The Yuj
What is Yoga?
I’ve been sitting with the word “Yoga” for the past few weeks. What is Yoga? What does the word mean?
As a student, one of the first things you learn about Yoga is that the word comes from the Sanskrit word Yuj: to bind or yoke. It also can be translated to mean union. In fact, that’s the common translation: union. B.K.S. Iyengar wrote in his seminal text, Light on Yoga, “It is the true union of our will with the will of God.” If God is a triggering word, you can replace it with god, the Universe, Higher Power, or however you understand that source of energy outside of yourself. For me, this quote tells me the results of Yoga, but not how to practice it.
Formally, the practice of Classical Yoga is codified in the Yoga Sutras. The Sutras are short aphorisms to orally communicate teaching before reading was commonplace. It was up to your teacher to illuminate the Sutras with their experience. Yoga Sutra 1.1 calls you to attention, Atha Yoganusasanam, meaning the teaching of Yoga now begins. That’s great, but it doesn’t answer the fundamental question of What is Yoga? That comes in Yoga Sutra 1.2, Yogah Cittavritti Nirodah. BKS Iyengar translated this to mean, “Yoga is the cessation of the movements in consciousness.” From here, you learn that the practice of Yoga is actually a mental discipline to learn to control the mind.
In Yoga and Meditation, you recognize the physical, mental, and emotional are interconnected. Whatever your access point to Yoga, there is an effect on other aspects of your consciousness. If you access Yoga through the physical body, there are impacts on your emotional and mental fields. If you access Yoga through your breathing practices, there are impacts on your physical, emotional, and mental fields. If you access Yoga through Meditation, there are impacts on your physical and emotional bodies. I often say in class even if you are here for only the physical stuff, know that there are subtle layers being affected too.
My favorite way to explore internal energy is the Koshas, the five subtle layers of your being. I love this model of the inner world. It’s accessible, it’s practical, and it makes sense. Each Kosha represents a field of energy: Physical, Energetic/Emotional, Mental, Intellectual, and Bliss.
If the work of Yoga is to create a bind, a union, you first start with aligning with your personal energies to bring them into harmony. This is the beauty of the Kosha model. You can see these separate subtle bodies, how they impact each other, and that, when harmonized, your radiant self shines through! Once you are in alignment then you can create the union with your higher power, connect with that outside of yourself and see that we are all experiencing the same things.
This alignment can move you closer to mastering control of your mind, rather than being controlled by it. It can work to unburden yourself of your own suffering, worries, or anxieties. In Yoga and Meditation, you study the physical, mental, and emotional bodies to see what your predispositions are, where your suffering lies. Then once you understand your own suffering you can understand the suffering of others.
