YOGA practice offers so much more than a system of physical exercise.  I have had the honor and privilege of studying yogic philosophy with an Indian scholar named Nagindas, who travels to the US a few times a year to visit his daughter in Madison.  Nagindas taught us that the ancient yogis believed one must harmonize the body through the physical practices of YOGA in order to reach the full potential of the mind.  From this point of view, YOGA  is so much more than a fitness workout.

The yogic view is that body and mind are one, and if given the right tools and environment there will be harmony and health. YOGA practices enhance well-being or ease, (sukha in Sanskrit), and  remove disease and suffering (dukha). When dukha is removed, the result will be a strong and peaceful mind.

 In the beginning of a YOGA practice, one becomes aware of posture, alignment and patterns of movement.  The body becomes flexible and one is able to relax in the midst of a stress stricken environment. We continue to practice yoga in order to feel  a greater sense of fitness, energy and happiness.  We find balance and experience peace – these are  some of the higher benefits. My personal experience with the higher benefits of YOGA, came many years into the practice – after the physical benefits had peaked.  

There is more to YOGA.  According to the ancient ones, we should continue our YOGA practice with the main goal being to ‘yoke’ or unite our soul with the DIVINE.  In order to achieve this union, we may become motivated to read and study the yogic texts, and we begin to incorporate the less physical and more advanced aspects of YOGA into our daily practice such as meditation, japa (mantra repetition), and PRANAYAMA.

PRANAYAMA

The Sanskrit term PRANAYAMA refers to yogic breathing practices. The purpose of these practices is to purify not only the physical body, but the subtle body and the mind as well. PRANA refers to the invisible energy or life force which we can perceive, but do not see. For example, wind is an energy we do not see, yet we know it exists because we perceive its movement in trees and grasses.  The breath is the gross manifestation of PRANA….we can feel the air filling our nostrils and our lungs, yet we are not aware of the exchange of PRANA. When we learn to regulate and control the breath through PRANYAMA practices, we begin to control the subtle energies in the body, and we also gain control of our minds.