This week in one of the yoga classes I was teaching a fellow yogi asked me, “In yoga, what are we trying to do?” In the context he was asking I realized that he was referring to the poses or asana practice. In that context, asana practice is about several things. First it is about range of motion. Second it is about building strength. Lastly, it about building energy or what we call prana.
The question that this fellow yogi got me thinking more about what yoga itself is, not just the poses, is about. The word yoga means union. For some yoga is the union of the the self with the divine. For others it is the reminder that all living things are connected. Still for others yoga can be all of that and more. Yoga is what the individual makes of it.
Yoga is what you want to get out of it. You can show up and do the asana (or poses) and for you that is all yoga needs to be. Yoga can be about learning breath control, meditation, relaxation, or philosophy.
The bottom line is in yoga and in life, what you use you will not lose.
Build strengths and use your muscles, you will stay strong.
Improve flexibility and keep range of motion of joints as you get older.
Deepening and controlling the breath leads to larger lung capacity and more oxygen for all the cells in the body.
Learn to reduce and deal with stress to live a happier, longer, and healthier life.
Yoga unites these concepts and treats them as a whole. In yoga we call it a practice keeping all of the above concepts in mind. We use our muscles, joints, breath and mind because we have them today. Being happy with what you have today, and use it or lose it!
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