Teacher Training

What is Yoga?

During a typical teacher training I think most people spend some time asking themselves, what is yoga? There are many differing opinions on this. I'm happy to share my view of a several thousand year old tradition in a few paragraphs...

First off there are two different forms of yoga. Raja Yoga and Hatha Yoga. Many of us practice both forms and some of us do not. To me yoga encompasses both forms but I'll define them separately as they make sense to me.

According to B.K. S. Iyengar Raja Yoga is the complete mastery of the Self and with that mastery, a union with the Divine occurs. Raja Yoga also refers to the spiritual or mental practice of yoga rather than Hatha Yoga or the physical postures of yoga. Of course you can see how these two forms of yoga can be practiced at the same time. It is said that Emerson and Thoreau brought the concepts of Raja Yoga to the West which may have laid the foundation for Hatha Yoga to build in popularity and the eventually meshing of the two. When I think of Raja Yoga my bar becomes so high I almost become angry with myself for being so far from the bar. Complete mastery of the Self? I have a hard time expressing compassion for myself when I fall out of a balance posture let alone compassion for the jerk who cut me off in traffic and then gives me the bird. I've learned to focus my energy on smaller steps to work toward a greater goal. I tell myself and others to start with just recognizing your motivations and thoughts behind every action. Become aware of the why behind what you do. Don't judge your motivations but simply be aware of them. Judgments, I believe, only lead to an increase in the external desires and "fluctuations of the mind". We seem to always want what we can't or shouldn't have. Another words, by telling yourself "I can't be angry towards anyone" you might end up focusing all your energy on your anger and feel so frustrated that anger is all that comes out. Instead start small and just notice why you do what you do and start on your yoga mat. In my experience, the things you seek will begin to happen naturally with practice. As Pattabhi Jois would say, "Do your practice and all is coming."