Yoga is not a workout. So what's the point?
Sometimes I think we live in a world where movement is constant.
And we need to move our bodies, we need cardio, we need hydrated fascia and less stiffness in our joints.
We need to walk, run, swim, play, laugh and cry.
We exercise to get stronger.
We run to improve our fitness.
We stretch to become more flexible.
We train to change our bodies.
So when we step onto a yoga mat and begin moving through postures, it’s easy to assume that yoga is simply another form of exercise.
But yoga was never really about the workout.
So what is it about?
The physical practice is part of the path to the destination.
The postures are only the beginning
The roots of yoga go much deeper than the modern idea of yoga as a way to tone the body or increase flexibility.
In Patanjali's Yoga Sutras, the physical postures are described within a much larger path of practice. The purpose isn't simply to become better at the posture - although that does happen with repetition - and is very very satisfying to experience progress. It is to create the conditions in which something deeper can happen.
We move into the posture.
We breathe.
We feel - we focus on our internal bodily sensations - Interoception.
We settle.
We enter our inner space after a while - Proprioception
And we can experience that with running for instance.
And eventually, rather than constantly trying to do something, we begin to be with what is happening.
To 'not do' Yoga.
Vanda Scaravelli , who inspires my Yoga Teaching, said, "Do not kill the instinct of the body for the glory of the pose."
This is where the practice starts to change.
The posture becomes less about how it looks from the outside, just going through the motions, maybe looking out of the window, thinking of what we still have to do today - Exteroception - and more about what is happening on the inside - Interoception.
Settling INTO the posture
There is a subtle difference between doing a yoga posture and settling into one.
When we're exercising, there is often an objective, and they are good objectives:
How many repetitions?
How long can I hold it?
Can I go deeper?
Can I lift more?
Can I burn more calories?
Yoga asks different questions:
Can I become still here?
Not rigid.
Not passive.
But find the Stillness in the movement, even for a few seconds.
There may still be effort. There may be sensation, challenge, discomfort and even resistance. But instead of immediately Reacting to those experiences, we learn to stay and Respond instead.
We breathe.
We observe.
We soften where we can.
And slowly, the body begins to become quiet enough for us to notice the mind.
Because that is where the deeper practice lies.
The body is the vehicle
The body matters in yoga.
Very much.
But it isn't the final point.
The physical practice can help us develop awareness, concentration, steadiness, confidence, balance and sensitivity.
Moving the body gives the mind something to focus on. The breath gives us another anchor.
We begin with something tangible — a foot pressing into the mat, the movement of the spine, the rhythm of the breath.
And then something shifts.
We stop being quite so interested in the shape we're making.
We become interested in how we are experiencing the shape.
That is a very different practice.
Stillness isn't the absence of thought.
When we hear the phrase "still the mind," it can sound as though yoga is asking us to stop thinking.
But the mind doesn't simply switch off because we've sat cross-legged and closed our eyes.
Thoughts come.
Plans come.
Memories come.
Judgements come.
The mind wanders. Our 'to do' list beckons!
The practice isn't necessarily to get rid of all of this.
It's to notice.
To recognise that a thought is a thought without having to follow it.
To feel a sensation without immediately needing to change it.
To experience an emotion without becoming completely consumed by it.
Focus on the SILENCE in between the thoughts, or gaps in the music you might be listening to, or the pauses in the Teacher who might be talking and guiding you. They are some moments of Stillness.
We begin to develop a little space between what happens and how we respond.
And that space can be transformative.
From movement to meditation
Perhaps this is why the physical practice can be so powerful.
We move in order to become still. So the body is comfortable ready to Meditate or Pranayama practice.
We use the body to arrive somewhere beyond the body.
The posture asks us to pay attention.
The breath teaches us to stay.
Stillness teaches us to observe.
And gradually, the practice becomes less about achieving a particular shape and more about developing a particular quality of awareness.
The mat becomes a place to practise something, that we can eventually take with us, off the mat and into everyday life. Into a difficult conversation.
Into a stressful commute to work, school, shopping etc.
Into uncertainty.
Into moments when things don't go according to plan.
We learn to Respond instead of React.
Social Anxiety.
Stress.
Can we recall how we felt a minute BEFORE the stress began?
Can we pause?
Can we breathe?
Can we notice what is happening before we react? Pause....... and respond instead, maybe with a longer exhalation as we let something go. We don't have to know what, or analyse.
Can we remain present? In the Moment? Be Here Now.
That is yoga.
So, is yoga exercise?
Of course, the physical practice can make us stronger, more mobile and more aware of our bodies. Some Yoga styles can be physically demanding.
But if we reduce yoga to those benefits, we may miss the point.
Yoga isn't simply about what the body can do.
It's about what the practice allows us to notice.
The posture is the container.
The breath is the bridge.
The body is the doorway.
And beyond all of that is the deeper invitation:
To become still enough to hear the mind clearly.
So perhaps the next time you step onto your mat, don't worry about whether you've had a good workout.
Don't worry about how deep you got into the posture.
Don't worry about whether you were flexible enough, strong enough, or good enough.
Instead, ask yourself:
Can I settle into this moment?
Can I inhabit the posture rather than perform it?
Can I listen to the breath?
Can I stay with what is here?
Where is my attention drawn. Which parts of my body need my attention?
Because the real practice may begin at precisely the moment when you stop trying to get somewhere.
And become still.
Hear your inner voice instead of the noise of the world.
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