FAQs on Yoga: What is yoga? etc
I'm writing some articles for a magazine to answer some frequently asked questions on yoga. I thought I'll post them here in a series for your information too, especially for those of you who have just started yoga classes. Feel free to email me if you have any questions on what's posted or if you have any other queries on yoga: saufen@yahoo.com
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Introduction
These days, it always makes me happy when walking down the street, I see someone carrying a yoga mat. This means that yet another person is enjoying the wonderful benefits of this ancient practice. Before I started yoga, I never could have imagined the remarkable power that yoga has for self-transformation and helping you to find peace and happiness within.
Yoga has transformed my health, changing me from a person who takes medical leave for weeks at a time to a full-time yoga instructor. With yoga’s emphasis on daily practice and maintaining mindfulness in all our actions, it has also provided me the motivation to put what I have been taught into real practice and helped me to appreciate the wisdom of these teachings. This is not just the case for me, I have seen so many people benefiting from the practice and their stories always have a common theme: yoga enables you to look within, to understand yourself, to live well and be happy.
Indeed, my teachers from India call yoga “an ancient technology for happiness”. Now that it has become the latest fitness craze, I am sure you have also heard many good things and perhaps some conflicting things being said about yoga. Perhaps you are thinking of giving it a try but are confused by all the Sanskrit names and a little frightened by the pictures of people with their bodies “tied up in knots”.
What is yoga? How does it benefit you? How do you start yoga? Here, I provide some answers to these questions. May you have the chance to learn this “technology for happiness” and may you be well and happy on your path.
What is yoga?
The word yoga has the Sanskrit root yuj which means to “yoke” or “bind”. “Yoga” has often been interpreted as “union”. At one level, this is to unite the body, heart and mind. The practice also extends to unite all aspects of our lives. What is the point of these unions? Sometimes we live as though we have no bodies: recall those times you skipped your meals to finish an important project at work. Sometimes we live as though we have no mind: recall those times you spend an entire day seeking out the place with the best char kway teow. In the long term, these are not feasible ways of living and they result in much unhappiness. Both the body and mind become unhealthy because there is no understanding of how to live in a wholesome way.
Yoga can be understood as a way of living. Its purpose is to ensure that all aspects of our living form one consistent whole so we are no longer estranged from ourselves and our universe -- this gives us a sense of unshakable peace and happiness in the here and now. It can be said that the basis of all yoga practices is happiness.
Where did yoga come from? Is yoga a religion?
Yoga originated from India. Artefacts from the Indus Valley, dated to some 4,000-5,000 years ago, have depictions of people in the same yoga poses that we still practice today. It is believed that yoga practices and philosophy has been passed down the years in an oral tradition from teacher to student. Patanjali is acknowledged as the father of modern yoga as he collated the practice of yoga into the Yoga Sutras about 2,000 years ago. The Sutras contains 195 statements of the principles of yoga and these continue to exist alongside the practical tradition as guidelines to good practice.
Yoga is not a religion. It is best understood as a way of life. Through the course of its long history, it overlaps into practices and beliefs associated with Hinduism and Buddhism. However, as “yoga” is such a general term, meaning simply to seek union, it is not meaningful to talk about yoga being a Hindu practice, for example. Everybody needs to find their own yoga, their own path in life. There is no need to give up your religious beliefs to practice yoga, rather, in the spirit of yoga, you need to look for union between all aspects of yourself.
What’s the difference between yoga and other forms of exercises?
While some forms of yoga practices involve the development of the strength and flexibility of the body, in yoga, the body is seen as merely a vehicle for the self. A healthy body is a foundation for deeper personal development. Even within asana (yoga posture) practice, the emphasis is on drawing your attention inwards by focusing on the breath. This helps us to develop a moment-to-moment awareness of the changes of within our bodies and our minds. In this way, mindfulness practice differentiates yoga practice from other forms of exercise. This is also a great advantage of yoga body conditioning as mindfulness helps to prevent injuries caused by careless or reckless exercise.
All yoga practice are guided by principles (see yamas and niyamas below) setting the proper intentions which help us to understand why we are working hard on our bodies, to set realistic goals and to take care of our bodies while we exercise. So while a good yoga asana practice may help you to lose weight, on a deeper level it also helps to lose your attachments to your body – changing how you view your body and developing an acceptance of the impermanence of all things.
What is Ashtanga Yoga?
In Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras, he mentions an eight-fold path called Ashtanga Yoga. Ashta means “eight” and anga means “limb”. Just as we use all our limbs in a learned coordination in our daily lives, we need to practice all eight limbs of yoga together. The eight-limbs of yoga provide the guidelines on how to practice yoga and form a recipe for happiness in life:
[1] Yama: yamas are ethical restraints. These help us to set the right intention for all our pursuits in life. The 5 yamas are: Ahimsa: non-violence, Satya: truthfulness, Asteya: non-stealing, Brahmacharya: continence, Aparigraha: non-grasping.
