But what is Yoga?

Yoga: meditation in movement

Where does come from the word yoga? 
From Sanskrit root yuj, the same one from which our Latin comes iugum and then English yoke. 

The yoke was a tool used to plow the fields: a single ox did not have enough strength to drag the heavy plow, at least two had to be used. But once tied to the plow, the two oxen did not always go in the same direction: thus the yoke was born, that is, a wooden tool with two large holes into which the oxen could insert their heads to move together, in the same direction. 

This tool offers an apt analogy with the practice of yoga: very often, in fact, our energies and thoughts are not aligned and are unable to move together towards our personal flourishing. Yoga allows us to re-center ourselves and consciously direct our inner energies.

Rekindle your inner fire

The yoga it is a philosophy, but it is first and foremost a practice, since in India idea and action move indiscriminately.

Si dice che la pratica dello yoga sia come accendere un fuoco utilizzando due pezzetti di legno: bisogna strofinare i due legni, creare la scintilla e soffiare. Se manca uno di questi elementi il fuoco non si accende: e così nella nostra pratica alcuni elementi sono essenziali. 

Body postures, or asana, that is, the forms inspired by the world of nature that we take on with the body, in which it is essential not to feel pain, because yoga it is not a sport intended as a performative discipline: it is not the result that is important but the process, the "flow”, the flow in which we immerse ourselves. Instead of “pushing” ourselves into the posture we immerse ourselves in it as in a dance, so that the breath can flow comfortably. 

Let's turn on then our “inner traffic light”, as I like to call it with my students: as long as the position presents a challenge but the breathing flows and there is no pain I can continue, when the traffic light is red I return to the previous position. 

Each of us has a different body and it is important to connect with it and accept its limits, which are never fixed borders but permeable margins. 

Another essential element is breathing, through the pranayama or breathing technique. Our breath accompanies us throughout our lives very often unconsciously, in the practice of yoga we make it conscious, we extend it and we allow ourselves to feel it move throughout the body. Yogic breaths are long and deep, we slow down the pace and thus slow down the mind, which is usually hyperactive like a radio always on. 

In Sanskrit prana it means both breath and vital energy: dynamizing the breath means energizing and harmonizing both the body and the mind. 

Finally, an essential element is our mental presence. Yoga is both a discipline that promotes harmony and well-being, and a real moving meditation. We don't try to stay focused but on the contrary we broaden our perception and welcome all the sensations of the body and the thoughts that pass through the mind: we remain silent witnesses, as if we were observing the flow of a river before our eyes. We don't follow any thoughts in particular, we let them flow and gently bring our conscious attention back to the flow of breathing.