Yogic Lifestyle & Well-being

EDDIE STERN has been practicing and studying yoga since he was fifteen, and was drawn by India and the yogic life. Here he explains the science of yoga, and how the practices affect both physical and mental well-being.

What Is Yoga?

There are many definitions of yoga. I am partial to Patanjali’s definition, “chitta vritti nirodhah.” Then yoga is like an equation: yoga = nirodhah, the stilling or mastery of the vrittis, which are the fluctuations and movements or activities in the chitta, which is the field of mind, thought, consciousness.

And key to Patanjali’s definition is the idea that yoga is an umbrella term for different things we can do to achieve nirodhah. It’s not just one thing. We can use asanas, pranayama, mantra, service, bhakti, and other different modalities. 

From a scientific view, yoga is a systematic multi-modality intervention of practices that influence our anatomical body and physiological systems, balance and calm our emotional and mental states, increase discernment (buddhi), and increase devotion, gratitude and awe. These last three have been scientifically shown to have a multitude of benefits on cardiovascular health, and the way we relate to the world, and also provide conceptualizations of transcendental principles. For example, there are meditations on tanmantras, panmantras, and pancha mahabhutas that expand or dissolve our sense of separateness from the rest of the world, and allow us to integrate ourselves in different ways.

Scientific research

About 12 years ago, a researcher approached me and asked if I could design a yoga protocol to help with pre-hypertensive conditions in African Americans. I’d never done anything like that and I didn’t have a college degree. After high school, I went straight to India and started learning yoga. I learned everything from Mother India.