[2] Niyama: niyamas are observances. These guide the conduct of our practices and the conduct of our lives in a way that helps our spiritual development. The 5 niyamas are: Saucha: purity, Santosha: contentment, Tapas: literally means heat, refers to spiritual austerities, Svadhyaya: self-study or study of the self, Isvara pranidhana: surrender, a celebration of the spiritual.
[3] Asana: Asanas are the yoga postures that most people are familiar with. However, physical exercise and health are part of yoga rather that the whole of it. A healthy body helps us to take the next step in our development, the inward journey to understand the mind.
[4] Pranayama: Prana is a concept similar to the idea of qi in Chinese culture. In yoga, we believe that all things, “living” or “non-living” have prana or energy. This energy is constantly in a process of transformation and exchange between beings or things. We take in prana through the air that we breath and this energy is circulated throughout the body before it is breathed out. Pranayama refers to mastery of breath and consist of practices that manipulate and help us to gain control over our breathing.
[5] Pratyahara: Pratyahara is mastery of our senses and our actions. Practices include those that maintain the good health of our sense organs like eye exercises to improve our vision. Other practices guide the actions of our sense organs to hone our mental skills leading to Dharana, the next limb. For example, building concentration skills through certain focusing practices for the eyes. Importantly, these practices help us to understand our senses and how these are linked to sensory desires. We learn to master our senses and avoid being mastered by our senses.
[6] Dharana: The previous 5 limbs deal with the more external aspects of ourselves and lead to the next 3 limbs which deal with the subtler internal aspects of ourselves: our minds and true Self. Dharana means “concentration” or “focusing” and is a pre-requisite for meditation. Some of the practices help to develop memory, others build mental strength: both of which are necessary for the practice of meditation.
[7] Dhyana: It can be said that all the other limbs help prepare you for meditation, which is Dhyana. Meditation is perhaps the most useful and important thing you will ever learn -- no exaggeration here. In yoga, it is a tool to understand ourselves and leads us to the 8th limb, a realisation of the kind of happiness that surpasses our ordinary comprehension: a clear perception of the truth of life, and a complete unity of your being with that truth in Samadhi.
[8] Samadhi: Samadhi is the “peace that passeth all understanding”. It is the liberation from the ego-self and merging into the larger Self that is the universe. This 8th limb is the natural consequence of the practice of all the other limbs.
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Introduction
These days, it always makes me happy when walking down the street, I see someone carrying a yoga mat. This means that yet another person is enjoying the wonderful benefits of this ancient practice. Before I started yoga, I never could have imagined the remarkable power that yoga has for self-transformation and helping you to find peace and happiness within.
Yoga has transformed my health, changing me from a person who takes medical leave for weeks at a time to a full-time yoga instructor. With yoga’s emphasis on daily practice and maintaining mindfulness in all our actions, it has also provided me the motivation to put what I have been taught into real practice and helped me to appreciate the wisdom of these teachings. This is not just the case for me, I have seen so many people benefiting from the practice and their stories always have a common theme: yoga enables you to look within, to understand yourself, to live well and be happy.
Indeed, my teachers from India call yoga “an ancient technology for happiness”. Now that it has become the latest fitness craze, I am sure you have also heard many good things and perhaps some conflicting things being said about yoga. Perhaps you are thinking of giving it a try but are confused by all the Sanskrit names and a little frightened by the pictures of people with their bodies “tied up in knots”.
What is yoga? How does it benefit you? How do you start yoga? Here, I provide some answers to these questions. May you have the chance to learn this “technology for happiness” and may you be well and happy on your path.
What is yoga?
The word yoga has the Sanskrit root yuj which means to “yoke” or “bind”. “Yoga” has often been interpreted as “union”. At one level, this is to unite the body, heart and mind. The practice also extends to unite all aspects of our lives. What is the point of these unions? Sometimes we live as though we have no bodies: recall those times you skipped your meals to finish an important project at work. Sometimes we live as though we have no mind: recall those times you spend an entire day seeking out the place with the best char kway teow. In the long term, these are not feasible ways of living and they result in much unhappiness. Both the body and mind become unhealthy because there is no understanding of how to live in a wholesome way.
Yoga can be understood as a way of living. Its purpose is to ensure that all aspects of our living form one consistent whole so we are no longer estranged from ourselves and our universe -- this gives us a sense of unshakable peace and happiness in the here and now. It can be said that the basis of all yoga practices is happiness.
Where did yoga come from? Is yoga a religion?
