What Is Yoga?

Yoga is both  a state of balance that permits the experience of oneness, and also the practice that leads us toward this state.  I find today that many "Yoga" classes look a lot like yoga externally and yet internally lack the awareness that can lead one to such a state. That, in fact, much of the time Yoga practice is equivocated to "Asana" practice without the benefit of Pranayama (breathing exercises), Meditation (stilling, quieting practice), Mantra (chanting), and many other Yogic tools that can help us achieve a state of Yoga. Stress, Poor Body Mechanics, Poor Food Choices,  along with many other factors,  take us out of balance.  When we are out long enough, it starts to feel normal and we can no longer 'hear' the messages our body is giving us.  So it starts to 'shout' and we become sick or we injure ourselves.  In order to affect a change, we first have to know what is. Moving with awareness teaches us how to 'listen' again.  Our brains have the benefit of better sensory feedback and can then do a more effective job of directing our body in movement keeping us in balance and decreasing the amount of stress on and in our system.  With decreased stress, there is more space in our brains to notice other things and we begin to make better choices which serve to keep us in balance.  I have been blessed to work with masters like Glenn Black, Eleanor Criswell and Dr. Timothy McCall, who have all taught me that even the most remedial human movement, if done with complete awareness, is Yoga in practice, and can lead one to the state of Yoga.