In recent years yoga has become intensely popular in the United States. If you look far into the past, you’ll see that yoga has existed for thousands of years. Historically, yoga was a path to “ecstasy,” not fitness. The practice of yoga was passed individually from teacher to student and required one’s whole life be devoted to service. Now days, yoga is taught in groups.

Yoga is an ancient art, a science, a philosophy. The word yoga is derived from the root “yuj”, meaning to bind together, or to yoke, and implies “union.” The ancient texts indicate that philosophically it is the union of the individual self with the universal self. The result of this union, through prolonged practice, is a pure and perfect state of consciousness in which the awareness of “I” no longer exists. Yoga therefore is a powerful, internal experience that “yokes” or integrates the mind, the body, the senses and intelligence with the self. Yoga touches life on every level: physically, mentally, spiritually and is a practical method for findings one’s purpose.

The true purpose of yoga is to make the body we inhabit fit for the spirit to descend into. The place where most of us begin yoga is in the physical body. The body cannot be ignored; it has an essential role in the practice. Through practice of asanas, (postures), the body is made stable and fit. When a firm grasp of asana comes, pranayama (breathing) is introduced. From these the practice of meditation emerges, along with a deeper exploration of the principles of yoga. We begin with the body most often because it can experience physical sensation, and can be made aware of the breath. When the practice of asana, pranayama, and meditation is done for the purpose of consciousness, it is noticeably different than when it is done for fitness.

Most often people take up yoga because they’ve heard something wonderful about it. Yoga can reduce stress, relieve back pain, offers a way to relax, works the body. All of these reasons have genuine purpose. When one feels better, life improves, and deeper issues begin to resolve, and commitment to health and life purpose (dharma) join the body with the self to move towards wholeness.

No matter where or why a person begins the practice of yoga, it will lead down the path to ‘yoking’ or union of individual self with universal self. To quote my teacher BKS Iyengar, “As honey is sweet from any part of the honeycomb, so is yoga. It enables every part of the human system to become attuned to its essence, the conscious seer within. Yoga alone enables the practitioner to perceive and experience the world within and around themselves, and to touch the divine joy of all creation, and then to share that nectar of divine wealth and happiness with their fellow beings.”

Ruth Fisk, Certified Iyengar Teacher
20 years experience in the art of teaching
Owner/Director Center for Yoga Movement & Massage
East Lansing, MI
www.center4yoga.com
517.333.9883

Ruth Fisk

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The Holistic Book®

Winter, 2004

Introducing Holistic Businesses

What is Yoga?

by Ruth Fisk, Owner/Director, Center for Yoga Movement & Massage