What is Yoga?

Originated in ancient India, Yoga typically means 'union' between the mind, body and spirit. As the name suggests, the ultimate aim of practicing Yoga is to create a balance between the body and the mind and to attain self-enlightenment.

Yoga practice itself predates religion and is therefore just a philosophy, it is up to you how you interpret it, yoga belongs to everyone. Over 2 thousand years ago the sage Patanjali wrote the Yoga Sutra which is widely regarded as the formal text of Yoga philosophy. This text also became the basis for a system referred to as "Ashtanga Yoga" ("Eight-Limbed Yoga") which continues to be the inspiration for thousands of yoga practitioners and teachers today. The eight limbs are:

1. Yama ("abstentions"): non-violence, non-lying, non-possessiveness...
2. Niyama ("observances"): purity, contentment, austerity, study...
3. Asana: ("postures") Literally means "seat",or comfortably held posture and in Patanjali's Sutras refers to the seated position used for meditation.
4. Pranayama ("Suspending Breath"): Prāna= breath, "āyāma"= to restrain or stop. Also interpreted as control of the life force.
5. Pratyahara ("Abstraction"): Withdrawal of the sense organs from external objects.
6. Dharana ("Concentration"): Fixing the attention on a single object.
7. Dhyana ("Meditation"): Intense contemplation of the nature of the object of meditation.
8. Samādhi ("Liberation"): merging consciousness with the object of meditation.

The third limb or Asanas (postures) is the aspect that is used for the basis of most Yoga classes in the west today. The fourth limb pranayama or breath control also sits comfortably with most in the west probably because of it's scientific and logical approach.  Studies in the field of medicine suggest that Yoga is the only form of physical activity that provides complete exercise to the body, because it massages all the internal organs and glands. This in turn reduces the risk of many diseases. Yoga can create a positive permanent difference to the lifestyle of anybody practicing it on a regular basis.