Yoga: The Soul Behind The Workout

Janak Shah, Jainik Shroff, Vidhi Piparia

“Quarantining at my house, I longed to do a workout after hours of being stuck in my room. I pulled out my Peloton App and decided to do some yoga. To my utter surprise, I hear my instructor listing Post Malone accolades to the tune of his song, “Sunflower.” Turns out, I was doing some type of Post Malone tribute yoga. Though I am a fan, I am not sure how this was getting me any closer to finding my true self. I kept thinking, how did we even get here — the average yogi went from wearing simplistic cotton garb and finding inner peace to rocking neon LuluLemon at their local workout studios.”

- Janak Shah

Press your palms together, breathe in, roll your shoulders out, and exhale. Upon the execution of these activities, your body and mind have begun the thousand-year-old discipline of yoga. Unlike any other physical activity, yoga places great emphasis on the connection between the mind, body, and spirit. However, as people move towards seemingly industrialized yoga, we wondered if the trends in place undermine the original purpose of this practice. We wanted to dive deeper into yoga’s role in Jainism, understand how yoga is practiced today, and learn how to practice yoga with the right intention.

Jainism defines yoga as any activity that allows the soul to reach its ultimate goal of liberation by freeing it from attachment. It is a form of Kayotsarga (yogic austerity to physically steady body), which is a Tapasya (austerity) . Yoga is a form of “existing” but existing is not a simple concept. There is this idea of Samkhya — the dualism of Purusha (Atman), which is the soul, and Prakriti, or the body. Purusha exists separately from the Prakriti that houses it. The reason why yoga is a form of Tapasya is that by focusing on the most minute actions of our body, from the fleeting nature of the breath to the extent to which our muscles can hold a pose, we are internalizing that impermanence. By trying to hold a breath for longer, or challenging ourselves to hold a position, we strengthen ourselves from within. The purpose is to overcome any doubt that our body is an obstacle for us to reach a state of higher spirituality.

However, many people today do yoga for its seemingly magical properties. From getting over a bad day to healing disease, it seems like there is no limit to what yoga can do. There are scientific studies exploring yoga’s effects on everything from pain management to quelling mental health disorders. There are anecdotal accounts of people claiming their lives changed drastically after starting to regularly practice yoga. Thus, most people who go into yoga with a destination in mind: What is yoga going to solve for me?

This spirit has caused yoga to snowball into a billion-dollar industry. Americans alone spend $16 billion dollars on yoga each year. In fact, from 2012 to 2016 alone, the number of American yoga practitioners grew by 50%, and industries like fashion and athleisure have exponentially risen. Yoga is often engineered to be more physically demanding, and almost sport-like.

As we researched the Jain roots of yoga and ruminated on the wide following it has today, we asked ourselves a question: Does that undermine its original value? The fact that yoga has such a wide following is, at its core, positive because it creates in creating an avenue to reflect on its purpose. Athleisure, the growth of the yoga industry, and even claims of cultural appropriation are worth challenging and having discourse over. However, these are side effects of yoga being appreciated in the society we are in. The core principles of yoga are still alive — it is up to us to carry it. Having the awareness of Samkhya and knowing that yoga is a form of Tapasya can help us switch our mindsets from making yoga a mindless workout to instead practicing yoga with intentionality. In fact, many yoga instructors today have the correct training to teach with intention. From showing how to breathe properly, to understanding why correct posture leads to a higher understanding of ourselves, instructors who have learned the history and roots of yoga are able to project that knowledge in their courses.

So, when we do our next Post Malone workout, let’s also look inwards, whether it’s in a large yoga studio or in the comfort of our own homes.