What is yoga other than a good stretch?

If somebody says 'yoga' to you there's a good chance that stretching, or creating some odd looking shape with your body, is the first thing that springs to mind. Most UK yoga classes focus on movement, with both active & passive stretching making up a fair bit of that - & if you see classes advertised on social media there's a lot of complex looking stretchy shapes on display there!

A complex looking stretch like many yoga ads on social media (photo by Sonnie Hiles on Unsplash)

To think of yoga as nothing more than a good stretch is selling it short though - yoga is far more than a purely physical practice. I've heard it referred to as a philosophy, a lifestyle or framework for living, & a discipline, amongst (many) other things. I think that my favourite definition of yoga though is that it's 'a series of tools to help us to navigate life peacefully.'

It's a whole system, that helps us to cultivate awareness & control of the mind. (One translation of yoga is 'yoke', & whilst this is often explained as 'union' & used to describe the union of breath, body & mind that yoga classes can create, an alternative explanation is that yoga is about restraining ('yoking') the wanderings of the mind that so often disrupt our peace.

Stretching - or to be more accurate, physical poses (asana), many of which incorporate some degree of stretch, is just one aspect of that system. Of course if what you're looking for right now is a physical class that helps to keep you flexible, strong, or just moving (depending on the style & individual class) then the right class could work perfectly, but if you've read this far you're no doubt at least a little curious about the other aspects of this practice, so here's a brief introduction.

One of the most well known ancient yoga texts is the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. This could be considered as a guide to living a peaceful & purposeful life, and this text tells us about the eight limbs of yoga. These are the steps that lead us to that peaceful life - supposedly beginning with the most 'external' (& therefore easiest) & ending with what is often translated as 'enlightenment', so really the goal itself rather than the final step towards it.

The first of the eight 'limbs' of yoga is Yama. The Yamas are the guidelines around how you behave in the world - in your relationships with others some say. Often referred to as the 'ethical restraints' of yoga, they provide a common sense set of moral guidelines designed to help you navigate the world peacefully. The yamas are:

• Non harm (ahimsa)

• Not stealing (satya)

• Not lying (asteya)

• Self restraint (brahmacharya) - sometimes translated as energetic continence, or (more traditionally) celibacy

• Non-attachment (aparigraha)

  
  

The second of the eight limbs is another set of guidelines, this time around your personal behaviours. The Niyamas, often referred to as observances or 'dos' of yoga, are:

• Cleanliness or purity (Saucha)

• Self study (Svadhyaya)

• Discipline (Tapas)

• Contentment (Santosha)

• Surrender (to a higher power) ( Ishvara Pranidhana)

(Check back soon for further blogs with more detail on these individual steps - I'll update the blog & link them as they're published)

The physical poses - 'stretching' that most people associate with yoga, or asana, are in fact the third of the eight 'limbs' that Patanjali describes. And it may surprise you to know that there is actually very little description of what these physical poses should be. 'Asana' literally means seat, & a 'steady, comfortable seat' is the most specific instruction that the Yoga Sutras contain.

Physically the ideal was to be able to sit comfortably for long periods as you practiced the fourth - eighth limbs. Most of the modern day poses that you might associate with yoga are far far newer than the 2000 or so year old yoga sutras (closer to 100 years for the most part), so what you might have seen as the core essence of yoga is in fact one of the least traditional aspects!

Pranayama - (breath control, or breathing practice) is the fourth limb of yoga. Many yoga classes include pranayama to some degree, since the breath is such a powerful tool. So many things go on in our bodies that we don't consciously control - breathing itself, the beating of our heart, digestion, temperature control. These are regulated by the autonomic nervous system, which is split into two parts - the sympathetic (fight or flight) & parasympathetic (rest & digest) aspects. In fight or flight mode our breath naturally becomes faster, with emphasis on the inhale as additional small airways in the lungs actually open up to allow us to take in more oxygen. Conversely when the rest & digest state kicks in our breathing slows down & becomes deeper.

Because we can take conscious control of our breath, even though breathing happens without us doing so, then it is often considered to be the bridge between the sympathetic & parasympathetic nervous systems. We can choose to take slower breaths & focus on the exhale in a bid to invoke the parasympathetic nervous system & bring ourselves to that state of rest & digest, or to give more focus to the inhale to energise ourselves, moving towards 'fight or flight'. (Despite the bad press 'Fight or flight' isn't an inherently 'bad' state to be in - there are lots of times in our lives when we need to be alert & ready to take decisive action - the issue comes when we get 'stuck' in that state, & calming breathing exercises can be used as a way to come unstuck when this happens.

Closing the eyes & focusing on the breath are aspects of yoga used in many classes

As we reach the fifth limb we start to come the more 'internal' aspects of the practice.

Pratyahara is usually translated as withdrawal of the senses. This is about focusing inwards, starting to allow ourselves to withdraw from external stimulation. Closing the eyes, or fixing the gaze on a particular spot, to avoid visual distractions. Noticing the internal sensations rather than the external. Allowing ourselves to simply notice each sight, sound or smell, without being drawn into the source of & story around them.

As we start to focus inwards Dharana, the sixth limb, becomes easier. This translates as concentration, or focused attention. It's often used in meditation in various forms - concentrating your attention on your breath, an object like a candle flame, a visualisation, or even a word or phrase (mantra). If this is something you want to try have a look at my 'find your meditation mojo' mini course. It explores this principle by offering something different to concentrate on in each of the five short sessions, helping you to find one that works for you!

Outside of meditation dharana could be considered what we're doing when we say we're practicing mindfulness - taking notice of whatever it is that we're doing in the moment, noticing it fully.

Next comes the penultimate of the eight limbs - Dhyana. This is a natural progression from dharana, sometimes being translated simply as meditation, or perhaps 'meditative absorption'. The moment of peace during meditation when your mind does become still. It comes as a result of practicing the earlier limbs rather than being an activity in its own right. When we have found the physical posture that allows us to be steady & comfortable, then we can practice the harnessing of the breath's power, allowing us to focus inwards, find a point of concentration, & perhaps reach a state of absorption.

And eventually this may bring us to Samadhi, our eighth limb - enlightenment, or bliss. One-ness with the universe perhaps - that union which is - perhaps - what yoga really is (other than a good stretch, of course!)