Yoga is a philosophy, a science and way of life. The word yoga is from the Sanskrit Yoke and means union; it is the union of Mind, Body, and Spirit. The goal of Yoga is to recognize yourself as a spiritual being, to be established in union and act in harmony with the Universe.
When your physical, mental, and spiritual selves are united your life is Balanced. The practice of Yoga allows you to develop Body Centered Awareness and to know all parts of yourself with compassion.
Adi Shankara, one of the greatest teachers of the philosophy of Yoga and Veda, established seats of learning throughout India to preserve Vedic science. This wisdom was called Advaita, which means non-dualism. His purpose was to end suffering by teaching people the wisdom of life. Deepak Chopra synthesizes these truths in the book Seven Spiritual Laws of Success. The Spiritual Laws are the basis of Seven Spiritual Laws of Yoga, and are to be integrated with the physical practice of yoga.
Seven Spiritual Laws of Yoga is the practice of Hatha yoga with the overriding Raja yoga approach of Yoga as Meditative practice to foster inner awareness. We learn to use our intention to focus our attention, so we may develop witnessing awareness.
Most people are familiar with Asana which means “seat” or position and refers to the postures people move into and through to achieve Flexibility, Strength, and Balance. Yoga is not competitive and practitioners at all levels can do these body awareness poses. Doing your postures with awareness is practice for performing action in life with awareness, being in harmony with the Universe.
