Understanding Yoga

Yoga is just a way of life, taking not more than 30 minutes of your daily routine. You inculcate it, imbibe it and it becomes second nature, a natural habit, which is excellent for your health, mind and soul. In the Sanskrit language, yoga is defined as the union of the body, mind and soul. You become healthy, clear of mind and have balanced emotions, which help you to excel in life. Yoga is an excellent cure for certain ailments, as well.

There are two important facts about yoga, which need to be clarified - first, yoga is not any exercise. Yoga refreshes and reenergizes the body, refilling the body with life and energy. You are not supposed to feel exhausted or tired after doing yoga but rather get back the spring in your feet. The word exercise means exertion - energy is exerted or goes out. It is natural to feel tired after doing exercise and you may need to rest to regain your strength, but not so with yoga. Second, you do not have to be a sadhu or withdraw from your everyday worldly life to practice yoga. You can still be the CEO of your company or the young, fun-loving teenager and yet do yoga-asana! The only change will be in your outlook; you will be more controlled, gain mental clarity, be more loving, compassionate, achieve a keen moral sense and feel the lightness of mind and spirit to soar ahead in life. Honestly, yoga is fun, once you start.

The intrinsic part of yoga is control of breath and the moment you learn to concentrate on your breathing, you learn to control your mind, your emotions and your senses. Simple, isn't it? The fact is that the principle of yoga is simple; but sincere and regular practice can only help you achieve that balance. The most important factor is to learn under the guidance of an experienced yoga teacher who loves and understands yoga. The teacher will know that each and everyone of us is unique and individual in nature and constitution, therefore each must have his/her own set of asana (postures) to practice daily. Moreover, the teacher will know when to change the set of asana for each person, to reenergize the other parts of the body/constitution.

The first thing you notice about any place of worship is its cleanliness. The ambiance is holy and the whole place is vibrating with positive energy. There is a sense of calm, peace and tranquility, which does not lull you to sleep but rather heightens your senses and sharpens your mind. You feel refreshed, energetic, and ready to face all odds positively. Similarly, yoga cleanses the body, mind and soul, because the body is the temple where God resides in you and in all of us. Practice of yoga in everyday life synchronizes your complete personal, spiritual and emotional chords. A sense of harmony sets in and you go through life more smoothly.

Before we become deft in ay language or skill, we need to go through the ABC of that field. Similarly, yoga is segregated in eight steps or stages, so you go one at a time. They are -

1. Yama (basic moral codes)

2. Niyama (self-discipline)

3. Asana (postures)

4. Pranayama (control of breath with a rhythm)

5. Pratyahara (controlling sensory pleasures)

6. Dharana (focus, concentrate)

7. Dhyana (meditation)

8. Samadhi (oneness with the Holy Spirit)

These eight stages of yoga are integrated in the everyday asana (postures) so you gracefully achieve that excellence. Only an experienced yoga teacher/instructor can prescribe the right chart for you. Each one of is made up of balances and imbalances, weaknesses and strengths, negative and positive vibes - and the yoga asana is meant to help achieve the perfect balance, thus the stress on the right guru or teacher. As you keep practicing yoga for quite sometime, you feel a sense of power inside you, a liberating power - here the right guru will guide you not to misuse it but to invest in that power wisely.

As mentioned above, we all have a mixture of negative and positive energies - excess of one can lead to some ailment or other. Practice of yoga under the right guidance, in the true spirit, in a disciplined manner and with total earnestness, can heal beautifully most sicknesses we suffer from, nowadays. The only way to know is to go ahead, find the guru, and start yoga.