True meaning of Yoga

YOGA AND IT'S MEANING

What is Yoga?

As understood by most people, yoga is just a form of physical exercise. Or maybe, one would say, it is a form of religion, associated with hinduism or other eastern mythologies. And ofcourse, yoga is only for women.

But in reality, all this beliefs and conceptions are far from truth. To answer what is Yoga , you must first understand what is "mind" and "soul". The entire Yogic believes and practices revolves around these two. And it is a common practice to replace the "soul" with "body" in physical forms of yoga

( e.g.- hatha yoga).

MIND 

As it can be declared the root cause of all evil, and happiness, the mind is a very complex, cognitive piece of organ, which facilitates consciousness, and enables a man to perceive and think. It is what which seeks to establish a connection between existence and reality, or in simple words- "you" and the "outside world". 

SOUL

Soul as explained by metaphysics, is something which cannot be seen, but can be felt. It represents the internal essence of who and what a person is, from the "inside". Soul is said to be eternal and a thing that never dies. Something which cannot be expressed in words, but as said by yogis- if one truly wants to know what soul is, one has to feel it.

Now that we have understood what "mind and soul" is, we have to establish a connection between the two.

"The soul always knows what to do to heal itself. The challenge is to silence the mind." - Caroline Myss. This quote explains well explains the aforementioned relationship. Philosophically, soul is considered to be "canvas", on which so called "artist"-the mind, is considered to paint its thoughts.

Yoga, now can be considered that pen which the artist holds, and uses to paint on the canvas. Yoga is nothing but a mere thread binding our thoughts to our actions. Something that connects our understanding to the physical reality. 

But, you know what, yoga is not limited to this. It asked to a Yogi himself , he can cite , one hundred, more definitions of what Yoga is. Such as :

1) "A practice, enabling a person to think, beyond boundaries".

2) "A defined set of actions, leading oneself closer to god".

3) "An action causing oneself to realize or evoke the god within., etc, etc".

4) "The quieter you become, the more you can hear."

5) "Yoga is the journey of the self, through the self, to the self."

Haven't you still got it?

No one can define "Yoga" or what it is. No one set boundaries , to what this

practice of spiritual awakening is. But still if you want the answer. Hear this: "Yoga is not an exercise or religion, or some weird poses, it's a way of life." :)