Living Your Yoga

Yoga has increasingly gained popularity in the west, however it is an Indian Science that is thousands and thousands of years old. We here in the west (for the most part) think of Yoga as a physical act, an exercise and a way to get that Yoga booty! Even MTV has a line of Yoga DVDs with a cute young girl on the cover who is scantily clad! Yoga is so much more than doing a bunch poses and looking cute, it is a discipline, a science and a way of living your life. It is a practice that involves every part of your being, the physical poses keeps the body healthy and works out the toxins and stresses to prepare one for meditation. The breathing techniques quiet and still the mind, when one combines all three it brings about discipline and awareness.

Yoga is comprised of eight limbs: universal ethical principles (Yama), personal conduct (Niyama), Yoga postures, breathing techniques, control of the senses, concentration, meditation, and absorption. As you can see, the poses are only part of the practice. Ultimately when an individual is practicing Yoga he / she is incorporating all of the eight limbs not only on the yoga mat but off of the mat as well.

For example, I practice about six days a week, sometimes when I am not motivated I will practice with a DVD so my practice is not too lazy. During my practice I go through a series of physical poses (whatever poses strike my fancy that day or I focus on a part of my body that may not feel well). While I am doing the poses my breath work is not strained, it is deep and full which helps to keep the mind quiet, my gaze is always focused. In yoga there are always focal points for each pose usually a certain finger, the direction of the forehead, toes or naval. The focal points keep the mind directed and prevent the scattering of energy, this combined with the breath work keeps one integrated into the practice keeping the mind from wandering about. Once the practice is completed you prepare for meditation, the physical movements of the poses has exercised the body working out the impurities (through sweat and cleansing) stretching out the muscles and just working out the daily stresses. After a good Yoga practice I feel refreshed, renewed, centered and ready to go about the rest of my day.

What about the yama's and niyama's? These are actually common sense! There are 5 yama's (restraints) : one must refrain from violence towards others and yourself (not forcing poses and pushing too hard), one must be truthful in word / deed/ thought /action, one must not steal, one must practice moderation (not overindulging) and the last yama is non hoarding. As for the the Niyama's (observances) : one must practice purity, contentment, have focus, self study and devotion. The yama's and niyama's are the Yoga practice to do off of the mat.

I realize this may be a lot to take in, there is a lot of history and a lot to practice when it comes to Yoga. But really, when you read up on it and have practiced for awhile it only makes sense and it is such a beautiful and peaceful existence and it comes easily. As a Yoga teacher I have seen so many individuals come into the Yoga studio to take their first Yoga class, their main concern was to get back into shape. As they continued their practice they began to realize there was so much more to the Yoga - that has always been a transformation that I enjoyed watching.

We call it practice because one never achieves perfection, there is always more evolving and learning to do. Practicing and studying has always remained a passion for me, even when I wandered off the Yogic path and quit practicing I continued to read and study. I didn't consciously quit practicing, I had hit a low point in life and was quite depressed. All the more reason to practice you say, but these were the days I had to fight with myself just to shower and brush my teeth! The beauty of Yoga is that it is always there, you are always welcomed back and you pick up where you left off - never passing judgement upon yourself for quitting or for skipping practice, you are only human and a work in progress. Namaste.