Yoga originated from India. Artefacts from the Indus Valley, dated to some 4,000-5,000 years ago, have depictions of people in the same yoga poses that we still practice today. It is believed that yoga practices and philosophy has been passed down the years in an oral tradition from teacher to student. Patanjali is acknowledged as the father of modern yoga as he collated the practice of yoga into the Yoga Sutras about 2,000 years ago. The Sutras contains 195 statements of the principles of yoga and these continue to exist alongside the practical tradition as guidelines to good practice.
Yoga is not a religion. It is best understood as a way of life. Through the course of its long history, it overlaps into practices and beliefs associated with Hinduism and Buddhism. However, as “yoga” is such a general term, meaning simply to seek union, it is not meaningful to talk about yoga being a Hindu practice, for example. Everybody needs to find their own yoga, their own path in life. There is no need to give up your religious beliefs to practice yoga, rather, in the spirit of yoga, you need to look for union between all aspects of yourself.
What’s the difference between yoga and other forms of exercises?
While some forms of yoga practices involve the development of the strength and flexibility of the body, in yoga, the body is seen as merely a vehicle for the self. A healthy body is a foundation for deeper personal development. Even within asana (yoga posture) practice, the emphasis is on drawing your attention inwards by focusing on the breath. This helps us to develop a moment-to-moment awareness of the changes of within our bodies and our minds. In this way, mindfulness practice differentiates yoga practice from other forms of exercise. This is also a great advantage of yoga body conditioning as mindfulness helps to prevent injuries caused by careless or reckless exercise.
All yoga practice are guided by principles (see yamas and niyamas below) setting the proper intentions which help us to understand why we are working hard on our bodies, to set realistic goals and to take care of our bodies while we exercise. So while a good yoga asana practice may help you to lose weight, on a deeper level it also helps to lose your attachments to your body – changing how you view your body and developing an acceptance of the impermanence of all things.
What is Ashtanga Yoga?
In Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras, he mentions an eight-fold path called Ashtanga Yoga. Ashta means “eight” and anga means “limb”. Just as we use all our limbs in a learned coordination in our daily lives, we need to practice all eight limbs of yoga together. The eight-limbs of yoga provide the guidelines on how to practice yoga and form a recipe for happiness in life:
[1] Yama: yamas are ethical restraints. These help us to set the right intention for all our pursuits in life. The 5 yamas are: Ahimsa: non-violence, Satya: truthfulness, Asteya: non-stealing, Brahmacharya: continence, Aparigraha: non-grasping.
[2] Niyama: niyamas are observances. These guide the conduct of our practices and the conduct of our lives in a way that helps our spiritual development. The 5 niyamas are: Saucha: purity, Santosha: contentment, Tapas: literally means heat, refers to spiritual austerities, Svadhyaya: self-study or study of the self, Isvara pranidhana: surrender, a celebration of the spiritual.
[3] Asana: Asanas are the yoga postures that most people are familiar with. However, physical exercise and health are part of yoga rather that the whole of it. A healthy body helps us to take the next step in our development, the inward journey to understand the mind.
[4] Pranayama: Prana is a concept similar to the idea of qi in Chinese culture. In yoga, we believe that all things, “living” or “non-living” have prana or energy. This energy is constantly in a process of transformation and exchange between beings or things. We take in prana through the air that we breath and this energy is circulated throughout the body before it is breathed out. Pranayama refers to mastery of breath and consist of practices that manipulate and help us to gain control over our breathing.
[5] Pratyahara: Pratyahara is mastery of our senses and our actions. Practices include those that maintain the good health of our sense organs like eye exercises to improve our vision. Other practices guide the actions of our sense organs to hone our mental skills leading to Dharana, the next limb. For example, building concentration skills through certain focusing practices for the eyes. Importantly, these practices help us to understand our senses and how these are linked to sensory desires. We learn to master our senses and avoid being mastered by our senses.
[6] Dharana: The previous 5 limbs deal with the more external aspects of ourselves and lead to the next 3 limbs which deal with the subtler internal aspects of ourselves: our minds and true Self. Dharana means “concentration” or “focusing” and is a pre-requisite for meditation. Some of the practices help to develop memory, others build mental strength: both of which are necessary for the practice of meditation.
[7] Dhyana: It can be said that all the other limbs help prepare you for meditation, which is Dhyana. Meditation is perhaps the most useful and important thing you will ever learn -- no exaggeration here. In yoga, it is a tool to understand ourselves and leads us to the 8th limb, a realisation of the kind of happiness that surpasses our ordinary comprehension: a clear perception of the truth of life, and a complete unity of your being with that truth in Samadhi.
[8] Samadhi: Samadhi is the “peace that passeth all understanding”. It is the liberation from the ego-self and merging into the larger Self that is the universe. This 8th limb is the natural consequence of the practice of all the other limbs.
