What is Yoga?

It would be misleading to squeeze the vastness of Yoga into a verbal definition. Yoga is rather something that is embodied when one is fully attentive and engaged from moment to moment.

The aliveness that sparks from deep engagement with life and direct experience is what Yoga implies. We asked ourselves the question, what is yoga?

What is Yoga?

Yoga is not something that one can ‘do’, but rather what emanates when there is total openness of the heart.

The Yogic systems have been designed with the purpose to bring the human being back into his natural state, like you would polish a piece of gold from dirt accumulated over a period of time. I think it’s important for anybody embarking on the journey of Yoga to let go of any ideas of what Yoga is and try not to adapt new ones.

Because ultimately, Yoga is not a fixed thing, that would be way too shallow and boring. Rather, with the guidance of holy scriptures and inner integrity, one can live a life of continuous exploration.

Then, what Yoga is, manifests effortlessly as a quality that shines through the one who is lives life authentically from moment to moment.

The various Yogic systems were designed to help us, individuals, balance our body-minds:

• Hatha Yoga (physical exercise)
• Pranayam (breathing)
• Dhyan (meditation)
• right diet etc.

All these systems are fantastic to form a foundation to deepen our inner journey, however, the mass majority seems to have turned these systems into something rather distasteful, egocentric.

The purpose of these systems is to purify the mind of man and shed all the ideas we have gathered over millennia. Yet the characteristic of a human mind is to accumulate, and we indulge in possessing wealth, knowledge, skill etc.

What is the secret of yoga?

It is no secret that the human ego craves gratification, so we see all kinds of Yogic systems on display as a fashion.

I would like to drift away from that; from the idea that balancing on our heads, holding our breath for 5 minutes or knowing the Vedas by heart is a plausible thing.

There is nothing wrong with that, it is good for the body, and it’s great fun for some, there is valuable knowledge. But do we ever ask ourselves – how do I live my daily life?

How engaged am I with what is in front of me?

How authentic and vibrant is my presence in each moment? Because in the world today, the Yogic spirit is more needed in the mundane than on the mat or in philosophical conversations.

We cannot understand Yoga, as long as we objectify it, because Yoga isn’t an object to be known, but rather the intuitive knowing.

This awareness awakens with the help of the Yogic systems and grace, but we must bring the quality of integrity into all aspects of our lives. It is most prominent in the mundane – how one speaks to his parents, how he handles failure and how he carries success.

There is a quality to the true Yogi that is so far beyond the white robe and brown mala beads. It is in the kindness of his speech and the compassion in his eyes. Whether he stands on his head or not is irrelevant, because Yoga shines through a purified heart.

The systems were designed to transcend trivial mental tendencies and allow the Yogi to live in peace and joy (shanti and ananda). The purpose of these systems is to deconstruct concepts and beliefs accumulated over a very long time; however, the human mind today is obsessed with accumulation.

Yoga is The Fragrance of True Living

This is why, the answer to the question: ‘What is yoga?’, to the majority, is just another means to get more – skill, fame, money, technical knowledge etc. In all aspects of life, we have a tendency to show off and a desire to stand out. What true Yoga is, is quite the opposite, and only a simple, non-competitive mind can allow space for this beauty to come about.

In my observation, the qualities that point to a true Yogi are simplicity, humility and joy.

A master once said ‘You can recognize a true Yogi by his laugh’. That is because joy is the real nature of a human being and that is an undeniable fact for anyone who has ever observed children. Every child is a Yogi, because the mind is pure; and every Yogi is a child, because he has purified his mind to that of a child.

The answer to what is yoga lies in yourself.

Having to grow up and learn to survive in society we accept all that we are told about ourselves and the majority of us entertain these beliefs to our deathbed without ever questioning them. Thus, one could say that what is yoga, It’s the journey and the goal. It is the process of de-shedding, or a metamorphosis and also the peace that remains once the coat is taken off.