What is Yoga?
Yoga is about calming the roaming tendencies of the mind. Through calming the mind into silence, supreme inner peace is achieved. In this silence, the yogi becomes fully aware of their true nature as they unite with the Divine Source. This is only achieved through meditation.
Hatha Yoga, the practice of postures and breathing techniques aid the process of body, mind, and spirit integration. The yoga practitioner performs asana (postures) in order to strengthen the body, calm the nerves, focus the mind, generate healing, leading to radiant health. Asana practice prepares the body and mind for pranayama (breathing exercises), which further calms the body and mind, preparing it for meditation.
Performing asana and pranayama are just two of the eight limbs of Raja Yoga. Yama (the ethical rules) and Niyama (observances) must be central to the yoga practice in order for the yoga practice to be most effective. Without yama and niyama there is no yoga.
The Yamas
Ahimsa: non-violence in thought, word, and deed; do no harm to any living thing. A yogi develops compassion for all beings. For this reason, most yogis are vegetarians. Compassion should extend beyond your family and pets, to all persons and all living creatures. Ahimsa means love.
Satya: not lying, being truthful. Speak only the truth, or be silent. God is truth.
Asteya: not stealing. Desire is the root cause. Borrowing something without returning it promptly is a form of stealing. Be respectful of others people’s time, don’t waste their time. That’s a form of stealing. Are you frequently late?
Brahmacharya: celibacy, self-control. Controlling sexual desires except in the act of procreation with your spouse is brahmacharya. Not taking advantage of people for your own selfish desires is also brahmacharya.
Aparigraha: non-hoarding. Try to live simply with non-attachment to things. Take only what you need. Don’t be greedy.
The Niyamas
Soucha: cleanliness, purity. Be clean. Keep your house clean. Keep your car clean. Take care of your body by eating healthful, plant based foods.
Santosha: contentment, acceptance. This goes in hand with the last niyama, Ishvara Pranidhana. Devotion to God means you have faith and trust that everything will work out for the best. Faith and trust produce contentment.
Tapas: literally heat, from burning away impurities through self discipline. Maintaining a disciplined yoga practice, because it has to be done to achieve the goal.
Svadyaya: self-study. Read spiritual texts, such as the Bible, the Torah, the Koran, The Upanishads, The Vedas, The Yoga Sutras, The Bhagavad-Gita, The Dhammapada, to help you maintain your focus on higher ideals.
Ishvara Pranidhana: devotion to God. Offer all your actions to God, renouncing the fruit of your actions. Be of service. Totally surrender the ego. Have faith. This brings about santosha.
Other types of yoga are:
Kriya Yoga — the yoga of purification
Jnana Yoga — the yoga of knowledge
Japa Yoga — the recitation of mantras
Tantra Yoga — using cosmic forces to activate the chakras within the body
Bhakti Yoga — the yoga of devotion. Kirtan, devotional chanting is a form of Bhakti Yoga.
Karma Yoga — the yoga of selfless service. Mother Theresa was a Karma yogi.
Yoga means union or integration. All these different types of yoga have the same ultimate goal; the bliss state achieved through surrender of the individual ego in order to attain Divine Union and thus discover our essential nature.