Yoga lifestyle

Those who practise yoga and find it a great enrichment for their lives may feel the desire to make certain changes in their daily lifestyle, because yoga is not a sport or a purely physical practice consisting only of certain exercises, but is much more comprehensive.

What is meant by yoga lifestyle?

Sometimes people talk about a yoga lifestyle - but what exactly does this actually mean?

The term "yoga lifestyle" can mean many different things. It often means that people who practise yoga buy yoga clothing, keep trying out new yoga studios and new yoga styles, spend their weekends at yoga events and do and consume many things that are considered "typical yoga" in a more modern and "trendy" context. Among other things, it is also about a certain attitude to life. To exaggerate a little, you could say that these are the somehow "hip" yogis and yoginis in leggings and OM shirts, always carrying a detox tea to go in one hand and a Yoga mat in the other. Yoga lifestyle can therefore refer to being part of the yoga scene in a certain way and living in line with the image of modern yoga that is portrayed on social networks, for example.

However, yoga lifestyle can also mean a yogic lifestyle that is less characterised by certain accessories and is not defined by how many yoga styles you have already tried and which yoga events you have attended, but which aims to integrate yoga in all its various aspects more strongly into your own life. This also applies to the philosophical and ethical dimensions of yoga as well as the implications of yoga for a healthy lifestyle. Such a yogic lifestyle thus permeates all areas of life and can transform life profoundly.

Yoga lifestyle and nutrition

Most yoga practitioners in the western hemisphere find their way to yoga via the asanas, i.e. the physical exercises that also form part of the yoga path as it once originated in India. In the yoga styles that have emerged in recent decades, a variety of different sequences with different emphases and many differentiations have been developed from this. The yogic breathing exercises, known as pranayama, are also attracting increasing interest.

Regular practice often leads to a more refined body awareness, which in turn makes many practitioners want to eat more healthily and no longer burden their bodies with an unfavourable diet.

At the same time, the ancient yoga tradition includes a nutritional theory that incorporates three qualities:

• Sattva
• Tamas
• Rajas

While the sattva principle stands for everything nourishing and beneficial, tamas refers to the heaviness that leads to sluggishness and rajas to that which makes us restless (in relation to nutrition, stimulants, for example, are associated with this principle). We are advised to follow a diet that is mainly based on the sattvic principle and uses as little food from the other two categories as possible.

Yoga-Lifestyle und Ayurveda

Just like yoga, Ayurveda is an ancient Indian tradition. Many people who come into contact with yoga also become increasingly interested in Ayurveda, the traditional Indian system of medicine, and integrate Ayurvedic detox practices such as tongue scraping or drinking hot (ginger) water in the morning after getting up into their everyday lives. Ayurveda's theory of types, which describes different doshas or constitutions, makes recommendations regarding lifestyle and health prevention that are based on the predominant characteristics and therefore the dosha type of the respective person. The Dosha teachings have become well known far beyond India. Ayurvedic nutritional science is also very popular and offers many tips for a healthy lifestyle.

Yoga-Lifestyle und Meditation

In addition to asanas and breathing exercises, the core practices of yoga also include meditation. Many yoginis and yogis learn meditation techniques and regularly make time in their daily lives to immerse themselves in meditation. It is not just about relaxation (although this is often suggested by adverts nowadays, for example), but also about deep inner experiences and the insights and knowledge that can be gained when you connect with your own self in this way. For many, meditation is a great enrichment in their lives.

Mindfulness and yoga lifestyle

One aspect that has come to the fore in recent years is mindfulness. Filling everyday life with more mindfulness means bringing more awareness to all our daily activities. As a result, we become more present, often make wiser decisions instead of acting on "autopilot" and, last but not least, we can enjoy the little things in everyday life more because we are much more aware of them. This alone can be life-changing and open up a whole new perspective on your own existence. Mindfulness is therefore also an important element of the yoga lifestyle.

Ethical aspects of the yoga lifestyle

In one of the best-known ancient source texts on yoga, the Yoga Sutra by Patanjali - a foundational text that still plays a major role in yoga teacher training programmes today - ethical principles (the yamas) are named that represent a separate stage of the eightfold path to enlightenment described in the Yoga Sutra:

• Ahimsa - non-harming, non-violence (expressed, for example, in a vegan diet)
• Satya - truthfulness (one is committed to the truth)
• Asteya - non-stealing (not taking what you are not entitled to)
• Brahmacharya - chastity (or in a less narrow sense: a lifestyle focussed on the highest)
• Aparigraha - "non-grasping" (meaning, among other things, not being greedy and not taking advantage of anyone)

Code of behaviour

There is also a code of conduct (consisting of the niyamas), which also represents one stage of the eight-limbed yoga path according to Patanjali:

• Saucha - purity (in the physical sense, but also relating to the mind and intentions)
• Samtosha - frugality (gratitude for what you have; modesty)
• Tapas - discipline, "heat" (staying with an inner fire for something, even if it is not easy)
• Svadhyaya - self-study (reflection, introspection, also: scriptural study)
• Ishvarapranidhana - devotion to God

Yogic practices and traditions as part of the yoga lifestyle

Many yogis and yoginis also practise mantra recitation with mala necklaces, like to go to kirtan concerts, use incense or follow other rituals and practices that belong to different streams of the yogic tradition.

Yoga lifestyle - a special way of looking at life

Anyone who studies the yogic tradition will discover a rich treasure trove of philosophical and mystical statements about our existence. In yoga there is an entire philosophical system that describes the relationship between our individual souls and the primordial ground of all existence. The goal of the original yoga is enlightenment or the realisation of and re-mergence with the original unity.

Studying the yogic scriptures and coming to your own deeper insights through meditation gives life a profound new direction. Ultimately, this can also be what is meant by the term yoga lifestyle. So a yoga lifestyle can be much more than just a superficial attitude to life.

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