Yoga is very popular on a global scale over several decades and has been recommended by doctors for several health issues. You might have heard several times what yoga can bring to the table for your healthy lifestyle. Do you actually know what yoga is besides inhaling and exhaling?
What is yoga?
Yoga is a Sanskrit word translated as “yoke” or “union.” To yoke means to draw together, to bind together; or to unite. The aim of practicing yoga is to yoke or create a union of the body, mind, soul, and universal consciousness. This process of uniting the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual aspects of ourselves allows yoga practitioners to experience deep states of freedom, peace, and self-realization. In the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali in the first centuries, yoga is “to stilling the fluctuations or the patterns of mind in order to experience ultimate reality and move toward self-realization.”
Yoga is sacred and is the way of life in India. It is the practice of physical, mental, and spiritual that was passed on through many Indian generations even before the birth of Buddhism before Siddhartha Guatama became the first Buddha he was a scholar and practitioner of yoga.
The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali describe the eight limbs or steps to reach the goal of yoga practice. Each limb is a spiritual, mental, or physical practice that builds upon one another. The limbs of the eightfold path are Yama, Niyama, Asana, Pranayama, Pratyahara, Dharana, and Samadhi. There are six main branches of traditional yoga which are Raja, Karma, Jnana, Bhakti, Tantra, and Hatha. I will not go into details about each limb and each branch today but I promise to devote the full article to it in a future post.
The aim of practicing Yoga
Yoga is a meditative process of self-discovery and liberation. It is a diverse collection of practices that aims to control the mind, recognize a detached witness consciousness, and free oneself from the cycle of birth and death. It teaches us to see ourselves clearly and to let go. It helps us be more precise with our thoughts and feelings. It gives us the tools to make better choices in life and to live more fully.
Even though yoga is not yet globally recognized as a sport but it involved physical practice and the practice of yoga allows us to transform and purify our body, mind, and soul. It also gives us greater access to inner resources to teach us about self-awareness, acceptance, compassion, patience, gratitude, forgiveness, humility, love, peace, and joy.
Yoga isn’t just meditative exercise, it is a complete philosophy of life. It is a detailed methodology to connect with our highest truth, live with intention, and make choices that serve our highest good. Through yoga, we come back to our true nature again and again, as we peel back layers of conditioning and habit. Each time we stand on our yoga mat or sit on a meditation cushion, we have the opportunity to discover who we truly are, and we begin to understand the true nature of the universe.
“Yoga is the journey of the self, through the self, to the self.”
–The Bhagavad Gita.
I hope that is article will help clear up your mind and have a deeper understanding of yoga.
AMBER YOGA 