What is Yoga ?

The word ‘yoga’ is taken from the Sanskrit root ‘yug’ which means union. The ultimate goal of yoga is to achieve union between the individual consciousness
(Atma) and the universal divine (Paramatma).
Yoga is an ancient spiritual science that seeks to bring the mind, body, and spirit
in harmony or balance. You can find a parallel for this in many different
philosophies: Buddha’s ‘middle path’ – too much or too little of anything is bad; or the Chinese yin-yang balance where seemingly opposite forces are interconnected and interdependent. Yoga is a science whereby we bring unity to duality.
There are 4 paths of Yoga or 4 ways that union can be achieved:
(a) Bhakti Yoga – through love and devotion to the Lord
(b) Karma Yoga – through selfless service to others
(c) Jnana Yoga – through intellect and knowledge
(d) Raja Yoga – through scientific and systematic study of the external and
internal body. This includes Patanjali’s Ashtanga Yoga (or the Eight Limbs of Yoga).
The sage Patanjali defines yoga as “Chitta vritti nirodha” or cessation of mental fluctuation (simply put – control over the wandering mind). In the Yoga Sutra, he divided Raja Yoga into Ashta Anga or Eight Limbs. The 8 limbs of yoga are:
(1) Yama: These are ‘ethical rules’ which should be observed to live a good and pure life. The Yamas focus on our behavior and conduct. They bring out our true underlying nature of compassion, integrity, and kindness. Consist of 5 ‘abstinences’:
(a) Ahimsa (Non-violence and non-injury) – This includes being considerate in all actions, and not thinking ill of others or wishing them harm. Do not cause pain to any living creature in thought, deed, or action.
(b) Satya (Truthfulness or non-lying) – Speak the truth, but with consideration and love. Also, be truthful to yourself about your thoughts and motivations.
(c) Brahmacharya (Celibacy or control over sexuality) – Though some spiritual gurus interpret this as celibacy or total abstinence from sexual activity, it actually refers to restraint and responsible sexual behavior including faithfulness to your spouse.
(d) Asteya (Non-stealing, non-covetousness) – This includes not taking anything that has not been freely given, including someone’s time or energy.
(e) Aparigraha (Non-possessiveness) – Do not hoard or collect material goods. Take only that which you have earned.
(2) Niyama: These are ‘laws’ that we need to follow to ‘cleanse’ ourselves internally. The 5 observances are:
(a) Sacha (Cleanliness) – This refers to both external cleanliness (baths) and internal cleanliness (achieved through shatkarma, pranayama, and asanas). It also includes cleansing the mind of negative emotions such as anger, hatred, lust, greed, etc.
(b) Santosha (Contentment) – Be content and fulfilled with what you have instead of constantly comparing yourself to others or wishing for more.
(c) Tapas (Heat or Fire) – This means the fire of determination to do the right thing. It helps us ‘burn up’ desire and negative energies in the heat of effort and austerity.
(d) Svadhyaya (Self-study) – Examine yourself – your thoughts, your actions, your deeds. Truly understand your own motivations, and do everything with complete self-awareness and mindfulness. This includes accepting our limitations and working on our shortcomings.
(e) Isvara Pranidhana (Surrender to God) – Recognize that the divine is omnipresent and dedicate all your actions to this divine force. Do not try to control everything – have faith in a greater force and simply accept what is.
(3) Asana: Postures. These are typically drawn from nature and animals (e.g. Downward Dog, Eagle, Fish Pose, etc). Asanas have 2 characteristics: Sukham (comfort) and Stirtha (steadiness). Practicing yoga postures (asanas): increases flexibility and strength, massages the internal organs, improves posture, calms the mind, and detoxifies the body. It is necessary to make the body limber, strong, and disease-free through the regular practice of asanas in order to free the mind for the ultimate goal of meditation. It is believed that there are 84 lakh asanas, of which about 200 are used in regular practice today.
(4) Pranayama: Prana (vital energy or life force) is intrinsically linked to the breath. Pranayama aims to regulate the breath in order to control the mind so the practitioner can attain a higher state of psychic energy. By controlling the breath, one can gain mastery over the 5 senses and, eventually, over the mind.
The 4 stages of pranayama are inhalation (pooraka), exhalation (rechaka), internal retention (antar kumbhaka), and external retention (bahar kumbhaka).
(5) Pratyahara: Withdrawal of the senses from attachment to external objects. Most of our problems – emotional, physical, and health-related – are a result of our own minds. It is only by gaining control over the desire that one can gain inner peace.
(6) Dharana: Stilling the mind by dedicated concentration on a single point. A good point of concentration is the symbol Aum or Om.
(7) Dhyana: Meditation. Focussing on concentrating on the divine. By meditating on divinity, the practitioner hopes to imbibe the pure qualities of the divine force into him/herself.
(8) Samadhi: Bliss. This is true ‘yoga’ or the ultimate union with the divine.
The origin of yoga may be found in the Rig Veda, an Indian collection of Sanskrit hymns believed to be composed sometime between 1700-1100 BC.
In the largest sense, yoga can be seen as a way of life, a way of living in
harmony with the self and the world, and a process by which the practitioner can move beyond her own previously believed mental and physical limitations to
achieve something new.