A few weeks ago, in my weekly email, I mentioned that yoga is not
limited to just the hour on my mat and that it is much more than that.
My husband who also attends one of my yoga offerings and receives my
weekly emails, asked me what I meant. When I explained, he suggested
that I expand on the idea and write an article.
So, here I am
writing my thoughts. Yoga is a philosophy to help us to become stronger
in our minds through our bodies. Yoga practitioners or yogis believe
that life is experienced by the mind through the body. Originally, yoga
was mostly a mind practice to strengthen one’s morality and
spirituality. Over time, yogis realized that there was a connection
between body and mind. They started developing body movements to help
focus their mind. The physical movements - postures, poses, or asanas-
became known as Hatha yoga. Hatha yoga is what I facilitate when we
practice yoga together.
You have told me that at the end of
our yoga practice that you feel relaxed, light, calm and peaceful. With
these feelings, you have experienced the connection between your body,
mind and spirit. As you expand your yoga practice, you will find
yourself present in the moment thinking clearly and wanting to do the
right thing. You will find yourself wanting to react calmly and wisely
even under challenging circumstances. And you will find yourself
thinking positively even when life is throwing challenges your way.
You will respond with a positive attitude. You will see that even the
most routine chores may become rituals. As one yogi said,“ Do
everything with the magic wand of yoga.”
Here is a brief and more formal explanation of the yoga philosophy. The yoga philosophy is divided to eight sections:
- Social Ethics
- Personal Ethics
- Postures
- Breath Regulation
- Removing Sense Distraction from Mind
- Focus and Concentration
- Meditation
- Complete Absorption
The Social Ethics are nonviolence, truthfulness, non stealing, appropriate use of vital energy, and non possessiveness.
- Nonviolence is to avoid causing pain and to reduce harm for all living things
- Truthfulness is to be honest and sincere in our acts, thoughts and words
- Non stealing is to avoid greed and be satisfied with what one has
- Appropriate use of vital energy is to be moderate in our physical desires
- Non possessiveness is to be free from material life so that we can enjoy what is available while it lasts
- Purity refers to cleanliness of our bodies, our thoughts and our actions
- Contentment is to be happy with who we are and what we have. “ I am enough, I have enough.”
- Practice to cause positive change is to be active in our societies to make a change in the lives of those who are not as fortunate as we are
- Self study is to learn about our True Self, the beautiful self that is within each one of us. Knowledge is obtained from within by tuning in and by understanding ourselves. The light is within.
- Devotion is to give all we have spiritually.
Postures
are the physical movements of Hatha yoga. The purpose of these
postures is help us strengthen our minds through focus and
concentration.
Breath Regulation is learning to control our
breath such as lengthening our inhales and exhales, holding our inhales
and exhales, and learning different kinds of breathing. Studies have
shown that different breathing techniques have different medical effects
on our bodies. The simple act of breathing deeply with long inhales
and long exhales, give our bodies a chance to absorb more oxygen and to
cleanse our bodies of waste gasses. The oxygen in our system provides
our bodies with energy. The energy helps us with our yoga poses which
help us with our focus and concentration.
Removing Sense
Distraction from Mind is internalization of senses - ensuring that our
senses are not obstacles that keep our mind from being able to focus and
concentrate. For example, when we are hungry, our mind can’t settle
down or if we smell delicious food being made, we can’t focus our mind.
Meditation is being able to maintain focus and concentration for a length of time. Through meditation, we clear our mind.
Complete
Absorption is the optimal level that one reaches when one has mastered
the previous seven stages. It is when one is liberated from the all the
obstacles on the way that one has realized one’s True Self.
There is much to think and learn, but the bottom line is “Be Good and Do Good”.
Namaste,
Mariam
