Yoga article
WHAT IS YOGA?If you ask one hundred yoga practitioners what yoga means to them, it is my experienced opinion that you would get one hundred different answers. Some of us aren’t even able to express with words all the ways that yoga enhances our lives. For some, yoga is a workout. For some, yoga is a night out. For others, yoga is a lifeline.
Sri Swami Satchidananda explains, in the introduction of The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, that Yoga is the science of the mind. For thousands of years yogis, and other practitioners of different lineages, such as Buddhists, have been honing the art of sitting in meditation – attending with laser focus to the inner workings of themselves. In doing so, they were able to sense the various endocrine glands centuries before the days of cadaveric dissection (they called them the chakras). They also were able to understand the simple fact of our changeable emotional nature – and acknowledge that we are in fact made of nature – hence constant fluctuations throughout our lives (or even just throughout any given day!). Yoga; the science of the mind, is the great-great-great+ grandparent of the medical sciences and the social sciences combined.
For those who are spiritually inclined, yoga can provide us with a framework to ask ourselves the larger questions about our existence – simultaneously learning how to get comfortable with the uncertainty of it all.
You will often come across practitioners who feel such an affinity with the teachings of yoga that they stick with it for decades…or their whole lives even…practicing their science, the way doctors practice their’s. The ancient texts reassure us yogis, when we come to the realization that one lifetime is not enough to really embody all the teachings, by reminding us of the theory of reincarnation. In Sutra 1:19 we learn that any spiritual foothold gained in this lifetime will accompany us into our next life, so rest assured, we have as much time as we need.
These concepts may seem intimidating at first, so we take it one step at a time. The first step may not be the same for everyone, but typically we start with what we can feel and see. We start with Asana, which is the physical practice of yoga. From there we move slowly inward, getting to know and appreciate our more subtle inner workings…learning that our inner workings are very similar to everyone else’s…learning how connected we all are…and how small…
So, what is yoga? That’s a difficult question to answer in just a few words.
Does asana improve your flexibility? Probably.
Is yoga a workout? Sure.
Is it a religion? It can be.
Is yoga mindfulness? Yes.
Can yoga teach us healthy ways to interact with ourselves and the people around us? Absolutely.
Yoga is all of these things.
Yoga is everything.
Join us for beginner, intermediate or advanced yoga classes in our beautiful sun bathed studio room. We supply mats and all other props. Each class is thoughtfully designed to stretch and strengthen each student’s mind and body. There will be a brief sutra study, a comprehensive asana practice, pranayama (breathing exercises), and a short savasana (deep sensory rest). There are options for group classes of up to nine people, or for a more bespoke experience we offer one-to-one sessions. We look forward to practicing with you.
