Yoga is a way of life. Yoga starts on the mat in the early hours of the morning and continues the next day. In the oldest book on Yoga, the treatise written by the wise master Patanjali, talks about the eight steps to reach a state of Yoga.
Yoga is not a practice, it is a state of mind that is achieved through the practices mentioned in the Yoga Sutras. In Sanskrit it is called Ashtanga Yoga, Ashta means eight and Anga means steps, stages. It's eight steps!
One of them is Pose: Stable and comfortable posture. The only Asana mentioned in this treatise is the meditative posture. It was only a long time later that the other asanas were studied and taught, which are nothing more than preparatory postures for meditation.
Then there are the breathing exercises, Pranayamas. Prana is vital energy. Pranayama is the control of vital energy. Through breathing exercises we can direct and increase our vital energy. Increase lung capacity. Breathe fewer times in the same time, deeper breaths. Take the example of the dog and the turtle. The dog breathes very fast, lives little. The turtle takes slow, deep breaths and lives for hundreds of years.
Within this conscious practice, we begin the search for the state of union. The practice of maintaining mental focus and coming out of the distractions of the mind that come from stimulating the sense organs, which disperse the mind and inner state connected with truth and mindfulness.
We want to dilute the disturbances that take us away from the path of union. These disturbances are ignorance (we think that what is changeable and transient is immutable and permanent), egoity (we think that what we interpret about phenomena and objects are really the phenomena and objects), desire and aversion (when we create desire and aversion comes suffering, as we cling to the sensations that objects cause us) and clinging (we suffer because we cling to things that are changeable).
These are the ways in which we come out of the state of Yoga and which often take us out of practice, discipline and pursuit. It is important to know that these are difficulties faced by all seekers since more than three thousand years ago. Recognizing these disturbances and continuing with your practice is wisdom that sets you free.
In the next articles, we will continue talking about the Sutras in a simple way so that you can increasingly incorporate Yoga into your daily life.
If you have any questions, write us here in the comments!
