What is Yoga?

by Katie Bock

What is Yoga

There is so much to say about what yoga is, this post could turn into pages and pages.  I am going to give you the basic answer to what is yoga?  It is…

Patanjali wrote the Yoga-Sutras 2,500 years ago.  Patanjali wrote Yogas citta vrtti nirodhah, this translates to the restraint of the modifications of the mind-stuff is yoga (Sri Swami Satchidananda translation ).  So in other words, yoga is the stilling of the fluctuations of the mind.

As stilling the mind seems impossible it is not!  Asana or the postures of yoga allow your body to reach tangible progress and allow you to move deeper within, towards stilling the mind.  Let’s think for a moment…when in a yoga class what is on your mind?  Usually not that stress you have going on outside the studio.  It is either nothing or how will I transition to that posture.  You mind is stilling without a thought.

With that yoga is not simply the physical practice or Asana.  Yoga is so much more.  Yoga is a practice, a lifestyle.  You move through your life with yoga.  Yoga brings you into the present moment, allowing you to breathe and move forward with life.

Each Person’s experience is different and their own.  My experience is a clear mind, easy breathe, gratitude, and walking away in the present moment.  I love to do Yoga in the Start of my day because I can move through the day being present, focused, and clear.

Yoga can be as simple as taking a few deep breathes, creating presence.

 

Please share what yoga is to you, on our facebook page!

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