Episode 4: Yoga
If you are new to yoga you might easily be mistaken to think it involves stretching on a mat; physical exercise. However, the physical practice, or asana, is only part of a much bigger practice involving, ethical, breath, and meditation practices.
HISTORY
It was first mentioned in the old sacred texts of the Vedas in India over 5000 years ago. Further developed in texts like the Upanishads (which contained the Bhagavad Gita) and the Yoga Sutras from Patanjali. The Yoga-Sutras (around 200AD) where the first systematic presentation of yoga. This text organised the practice of yoga into an “8- limbed path” and stages towards obtaining Samadhi or enlightenment. The 8-limbs are:
Yamas (5 disciplines such as non-violence, truthfulness),
Niyamas (5 observances such as contentment and self-study)
Asana – physical ‘seats’
Pranayama – breath practice
Pratyahara – Sense withdrawal
Dharana – Focussed concentration
Dhyana - Meditation
Samhadi - Bliss
These eight steps basically act as guidelines on how to live a meaningful and purposeful life. They serve as a prescription for moral and ethical conduct and self-discipline; they direct attention toward one's health; and they help us to acknowledge the spiritual aspects of our nature. The yoga of old only had a few postures and they were all seated meditation asanas. What has become a (sometimes purely) physical practice in the West, was originally a way to prepare the body for long periods of seated meditation.
MODERN YOGA
There are many different forms of yoga; there are the more dynamic forms such as Ashtanga, and vinyasa and the more static such as Hatha and Yin yoga and there are mixes such as restorative yoga. You don’t have to pick one, in fact it is healthy to mix the dynamic (or Yang) with the slower (Yin) to build both strength and flexibility. All types of yoga will combine movement, with focus and conscious breath.
Although all yoga is potentially therapeutic and healing, yoga therapy is the specific application of yogic tools—postures/exercises, breath work, meditation techniques, and more—to address an individual’s physical, mental, and emotional needs. It uses the kosha model (or the 5 layers of being) as a lens to try and restore balance.
“True yoga is not about the shape of your body, but the shape of your life.
Yoga is not to be performed; yoga is to be lived. Yoga doesn’t care about what you have been; yoga cares about the person you are becoming. Yoga is designed for a vast and profound purpose, and for it to be truly called yoga, its essence must be embodied.”