What is Yoga? Literally, it means to unite, to yoke. We unite mind, body and spirit to become more whole, more connected with ourselves. In ancient times, as yoga first took root, it was about getting in tune with yourself and your innate nature, to be kind and compassionate. to reach a higher consciousness. It was about becoming a better person. So that you can connect better with others around you, and not just people. Animals. Plants. The earth. God. The great cycle, for as we connect better with all aspects of our environment, we continue to grow on our own journey within ourselves. It goes both ways.
In the early days, there weren’t many poses, per se. Sitting and meditating, that was about it. Another definition of yoga is the stilling of the mind. That was the intention in its nascent days. Still your body to still your mind. Later generations began to make it more physical, introducing things like Tantra Yoga, misunderstood these days (it’s not all about sex, if hardly at all). They saw a need to prepare the physical body to tap into its more esoteric resources. Afterall, it’s not easy to sit for hours on end. From Tantra Yoga, Hatha Yoga was born and continues to evolve to this very day.
Hatha Yoga is physical yoga. It’s what we practice in this country. Whether it be hot and sweaty yoga or soft and quiet yoga, it all falls under Hatha Yoga. Ha means sun and tha means moon. These are two opposite energies that when working together, a symbiotic relationship is formed. Hatha Yoga, the physical yoga, helps us to tap into the more subtle energetic layers of our body, like thoughts, emotions, and behavior. Linking them together. Your body tends to hurt more when you run around all tense and angry. But when you conduct yourself quietly, calmly, kindly and softly, for me at least, the joints don’t ache as much! Early yogis and yoginis understood this idea.
These days people come to the mat from all over the world for a whole host of reasons. To relax, to strengthen, to calm, or to focus. Some use it for therapeutic reasons, to deal with pain and trauma, or to apply in a more holistic manner and improve overall health. Whatever the reason, most of us start to see why it all began. We start to understand the connections between physical health and mental health. We start to have a better, more positive outlook. We become more reasonable and people want to be around us.
One of our earliest yoga texts, The Yoga Sutras by the sage Patanjali, defined the many aspects of yoga. It is a group of brief descriptions, called aphorisms, that when taken on a whole and linked together (sutra and suture come from the same Sanskrit word, to thread together), it takes on a more complex meaning. Many are short and get straight to the point, yet it’s meaning is open to interpretation, to illicit meaning for whomever is exploring it. The term Hatha does that very thing. It gets right to the point, sun and moon, two polar opposites, and putting them in the same word to link them together to create a whole, or an idea of what “whole” means. How you will do that is up to you. You can do physical yoga (Hatha Yoga). You can learn about the philosophy of yoga (Jnana Yoga). You can do good for others with no expectations in return (Karma Yoga). These are the three types of yoga described in the great epic Hindu tale, The Bhagavad Gita. So yoga has many meanings.
Over time, the lines have blurred. Hatha Yoga explores ways to apply each of these methods. You can develop your own yoga and what it means to you. Ask me ten years ago what yoga is, I might have simply stated it was a way for me to understand my physical and emotional bodies a bit better. Ask me today, I’d probably answer that yoga means survival. Literally yoga saved my life. Almost a decade ago I was on an unfamiliar road and as I drove my car, I was blinded by the early rising sun and fishtailed on a curve, slamming into a tree. I ripped apart my shoulder blade and broke five ribs, my neck and back in several places as I twisted through the impact. Doctors immediately resounded with awe at my survival, noting that my strong but flexible spine was protected by all that yoga. It could have been far worse. But since I was in the midst of training for my 200-Hour teacher certification when it occurred, I was in great shape. I survived. And I bounced back fairly quickly.
Yoga gave me a second chance at life. It became the span that helped me bridge the gap between a reasonably sound body and one that needed special attention. It allowed me to make new connections. It allowed me to explore the powers of my breath. Alas, my studies and my physical practice were both derailed, but I found new ways to practice and apply my yoga and it was there to help me ride the waves of my recovery. It became a prime opportunity to cultivate resilience in my mind, body and spirit. I was in the hospital for almost six weeks, largely isolated and alone. I had to wear a back brace for almost four months, unable to move my torso. Being bed or couch ridden and unable to physically practice was difficult to endure, but visualizing yoga poses and sequences kept me going. To top it all off, I was in an environment that was at odds with my lifestyle. I felt alone, unseen and unheard.
So I turned to the powers of a positive mind. That was my yoga. It was enough to find the various connections in my mind, body and spirit, all greatly impacted by this severe trauma. I plunged into the many texts that I collected and read whatever I could about yoga. I would imagine myself going through the motions several times a day, seeing myself do sun salutations, building my endurance, practicing my Warriors and other strengthening poses that kept my body feeling like it was moving, gaining strength and mobility. My studying and my mind yoga kept it from wandering and dwelling on my limitations and kept me focusing on my recovery, my new and repaired self, for even though I faced life altering physical changes, unable to ever find some of the poses from before, my emotional strength had gained ground. Over time, I felt renewed in many ways,
Most importantly, yoga kept my breath steady and full. Good strong and mindful breathing brought oxygen to my injuries, tapping into my body’s own healing powers, speeding my recovery, both mentally and physically, giving me patience to withstand a multitude of tests and follow up treatment. I limited my use of prescription painkillers and I was back on the mat within five months and returned to my studies within the year, resuming my 200-hour certification, with new experiences, new insights and new awareness. Upon completion, I immediately dove into my 500-hour certification and as of this writing, mission accomplished! Looking back, though, it’s not the certificates that matter so much, it’s the journey that got me there. Safely. Slowly, but soundly and surely.