What is yoga?

Today I’d like to talk about the very simple but important question: what is yoga?

Yoga is a word that means a lot of different things to a lot of different people.

Let’s bring it back to Patanjali and the Yoga Sutras, which is widely considered to be a foundational text of yoga philosophy.

The Yoga Sutras are a collection of about 200 short aphorisms that were put together by an ancient Indian sage named Patanjali. There is some debate about when exactly the Yoga Sutras were first published, with estimates ranging between 500 BCE to 3rd century CE.

The first sutra is: “Atha yoga anushasanam” which roughly translates to “Now is the time for yoga”.

The second line clarifies what exactly is yoga: “Yogas-citta-vrtti-nirodhah” which translates to “Yoga is the cessation of the fluctuations of the mind”.

Citta is our heart-mind field of consciousness. Vrttis are fluctuations. And finally, nirodhah means the cessation of.

So what are the fluctuations of my mind?

A fluctuation in your mind could be a strong emotion coming up, thoughts passing into and out of your mind, stories that you are telling yourself, or changing moods.

When these fluctuations stop, that is when you find out who you really are underneath all of the temporary thoughts and feelings that come up.

How do I stop the fluctuations of my mind?

This is what the practice of yoga is all about. Yoga is a technology to help you unify your consciousness. There are many yogic practices that help with this including mantra, prayer, breathing exercises, meditation, study of sacred yoga texts (such as the Bhagavad Gita, the Yoga Sutras, or the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam) and asana (the physical practice).

So when you are in your yoga class sweating on your mat, you are really training your mind to focus entirely on the present moment of what you are doing: the breath, the posture, the intention. If you are able to hold one point of focus, then the mind is not fluctuating. This can be further developed through pranayama, meditation, mantra, and other yogic practices.

What about other definitions of yoga?

As I said earlier, yoga means many things to many people. To give only one short definition of yoga is to oversimplify an entire practice and philosophy. My intention with this blog and video is to give an introduction to yoga beyond simply the physical postures, not a comprehensive definition. In India, yoga is seen as a set of deeply spiritual and devotional practices, and as a way of life.

If you’d like to dive deeper into the practices of yoga and meditation, I invite you to join me by hitting the subscribe button at the top of this page to join my email list. I offer yoga, meditation, and pranayama classes both in-person and online.

About Max:

Max Baker is a certified Yoga Teacher based in Raleigh, NC whose passion is helping people find the tools and the confidence to reconnect with the most authentic version of themselves. He does this through his website, online courses, memberships, and in-person classes.