योगश्चित्तवृत्तिनिरोधः
yogaś citta-vṛtti-nirodhaḥ
Yoga is the stilling of the movements of the mind.
Patanjali, Yoga Sutras 1.2
That's how the tradition defines yoga, nearly two thousand years before the yoga mat. This site explains what yoga really is, beyond the poses: the meaning, the practice, the texts and the living Himalayan traditions it comes from.
Read: what is yoga, really?Start with the questions
- Gorakhnath and the Nath yogis: the Himalayan roots of hatha yoga
Who Matsyendranath and Gorakhnath were, how the Nath yogis shaped hatha yoga, and why their names still live on in Nepal, from the town of Gorkha to the chariot of Machhindranath.
- Is yoga just exercise?
Why yoga became known as a workout, what got left out along the way, and how to tell whether a class is teaching exercise, yoga, or a bit of both.
- What is Om, and why do we chant it?
The meaning of Om in the Upanishads and the Yoga Sutras, the three sounds and the silence that follows, and how to chant it as a real practice rather than a ritual opening.
- What is yoga, really?
Not a workout, and not only poses. What the word means, what the oldest texts say yoga is for, and how the yoga you know from class fits into the bigger picture.
- The eight limbs of yoga, explained simply
Patanjali's eight-limbed path, one limb at a time: what each means, what it looks like in everyday practice, and why posture is only the third step.
The path has eight limbs. Posture is the third.
Patanjali's eight-limbed path moves from how you treat the world, inward to a still mind. Most classes teach one limb, sometimes two.
- 1यमyamaRestraint
- 2नियमniyamaDiscipline
- 3आसनāsanaPosture
- 4प्राणायामprāṇāyāmaBreath
- 5प्रत्याहारpratyāhāraWithdrawal
- 6धारणाdhāraṇāConcentration
- 7ध्यानdhyānaMeditation
- 8समाधिsamādhiAbsorption
Explore
- What yoga isThe meaning of the word, the goal of the practice and the eight limbs that lead there.2 articles
- Beyond the matBreath, meditation, mantra and ethics: the practices most classes leave out.1 article
- Lost in translationWhat changed as yoga travelled west, and why the parts that sell got the spotlight.2 articles
- The textsThe Yoga Sutras, the Bhagavad Gita and the Hatha Yoga Pradipika, explained plainly.1 article
- Himalayan rootsThe places, lineages and living practitioners of yoga in the Himalaya.1 article
Written from Nepal
This site is written by Sameer Regmi, a guide and photographer from Nepal, where yoga isn't a trend but part of daily life: in the temples of Pashupatinath, the caves of the Nath yogis and the morning prayers of every village. The aim is simple: to explain the tradition clearly and respectfully, with sources, for anyone who practises yoga anywhere in the world.
Experience it at the source
Small, authentic yoga and meditation retreats in the Nepal Himalaya are being prepared with Discover Parbat.