Yoga - Beyond the Mat
Yoga rightly called as the “Sanatana”- eternal
has come a long way. Ever along its journey the substance
of Yoga has been well preserved and fortified by the experiences
of the Rishis, mystics and sadhaks (students).
We are seeing a revival of Yoga in today’s age.
Millions of us are taking up “yoga”. Yoga
is in the magazines, on T.V, in Hollywood and everywhere
it can possibly be. But is it really penetrating “Inside”
us? We “do” Yoga but do we really “practice”
it?
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Today’s highly
obsessive physical culture and overtly self-indulgent
attitudes have unfortunately limited down the scope of
Yoga to that of “physicality”
I am into soccer, I do it to lose weight, I do it because
Madonna does it are some answers I get when I ask the
participants why they do yoga. All along the common strand
of “physicality” is ever present.
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So is yoga just about
standing on the head, or about sweating out in heated
rooms or about the group class on weekends to socialize?
What really is yoga then if it is beyond “physicality”?
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To explore the holistic
nature of yoga we need to analyze the word “yoga”
itself.
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Yoga has been derived
from the Sanskrit word “Yuj” means to yoke
or join or unite. Now what to unite solely depends on
the outlook and need of the aspirant or seeker on the
Yogic path. This is the beauty of Yoga, it cannot be caged
in limits, and any individual can adapt it for his/her
life. A spiritual aspirant may look at Yoga as union of
man and God; a householder may look at it as a union of
personal life and work life. An athlete may look at Yoga
as a union of his mind and body for his athletic performance.
Applications vary with the objective. It wont be wrong
on my part if I say that Yoga helps develop flexibility
in body, in mind and in life.
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Yes, physical practice
is an integral part of Yoga ( hatha yoga ) but its not
the end all of the practice. In fact it comes to me as
a surprise when I see people who have been doing asana
for many years without even knowing pranayama or the integration
of breath in asanas. They are oblivious to the fact that
the basis of asanas is in fact the Prana. With regards
to our above definition Yoga is also the “union”
of body and breath. In fact it’s this awareness
of body and breath that takes a person from “gross
awareness” to “subtle awareness” resulting
in a state of Samadhi that is the end point of Yoga.
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The definitions of Yoga
can be found in Vedas, Upanishads, Samhitas and Sutras.
The commonly quoted definition of Yoga is “Yogaschitta
vritti Nirodaha” Patanjali Yoga Sutra Ch1 Verse
2.
I love Patanjali because of his “to the point”
style of writing. He doesn’t waste time taking us
around philosophical jargons but he defines the purpose
of Yoga and shows us the way.
This verse says Yoga is about restraining the movements
of conscious or control of thought waves of the mind.
And why do we do that? Because this mind complex is the
source of all afflictions.
Once the mind is stilled it is comparable to a lamp in
a windless place – unmoved and undisturbed as mentioned
in Bhagvat Gita chapter 6 verse 19.
Patanjali says that this state of controlled mind can
be achieved by abhyasa and vairagya. Where “abhyasa”
is Practice and “Vairagya” is detachment.
We will come to the above two in the due course.
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Lets look at other definitions
of Yoga.
The first verse of Patanjali Yoga Sutra calls Yoga an
“anushansana” or discipline.
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The Bhagvat Gita in
chapter 2 verse 47 says “Yoga samatvam uchyate”
or Yoga is balance or equanimity. Equanimity between whom?
Again like the earlier definition of Yoga this concept
of equanimity can also be personalized. Balance between
body and breath, work and personal life, possibilities
are endless.
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Yoga as a philosophy
preaches action and practicality and is not just for debates
and discussions. According to one definition “yoga
karmashu kaushalyam” means yoga is skill in action.
“Skill” as defined by Oxford English dictionary
means “practiced ability”
This gets us back to the earlier definition that “restrain
of mental waves or fluctuations “ can be achieved
by “practice”. A regular Practice comes under
the purview of discipline again fitting in our earlier
definition “yoga is discipline”.
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Further more “skill
in action” can be personalized to whatever action
the practitioner is involved in. An athlete may want to
increase his skill at his performance, a salesman may
want to polish his skills at sales techniques, and a homemaker
would want to cook skillfully. This definition of Yoga
can be taken home, at work or even on the road thus making
it a part of our lifestyle.
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| This fluidity in meaning
and application of Yoga is what makes it so acceptable
and practical. Thus as a substance Yoga can be defined
as control of mind with practice to develop skill in action
and equanimity of thought, speech and action. Leading
our lives with this principle would certainly reduce the
shocks of the shaky fundamentals of our modern life.
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