international day of yoga
Yoga to me is a way of life, and living.
It is just as much about the philosophies guiding the way I live my life, and the ability to practice breath work throughout the day and to meditate, as it is about the asana (poses).
I love the asana too but often people think it’s just about the poses. The poses have provided me the pathway, to help me tune in to my physical body, as a way to begin to focus and get out of my head and into my bodily experience (& become more ‘embodied’).
After doing yoga for a period of time, meditation came easier for me as I had built the ability to focus through each yoga session I attended.
I practised classical yoga once a week for 10 years before deciding to teach. The difference this once a week session made in my life is quite astounding. It wasn't just the poses, we did pranayama (breath work), self-enquiry on a weekly yoga philosophy (eg gratitude, kindness, self-discipline) and a brief meditation before our relaxation. Our poses followed a sequence, after limbering, to set the mind to be present and work through poses supporting the glands of the endocrine system, promoting balance in each area of our physical and subtle bodies.
This practice of incorporating all these parts of yoga in each class really changed my perspective and thoughts in many positive ways. New ways of relating to others and myself emerged, and my chronic back condition stabilised.
I feel blessed to now take weekly classes in yoga and truly believe the shared practice and the energy and support it brings is a wonderful thing. Knowing you'll see the same people each week; having a standing appointment with yourself to show up and be present, through being guided by the teacher.
It's regular self-care and develops self-awareness and growth, by osmosis, to a degree.
I love my yoga and I love sharing it in my community.
What does yoga mean to you? How do you practice? I’d love to know.
Yoga for me is the classical, 8 limbs of yoga, in Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras, not just the physical poses (asana).
Asana translates to steady, comfortable seat and started as a simple cross-legged position, which could be varied in degrees of complexity.
Over the years asana has changed to be the many many poses we know, often named after the natural world – animals (cat, cow, puppy, cobra, pigeon, butterfly, fish, dog, elephant, to name a few) and then there is moon, summit, tree, bridge, wedge, and many many more.
The asana (3rd limb) was the pose taken to move to the next phases of the 8 limbs.
After asana comes pranayama (4th limb) – breathing techniques, then withdrawing from the sensory world (5. pratyahara) and moving to concentration (6. dharana), before meditation (7. dhyana) and samadhi (8) - the state of pure awareness; bliss.
Underlying each of these is the yoga philosophies (limbs 1 and 2), or ways of being in the world, and with yourself that improve life experience.
The first limb, the yamas give us guidance on ways to live better with others: doing no harm/being kind (ahimsa), being truthful (satya), not stealing or taking what is not yours (asteya), brahmacharya (right use of energy) and aparigraha (not being greedy, or taking more than you need).
The second limb, the niyamas are about ways to live better with ourselves: purification/cleanliness (saucha), being content which, in my opinion, gratitude is the answer to (santosha), having self discipline, in a good way, to stay motivated, and stoke the ‘fire in your belly’ (tapas), self study, becoming more self aware and developing as a person (svadhyaya) and self-surrender; making the plans, doing the work and taking action, without needing to control the outcome (isvara pranidana).
Yoga, for me, is just as much about the philosophies guiding the way I live my life, and the ability to settle myself through the breath, and support balancing my nervous system and regulating my emotions, from meditation. The asana are wonderful, but yoga is so much more. I see the physical asana (poses) as not only bringing about physical strength, flexibility and balance, but as a pathway, to help us tune in to our physical bodies, and as a way to begin to focus and prepare for meditation. After doing yoga for a period of time, meditation comes easier as you’ve built the ability to focus through each pose you’ve stated with, in each yoga session you attend.
I know too, for many of my students, and the students I practice with, they come to yoga for the mental and emotional benefits, just as much, if not more than the physical benefits. They come to release stress and tension; to help manage the ups and downs of life and the the challenges they face at different life stages, and to sleep better. The physical yoga practice, along with the opportunity to develop self-awareness through self-enquiry, and the breath and relaxation practices allow times to pause.
The parasympathetic nervous system has a chance to dominate over the busy, sympathetic nervous system and its bodily responses. Yoga allows time to retune and rebalance, to return home to yourself. This is what yoga is for me.
What does yoga mean to you? How do you practice? I’d love to know.
Happy International Yoga Day, Nicky 🙏🏻