WHAT IS YOGA?

Well, there are many answers to this question. I will give you my one here.

One translation of the word yoga is union or connection. So what is it we want to connect? The most common definition is to connect body, mind and soul. Yes, yoga is a way to connect deeper with the different layers of our being. Bringing the focus from an external to an internal, to get connect with our feelings, our breath and body, to re – center, ground and to become aware:

What is present of me? What am I thinking? What do I feel? What is true for me right now?

Most of our days and lives we, in the western worlds, are being directed by our thinking minds, and many of us get quite disconnected from our bodies, feelings, intuition and most crucial our hearts. Sounds a bit sad?! Yes, I think it is sad indeed, cause where our heart lives, lives our love, compassion and kindness. Shortly: Our humanity and our higher self. The humble, loving being that we all are.

Our thinking mind is a great and fascinating servant which guides us through the duties of everyday life: buy milk, get cash from the atm, push the break and so on. But what happens is that we start to believe, that we are this thinking mind, that we are our thoughts and we get caught up in this illusion of who we think we are and what we think is real. We look through very specific individual – colored lenses, into the world also known as our ego. Lenses colored and created by our thoughts, believes, education, family and culture.

Our bodies, our heart and our higher knowledge is much wiser than our minds, but many of us have forgotten how to listen.

The path of Yoga is to find the way back, back inside, back to our hearts, back home! Remembering our essence, remember who we are, our true nature which is divine love, creative consciousness, pure light.

In order to become aware and connect to this radiating light inside and around us we have to slow down, become still to be really present. We have to peel the layers of our thinking mind away, and learn how to dive into the meditative state of pure sensing – being and presence. In the space of stillness, between movement and breath, in the gap between one thought and the other we can get a glimpse of who we are. Feelings and thoughts will start to bubble up and arise from the cellular level and your subconscious and we get the opportunity to witness, observe our inner landscape. Through yoga we become more aware.

What is the purpose of yoga?!

The purpose of yoga for me is to become more aware and present to the here and now, to awaken and increase my level of consciousness. To grow towards a better version of myself, the highest possible version. You could also shortly say enlightenment or awakening is the purpose of yoga. Awakening to the reality that I am, and we all are spiritual beings, having a human experience here on earth and that the thought of separation between me and the world is an illusion. Enlightenment as I heard requires a lot of work, hours of meditation and energetic work and I am not sure if I will reach that in this lifetime ???? First of all I keep it with the purpose of: Increasing my level of consciousness, become more sensitive to be able to perceive more from this world and what is real. Become a higher version of myself, so I can live up to my fullest potential and inspire and serve others to do the same.

Becoming a better human being – becoming more soft, loving and compassionate and at the same time strong in our bodies, health, and boundaries. Fearless in the attitude and soft in the heart. That is the yogi.

The purpose of yoga is to awaken to the reality: That we beings on the planet earth are all one, all part of the universal consciousness. We are souls here to awaken to our higher potential, we sit all in the same boat. Realizing more and more of who we are, shedding the layers of our conditioning away. Living fearless with an open heart, sharing love, building connection and awakening to the truth that separation is an illusion. Yoga is a path to become more human again!

What means ‘being a yogi’ to you?

Being a yogi is for me far more then wearing fancy leggings and doing handstand pictures on the beach, even though I love to do those things. For me it is a life decision and commitment. It is the willingness to move out of our small ego – self, the identity we created, into a larger and greater idea of who we are. It means for me to be a light warrior, the one who takes on the fights against the dark inner demons who want to take over the control – he wants to bring his shadows into the light and is not too afraid to look at them closely, he wants to lay the wounds out open, in order to heal them.

The yogi is the one who looks fears straight in the eyes and brings them into the light. A Yogi is a warrior of the heart, and his weapon is love, courage and kindness. He carries no shields, his heart is wide open. He is not afraid to show up vulnerably because he knows that vulnerability is a sign of inner strength and the bridge to real connection. That’s what makes him so strong because the heart is un–hurt. That is what the sanskrit word anahata means: “unhurt, unstruck, and unbeaten”. This is the ultimate goal of yoga: directing energy/prana into the heart and to live from the heart, because love is unbeatable.

Yoga is the movement from FEAR to LOVE

Short form – Yoga is…

an Indian philosophy

a science

a life practice on and off the mat

a way of living

an awareness practice

increasing consciousness

self-acceptance

empowerment

a way to self-realization

a way to live a more conscious life

a love date with yourself

a way into your inner landscape

come back to balance

a moving meditation

becoming your authentic self

following your destiny

a way of service

turning towards the light

connecting with divinity

remembering that you are divine

transformational

magic

energy

connection

coming back home

never stops

a practice

a movement from FEAR to LOVE

“YOGA IS THE PRACTICE OF QUIETING THE MIND.” PATANJALI