What is Yoga?

Capital “Y” Yoga 

“Yoga” is a word from Sanskrit that means ‘integration’ or joining. As a philosophical theory, Yoga is the view that our senses, mind, intellects, and bodies are the parts of the natural world that we, as persons, must integrate so that they reflect our autonomy and agency as people. This is capital “Y” Yoga. 

Small “y” yoga. 

We can use the word “yoga” (small “y” “yoga”) to talk of any practice that we engage in, on purpose, to practice this integration. 

In the contemporary world, people learn Yoga backwards. We often start with a small “y” yoga practice, like posture (āsana) or breathing exercises (prāṇāyāma), but are misled into believing that that is the basics of yoga, and the philosophy is extra. As a result, most people do not benefit from their yoga practice as they could.

Correcting Practice with Understanding 

The good news is that one can easily correct one’s understanding and thereby one’s practice by learning Philosophy and Yoga. For students who come to their study of Yoga by the physical practice, the Yoga Philosophy Institute offers many courses that help students begin their journey into greater understanding by building on what they already know.