Hello, my friend!
Welcome back to the second post in the series “What is Yoga?”
Today, I’m building the foundation, so anyone new to (or confused by) Yoga philosophy can actually understand Yoga and the Yogic path.
Now, you might relate to this, but my first introduction to Yoga was through yoga asana practice.
At the time, I was an overworked, exhausted high school student , so apart from the uncomfortably accented “Namaste” at the end and the fact that we were allowed to “rest” (sleep) in class, I don’t remember much.
I tried yoga classes again the next year, with the goal of not sleeping through them, and it grew on me some more - I learned there was a lot of strength involved in the asanas, I learned to differentiate the sensations between the various asanas, and I could feel the impacts on my mind and body after different flows (i.e. Vinyasa vs. Yin yoga).
I only attended a few weeks of classes before discontinuing yoga again, but the experience left a lasting impression of “there’s something more here.”
Eventually, after several conversations with my dad about Vedic philosophy and how Yoga fit into that puzzle, I decided to try and answer the question of “What actually is Yoga?”.
Honestly, I was confused.
From discussions with my dad, Yoga seemed like a philosophy or spiritual practice...
...but from the yoga classes I’d taken, it seemed like a flexibility-building workout and/or mindful movement practice.
I dug around the internet to figure out what Yoga was and what the path to Yoga was, and it honestly felt like drinking out of multiple firehoses all at once.
I learned the basic definition of Yoga, along with being exposed to an overwhelming amount of content covering different types of Yoga, different concepts in Yoga, and concepts/activities within or augmenting the Yogic path.
I started asking:
What are chakras and how do those relate to Yoga?
How is Yoga “union of individual and Universal selves” but there are different types of Yoga?
What even is the difference between Hatha Yoga and Ashtanga Yoga?
What is prana and how does that relate to Yoga?
How does Yoga asana actually help lead to this union?
What makes Yoga asana different from just working out or stretching?
Other than the basic definition, I was super lost and was left with more questions and no additional clarity.
So… I dove off the deep end into a Yoga Teacher Training course. But my goal is to make Yoga accessible to anyone who’s new and who’s interested.
When I was brand-new to Yoga philosophy, this is step#1 of what I wish I had.
With a philosophy so rich, I wish someone had exposed me to all the "jargon" (the key ideas/concepts/words I'd see so much of or need to understand) before explaining the path to Yoga.
Below are the key Sanksrit terms/ideas from Yoga philosophy you should familiarize yourself with for a strong understanding of Yoga and the path to Yoga.
You may have heard of some of these, or they may all be concepts you're entirely unfamiliar with/never really thought of before - either way is totally ok. Most of these were very new to me too!
Sadhana: a spiritual practice, represents the disciplined surrendering of the ego
Every time you go on your mat to practice asana for the sake of Yoga, you are doing sadhana.
Samadhi: Self-realization; a state of total meditative absorption in which individual and universal consciousness unite (sam = together, a = toward, dhe = put) [1]
In Vedic philosophy, samadhi is the culmination of all spiritual and intellectual pursuit and is the last step before moksha, or liberation from the karmic cycle of birth and death.
In Yoga, it is the last phase, where one can experience the Realization of the Absolute - the true meaning of Yoga.
Sukshma sharira: subtle body (sukshma = subtle or the presence of which is felt but not seen, sharira = body)
Nadi: channel through which energy travels throughout our body
In many texts, there are said to be 72,000 nadis in our body. Ida, Pingala, and Sushumna are the three most important nadis.
Ida flows through the left nostril carrying energy associated with the moon. Pingala flows through the right nostril carrying energy associated with the sun. Sushumna nadi has unobstructed flow only when the flow through Ida and pingala nadis are balanced.
You can think of ida and pingala like yin and yang - they're the two types of energies within us, or the duality, that must remain in balance for a balanced mind and body.
Chakra: the junctions of nadis along your spine, where Ida, Pingala, and Sushumna meet (chakra = wheel)
Why chakra or “wheel"? Like a wheel, where all the spokes meet in the middle, various nadis (the spokes) meet at each chakra.
Prana: life breath or vital principle (pra = forth, an = breath so breathing forth)
Prana is the energy that flows through your sukshma sharira through the nadis connected throughout your body.
Each chakra is a critical point through which prana must flow freely for both balanced physical and mental health as well as for samadhi.
If you’re familiar with the terms Kundalini or "Kundalini Rising", you’re also actually familiar with the concept of prana. Kundalini is simply a more powerful manifestation of prana that sits at the base of your spine. I actually saw this explanation once of approaching prana as the steam that arises from a pool of water, while kundalini is the water itself. When prana flows freely through your body, you begin to clear the path for kundalini to rise, once kundalini is activated. When kundalini rises up through the sushumna nadi (the primary nadi) and into sahasrara (the crown chakra), one experiences Kundalini Awakening or the Realization of the Absolute - the true meaning of Yoga.
Asana: posture or pose (asan = seat)
Asanas are postures or poses that block or move your prana in specific ways. In conjunction with your breathing, asanas are powerful ways of clearing your nadis and preparing your body for higher spiritual levels.
It’s ok if you don’t remember all those terms - you’ll see certain ones reoccur throughout the introduction series and will begin to remember them along the way. The most important part is that you have an idea of the different concepts that comprise the Yogic path.
As you're probably beginning to see, Yoga philosophy approaches these ideas of physical and energetic bodies from a unique perspective.
The more you’ll learn about how the different things you know (and don’t know yet) about Yoga all connect, the more I promise you’ll be mind-blown.
I can't wait to share it all with you, but I won't overwhelm you all at once! I'm just hoping this helps show you how much there is to Yoga philosophy and gets you excited for the next topic in this series. I'll see you there, when we talk "What is Ashtanga Yoga?".
With so much love, gratitude, and excitement,
Shreya
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