What is Yoga?

The word ‘Yoga’ comes from the Sanskrit root ‘Yuj’ which means to yoke, bind, a union or a method of discipline. I like to think of yoga as a union or joining of mind, body and spirit. Through our breathing and movement while practising yoga we are stilling the ‘Chitta vritti’ – mind chatter. While our mind is quiet, we have a break from the incessant chatter of our internal thoughts and we are brought to a place of deep relaxation and peace where we are truly connected to our higher or inner self.
The realisation that this mind chatter is not a real thing is a profound one. Knowing that most (if not all) of the things we think about, dwell upon and that consume our thoughts moment to moment, day to day have either not happened yet…. or are in the past and gone forever. Of course in our modern lives there is a certain amount of forward planning that is essential but planning for a meeting tomorrow is very different from worrying about the meeting the whole day before. It hasn’t happened yet, it doesn’t yet exist, all you can do is prepare for it and trust in yourself, worrying will not benefit you, anyone else or the meeting.
Yoga is about self-study, movement and forms and breath focus allow us to be in the moment, watching ourselves. What are my habits? What do I worry about? Why? What things are actually important to me? Which of my beliefs or thoughts about myself or others are holding me back? Am I compassionate to myself? To others? Am I irritated? Am I frustrated? Why? How can I sit with that? The answers to all these questions and many more are contained within our yoga practice if we want to find them.
The ultimate goal of yoga is enlightenment – ‘To be enlightened is to be freed from the tyranny of the mind and to experience deep spiritual peace, presence and wholeness’ – Yogapedia
We may never achieve enlightenment (the true goal of yoga) in this life time. We can absolutely make our lives easier and more fulfilling though. We can quieten and clear our minds to allow for internal peace, strengthen and heal our bodies, be more calm, deal with life in a more considered and confident way, be more compassionate to ourselves and others, find a connection between ourselves and the whole world because there is one and be happy and content with all the blessings we have in THIS moment. Because it’s the only one we really have.