What is Yoga?
Yoga Defined

Derived from the Sanskrit word "yuj" - to yoke or unite - yoga means union.

So what's being united? Your material self with your spiritual self, your gross material self with your finer grained subtle self, your mind and body with your soul and spirit, your lower self with your higher self, your individual soul with the cosmic soul.

Depending on the path you decide is right for you, yoga can mean uniting your jivatma-human self with paramatma-God (Bhakti Yoga), your Kundalini with your Chakras (Kundalini Yoga), your Shakti with your Shiva (Tantra Yoga), your separate consciousness with the collective consciousness (Raja Yoga).

Yoga is NOT just postures and breathing!
When defining what something is, it's also necessary to define what its not. Yoga is not exercise. It is not a just a way to lose weight, age slower, live longer, love better. While all of these are definite side effects (or perks, if you will) of yoga, they are certainly not the goals or purpose of any of the many paths of yoga.

Yoga is a philosophy....
One of the six major schools of Indian thought, yoga is a philosophy in and of itself. It is a comprehensive framework of answers to existential questions, along with explanations of almost all common and uncommon phenomena.

...and a lifestyle.
The common approach to yoga today is either a hobby or a form of exercise. While it starts out that way for many many yogees, not all come to realise that it is actually a way of life, not merely a health and beauty, wellness and longevity enhancing activity.

It is okay if you decide you don't want to adopt the yogee lifestyle, even as you continue to practise yoga for its health and relaxation benefits, but it is not okay to not know that yoga encompasses a lot more.

What is that "lot more" exactly? Well, thats exactly what the Yogee section of this website is all about; while the Urban part of this website contains thoughts and ideas on combining the realities of urban life with the yogee living, and finding solutions aligned with a yogic lifestyle for the common problems of city life.

Patanjali totally sums up yoga in just two sutras:

Yogas chitta-vritti-nirodhah. Tada drashtuh svarupe avasthanam.

Translation: Yoga is the process of stilling (nirodhah) the ripples (vritti) in the mind-stuff (chitta) so that you can see your Real True Self.