What Even Is Yoga?

I ask this question to myself quite often. Sure, it’s easy to rattle off a handful of definitions of Yoga. But what does it really mean, in the application of our modern everyday lives? I’ve come to the conclusion that Yoga is an ongoing exploration, because theoretically anything could be Yoga.

If we want to figure out what Yoga is, one resource is the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. An ancient text containing 196 threads which describe how to practice (or attain) Yoga. Yoga Sutra 1.2 defines Yoga by saying “Yogas Citta Vritti Nirodhah” meaning “Yoga is the restraint of the modifications of the mind.”

Yogas = Yoga. Citta = Mind. Vritti = Modification. Nirodhah = restraint or peace.

My takeaway is that Warrior II (or any Yoga pose) is really only Yoga if it’s helping us calm the mind fluctuations. And that anything really could be Yoga if it’s bringing us into the present moment. Because when we’re in the present, the mind isn’t fluctuating to the past or future. It’s here, now. The mind has been restrained.

I’ve witnessed a lot of arguing about what Yoga is. More specifically, what Yoga isn’t. I think instead of judging and criticizing other peoples’ practices, we can embrace all forms of practice as a positive thing. Because the more we can all bring peace and calmness to our individual minds, the more we can come together and create a more compassionate world. That’s what Yoga is to me.