What is Yoga?
I’ve just returned from guiding my Sacred Sunday workshop—two hours of deep, heart-opening practice in my local village hall. It was a new group this time. In fact, none of my usual local crew could make it, which meant the universe brought together eight brand-new souls, all encountering my work for the first time.
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And you know what? It felt amazing. The space was full. Not just physically, but energetically. I feel nourished, expanded, and grateful to have delivered this offering.
The theme was Opening the Heart. We moved through aroma-point therapy (holding an acupoint over the heart for three minutes with essential oils to activate that energy centre), journaling, sharing, gentle asana (postures), heart-opening cacao, yoga nidra, and more reflection. Yes, I packed a lot in!
At the end, one of the participants kindly shared some feedback: “I would’ve liked more yoga.”
I genuinely welcome feedback—it’s how we grow, and I took care to respond with compassion, not defensiveness. I explained that all of what we had done that day, was yoga. Her words made me reflect: what do we mean when we say “yoga”?
For many people, yoga means exercise. A stretching class. A workout. And I get that. Most people’s first encounter with yoga is in a gym or studio setting focused solely on the physical practice.
But here’s what I aim to share through my work:
Yoga is not just movement. Yoga is life.
I teach what I call Full Spectrum Yoga. A friend of mine refers to her offering as Spiritual Yoga. Another calls it Holistic Yoga. The name matters less than the intention behind it: to honour yoga in its wholeness.
Asana—what most people think of as yoga—is just one of the eight limbs of yoga. That’s right: one-eighth.
Yoga also includes how we live (Yamas and Niyamas), how we breathe (Pranayama), how we draw our senses inward (Pratyahara), and how we focus, meditate, and ultimately experience oneness (Dharana, Dhyana, and Samadhi).
The purpose of yoga?
Not flexibility. Not toned arms. Not perfect balance.
It’s self-realisation.
Through the practices—whether that’s postures, breath, meditation, or self-inquiry—we begin to see more clearly what we are not, and come home to what we are.
We are more than the body.
More than the mind.
And we only glimpse this when we make time to be.
And if resistance arises? That’s OK.
If you’re ready, beautiful.
If you’re not, that’s beautiful too.
It’s all part of the path. There’s no wrong place to be.
Today’s theme, Opening the Heart, led us to a powerful journal prompt:
“If your heart could speak, what would she say?”
Maybe she’s loud and clear.
Maybe she’s scared and silent.
Maybe she’s bursting with unsaid truths.
Maybe she’s wary, guarded, unsure.
Whatever arises—it’s welcome. It’s information. It’s learning.
We meet it all with compassion, without judgment.
So, you want to “do” yoga? You want to “practice” yoga?
Try this:
Be non-harming, just for one hour.
Sit in stillness for 30 minutes without checking your phone.
Stay calm in the middle of family chaos.
Be radically honest about the ways you avoid feeling.
I don’t say this to provoke. I say it to open the door to deeper understanding.
Yoga isn’t the pose.
The pose is the portal.
The awareness that follows—that’s the yoga.
This is the path.
This is the practice.
This is yoga.
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