The Heart of Yoga is Spirituality

You have probably noticed that I've posted a fair bit about yoga in the past few posts. That's because everywhere I go, yoga is thrown at me. My health science class has especially been an avenue where yoga, meditation, "holistic healing", buddhism, monks, are all openly discussed and favorably looked upon.

I mentioned that my health science professor, a yoga instructor, led the class through a yoga deep breathing exercise. I did not participate in this, but I did observe what was going on. The reality is, it likely seemed like just harmless activity to 99% of the class. HOWEVER, I know from my research about yoga that getting the breathing thing right is essential to practicing the yoga poses. The problem I have with this is that it was something our teacher said she taught to beginners in her yoga class. So, it is the first step to yoga and needs to be mastered before moving on. Also, yoga teaches that the breath connects all things. While teaching this yoga practice, my professor mentioned the purpose of this exercise was to be aware of the breath.

Here is an excerpt from Yoga Journal.

"One of the methods Gillespie has used that enables students to access spirituality in her classes is to simply bring awareness to the breath. "Breath is the [common] bridge between the inner and outer worlds," she says."


I did some research from the Yoga Journal to find out more specifics about the philosophy and spirituality behind yoga. Here is an excerpt from an article in the Yoga Journal , written by Dr. Swami Shankardev, who is "a yogacharya, medical doctor, psychotherapist, author, and lecturer. He lived and studied with his guru, Swami Satyananda, in India for more than 10 years."

All emphasis is my own. Read the entire article here.

"The heart of yoga is spirituality, best defined as the process of self-awareness, self-discovery, and self-realization. This is what most of our students are seeking, even if they do not consciously realize or express it..."

"The aim of yoga teachers should always be to empower our students to find their own way."

****Contrast this to what Jesus says in the Bible, "I am the way the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." John 14:6****

"The most important first step for teachers is to develop their own spirituality. Spiritual knowledge comes only from a great deal of study and personal self-development. It takes time to develop true wisdom and a grounded, authentic spirituality. This cannot be achieved from books, and if we attempt to teach what we do not know, our students will quickly perceive this. If our spirituality is grounded in authentic realization, then we develop a heart-connected relationship with all of life and, therefore, with our students. Then even simple practices become potent."


"Trust yoga practices to do the work. Faith in the techniques powerfully alters the way we teach, facilitating change and growth in students. Teach practices that encourage students to explore themselves at deeper levels. Be as invisible as possible and allow the teachings to shine through. Simply facilitate the process."

My next post will attempt to explain the Hindu spirituality behind yoga poses.