Today, let’s talk about what yoga truly is.
In the Yoga Sutras written by Patanjali over 2000 years ago, we find the second Sutra – Sutra 1.2 – to be yoga chitta vritti nirodha. This is a foundational statement about what yoga is.
Yoga means oneness, union, the present moment
Chitta means the mind – thoughts and perceptions
Vritti means fluctuations, unsteadiness
Nirodha means quiet / tampered down / restrained
Yoga chitta vritti nirodha means that yoga is the quieting of the fluctuations of the mind.
So often we perceive yoga as these physical postures that we do with our bodies – but it is so much more than that. Asana – the postures – are just one aspect of a yoga practice.
And asana is designed to take you into a state of meditation. This is where all yoga is really going – towards a state of calm, meditative awareness where we merge into oneness.
So when we are meditating, we are practicing yoga, and when we practice yoga, we are meditating.
A crucial component to a meditation practice is to remember that thoughts don’t stop because we are meditating – and the goal of meditation is not to try to get the thoughts to stop.
The goal (if there is one), is to cultivate our ability to witness.
When we can witness our thoughts moving through, the grip they have over us is lessened. We resist less and learn to become curious about what is showing up.
This makes meditation a welcoming activity that we will want to return to over and over again.
In this video I share some sanskrit terms with you:
Abhyasa = daily practice that we show up to every single day. A practice that we dedicate ourselves to, that we make a part of our daily life.
Vairagya = non-attachment.
So if we have a dedicated daily practice of abhyasa, and we are also dedicated to vairagya, then we are truly learning how to cultivate our ability to witness. To witness the fluctuations of the mind, to witness our thoughts and perceptions on a consistent basis.
When we cultivate our ability to witness, it allows us to show up with greater patience, understanding and empathy. And we learn to allow things to show up, even if they are uncomfortable.
Let’s use fear as an example.
If we allow feelings of fear to arise, it will show up and then move on. If we are able to view it from a witnessing perspective, then it loses its attachment over us. If we resist fear, then we are attaching to it – and it sticks around.
The ongoing practice of yoga chitta vritti nirodha allows us to deeply integrate this cultivation of witness consciousness, and merge deeper into a state of oneness – samadhi.
Yoga chitta vritti nirodha – let’s take this mantra into this week and make a shift within!
Sending love,
– davidji
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