What Is Yoga?

This page is meant as a guide for those interested in the origins of yoga. It is not necessary to fully understand or agree with the teachings before attending a yoga class.

Mahadev Desai, in his introduction to the Gita according to Gandi, describes yoga as "...a poise of the soul which enables one to look at life in all its aspects evenly."

Yoga is a rich and complex subject which has evolved through different traditions over thousands of years. Although the goal of yoga must always be the same, there can different paths to the goal and therefore it is difficult to describe what yoga is. This perhaps is the reason why there are so many styles and schools of yoga out there today.

I am going to use Patanjali's teachings on the eight limbs or stages of yoga, one of the oldest and most respected of yoga teachings to give a framework for the path of the yogi.

The first stage is yama, ethical disciplines. These consist of ahimsa (non violence), satya (truth telling), asteya (the removal of desire to poses what another has), brahmacharya (self restraint) and aparigraha (to be free from hoarding.)
The second stage is Niyama, rules of conduct. These include saucha (purity of body through yoga practice, cleanliness and diet), santosa (contentment), tapas (desire to achieve a definite goal), svadhyaya (education of the self) and isvara pranidhana (dedicating ones actions to the ultimate.)
The third stage is asana, the poses practiced in class.
The forth stage is pranayama, a series of techniques for expanding the dimension of prana.
The fifth stage is pratyahaa, bringing the senses under control.
The sixth stage is dharana, single point concentration.
The seventh stage is dhyana, meditation.
The final stage is Samadhi, a state of super consciousness brought about by profound meditation.

What Is Yoga?

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