Yoga is an inner journey

“I am senior, I couldn’t start a regular physical practice at my age”,

“I am way too hyperactive to be practicing Yoga, I need to be in motion”,

“I could never do Yoga, I have neither flexibility nor arm strength”…

If you can relate to either one of these statements, then what follows should be helpful for your perspective to slightly start to change.

More and more displayed on Instagram and other social networks, the numerous pictures of men and women executing impressive physical poses has led many people to be discouraged from starting their own Yoga practice. It therefore seems important to ask the following question: what is really Yoga and what is its purpose? Far from a strict physical practice, Yoga is an inner search for peacefulness, a way of life promoting values and guidelines to prepare the body and mind for the journey towards self-awareness and full-consciousness.

The ecosystem of Yoga traditionally includes various life-guidelines that were theorized in the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali as the eight steps of Ashtanga Yoga.

These eight limbs are:

Yamas : a moral code defining the natural behaviours and negative tendencies we should avoid in order to live in harmony. Niyamas : inner observances to enhance self-discipline. Pranayama : the control of our inner vital energy through breathing exercises. Asana : the purification of the body through the execution of physical poses. Pratyahara : the control of the senses to enhance moderation. Dharana : concentration. Dhyana : meditation. Samahadi : the state of supreme, full-consciousness.

If we take the very translation of Vinyasa Krama itself – which means to place in a special order and proceed step-by-step – Yoga is plural and unique at the same time as it needs to be adapted to the student, with respect to his or her psychological and physical strengths and limitations. Starting your Yoga journey can therefore be decided at any stage of your life; there is no need to be able to do a full split or to be under a certain age to hop aboard this life-changing experience.