What Is Yoga? This May Sound Like A Silly Question But Is It? #Yoga

By Allen Barkus- www.AshtangabyAllen.com I teach yoga privately in Philadelphia and clinics/training's worldwide focusing on Healing Therapy for body and mind.


To start with...This post is not about judgement. In all honesty I'm glad that people in general are seeking ways to move and improve themselves, ideally with proper instruction to progress and avoid injuries.

What is yoga? In the simplest form the answer is that it is an ancient system for healing for mind and body in Hindu tradition. What you may not know is many things that are called yoga created in and for our Western society are not actually yoga in any traditional sense.  While it is great that people are doing these practices, many are externally rather than internally focused as yoga is meant to be practiced.

The most basic core of the physical practice, actually 8 limbs, is pranayama. Pranayama is internal breath control, during practice as Ujjayi breath. Therefore if you are not breathing properly you are stretching, not doing yoga.

Some of the things we are told are not quite correct: One of those things is things is that you are "detoxing" while sweating during hot yoga practices. In traditional yoga your internal organs detox by internally heating your body through breath (pranayama), movement (vinyasas), the positions (asanas)  and internal locks (bandhas). With external heat you are mostly just sweating. The assumption that all sweat is bad is also not true. In traditional yoga you practice with a clean body,  ideally with a hot shower,
the toxins evaporate and you rub the good minerals back into your skin to reabsorb.