How Yoga Philosophy Can Change Your Life
In my experience, one of the deepest pieces of the ‘puzzle’ for a balanced and softer lifestyle is yoga philosophy.
In our world, yoga is often seen as something relating to flexibility and some even consider it a ‘religion’. It’s often seen in various different ways, for example – ‘goat yoga’ and ‘wine yoga’ to bring yoga to people who aren’t attune to the regular practice.
Yet for a woman who practices yoga deeply in her heart, the idea of flexibility or ‘wine yoga’ diminishes the essence of yoga. This often leads to several women trying to adhere to these inaccurate ideas to ‘fit in’ with what society is trying to make yoga become.
When searching for yoga on social media, I’ve often found content filled with difficult poses, stylish yoga outfits and new ways to practice yoga as I mentioned such as integrating wine into practice. The idea of flexibility within yoga is shown beautifully in the online space, it draws in this admiration of how these yogi’s move their bodies in ways the normal person cannot.
Yet, it takes away the actual essence of yoga as we feel we need to strive to accomplish these tricky poses. And, with new ideas relating to ‘fun’ ways to practice yoga (integrating goats or wine), it takes away the deeper practice and understanding of yoga.
These pushed elements of yoga try to overpower and impede on yoga’s power and wisdom it truly brings. It pushes us away from the history, sutras and deeper yoga practices we can integrate into your lifestyle.
Because of these ‘pushed’ elements, it causes a deep tension in us and our relationship with yoga. It causes a confusion between understanding what yoga has been naturally designed and inspired to do and what we think we ‘should’ do based on what we see trending online.
We are taught that it doesn’t matter what the true wisdom of yoga has to offer us, as long as we are meeting the expectations of the external world. What I have found is that when we begin to take a step back from our online world teaching us these ‘fun’ ways to practice yoga and instead bring our focus to what yoga truly has to offer, we will soon realize that our societal understandings of yoga do not genuinely nurture the benefits and wisdom we can learn and explore.
I’ve found that it can be hard to step away from societal norms. We all have this tendency to want to ‘fit in’ and feel accepted. Yet it can also feel empowering to follow your heart and tap into a new world of thoughts and ideas that most of society doesn’t see.
We have this ‘internal compass’ within us that consistently reminds us to object to appeasing the external world. And, when we consistently override this true wisdom of yoga, we perpetuate this belief that our internal wisdom and learnings are not as important as the ‘perfection of flexibility’, or ‘fun’ and ‘trending’ expectations the external world has pushed.
Naturally, when the term ‘yoga philosophy’ is spoken, it can feel intimidating or uncomfortable. We feel unsure as I’ve found ‘yoga philosophy’ information on social media tends to fade into the background of all the noise of the other ‘pushed’ trends.
But, when we finally push through the noise and return to a place of learning, love and wisdom – yoga will show its true power and we will fade away from the external expectations of the world.
How I was Introduced to Yoga Philosophy
Yoga isn’t something I have been practicing my whole life. I had actually started yoga because of what I had seen online. I strived for the flexibility I witnessed online, along with dreaming of having the ability to do the most difficult poses.
I first began practicing yoga in 2019 and I distinctly remember falling in love with a local studio, where I was attending classes 5-6 days a week. As I was in class striving for the flexibility and poses I had envisioned, I began to hear terms from my yoga teacher’s as they walked me through practice.
The new yoga terminology overwhelmed me in class. I’d find myself wondering what each term meant and I began to feel disconnected in class from my confusion. And this is when I realized that even though these yoga teacher’s acquired all this wonderful knowledge about yoga – the ultimate focus of a yoga studio is the posture (asana) practice.
I felt frustrated and helpless leaving class on some days as I pondered what my teacher was referring to with specific philosophy terms. Yet, at the same time I was eager to learn more about the aspects of yoga I hadn’t seen online. At the time, I felt the way I could truly, fully understand all about yoga and the philosophy and its history was to invest in a Yoga Teacher Training (YTT) so I could officially acquire this true knowledge of yoga I felt was hidden from most of society.
What I Learned From Yoga Philosophy
As I journeyed through the path of my YTT, I began learning terms I had never heard of or stumbled upon in the typical yoga Reels and TikTok videos that pushed the ‘societal norms of yoga’.
One of my biggest lessons of all was learning that posture practice is only one part of yoga and that there are actually eight other ‘limbs’ of yoga.
I felt astonished at all this beautiful, rich information I had been missing out on. Filled with excitement, I immediately began implementing these yoga philosophy practices into my daily life. Suddenly, my focus in regards to yoga wasn’t the flexibility or fun aspects I had been taught by the external world. Instead, my focus shifted towards living more mindfully and tapping into the strengths and powers of my mind.
Why It’s Important to Learn the Philosophy of Yoga
Yoga is filled with practices of wisdom that have been around for centuries and centuries. This wisdom includes various virtues and ethics, which recommend different ways to live your life both internally and externally.
I’ve found that we’re often pushed in a direction that we ‘must’ do something to succeed. We’ve been taught in a linear way – a step-by-step approach.
We believe we must follow the ‘rules’ of life. Yet with yoga philosophy – there is no one telling us how to live your life. There are several recommendations laid out by centuries of experimentation and practitioners, but no one is forcing us to do anything.
Yoga is an invitation. It invites us to learn different ways to infuse its practices in our daily lives to help promote a balanced and more mindful and harmonious life. Through the power of yoga, we have the ability to invite the ideas of the ‘8 Limbs of Yoga’ into our lives and experiment with them.
Where Can You Learn About Yoga Philosophy?
As I went through my YTT, I discovered that I have a passion for teaching women the philosophy of yoga. And, what I’ve found from practicing yoga philosophy is that we can integrate it as much or as little as we wish into our lives.
In my experience, practicing the virtues and ethics of yoga (Yamas and Niyamas) has helped me not only find more balance and harmony in my day-to-day life, but it also has invited me into the perspective of slow living.
Yoga has taught me how to set boundaries in several situations, learn how to be more present and mindful and truly tap into the gentler lifestyle I have been looking for. After completing my learnings of yoga philosophy in my YTT, I was immediately inspired to create a course to walk women through the 8 Limbs of Yoga and how they can begin to infuse the teachings and practices of yoga into their lives.
I feel so much excitement around the teachings yoga has to offer. And, because it’s not something that has been thoroughly and outwardly taught online and in the studio – I feel it’s so important that I create a course to inspire other women to also take a step away from what society has taught us to be normal and instead ‘go against the current of society’ and tap into the true wisdom and essence of yoga.
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