The Five Points of Yoga and How You Can Use Them to Transform Your Life

Before I began practicing yoga in my own life I had always noticed how people who were practicing yoga seemed to have such a sense of peace and joy - a very calming energy. I knew that I needed to find that same energy in my life. I found some different teachers and experienced some lovely classes where I would leave feeling that sense of calm and peace within myself. The problem was that it was pretty difficult to keep that going in my everyday life.

At a crisis point in my life, I decided I must go to India and try and immerse myself in yoga teacher training in order to understand and apply yoga more holistically in my life. When you meet yogis who truly embrace yoga as a way of life, they do seem to be people who are calm, self-assured without attachment to their egos, and full of joy. They are able to flow with life rather than being stressed and in a constant state of fight or flight.

When you discover how to apply the five points of yoga to your life you will begin to see the effects on yourself and people all around you as your energy mentally and physically changes. I have taken a lot of the information from The Sivananda Teachers Training Manual which I studied while doing my training in India. In future blog posts, I will be diving deeper into the points below to help you further develop your own yoga practice.

The 5 Points of Yoga

1) Proper Exercise - the Asanas

Asanas means steady pose. All movements and poses while strengthening and increasing flexibility primarily of the spine are intended to work gently affecting the body internally as well as externally without causing any pain.

2) Proper Breathing - Pranayama

Pranayama means to control the prana - our body’s subtle energy system connected to our breathing.

3) Proper Relaxation -Savasana

Savasana, often referred to as corpse pose, is used for relaxation in between different poses or at the end of a session.

4) Proper Diet - Vegetarian

Yogic diet is traditionally vegetarian and is simple, natural and wholesome taking into account the subtle effect that food has on our mental and physical bodies

5) Positive Thinking and meditating - Vedanta and Dhyana

This is a way of learning to calm the mind, to concentrate letting go of thoughts or desires. External focus uses other points of focus thereby calming the mind and by turning your minds concentration inwards upon the self, one deepens the experience of perfect concentration reaching a state of meditation.

In order for us to function optimally in life we need to take care of not just our body but also our internal functioning and our mental and spiritual state. As we know, they are deeply connected. To highlight the importance of the 5 points of yoga there is a great metaphor used in the Sivananda training; our body can be seen as a vehicle needing the same amount of care and maintenance. A vehicle needs five things: a lubricating system; a battery; a cooling system; fuel and a responsible driver behind the wheel.

Now let’s look at our human needs:

Proper Exercise: This will act as a lubricating routine to the joints, muscles, ligaments, tendons and other parts of the body by increasing circulation, flexibility and strength.

Proper Breathing: Helps us to connect to our “battery”. The solar plexus is where tremendous potential energy is stored and through specific yogic breathing techniques (pranayama) the energy is released for physical and mental rejuvenation.

Proper Relaxation: This is our cooling system like the radiator of a car. When the body and mind are continually overworked, their efficiency diminishes. When we learn how to relax properly, nature gets a chance to recharge the body as we won’t be in a constant state of stress which builds up disease over time.

Proper Diet: This provides the correct fuel for the body. If you do not eat healthily and get enough clear air, sunlight and water you suffer mentally and physically as your body is overworked trying to digest and eliminate toxins and unhealthy food.

Positive Thinking and Meditation: Practicing this puts you in control. The mind is clear and focused. Through steadiness and concentration of mind and then you will be able to live your life making positive and healthy choices.

My journey in practicing yoga began with the physical asanas which were great as a balance to my running, cycling and gym exercise programs. I love exercise but I had noticed that I was always putting myself under pressure to train which led me to feel even more stressed. When I found a teacher and style of yoga that included pranayama, relaxation and meditation in the class, I started feeling the complimentary benefits that this yoga had on my training program at the time. It definitely increased my performance as well as my mental and emotional well-being. When I then did my Sivananda Teacher Training in India, the real benefits of all 5 Points of Yoga were taught and my journey in yoga went onto a much deeper and meaningful level and way of life.

I love teaching and seeing my students experience mindfulness, proper breathing, relaxation and meditation, and consequently the deep shifts that begin to happen in their lives. As you become attuned to your body and mind through these practices, you will begin to feel centred, focused and stronger within yourself. Your lifestyle will change naturally for the better as you replace bad habits with healthier and happier choices for yourself.