If you can control the rising of the mind into ripples, you will experience yoga.
Patanjali
Yoga isn't a religion. It isn't a spiritual movement. It isn't some type of woo-woo new age trendy "thing". It isn't just a fancy exercise trend either. Yoga is an ancient science. Like psychiatry and psychology, but far older and beyond these schools, it is a science of the mind. It has been practiced and tested for centuries. Its hypothesis' have been proven again and again in the inner world of those who practice diligently. It is an inner validation of its theories that one receives through its clinical and non clinical trials, though there is some empirical external evidence to be observed. It is one of those experiments one has to try for themselves in order to exclaim"By Golly, I got it!" Yet when you do get it...it is so hard to explain and prove what you have gotten.. The results one obtains from yoga are challenging to document in any way that would get published in a scientific journal. What one realizes goes beyond the scientific jargon, any jargon really. It goes beyond concepts and ideas. It is much, much deeper than that. Hmm!
Of course, I am not talking about what one gets from Hatha Yoga...one small component of yoga that we have taken out of context. The hatha yoga the west knows now has only been practiced for a little more than a century where as yoga, true yoga, is actually assumed to be over 5,000 years old. Hatha's origins, as documented in the Hatha Yoga Pradipika, were actually just a few seated postures and breath exercises developed to help true yogis test, practice and perfect their internal experiments longer. There was no such thing as "Downward Dog" or "Pidgeon Pose" until some Indian gymnasts began tweaking the poses in the late 1800's to show off their athletic prowess and then it became a "thing"...a good thing mind you... but not the be all and end all of yoga.
There are eight limbs to yoga...Raja yoga....and they are as follows: Yama(abstinence from unwholesome mental traits and behaviours) , Niyama ( observance, devoted practice), Asana (Posture/where Hatha Yoga originates), pranayama( breath control-also a component of Hatha Yoga), Pratyahara(withdrawls from sense, inner reflection), Dharana ( concentration and focus/"mindfulness"), Dhyana( meditation) and Samadhi( contemplation, absorption, higher consciousness realization).
Doesn't that sound a lot like the foundation of many religious practices? But yoga isn't a religion. Its bare bones ( not under the label:yoga) can be seen in many religious and spiritual practices (as well as in many personal/social development and health improvement movements) but it is not a religion. It is a tool we can use to better ourselves , society and the entire world. It doesn't depend on ritual or dogma, fancy fitness equipment or gadgets, social or political activism . What it depends on is simply the participation of each individual to study, observe and experiment with their own mind. It is really quite a fascinating science.
Hmm! Felt compelled to share that.
All is well.
Satchidananda[ Translator and Commentator ]( 2012) The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. Integral Yoga Publications
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