What is Yoga?

Yoga can be described as the use of meditation skills to bring into contact and life the mind, body and spirit in unison. The practice is religious and mostly practiced in Buddhism and Hindu religions. The practice is centuries old and is used to bring and harmonize the body and soul. It helps to understand and to get to know them better. In his book, A New Earth an author describes the steps of self development attained through mediation and those that help individuals involved to have a better understanding of their own self and others around them. According to the author the understanding develops through systematic steps.

The Steps

The first step in learning and feeling the Yoga in the human conscience is what the author describes as flowering of the human consciousness or internal feelings. In this particular step, I move away from my physical body and the world. I feel that I am in a new world and atmosphere where everything is admirable and available. In this part, I attain a spiritual like feeling and relinquish all the earthly feelings like pain, hunger, anger and other earthly feelings. In class I learned that this type of renewal of life is what makes one know that they are in a new world far from the physical world. It gives me the understanding of the spiritual world and sets out the differences with the physical world in which I live and exist. The author describes this feeling as allegorical evocation. She goes ahead to liken it to the feeling of a flower in the morning as it receives the rays of the sun. She tries to illustrate the feeling of newness and restart of life. The author states that, ‘The feeling is the prophetical feeling of the bible which promises a new heaven and a renewed spiritual life’. To her the promise of a new life in heaven is not about changing the physical position or residence, but the attaining of a new spiritual feeling that hinders one from noticing all the factors surrounding an individual. She says that we need to understand here that heaven is not a location, but the author refers to the inner realm of consciousness. This is the esoteric meaning of the word. In real sense, I am in the physical world physically, but then my body and soul are in a different world of spirit and imagination.

In the second part of learning yoga I get to understand my individual ego. This is the understanding of my individual sense of self as the memories and thinking as an individual. The understanding is more in me rather than in others. This means that I get away from the thinking of the mob to personal thinking as an individual. This starts when I come to terms with my own thinking and life. It is supposed to give  me knowledge of who I really am in the absence of those I hate, love or care in different circumstances of life. Performing yoga gets away the insanity brought by the thinking in term of ‘we’ to sanity brought by ‘I’. The sense makes me feel and understand myself in respect to the feelings of others. The author says, ‘Yoga makes one know more about I factor than We Factor. It makes one come to terms with the ‘I’ against them than ‘We’ against them. In class, I learned that the true spiritual awakening starts with the understanding of my internal structure and the feeling before I get to understand others. I first get to my internal feelings wholly and enjoin them with my physical person in the physical world.

The body pain in yoga is the attempt to understand and come to terms with long term and time recurrent pain. The pain being referred to in this case is both physical and emotional. The attempt to come to terms and get to know the real cause of this pain is what is noteworthy in this step. During the meditation period, I drive my body togged away from all the other external and internal factors and concentrate on the real pain and its source. In the same capacity I determine the source and cause.  The use of this is to treat both physical and emotional pain. The religious concept of this is to accept the hearting aspects of life and accept them to the full. This is possible through the manipulation of my consciousness to allow it to change the world by making me feel satisfied by the surrounding and deeds. According to the author, it also determines actions. This begins and comes to life when I set up the task of knowing the meaning of mental and physical peace. In class I also learned that the pain I feel emotionally or physically is caused by some factor and to treat it, I must first diagnose the factor. In the attempt to clearly diagnose the recurrent factor, I must get away from all other factors and get to the pain. As I learned in class this is the first step of seeking true and real treatment of the pain, be it physical or emotional. The author addresses the issues of personal, inner space, inner purpose and understanding oneself. In the inner space, I understand my internal feelings and fears, I get to know myself clearly and without discontent. In my life I get involved in making myself worth in spirit and soul. The author states ‘It is all about knowing you and knowing about yourself’. In the actual learning, Yoga sets this clear by allowing me to evaluate my internal feelings and express them internally. It is a time when I know what I genuinely think of others and myself.

The fact that I come to know who I am is through the same process that I know my purpose. Knowing about me and means that I have the capacity to know what I can do and what I cannot do. According to the author, ‘The divine powers outline the responsibilities, weaknesses and strength’. This means that I understand my weaknesses, strengths and purpose in life. This begins with the seeking of divine intervention to bring out the purpose of my own life. This step arises from understanding the “I factor” in the initial steps of the whole process. It engages the mind and the body and sets out the true strength of an individual. In class, this is described as personal emolument and analysis. It concentrates much on personal strength and weaknesses in matters of life and spirit. I learned that I have to admit that I have strength and weaknesses. To ensure that I live a healthy and admirable life, I have to engage myself in determining the weaknesses to eliminate them while strengthening my abilities.

The Yoga art is more religious than physical in its involvement. In this case, it is aimed at bringing hope and happiness. The author calls this kind of happiness and peace the true awakening of an individual. She also states that the true awakening is more spiritual than physical’. In this case, the true awakening, according to the author, and what is observed in Yoga is that I come to like and enjoy what I am doing and accept it. The author explains that it is through liking what we are doing and taking the responsibility (Tolle 36). He states, ‘We may not like occupations, but we may take responsibility if we understand deep in our hearts what it means. The author in this explanation brings out the fact that if I engage my mind and soul in what I do, I come to like and enjoy it. He states that taking the present moment as the pivotal point in life leads to the next step in taking lives to be what we like and enjoy. In class I learned that by engaging myself in Yoga, I get to like the world and its contents as it helps me to know that I am not permanently here, but just for a season. The Yoga classes further show me the differences I have as compared to other people. It brings out my capabilities giving me a better concentration and a rejuvenated interest. The final factor in this is enthusiasm. The author brings out the sense that is also brought out in the yoga art. The idea of being realistic, the author states that, ‘The true awakening is when one accepts to live in true enthusiasm rather than imagination'.

Conclusion

In conclusion, it is evident that the practice of Yoga as a religious art is one of the true ways to achieve true awakening in lives. The author of the book, A New Earth, can be described as one of the interpreters of this art through writing. The book is in line with what I have learned in class and in the practical yoga in bringing out the true meaning of art. The art can be described as the best way to stimulate the soul and mind of an individual to live harmoniously and in peace with others through everyday life. It is also one of the best ways of bringing both physical and mental healing.