Yoga
What is yoga?
Many people will know yoga as a form of physical exercise to feel fitter, more flexible and more relaxed. And they are completely right: that's an important part of yoga. However, yoga is more than just the physical postures (āsana): it is a combination of physical, mental and spiritual practices aimed at stilling the mind towards a state of balance, harmony and equanimity.
यदा पञ्चावतिष्ठन्ते ज्ञानानि मनसा सह ।
yadā pañcāvatiṣṭhante jñānāni manasā saha ।
बुद्धिश्च न विचेष्टते तामाहुः परमां गतिम् ॥ १० ॥
buddhiśca na viceṣṭate tāmāhuḥ paramāṃ gatim ॥ 10 ॥
तां योगमिति मन्यन्ते स्थिरामिन्द्रियधारणाम् ।
tāṃ yogamiti manyante sthirāmindriyadhāraṇām ।
अप्रमत्तस्तदा भवति योगो हि प्रभवाप्ययौ ॥ ११॥
apramattastadā bhavati yogo hi prabhavāpyayau ॥ 11 ॥
When the five senses are stilled, when the mind is stilled, when the intellect is stilled, that is called the highest state by the wise.
They say yoga is this complete stillness in which one enters the unitive state, never to become separate again. If one is not established in this state, the sense of unity will come and go.
— Kaṭha Upaniṣhad, 2.6.10-11.[1]
Yoga means to be in perfect tune. Your body, mind and spirit and the existence are in absolute harmony. When you fine-tune yourself to a point where everything functions so beautifully within you, the best of your abilities will naturally flow out of you.
[2]
The Yoga Sūtras of Patañjali form the basis of the modern practice of yoga. It is guide to yoga, consisting of short aphorisms. Yoga itself is described as follows:
योगश्चित्तवृत्तिनिरोधः ॥२॥
yogaś citta-vritti-nirodhaḥ ॥ 2 ॥
Yoga is the stilling of the changing states of the mind.
— Yoga Sūtras of Patañjali, 1.2.[3]
My yoga practice (Sādhanā)
My own current yoga practice is based on elements from Haṭha Yoga as well as the eight limbs of aṣṭāṅga yoga, as outlined in the Yoga Sūtras of Patañjali. I also follow the Eight-Point Program of Passage Meditation by Eknath Easwaran.
Notes
- ↑ The Kaṭha Upaniṣhad, sanskrit from Shlokam.org, English translation from The Upanishads, by Eknath Easwaran (2007).
- ↑ Mystic's Musings, by Sadhguru (2003).
- ↑ The Yoga sūtras of Patañjali: a new edition, translation, and commentary with insights from the traditional commentators, by Edwin F. Bryant (2015).