Since the coronavirus pandemic swept the world, many people have been turning to mind-body practices like yoga to find relief from stress and daily troubles.  Yoga is often considered in the West to be a physical practice, but it is actually an ancient practice that comes from India and goes well beyond yoga poses.  

Understanding the roots of yoga and the storeis behind the yoga poses can help you to take yoga mythology on the mat.  It gives a deeper meaning to the physical practice when one understands the intentions of the full practice of yoga.  

Thousands of years ago in India, yoga used to be about purification. You may have heard of and wondered what is shatkarma.  Shatkarma is about six purification practices that people practiced to cleanse their minds and bodies. These practices worked with different bodily systems.  

In many yoga teacher trainings, such as those with the late Maty Ezraty these concepts were taught.  In more modern yoga teacher trainings and in general yoga classes, you generally don’t hear much about this.  It’s all about physical yoga poses.  This is why it is important to study the practice for yourself and understand what lies beneath the yoga poses.