The yoga concept stresses the need of striking harmony and balance in the body as well as the psyche. Techniques like breath control and meditation help one to reach this. Yoga concurs with Samkhya in that spiritual emancipation—moksha—results from a soul separating from its association with materiality. The ethical lessons of yoga, known as yamas and niyamas, help people to develop personal virtues such Saucha (cleanliness), Santosha (contentment) and Tapas (discipline), therefore guiding them towards conscious and compassionate contacts with the world.
In yoga, it's thought that we are spirits experiencing a human condition. Including philosophy into your work can enable you to let go of any self-doubt that could develop and accept yourself precisely as you are, with all your talents and shortcomings. It can also enable you to realise that your ideas and emotions are unique to you and that you can alter the way your mind functions.
Yogic practice aims to become one with spirit (atman) or God by means of spiritual emancipation (moksha) from the cycles of death and rebirth. Stilling the mind, attaining awareness, and rejecting ego attachment helps one to reach this. The road towards this condition is dharana, samadhi, and pratipaksha. Patanjali claims that practicing yoga benefits people from all backgrounds and has nothing to do with any one religion or faith.
Yoga's philosophy concentrates on the spiritual side of life. It holds that spiritual illumination is the only way to stop suffering as all of it results from ignorance. Practicing non-attachment through a mix of regulation (karma yoga), restraint (jnana yoga) and committed activities targeted on service and devotion will help one first eradicate all attachments.
Apart from moral directions, yoga comprises techniques including meditation, pranayama, and self-study. By helping the body and mind to merge, these techniques open the path for more profound levels of yogic inquiry.
The doctrine of three Gunas—sattva, which stands for harmony and benevolence; rajas, which is passion and activity; and tams, which is darkness, destruction and chaos—is one of the key foundations of yoga. Though in different levels, the philosophy of yoga embraces the fact that these attributes are present in every living entity.
Entering yoga philosophy without discussing or researching the mind is almost impossible. The mind is what thinks, feels, sees, remembers, wishes for. Learning to grasp this very strong tool will help us to connect with a higher degree of love for others and ourselves.
Our mind is thought to have samskaras imprinted from former lifetimes; we also produce samskaras by the circumstances and experiences of life. Yogic practice aims to eliminate the samskaras so that we could reach samadhi, or total enlightenment, and experience actual liberation from the mind's chatter.
The eight limbs of yoga—ethical preparations like yama (restrain from damage, theft and deceit) and niyama (discipline in the form of cleanliness of body, contentment, austerity, study and dedication to God)—help one to reach this aim. One is thought to be able to reach moksha, or spiritual freedom, when these limbs are all merged.
