What is your first thought, when you hear “yoga”? If it’s a bendy person balancing on a beach at sunrise, you’re not alone. Thanks to social media, yoga often shows up in your feed as aesthetic acrobatics: legs behind heads, ethereal lighting, and captions about “alignment” or “energy” or “just vibing.”
Interestingly, that’s only 3% of what yoga is really about
At its core, yoga isn’t about performance. It’s not a competitive sport, and it’s definitely not about looking good in Lycra. Yoga is a practice. A lifelong, non-linear, gloriously imperfect exploration of how to be more human. More present. More connected.
Welcome to Teacher’s Circle, our new series for all (aspiring) Yoga teachers that want to explore what Yoga means in our everyday life.
Yoga = Union? What does that mean?
The word yoga comes from the Sanskrit root yuj, meaning “to yoke,” “to join,” or “to unite.” But what’s getting united here isn’t just your hamstrings and your willpower. It’s your body, breath, mind, and something deeper—call it soul, spirit, essence, Self.
More importantly, it’s also about connection beyond yourself: to others, to nature, to the world as it is. It’s both a path inward and a path outward. And yep, that sounds a little woo-woo. But also… it’s kind of the antidote to modern life.
The Ancient Practice for a Modern Nervous System
Yoga was born over 2,000 years ago in India as a spiritual tradition, not a workout. In fact, the physical postures (asana) were originally a small part of a much bigger toolkit that included breathwork (pranayama), meditation, ethical guidelines, and philosophical inquiry.
Fast forward to now: we’re living in the age of hyper-productivity, burnout, social media anxiety, and existential FOMO. Which is why yoga’s tools are more relevant than ever.
Because while you can get stronger hamstrings from yoga, what’s arguably more important is learning how to:
- Breathe when you’re anxious
- Pause before reacting
- Listen to your body instead of ignoring it
- Practice compassion - for yourself and other humans (even the ones who chew with their mouth open)
It’s Not Just What You Do on the Mat
If you think yoga only “counts” when you’re doing a 60-minute vinyasa flow, good news: you’re already doing yoga if you’ve ever…
- Taken three deep breaths before answering an email
- Noticed harsh self-talk and softened it
- Walked in nature without checking your phone
- Said no to something just to protect your peace
That’s yoga in action. And it’s arguably more advanced than a handstand.
Why This Matters, Especially If You’re Doing YTT
Whether you’re preparing for yoga teacher training or just dipping your toes into practice, redefining yoga at the outset changes everything.
It means you’re not learning to teach poses. You’re learning to share a system that helps people suffer less, connect more, and remember who they are underneath the noise.
And that’s way cooler than touching your toes.
TL;DR:
Yoga isn’t a pose, a playlist, or a product. It’s a practice of union. Within yourself and with the world. And in a culture obsessed with doing more, yoga is your invitation to just be.
