Yoga does not mean physical postures (asana). It doesn’t mean sun salutations (surya namaskar), vinyasa flow, or savasana (corpse pose.) Advanced Yoga does not mean harder poses that require strength and bendy flexibility.  Yet, this is how Yoga is portrayed in modern times.

Going with this definition is highly limiting and diminishes the profound spiritual path Yoga really is. 

It would be like looking at a person and defining them as “blue eyed” and that’s it.  We are so much more than an eye color! Yoga is so much more than asana. Yes, Yoga Asana is a practice of Yoga…But it isn’t Yoga.

YOGA IS MORE THAN A BODY PRACTICE

Since the USA culture tends to be body focused, Yoga Asana (the Yoga poses) happens to be a popular way to begin accessing Yoga. When people hear ‘Yoga’ in the USA, poses are what immediately come into most people’s minds. There’s so many positive benefits of Yoga Asanas. Because many modern bodies are more constricted, lack mobility, and are generally more sedentary, creating more mobility is important. Yoga Asanas provide the means to change this. But there’s more to Yoga than the body…

Yoga itself is a path of Self-realization. The deeper practices focus on cultivating inner awareness and the body can be a starting point for this. Practicing Yoga Asana regularly also helps the body get in shape do it can move to other aspects of Yoga which require physical and mental endurance. 

While doing Yoga Asana, we start to learn to pay attention to what’s happening in our bodies and breath. It helps us to pause and be present. It helps to cultivate inner awareness. That inner awareness on the mat can support the practice into daily life. When this happens, Yoga becomes a way of life, not just a class. Taking the lessons from a mat practice into daily life creates opportunity to make conscious choices on how we interact with the world. 

 

SUFFERING OF LIFE

Most of us humans are walking through life with very little self-awareness. So many people have never been aware of their breath, aware of body sensations, aware of thoughts.  Most of us are on autopilot, doing what we were taught to do and never questioning anything. 

And there is so much misery and suffering in this world!  We are taught that if we go outside ourselves to consume through shopping, eating, drinking, watching screens that we will be happy.  Are you happy? Are you satisfied? Content? Calm? At peace?

UNDERSTANDING THE DEEPER MEANING OF YOGA

I know I sure wasn’t. I had gone off and on Yoga Asana for years. After a class, I loved how I felt! When I was connecting with a teacher I loved, I was committed to the practice. I moved around often, so it would take a bit to find a new teacher wherever I landed and my practice would fall off during these transition times. 

As a natural helper, I was very aware of others and their reactions which led me to become a mental health therapist…to help others.  I had some self-awareness, but so many times this led to me beating myself up for not being how “I should be” or being “enough.”  A Yoga Asana class was a time that I took a break from all this negative, judging mind chatter.

It wasn’t until my first time travelling in India and taking some classes from a Yoga student in Varanasi, that I started to learn that Yoga was much more than the physical postures. Yamas and Niyamas?  What??

MY GURU, SPRITIUAL TEACHER

Slowly, I started to learn more and more, though some of what I read and learned seemed so out of reach and foreign.  It wasn’t until I met my teacher (guru) in 2010 and attended a teacher training that was called “Yoga Teacher Training and Self-Development,” that I learned how to apply Yoga practices to daily living. It became a way of life, not just a class I attended a couple of times a week.

The focus of the first Yoga teacher training was on Self-development since this is the ultimate goal of all Yoga paths.  My teacher, Prasad Rangnekar, intention is to educate Yoga teachers on the history Yoga and its deeper goal of Self-Realization. I feel immensely grateful that my training is focused on the ancient tradition and wisdoms…not just Yoga as a fitness modality.

As my Yoga practice supported a deeper dive into myself for self-understanding, the shifts that began to happen were far more profound and in in line with my desire for peace of mind. My practice helped to cultivate more self-compassion and love towards myself. With my awareness turned inward, I began to see that what I really needed (and desired) was within me, not outside of myself.  

YOGA TRANSFORMS THE MIND

The work I was doing on myself also transformed how I worked with others as a mental health therapist. Yoga philosophy gave me a lens to view the mind in a more compassionate, non-judgmental light.  I stopped focusing as much on symptoms people came to me with and turned toward the root cause of suffering.

If my training in Western Psychology is snorkeling, Yoga is Deep-Sea SCUBA Diving. Yoga Psychology just goes deeper to really get at the roots of suffering, not just trying to manage reactions.  It takes the practice of mindfulness and teaches how to take action with that information to uplift, empower and connect more and more to our True Nature.

If you are someone who goes to Yoga Asana classes for strength, flexibility and fitness…wonderful!  It helps with all those things. Keep practicing!

If you are drawn to Yoga Asana classes because it’s where you find your calm, your peace, and you feel more connected to yourself…then KEEP GOING! Don’t stop with the physical postures as this is just the tip of the iceberg. Look up Yamas and Niyamas or Pranayama.  Get a book about Yoga that really explores this path. Find a teacher who is trained in Traditional Yoga, has their own daily practice and lives Yoga as a lifestyle.

ADVANCED YOGA

And as a parting ‘gift’, I’m going to challenge the definition of Advanced Yoga. ‘Advanced Yoga’ has nothing to do with Asana and your body. Someone might be the most flexible person who can put their body in amazing poses, but that doesn’t mean their mind is calm. It doesn’t mean they are connected with their True Nature.

Rather, a more ‘advanced’ Yoga practitioner is one who has complete control over their mind, is at peace no matter what life brings, and is content with life. 

Instead of trying to land a handstand or Crow Pose (Kakasana), practice Savasana for ten minutes each day for a week and notice what happens to your mind and body.

Feel free to reach out to me if you are curious to know more about Yoga off the mat and increasing inner awareness to cultivate a calmer mind: tlgingrich@samyayogahealing.com.

Shanti.