The True Meanning Of Yoga

What is the true meaning of Yoga? Well that depends on where you look. When you search the web you get this definition: The word yoga means "union" in Sanskrit, the language of ancient India where yoga originated. We can think of the union occurring between the mind, body and spirit.
When you search for the meaning in the Yoga books or as they say
In Yogi language you may get, "yoga" can be more accurately described by the Sanskrit word asana, which refers to the practice of physical postures or poses. When you look for the fitness definition of what yoga is you get, Yoga is a series of movements that help the alignment, flexibility and balance of the body.

As a yoga professor and avid practitioner, I find that I am an eclectic sort. I tend to believe that Yoga is a journey into the mind, body and spirit that reflects outward as it creates the aura of the person whereby the soul has an outlet of expression into our physical realm.
Yoga provides us a chance to heal our souls and allow emotions to flow. When we practice yoga mindfully we find ourselves in a journey where if done with full intention and focus you begin to express the emotions that have been suppressed within our body. The emotions surface, find an outlet and begin to flow as we move through the poses.

This is the epitome of “being Yoga ”. When there is a union of
the body, mind and spirit, your Yoga has found its true meaning within you. Yoga is very much about “You” the practitioner. What it looks like when expressed by your physical body may not be what you will find on the cover of “Yoga Journal” but it is by all intents and purposes an expression of your own form “ the true meaning of Yoga”. It is to be practiced not performed, simply by the mere fact that Yoga is a journey from within you can see how it uses the physical body for expression of itself.

Sadly in our western world we have taken Yoga and done what we “westerners” are so great at doing. We have commercialized it and turned it into competition. We compete with ourselves for that perfect pose. We have taken out the element of creativity and replaced it with the element of competition. You see this so clearly in the Yoga classes at your favorite gym, where yoga is all about the perfect twist, the higher leg and the longer hold. This is absolutely NOT what Yoga was meant to be.

The true meaning of Yoga comes from within you. Yoga may have found its way into your life because of illness, dis-ease of the body or the need for an emotional expression of your soul. Whatever the reason for your Yoga practice, the journey has just begun. As with any other journey you take you need to listen to your body and do what it tells you to do within each pose. Find the place within your practice and take the time to bringyour mind and spirit into your body. Find and feel the space within you that is meant to house your soul. Do this with complete and utter awareness of the body then the mind and spirit will follow.

Seek the space within your soul that allows you to experience the essence of the life force that commands your body. When you do this you will have found within you “ The True meaning of Yoga”.