What is Yoga?

Yoga can be defined in many ways. It can be seen as an attitude, a philosophy, a composite of practices, or a way of life. The aim of yoga, both ancient and present, is to concentrate the mind and create a focused awareness within that cannot be disrupted by the inevitable chaos of life. The word yoga is derived from the Sanskrit root “ruj”, which means “to unite”. This union refers to the blending of the body, mind, and spirit.

There are four basic forms of yoga by tradition. Gyan Yoga, or Jnana yoga, is the yoga of wisdom and is directly accessible via study of the ancient scriptures. Bhakti Yoga, is the path of devotion and love. The third yoga, Karma Yoga, is the pathway of service in which all actions are believed to belong to a supreme being. The fourth yoga is Raja Yoga. It is considered the royal path to yoga because it emphasizes knowledge and experience and aims to turn awareness inward.

Hatha Yoga, which is a portion of Raja yoga, is the most well-known practice in the United States today. The practice of Hatha yoga, or the yoga of activity, focuses on the physical body as a vehicle for meditation. The word “Ha” means “sun” and “tha” translates to “moon” from Sanskrit. Therefore, Hatha yoga is the union of opposites. Because Hatha also means force, or determined effort, the purpose of this practice is to discipline the body and mind through physical postures.

Hatha yoga focuses on three main components of Raja yoga, which are:

• Asana: The word asana means “seat” or “position” in Sanskrit and refers to the physical postures taken during yoga practice. These poses aim to increase awareness of bodily signals that often get ignored if other background noise is present.
• Pranayama:  Pranayama focuses on conscious breathing techniques. “Prana” is the life force present in everything and is also the sum of all energy in the universe. “Ayama” is derived from the Sanskrit root meaning “to curb” or “master”.
• Meditation: Meditation can be further broken down into three subcategories. The first component is the practice of detaching the mind and simply observing thoughts, feelings and sensations without judgment. Directing the senses inward is the second component of meditation and the final stage of meditation is a sense of oneness with all things.