Yoga: More than just physical fitness

When I started teacher training my goal was to deepen my practice. I thought about "my practice" mostly as the physical aspect of yoga. Physical activity has always helped me find my inner calm and escape the hectic world around me. But, what I didn't realize is that yoga is the exact opposite of an escape. Yoga means "to yoke" or "union." Yoga is the union of breath and body that allows us to become in tune with our bodies and our thoughts. Because breath and body are always present, when we breathe through postures and breathe into our circumstances we yoke the powers of mind, body, and soul, allowing us to perceive our circumstances more evenly and clearly.

As I started reading and learning more about the philosophy of yoga, I realized that the reason I left my yoga classes feeling calmer, less stressed, and with a sense of escape from the world was because yoga is a deliverance from pain and suffering.

In Chapter 6 of the Bhagavad Gita, a spiritual Indian text and epic story considered the foremost authority on yoga philosophy, Sri Krishna tells the morally conflicted Prince Arjuna that yoga is the deliverance from pain and suffering also known as Dukkha in Sanskrit.

"When the mind is restrained and peaceful by the practice of yoga, it becomes detached from material desires. Thus one can perceive the self and attain happiness. Being situated in this plane of eternal bliss, which is beyond the scope of the mundane senses and obtained through intelligence, one never deviates from reality. Upon gaining this position, one considers that there is nothing superior to this and does not become disturbed even in the midst of the greatest calamities. You should know that this state of being, wherein all miseries are destroyed, is known as yoga." - Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 6 Verse 20-23

The ability to stop looking outside of ourselves for the cause of our Dukkha, to truly focus on the present moment and circumstances through a union of breath and body, allows us to reign in resistant energy and uncover the root cause of the pain. This ultimately allows us to bring curiosity rather than reactivity into our yoga practice and into our life practice. Once we remove the focus on reactivity, we are free to take the actions needed to move forward and find Sukha or happiness.

By bringing aspects of the philosophy of yoga into my practice both on and off my mat, I have experienced my physical practice deepen; however, more importantly, I have found a deeper connection to myself not just physically but also spiritually and mentally. While I have not rid myself of my Dukkha, I find that the more I practice yoga, the more clearly I am able to work through my stress and pain. I find myself dwelling on the negative less and find myself taking more control of my life and my circumstances.

As I have been working on "my journey of self, through myself, to myself," I have been integrating the Eight Limbs of Yoga into my life practice as I continue to aspire towards the final level of connection or Samadhi.

Stay tuned for the next blog post on the Eight Limbs of Yoga and how I am integrating and

incorporating these principles into my life.

Until then, I leave you in Sukhasana or easy seated pose (the name Sukhasana is derived from Sanskrit and is literally translated as pose "asana" of pleasure "sukha").

With that, I bow my head in gratitude to you and say Namaste.