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Writer's pictureSavitha Enner

What is yoga ?



When I first started my Yoga practice here in the US, teachers in my studio mostly  defined Yoga as an union between breath, body and my mind. They instructed me that I  can do that by practicing being here at the present moment and connect to that wholeness.We ,as a modern society have compartmentalized everything into slots so that it is  easy to manage them.The smaller that part, the better because we can focus on that small little piece and take care of that single thing. That has led to us managing our  breath, managing our thoughts and managing our  body as different practices . But I don’t think we ever exists only as our body, our mind or breath. At all times, we show up as a whole person.That is why yoga is so appealing. It is very appealing to combine all those parts of our being and find a discipline which helps us to connect those dots. But its very limiting in its perspective. 

Why ? because , for union to happen there needs to more than one. That is why its a Teachers union, Labor union - a group of people coming together to form an Union. So, what are we uniting with then ? Everything around you, the whole cosmos. If you read any ancient texts, that’s what they would explain Yoga as. Becoming or uniting back with the cosmos as we are all small part of that existence . That can be very intimidating, as I don’t even know what that means. So, how about just uniting all I do to lead the life I want.  The trendiest phrase  in mindful living sphere is  “work and life balance” I personally think that’s its a myth because my work life and my other/family life is still all my life. I show up as me in both those places.  If my child, my spouse or a friend calls me at work, I will accept that call as I love them. In the same way , if I get an urgent email from my work while I am with my family, I will attend to that problem because I need to pay my bills. The anxiety and the stress comes as we are constantly struggling to manage them separately. How about uniting all we do? what else are we seeking to become one with ?


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