revolves. Then
a Mudra is included. Mudras are spiritual gestures or locks that seal
your relationship with the Divine. The Mudra used in “Namaste” is
Atmanjali or Anjali Mudra also known as Salutation Seal. In Sankirt,
Anjali means gesture of reverence, benediction, salutation or anji – to
honor. Then you
forward fold half way, a gesture of “The spirit in me honors the spirit
in you” and then you rise up, back to Tadasana or Mountain Pose and
lock with the Anjali Mudra. That is a practical or practice of acting in
a good way. You are respecting their personal journey and wishing them
good prayers to be strong, clean mind, body and self/soul in order to
follow the right action... This action is called a Yogi.
Now...
just because you did not choose the school of Yoga, that does not mean
you can't be a Yogi in general nor can you not be a Man (Human) that is
good. A Yogi is a Man (Human) who practices good actions... that could
be a priest, a fireman, a police officer, a baby, a child... anyone.
Yoga is not the religion… the Yogi is. The Yogi chooses to be in control
of his or her actions. Yoga is just a school that teaches the Yogi to
be with the Divine Creator and be his or her own religion.
It
is neither right nor wrong… It is simply a choice on how to
“Understand”, live life and be good in a moment, a day, a week, a month,
many months, a year, many years or a lifetime?
Indu
Special Note: Nothing
said, done, typed or written during consultations or sessions is
intended to diagnose, prescribe, cure or treat any illness and is not a
substitute for a license physician. I provide educational information
designed to help you and your personal journey to good health
