When most people think of Yoga, they picture elaborate poses. But what if that’s only scratching the surface? Sadhguru reveals why the deeper dimensions of Yoga remain largely untapped – and what we’re missing when we stop at the physical.
Sadhguru: When we say exercise, if you are thinking of it as lifting weights or doing something similar, it is best to keep it minimal as you age. Even when you are young, it is not good to do too much of that. It is best to do most of the exercise using your natural body weight rather than using excessive weights – because then the muscle will bulge, and the bulging muscle will not have the suppleness that is needed.
The body is truly effective only when the muscles are strong and supple. If they lose their suppleness, the body will slowly suffer in many ways. You might have seen that many big bodybuilders, after a certain age, go through tremendous troubles because it is not good to exercise that way.
Depending on your age, the best exercise might be to walk a lot. There is also something like Surya Namaskar, or sun salutation, which is a complete workout. If you do 25 or 50 Surya Namaskars, it is a thorough workout in every way. Or you walk and do some stretching. Ensure that the body makes use of all types of movements.
That is what is very significant about the Yogasanas. They ensure that all the movements are put to use, because the body works best only when it is in use. Whatever you do not use goes away – body or brain, both. If you always sit on a chair, then just sitting down on the floor becomes a problem.
The best thing is to do that kind of exercise where all the movements of the body are made to some extent on a daily basis so that, until you fall dead, you are on your own – not in someone else’s hands. It is important, both for you and for others. How much depends on each person’s inclination.
It is best to do an activity you enjoy, rather than trying to exercise all the time. You could walk, play a game, do some gardening, or even carry a suitcase for someone.
When people ask me if I practice Yoga, what they are actually referring to is asanas, not Yoga. My Yoga is only twenty seconds every day. I do not practice Yoga – I am Yoga. I am not teaching you Yoga. I am just sharing me, which is Yoga. Yoga is not a particular practice – Yoga is a certain way of being within yourself.
Whatever you do with the body can be done on various levels and in many different ways. I do physical Yoga for twenty seconds a day. All you have to do with the body is ensure that the energies are flowing well into all aspects of your body for it to be alive and rejuvenated and well. That is what you are trying to do with various practices. So I have a twenty-second practice to do this.
Many of our volunteers are doing one or two hours of Yoga, and they are saying, “That is not fair. Teach us the twenty-second version.” You have to have a certain mastery over the system to simply do it in a moment, rather than with an elaborate procedure.
Whether I do Yoga or not is not an issue. I do not do the Yoga that I teach because I generally get to teach only the most basic forms of Yoga. With very few people, I go into other dimensions; with most, it is just the basics. I wish I could teach what I do, but I have still not found such an opportunity.
