What does Yoga mean?

瑜伽到底是什麼？

無論是什麼年紀的人，我們也希望自己能成長，生活得自在快樂。但我們的頭腦，思想，情緒卻是成長的絆腳石。

很多時候，我們知道要保持冷靜，不要衝動行事，不要被情緒牽着走，但往往做不到；我們看到自己因為某些恐懼，信念，令自己不停重覆着某些行為，或在一個膠着的狀態，但卻走不出這框框；我們甚至只看到別人的錯，看不見自己的盲點，永遠在投訴，覺得別人很不該，自己很不幸...

那可以怎麼辦呢？

瑜伽是一個好方法。

瑜伽不僅會在我們身體的層面上發揮作用，它還會靜悄悄地改變我們的內在，好像魔術一樣，會逐漸變走我們成長的絆腳石。

可能你會問，瑜伽不就是練習各式各樣的高難度體式嗎？它怎麼能幫助我們成長呢？

這要看你用什麽心態去練習。

若只是聽着頭腦的聲音去練習，要求自己伸展得更多，着重於追求進階體式，而忽略了與自己的呼吸及身體連結，那只不過是一些伸展運動而已，那並不是瑜伽。

瑜伽，是放下頭腦，純粹覺察，完全接納。

根據 Patanjali （帕坦加利）瑜伽經的記載，體式應該是 "穩定和舒適" 的，沒有這兩種特質便不是瑜伽。

在瑜伽練習中不要設有任何目標，純粹讓身體去帶領。放下比較，批判。身體容許的話便伸展多一點，若身體説夠了，便在那裡停下來，没有任何勉强，學習臣服。

瑜伽的體式和呼吸練習，背後有着很多科學的引證，是對應着人體的構造和能量的流動而設計出來。當我們在一個放鬆及覺察的狀態下練習，身體內外會漸漸產生變化，表面上身體打開了，柔軟度增加了，在更深的層面，瑜伽在逐漸清理我們體內的阻塞，令一切流動得更暢順，讓我們重回一個平衡的狀態。

然後，在不知不覺間，我們會發現從前很容易令我們動怒的事情，現在我們能夠輕鬆面對；性格上非常急躁的人，現在可以自然地放慢腳步，耐性及包容度大了；以往我們很執著的事情，現在發覺沒有什麼大不了。

這便是瑜伽，一個能為我們的身心帶來轉化的修習，令我們生活得更平衡，更穩定，感受到內在的寧靜及喜悦。

What is Yoga?

I think we all long for growth. But due to our mind and emotions there are so many obstacles on this journey.

We know we shouldn't get pulled by the emotions but we fail to stay calm and balanced when things don't happen the way we want it, we might know we keep repeating the same old pattern, we might know everytime we fall into the same trap but we don't know how to come out from it, sometimes we might be so ignorant where we keep complaining and think there is no way out.

What can we do then?

Yoga is the way.

Apart from working on the body, Yoga works on the deeper level of us, removing all the blockages hindering our growth.

You may ask, “Isn’t yoga doing the poses bending and twisting the body? How can yoga help us to grow?”

This depends on the attitude you carry in your practice.

If you practise with your mind, target at stretching more without connecting to your breath and body, then you are only doing some stretching. This is not yoga.

Yoga is about awareness, acceptance and silencing the mind.

According to yoga sutra by Patanjali, asana (yoga pose) should be "steady and comfortable". The asana are to be done with steadiness and ease, without these two qualities it is not yoga.

On the mat, we silence the mind, listen to the body, watch our breath, feel the body in every movement, let the body leads us to the poses. If the body can stretch more we go a little further. If the body says that's enough, then we stay there. We dissolve into the pose. No force. No comparison. No judgement. Simply surrender.

There is a lot of science behind the asana and pranayama (breathing practice). When we practise with awareness and acceptance, not only we benefit from the stretching, there will be many changes in other subtle level of the body. Blockages will be removed, things will flow smoothly again and we will come back to a balanced state.

Gradually we will see changes in ourselves. Things used to irritate us before, we can now deal with it with ease. People who find it difficult to slow down can now live with more patience and compassion. Things we have been strongly attached to before, we now think it’s no big deal. We are involved but we can take things easy.

This is yoga, a practice bringing us transformation, a practice bringing us back to a balanced and stable state, a practice enabling us to taste the silence and joy within.