So what is the first thing you think about when you hear the word yoga?
Well that is a question that I ask to my students on the other week and it was shocking the responses that I received
Some said Yoga is
Flexibility
Strength
Integration
Union
Mind and Body connection
Peace
Fitness
Calorie burner
What do you think of when you hear the word yoga?
I asked myself why are there so many variations of what yoga is? And then it clicked the reason why there are so many answers of the practice of yoga is because of US. Yep, I said US. As a society we have created so many variations of the practice of yoga that it can sometimes become very confusing of what the practice of yoga truly is.
When we truly look back at the history of Yoga. Yoga didn't start off as an Asana practice/movement based practice. Yoga began as a meditation, scriptures and songs. As yoga has grew within our culture it has become more movement based.
Now don't get me wrong I'm not saying that we all have to go back to no movement and only meditative sit. What I am saying is that it's important to understand the history, the philosophy, the true practice of yoga before we began to interweave all of these movement based practice. It's important that we honor the true practice of yoga, we honor the history of yoga, we honor that yoga means union (mind-body connection). We don't lose the practice of yoga. We don't get caught up in what is "In" right now that we lose site of the roots of the practice.
So what yoga is not...It's not just a fad or a new movement. Yoga is a practice of life, a practice of union, it's the connection of the mind/body.
Want to learn more about the practice of yoga..join us in the 200 Yoga Teacher Training program. We start up on August 11th.
Felicia
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