a brief background...
Around the 2nd or 3rd century AD the Indian sage Patanjali organised the ancient teachings into a developmental system - the Yoga Sutras. According to this classic text, the practice of asana (postures) - the bit most people think of as yoga - represents only a small part of the whole, and was originally intended simply as a preparation for meditation and the accompanying possibility of enlightenment .
This practice is intended to be supported by 10 guidelines for living, the most important being ‘Ahimsa’, compassion for all living things (including ourselves). These form the psychological foundations for our journey and guide our awareness to our relationship with ourselves, our relationships with others, and to the choices we make in all areas of our lives - not just on the yoga mat.
But Patanjali’s is by no means the definitive system of Yoga. In fact it belongs to the path of Raja Yoga which emphasises meditation as the route to enlightenment, through the physical body (‘asana’ - postures) and its energies (‘pranayama’ - the breath). Hatha, Iyengar, Ashtanga, Sivananda, Kundalini, Yin and Vini yogas all follow this path
There are also the paths of Karma Yoga (enlightenment through actions of service), Bhakti Yoga (through emotional devotion - singing, dancing and chanting) and Jnana yoga (through the knowledge and wisdom of the mind).
Enlightenment is said to manifest as the experience of unity with the entire universe. But remember: yoga, in whichever form, is a practice not an outcome. |
