Milos island, Greece

Yoga is not a workout routine. But if not, then what is it?

Hello again my dear Steemians.
Today I am going to write and give a few facts about what Yoga is and what it clearly is not.

Yoga is an ancient practice, an ancient method that is meant to help us grow and move on (or more accurately "move up").
Patanjali in his second Sutra gives us his definition of Yoga as:
"Yogas Chitta Vritti Nirodhah".

Which is Sanskrit for "Yoga is the removal of the disturbances of the mind".
Chitta is the mind
Vritti is literally a whirlpool, here all the disturbances of the mind.
Nirodhah is cessation or removal.
Yog means union (with the Source or the Force or God or It All).
Meaning that Yoga is the way, the medium through which we can attain Enlightenment.

The Yoga Institute in Mumbai, India

It would therefore be an understatement to say the least, to simply call Yoga a workout.
At least this is not what it started out as.
Enlightenment is an intangible and elusive concept because it speaks of a world that exists beyond our five senses.
But that doesn't mean it does not exist (the foundation too, of every religion is based on the assumption that there is something else out there, beyond our five senses).
My personal opinion and my truth is that Enlightenment is accessible to anyone and everyone.
It is actually the reason why all of us are here and what we are working towards.
We come here time and time again (every death is a new birth) and since most of us do not remember our past lives, it is easy to believe that there haven't been any.
But there have.
And we have been on your path towards enlightenment for a very long time, still moving from one level of consciousness to the next.

Yoga studio in Los Angeles

What I am trying to say is, if you feel there is something else out there, something more, then this might be you about to move to the next level of consciousness.
The life you are living does not define you.
Your family, the country you were born in, your financial and social status, your conventional education. All that is just the distant background music to your movie.
To your path.
Wherever you are right now, whoever people think you are and whoever you were made to believe you are or aren't, simply does not matter.
You were born pure and bright, you have worked so hard to be where you are today.
If you look back there is your path and if you look ahead, there is your path again.
Pick it up from where you left off last time you were here and keep moving forward.
Yoga is not a workout routine nor is it a competition.
Yoga is a lifestyle, Yoga is the way.
Yoga the union that bridges our current consciousness to the Universal consciousness.