Yoga is Focus, Discipline, and Practice

“Yoga is focus, discipline, and practice"

 Sutra 14: Practice becomes firmly grounded when well attended to for a long time, without break and in all earnestness
           Yoga is the union of one’s mind and body through movement, also known as asana, breathing also known as pranayama, and meditation, also known as dhyana. Yoga is also the union between a person and their surroundings. For example, their union with nature or other humans in their path of life. But Yoga is more than that. I believe Yoga, among other things, is a focus, a discipline, and a overwhelmingly great medium of practice. I say that Yoga is a focus because it teaches its followers to practice one mindedness. It instructs people to control their minds because the mind is the greatest blessing and tool that we share. I believe that only some people have the mental control to absolutely shut out their distractions and fully commit themselves to Yogic practices and thinking. 
           Yoga is  discipline because it is most certainly a state of mind. It is a strict state of mind that must not be stepped out of. In order to practice Yoga successfully, one must commit, practice, and accept the discipline.

           Yoga is practice because it teaches people that in order to achieve a new limb of Yoga, one must practice a lot. The Sutra explains that when someone continues to practice something for a significant amount of time, the the actions or ideas that they are practicing will become mastered.  
           I use the expression "Yoga is an overwhelmingly great medium of practice" because I use yoga as a medium of practice. The impact that Yoga has on my life is that it helps me to practice one mindedness and practice itself. Practice is a commonly used word, but not understood. Practice means you determine your mind and body towards learning to do something. It is hard and is not utilized by people who are weak minded. A person is weak minded when they cannot commit to something they truly love. They get distracted and think that just getting through life is okay. In order to utilize Yoga, you must practice it. If one practices it, like myself, they are actually developing their pracicing skills. That is where Yoga is beneficial to me. It helps me to develop my practice ability so that my mind can commit to something I love. With a great deal of practice comes success. A Yogi would say that my passion is actually a distraction and an attachment. That is where I disagree with Yogic thinking though.