“Yoga, it’s just exercise, right?”

“Yoga is just exercise right?” A student recently said this to us. Well yes and no. 
 
Does it matter if you only like the physical aspects of a Yoga practice? Not at all, but there is a lot more to Yoga than the moving in and out of Asana or poses: intrigued? Read on.
 
Physical Yoga, our asana practice, one of the types of Yoga we practise, is one of the  8 limbs of Yoga. It is just as important as the other limbs of Yoga. You can choose to explore some of these other elements (limbs) or just one. You may know people that like to focus on pranayama - breathwork for example and not have a physical practice. Does this mean they don’t practise Yoga? Not at all. The same is true for someone that likes to practise meditation. This is still Yoga too. 
 
When we move in our Yoga practice, we encourage movement that is focused, with an emphasis on conscious placement of our bodies and an awareness of our breathing. This is the same in any Yoga class, be it a Hot 26, Vinyasa, Hatha, Yin etc… Although we are moving and ‘exercising’ this attention to detail can help us feel calm and centred as well as giving a ‘Yoga high’ from the feel-good endorphins released during exercise. So although we can work hard and sweat and we might really feel it with sore muscles the next day, we might come to view Yoga as some special kind of exercise, something which feels a bit different to a regular gym work-out.
 
Tuning into the more subtle effects of the practice can sometimes make us begin to wonder about other aspects of Yoga too. It might begin in something as simple as noticing you take a measured breath before you respond to a difficult situation at work or home. Perhaps in this moment you’re practising ahiṃsā (one of the yamas), the virtue of non-harming, by stopping to think about the impact of your words on others. Or you might pay more attention to what you consume (the things you buy as well as what you eat), sensing the interconnectedness of all living creatures in the world. 
 
Yoga is a practice that meets us where we are; it offers us what we need at the time. Some people come to class to move and stretch and sweat; some might enjoy chanting; others are looking for relaxation and a feeling of calm. Or maybe for you it’s some combination of all of these. We can feel personal liberation and freedom in all these aspects of Yoga. So whatever brings you to class, let that be enough. Just practise Yoga. 

By Caroline Gozzi