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What is yoga?

January 17, 2019 //  by Di Hickman//  10 Comments

During a recent internet rabbit hole I came upon a question – What is yoga? If you’d asked me 5 years ago what Yoga was, I’d say it was a movement flow class incorporating lots of standing poses linked with the breath. 10 years ago I’d say it was a class you did once a week to ward of injury, and add variety to your fitness program. Prior to that I saw it as something that involved older women, sitting on yoga mats, chatting while doing some stretching. My view of ‘Yoga’ has evolved, and continues to evolve. Much of that evolution happened when I began teaching yoga. Really, only once I found my passion for learning about yoga as a whole practice, and understanding it’s not about the poses or movement at all!

what is yoga

What is Yoga?

The word Yoga is translated as meaning “to yoke”, as in join together, combine, a union.  When I first heard my Yoga mentor Jeni use the words “body, mind, heart and breath, balanced as one” something clicked within me. After years of doing fitness and asana practice I’d become disconnected within my own body. When the ads say Yoga Teacher training changes your life it’s true, because you begin to know and understand yourself. Yoga as a practice however goes beyond the self. It is realizing that we are connected to each other, everything in this World, including the Devine, and finding harmony and balance in that space. 

Yoga città vritti nirodha

Yoga is the cessation of the fluctuations of the mind

Patanjali
what is yoga

Build a practice of Yoga

If we begin to consider Yoga as more than a physical practice, then we can maybe think about the structure provided by ashtanga yoga. The 8 fold path of a yogi outlined in the yoga sutras. Of those 8, just one is the physical asana practice, and it’s not even the first one. However, it’s the one that seems to take center stage in peoples definition of yoga because it’s super visible. It’s easy to say “I’m going to a yoga (asana) class” or to have on one the gym schedule. But concentration, meditation,or pranayama are all equally as important (if not moreso) than the postures. Yet those get overlooked. We ‘go to yoga’ for one hour, but it should also be practiced for the other 23 hours of the day also!

“All the practices of yoga create a habit of self reflection. And self reflection is always in the present moment. And when we are in the present moment we pay attention to our body and what it needs, we pay attention to the breath and how it reveals our emotional state, and we pay attention to the agitations of our mind and how we can forgive them and ourselves.” – Judith Hanson Lasater

what is yoga

Practice yoga – always

Yoga as we know it in the Western World has become synonymous with movement. When nothing could be further from the truth. Personally I’d be happy renaming yoga classes to asana classes, because that’s what 99% of them are. However, I also realize I don’t own ‘yoga’, nor should anyone. I also don’t hold judgement over people that only practice the physical form of yoga. Because that wouldn’t be very yoga. Personally, I love that the physical Yoga brings in so many people to the practice. Remember from a small acorn mighty oak trees grow. Heck, my own practice began with “just asana” so I am living proof that evolution and self work happens.

Never underestimate that people can walk in the door marked “hot yoga” and walk out the door marked “transformation” – Judith Lasater

Fixing the disconnect

But how to we fix the disconnect? By learning about ourselves. Maybe realizing that what we want isn’t what we need. Being open to other aspects of yoga as a practice. And doing the internal work needed to forgive ourselves, and others. By embracing Yoga as a practice of self reflection. Not all at once, but little by little. Remember those Oak trees take years to grow!

what is yoga

In the future I want to share more about yoga as a whole practice. Not just in my classes but here on my website too. I’ll be sharing tips on asana practice, meditation, breath, concentration, the 8 limb path and how it relates to modern life, book reviews, product reviews and recommendations, and how to incorporate yoga into your daily life not just the one hour on your mat.

what is yoga

Questions?

Let me know in the comments what aspects of Yoga you are most interested in learning about.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. KDW Apparel

    April 4, 2019 at 4:15 am

    Thanks for sharing this informative post!

    Reply
  2. Nati

    January 22, 2019 at 1:06 pm

    This was so interesting and informative! I’ve never practiced yoga in my life, because I actually see it as a lifestyle itself, not sure it corresponds with mine!

    Reply
  3. Helene

    January 22, 2019 at 11:03 am

    I have started doing Yoga so many times but never managed to stick to it. Now, this will be a new start once more (i am having a class this Friday) and I hope that teacher will me make me love it again.

    Reply
  4. Flossie McCowald

    January 21, 2019 at 8:23 pm

    I definitely need to work on “living yoga practice” more. I am only getting to practice 1 day/wk now, and that is enough to think about my muscles and my slowly-improving balance, but that’s about it. So any tips you can share = welcome!

    Reply
  5. Jennifer

    January 21, 2019 at 5:54 pm

    I love yoga!!! I use to practice it a lot but now I find I’ve been neglecting it since the kids. Thank you for sharing information about yoga

    Reply
  6. Jack branson

    January 21, 2019 at 12:21 pm

    This is really helpful and I didnt know that Yoga have another meaning, I guess I never looked for that, thank you for this informative post 🙂

    Reply
  7. Susan

    January 21, 2019 at 12:20 pm

    Despite having the flexibility of a pretzel rod, I’ve loved every yoga class I’ve ever taken (well, except that one hot yoga class… that was insane). I’d love to hear more about flexibility and how to get more of it. As a 51 year-old, I may be more flexible than I’ve ever been because I’ve been working on it regularly, but it’s still pretty bad.

    Reply
  8. Elizabeth O

    January 21, 2019 at 10:50 am

    I hear you! As a life long student of yoga and meditation, I’ve heard all sorts of definitions and descriptions of the practice. Understandably, there is also a western interpretation that is rampant on social media sites and then, there is the actual practice that devotees grasp and that continues to evolve throughout our lifetime. Namaste.

    Reply
  9. Stephanie

    January 20, 2019 at 7:06 pm

    I also had many misconceptions about yoga before I tried it for the first time. I loved going to classes when my community held them, and I really miss it. I want to try to practice more at home but need to find an online class to do it.

    Reply
  10. Nicole Gilbert

    January 20, 2019 at 6:37 pm

    Love this! My yoga instructor loves to say “it’s called a practice not a perfect” She is always constantly reminding us to connect.

    Reply

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Hi, I’m Di. A yoga teacher with over 20 years experience in the health and wellness industry. My mission is to give you information so you can be fitter, healthier, stress-free and happier (no, seriously).

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