I was casually talking with a friend at the gym and asked her about what she did on the weekend. Her reply was that she did yoga, and I, being a yoga teacher who loves to practice and talk about yoga, asked her back what exactly she did in yoga.
She said a few asanas. I was like, “That’s it?” She said, “Yes, that’s what yoga is!”
It’s not her fault; a few years back, even I thought that yoga was only about asanas. Then something happened in my life, and I was automatically drawn towards yoga, and at that time, I got to know that yoga is not about asanas.
There are many other misconceptions about yoga, such as
Yoga is an exercise.
Yoga is for weight loss
Yoga is stretching & flexibility
And the biggest one, as we know, yoga is asanas.
Of course, asana is a part of yoga, and practicing asanas consistently can help you improve flexibility over a period of time, but yoga is way beyond asanas.
In Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras, there are 196 sutras, out of which only 3 sutras are related to asanas, which means that yoga is a lot more about asanas.
Yoga is derived from “yuj” which comes from the Rig Veda, meaning “union”
So, basically yoga is the union with the divine self.
According to the father of yoga, Patanjali Ji, yoga means removing the fluctuations of the mind.
When you observe your mind, most of the time it is here and there. It is not in the present moment most of the time. When fluctuations of the mind are removed, what is left is you, your true self, and that is completely present.
When you are thinking about the past or future, you are not really in the present moment; you are living in the mind.
When you are living in the mind, achieving yoga or union with the divine self is not possible.
The moment you are present, that’s yoga, no matter if you are doing a small task or a big task.
In Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras, there are many limbs or parts of yoga, like yama, niyama, asana, pranayama, pratyahara, dharna, dhyana, and samadhi, where samadhi is the end goal, and when you achieve samadhi, you are merged with the divine self because during samadhi you have lost the sense of false identity that is “I.”
But you also lose this sense of “I” when you are in a flow state. It doesn’t matter if it’s drawing, singing, dancing, or just washing clothes. If you are completely absorbed while doing the task and not thinking anything at all, then it means you have entered a flow state, and that is the most peaceful state ever.
Of course, asana, pranayama, and meditation can help you in your yoga journey, but the end goal is the same: union with the divine self.
Next time, whatever you do, do it with complete presence. Whenever you are present, you are with the divine.