Angelica GovaertOwner/Founder, Yogalebrity · Online Yoga Empire Builder

Yoga isn't just to Relax #yogateachertraining

4 Mar 2024 · 1 min

Watch on YouTube

0:55

In this short YouTube monologue, the speaker challenges the popular belief that yoga is primarily a practice for relaxation. Citing Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras—described as the foundational text of yoga—the speaker explains that the true aim of yoga is the cessation of chitta vṛtti, the mental modifications that create inner turbulence. He illustrates how anxiety, imposter syndrome, anger, and racing thoughts prevent the mind from achieving stillness and, ultimately, enlightenment. The speaker emphasizes that yoga’s purpose is mental clarity and peace, not merely physical relaxation, and invites listeners to reconsider their understanding of yoga’s deeper intent.

Chapters

Everyone thinks that yoga is about the relaxation and they're wrong. You want to know why? According to the Yoga Sutras by Patanjali, which is kind of like the Bible of yoga, only we don't really know if it was written by his followers or by him, kind of, kind of like the Bible. Yoga is about the cessation of the chitta vritti. What does that mean? These things are the modifications of the mind. It's like the things inside of your brain that talk to you, like the little angel and the devil. It's like being crazy in love and throwing things at a man. But seriously, it's like when you feel anxiety or imposter syndrome or you feel angry and your mind just cannot calm down. These racing thoughts, they are the thing that stops us from achieving some level of enlightenment, like peace in our life while we're here on this planet. Call me crazy, but yoga really isn't about relaxation at all. Really. I don't know. What do you think?