What Is Yoga?
Richard Freeman
Yoga is freedom. It is love. It is pure, radiant, unobstructed joy. It is pure awareness, wide-awake and clear.
Yoga practice itself is a simple collection of techniques for observing what is in the present moment. These techniques lead to a pure attention to the subtleties, movements, and forms of whatever is present, including one’s own thoughts and freedom.
The techniques of yoga are merely ways of keeping the attention focused and present with whatever is occurring. They are based on connections between patterns of thought, the emotions, the breathing, the posture, and the general physiology of the body. Through yoga we can cultivate these feedback systems between the body, the breath, the senses, and the thoughts. The body itself then becomes the ground for enlightenment.
For example, when people are eager and attentive, they sit up straight. When they are sad or confused, their posture and breathing immediately reflect it. When listening carefully, their breathing nearly stops and their mouth relaxes. Such connections have been explored in detail and utilized for thousands of years.