Some Basic Yoga Terminology

It seems that we are ruled by semantics in our limited English vocabulary.  It's so much fun to see how language forms the mental make-up of a culture.  English - for me is a fine, beautiful language, but a language within many that I play around with for a good stretch of the imagination (yes I stretch my imagination, but I don't call it "Yoga.")  This parenthetical statement is a very bad attempt at a joke.  My love of languages is not common in our mono-lingual society.  It's sweet to come from countries where we speak lots of them - even crude, bizarre and wild sing-songy ones.  Now Sanskrit is one of the Proto-Indo-European languages (Latin and Greek are the other two)   from which many Asian dialects came.  

So I've found that many people out there who teach and practice Yoga (based in the Sanskrit language) have never studied much Sanskrit.  This is where so much confusion arises.  So let's take a stab at this huge topic so you can see whether or not you are actually practicing "Yoga" or some wonderful stretching exercises/gymnastics (these are very important things, I love stretching and gymnastics.)

"Yoga" - comes from the root word "yug" which means "to yoke."  What exactly are you "yoking?"  Well, it could be more ego-identification to your body.  Or, you could take some definition from Patanjali - the author of the Yoga Sutras:

2nd Sutra, 1st chapter:

"YOGAH CITTA VRTTI NIRODHA."

Shri Brahmananda Sarasvati, (Ramamurti S. Mishra) translates this as "Yoga or Union is the cessation of the thinking mind: 'Who am I?'"

Hmm.  Intriguing that Patanjali didn't say, "Yoga is being able to stretch the physical body into different positions."

Not in one sutra - he doesn't say this.  He says it in many sutras when describing the third limb of yoga - "asana."  This third limb of Yoga has stretched and expanded into "Hatha Yoga."  And yes, many of our famous Hatha Yoga teachers are great, not only at teaching Yoga according to Patanjali's definitions, but also at advertising (I work in advertising, we create brands and infinities of brands with tms and circle register rs, so I am familiar).  So most folks out there say, in subtext, "the brand of Hatha Yoga I practice is"...insert name of your style of Yoga here.  But the words that come out of the mouth are "the type of Yoga I practice is..." and they are only talking about Hatha Yoga.  It would be more precise to say, "the type of Hatha Yoga I practice is..."

And then we gad on about how we jump around more in that class or we stand on our head more in that class and in that class we put our foot behind our head.  So if you breathe faster and move around that is one brand of Hatha Yoga.  If you breathe slower and move around that's another brand of Hatha Yoga.  

And the point of this "third limb" of the "8-limbs" of Yoga according to Patanjali - "asana" - see how the ancients really knew how to put "names" on things so they don't "bind" us?  They called the physical postures and mudras "seats."  "Asana" means "seat" in Sanskrit.  You could be sitting upside down for all the heavens care.  Just have "santosha," contentment and ease and "Tadah drastuh svarupe Avasthanam."  This is the third sutra of Patanjali's Yoga Sutras.  Guruji translates it as "Then the witness is established in its own form, in pure Self-awareness, "I-am":  Be still and know I am That I-AM."  Who was one of our greatest yogis?  Jesus Christ himself.  And YOU - when you "drop the thinking mind."

The point of this third limb is to get you to where you can understand within your "asana," your "hatha yoga" posture, the other Seven (yes, seven) limbs of Yoga: "Yama, Niyama, Pratyahara, Dharana, Dhyana, Samadhi."  

Shri Brahmananda further translates:

"Yama"  - 5 yamas = Ahinsa (nonviolence), Satya (Truthfulness),  Asteya (non-stealing), Brahmacharya (abidance in the "I-am" in Godhood and continence (oh yes, he said the word GOD), Aparigraha - non=possessiveness of the mind.

When you practice the five Yamas, guess what, you create "gigantic willpower."  Try it.  Then, you can understand, "Atha Yoganusasanam."  Which is the very first Sutra in all the glorious Sutras.  It says "Now the discipline of Yoga is explained," according to Guruji.  Others translate it as "Now Yoga begins."  Brilliant little mathematical equation in so few words, even in English!

I could go on.  But it's not the point of yoga.  If I plug more information into your thinking mind - and you run it around over and over again in your noggin, guess what?  We have again failed at the above definition of Yoga.  So as Guruji - Shri Brahmananda Sasrasvati - said, "Drop everything and feel...Aham Brahmasmi."

Comments

[r4 ds]

Hi,
Yoga is beneficial for the health in ways that modern science is just beginning to understand. Even though it has beenapplied with therapeutic intention for thousand of years, Yoga Therapy is only just now emerging as a discipline initself.
More health care practitioners are starting to include yogic techniques in their approach to healing -- andmore yoga teachers give a therapeutic intention to their teaching. People who have never tried yoga before are startingto consider including Yoga in their treatment plan.
As science begins to document the importance of understanding the interrelation of all existing things, it looks to Yogawith an intrigued eye, for Yoga speaks Unity in every word. As yoga techniques are researched and new data is gathered,it becomes easier for science and the medical establishment to understand and accept the benefits of Yoga Therapy.Yet there is still not one consensual definition of the discipline.
In order to arrive to an adequate definition and tocome up with proper standards for Yoga Therapy, it is crucial at this early stage to properly address some delicateprofessional and ethical issues. At the same time it is important to educatethegeneralpublic about Yoga Therapy'sbenefits and careful use.
so this article will really helpful to me..