What is Yoga?

The word Yoga is derived from Sanskrit and means to join together or to unify. There are many different Yoga paths and styles of Yoga, most with a common philosophical heritage. Yoga represents a truly holistic approach to health and happiness acknowledging all aspects of life.

Contemporary Yoga teacher Donna Farhi describes Yoga as a life practice: “By life practice I mean an ongoing inquiry into how to be completely engaged and intimate with the wild force that runs through everything and is running through us, if we would but pause long enough to notice..... The greater purpose of a formal Yoga practice is to apply the acute attentiveness we learn on the mat to all aspects of our everyday life so that this unitive awareness filters through our relationships, our work, and our play. If our formal practice fails to translate in this way, it has failed us utterly."

Renowned Yogi Paramahansa Yogananda was asked ‘What is Yoga?” The following excerpts are taken from his extremely thorough answer:

"Yoga means union;…... Yoga is an art as well as a science. It is a science, because it offers practical methods for controlling body and mind…... And it is an art, for unless it is practiced intuitively and sensitively it will yield only superficial results.
"Yoga is not a system of beliefs. It takes into account the influence on each other of body and mind, and brings them into mutual harmony. So often, for instance, the mind cannot concentrate simply because of tension or illness in the body…... So often, too, the energy in the body is weakened because the will is dispirited, or paralyzed by harmful emotions”

Hatha Yoga is centred on the practice of physical postures (Asana), breathing techniques (Pranayama) and cleansing techniques (Shatkarma or Kriya) in order to harmonise the body and mind. With regular Hatha Yoga practice you should notice many benefits within yourself: you become stronger, more supple, more comfortable with your body and more able to direct it. You will learn to breathe properly, to relax and to cope more skilfully with the stresses we experience in our daily life.

Hatha Yoga should be enjoyable and can help you to appreciate and understand your body and mind. The techniques used in Hatha Yoga can undo many blocks held within the body and help to release the natural flow of energy, both physical and subtle. It can support you in becoming healthier and you may find you have more energy, but also your ability to be focussed, calm and relaxed improves, you may even become more positive and content with life. Hatha Yoga is about balance; the word hatha itself is a combination of 2 beeja mantras which represent physical and mental energy, hatha yoga aims to unite these 2 forces.

It is certain that practicing yoga, over time, provides the opportunity for change and transformation. Yoga is not a religion. A yoga student can have any religious beliefs or none at all. The peace and equanimity provided by yoga practise, may allow us to explore our spirituality and to express this in any way we wish.

Donna Farhi says "Unlike many other spiritual and religious traditions, which further disenfranchise us from the support of our embodied self, Yoga stands apart as a tradition that has always recognized the importance of the body and mind living in harmonious relationship to each other. Yogis recognized that the physical manifestation of the body was but a form animated by something greater than itself. The same force that moves the tides, opens a flower, or creates lightening in a storm animates our bodies. This life force moves the breath, the fluids, and the current flowing through our nerves as well as the inner workings of each and every cell. This animating principle is the force behind all the organs of perception: hearing, touch, taste, smell, and sight.” So as yoga practice becomes established in one’s life, the deep yearning for wholeness opens up the means to know intimately this universal principle.