Yoga and Transcendence

Yoga and transcendence are both words with big meanings and potentially life-changing implications, but most of us don’t realize just how much the two have in common. Generally speaking, we revere transcendence as a state reserved exclusively for by great religious and spiritual figures, ie Budha, Jesus, Allah to name a few. And yoga, well, a large number of people here in the west tend to think of yoga as the act of rolling out a mat, working your body into impossible positions, and then taking a quick nap afterward. And possibly a few aums and chakra mentions sprinkled in there as well 🙂

However, when we practice yoga, and I mean truly practice yoga, we are inevitably lead to periods of transcendence.

The great sage Patanjali is considered to be the father of classic yoga. About two thousand years ago, Patanjali wrote the Yoga Sutras as a guidebook to the practice of yoga. In it, he describes eight limbs of yoga, with each limb just as integral as the other to a complete yoga practice. These limbs include developing personal values, the physical practice of postures, breathing exercises, meditation, and transcendence.

As we dedicate ourselves to the practice of yoga and all of its limbs, periods of transcendence are naturally arising for the practitioner. During periods of turmoil and stress, our yoga practice helps us to overstep the chaos of the world around us. We are able to rise above our personal interpretations and the busyness of our minds and notice what’s true, what’s real, and what matters in the bigger scheme of things.

Sounds good, right? And particularly good right now. Although we miss seeing all of you in person, we’re excited to be able to continually bring you yoga online. If you’re interested in learning more about all yoga has to offer, please consider our 200 Hour TrueForm® YTT, which is based on Patanjali’s eight limbs of yoga. We have an information session on this training coming up on August 19. This session is completely free and there is no obligation to attend. Give it a shot, and we’ll see you on the mat! <3