What is Yoga?

 

When we truly face the reality of our life, we realize that our life is not optimal- it is not even close to the best life we could have. Our potential is not being fulfilled. On the contrary, when we bring awareness to our life, we come to acknowledge that most of our experiences are full of discomfort. We are shooting blindly in the dark in search of the best option, always seeking for something better. This does not mean we are all miserable in our lives. It simply implies that for some reason, something is holding us back. In today’s world, we are faced with the overwhelming problem: we do not recognize our true identity. We are struggling to define ourselves according to the way society sees us, our actions, and our beliefs. It is a common experience during this age to be unhappy, unfulfilled, confused and depressed. We constantly try to seek a solution to these problems by searching for a better job, a better house, by waiting in line at the psychology clinic. This is where yoga enters into the picture.Yoga is not some physical exercise. It is an ancient way of life that has existed for thousands of years, designed to free us from obstacles and liberate us from any fear. Yoga brings us into balance and harmonies, giving us the ability to enjoy life, fulfill our potential and find our true identity.

 

According to yoga, we are not in tune with the universal nature or our own nature. In modern society, it is clear we are alienated from our own nature and the nature around us because we are under the illusion that our Self is something separate: locked up within a bag of skin, disconnected from other beings in this world. For example, we eat the same vegetables all year long and therefore detaching ourselves from natural, healthy and season food. We spend our summers in air-conditioned officers and therefore detach ourselves from the natural weather. Despite the lunar stages of the moon having a great influence on us, we are completely unaware of the moon cycle. Most importantly, we are detached from our bodies – our minds always thinking and wandering far away from our current physical presence. The nature of the mind is to think of the future and dwell in the past. But this is not the truth – the past is just our subjective memory and the future is our illusionary imagination, therefore both are false. We are disconnected from the present, which is the only gate for truth and eternity. This experience causes a lot of suffering and loneliness. According to yoga, everything is one big net and we are a part of this net. This is the reason yoga strives to bring us back into connection with everything around us, not simply on the intellectual level but on the experiential level. If we feel and experience this union with nature, with other beings and within ourselves, we will achieve contentment because we will be acting according to the law of nature.

 

Yoga provides us with the tools for improving our relationships by stripping away the illusions that prevent us from connecting with our true Self, with other beings and with life itself. It can be seen as a kind of map that liberates us from the maze of life. It is a map that shows us the way, but does not perform the journey for us. Yoga is the optimal guru connecting us with our inner guru, the one who shows us the way of liberation, provides us guidelines and opens the gate to enable us to make the journey ourselves. Through a holistic method, yoga not only unites our body and mind together but also connects us back to our true nature and to the understanding that we are all part of the whole. Through asana practice, yoga connects our body to our breath and sensations in a peaceful but precise manner, allowing us to meditate on the inner self and experience truth. Such an experience will bring light and instructions in each and every area of life beginning with our actions, thoughts, speech, sleep, social life, breath, posture and more. It will bring us back to the connection with nature. This is called Ashtanga Yoga, the ‘Eight Limbs’ of Yoga.

 

Vagabond Temple Cambodia invites you to the February yoga and meditation retreat a place where you can find the environment and the guidance to assist you in achieving this union.