Yoga for Spiritual Companions: Beyond Poses and Toward Presence

Beyond the Mat: Yoga as a Spiritual Language in Direction

Yoga is not a fitness routine. It is a deep and expansive spiritual path rooted in Hindu philosophy and practice, with ties to other Indian traditions including Buddhism and Jainism. When accompanying seekers who draw from yoga—whether through heritage, personal practice, or embodied exploration—it’s vital to approach yoga not as a brand, but as a sacred, many-layered offering.

This post offers a respectful entry point for spiritual companions into the vast landscape of yoga: its philosophical roots, its multiple forms, and the wisdom it may offer to those we serve.

As spiritual companions, we are called to meet seekers where they are—and many today find meaning in yoga as a source of healing, community, or divine connection. Whether a seeker approaches yoga as devotion, discipline, or embodied inquiry, we can deepen our presence by understanding its spiritual roots.

The Many Paths of Yoga

The word yoga means “union”—a joining or yoking of the self with the sacred. In Vedantic and Hindu traditions, there are multiple pathways to that union. Each offers tools for seekers with different temperaments, needs, or spiritual callings.

From Deepak Chopra’s summary of Vedanta’s four major paths of yoga (before he became a household name):

• Karma Yoga – the yoga of selfless action: doing your duties and offering the results to the divine
• Bhakti Yoga – the yoga of devotion: cultivating love for God/Goddess as ultimate truth
• Raja Yoga – the yoga of disciplined meditation: using breath, posture, and focus to align body, mind, and spirit
• Jnana Yoga – the yoga of knowledge: a razor-edged path of philosophical inquiry and discernment

Each of these can be practiced independently or together. One may serve through cooking, chant in devotion, sit in stillness, and read scripture—all as valid yoga.

[Listen: Chopra-Thurman conversation on suffering and Vedanta – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jhGJ32YdzXU&t=253]

The Eightfold Path of Classical Yoga

What most Westerners call “yoga” (i.e., stretching or posture classes) is actually one small part of a much larger framework rooted in the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali.

The classical eight limbs of yoga are:

• Yama – ethical guidelines for how we treat others (e.g., non-harming, truthfulness)
• Niyama – ethical disciplines for how we treat ourselves (e.g., purity, contentment, self-study)
• Asana – posture: not for fitness, but to prepare the body for stillness
• Pranayama – breath control: regulating life-force energy
• Pratyahara – withdrawal of the senses: moving inward from the external world
• Dharana – focused concentration
• Dhyana – meditation, or sustained awareness
• Samadhi – absorption or union: dissolving the boundary between self and sacred

Only steps 3 and 4—posture and breath—tend to be emphasized in most modern yoga classes. As spiritual companions, we are invited to understand and honor the depth behind these practices, especially as we walk with those who may be reclaiming or integrating yoga in its fuller form.

[Watch: Accessible breakdown of these 8 limbs – https://youtu.be/JhMuzw9Z9fY?t=268]

Yoga and Decolonization

The popularity of yoga in the West has often come with erasure of its cultural, spiritual, and historical context. Practices once carried in secrecy and reverence are now commercialized, renamed, and stripped of lineage.

The podcast Yoga Is Dead offers essential listening for anyone wanting to decolonize their relationship to yoga. It centers South Asian voices, challenges myths, and reclaims space for yoga as a living spiritual path.

[Listen: https://www.yogaisdeadpodcast.com/episodes]

To honor the roots of yoga:

• Cite sources and teachers from within Indian and diasporic communities
• Don’t assume “yoga” equals flexibility or health
• Avoid cherry-picking techniques without understanding their spiritual context
• Recognize caste and gender inequities that have historically shaped access to yoga

Especially if you are practicing from outside the culture, be mindful of the harm that can come from using spiritual practices without honoring the communities that hold them.

“Yoga was never meant to be a workout—it was always a path to liberation.” — Jivana Heyman

[Also see: Tantra interview with Sravana Borkataky-Varma – https://podcast.yogicstudies.com/1046752/4519004]

Embodied Practices in Spiritual Direction

Many spiritual companions integrate breath, stillness, or mindful movement in their sessions. Doing so is not inherently cultural appropriation—but how and why we do it matters.

A seeker may weep during savasana and not know why. Another might speak of Ganesh or Kali appearing in meditation. Another may wrestle with guilt about practicing yoga as a white person. Each is on a sacred journey.

You might:

• Pause to recognize your sources and honor their roots
• Frame movement and breath as a bridge to presence, not a generic wellness tool
• Offer embodied practices as optional, not essential
• Stay open to learning from Hindu and yogic practitioners, not simply books or trainings

If a seeker connects to yoga as a spiritual path, be curious: What does it mean to them? What practices sustain them? How has their relationship to yoga changed over time? Invite reflection in their own words. Consider mirroring their language, offering spacious silence, or holding reverent listening without needing to explain or interpret the practice yourself.

For Yoga Teachers Who Companion Others

• Practice spiritual direction tools like deep listening and mirroring, not advice-giving.

• Avoid assuming all students want spiritual content; let seekers lead.

• Learn the difference between teaching and accompanying.

• Stay in supervision or peer reflection circles.

Try It

Body Prayer: 

• Learn a basic sun salutation and practice it slowly, with prayerful intention rather than precision.

Contemplative Reading: 

• Meditate on this idea from Jnana Yoga: “You are not the doer.” What shifts when you release control?

Reflection Prompt: 

• How do I relate to yoga—as a spiritual path, cultural artifact, or personal practice? How has that relationship changed?

May we honor the lineages that give us breath and presence. May our companionship hold the sacred with reverence and care.

Beloved,

You are whole, holy, and worthy,

Rev. Amy

See Also These Posts

Hinduism: Jewels in Spiritual Tending – Introduces gifts from Hindu tradition for spiritual direction, including compassion, inner divinity, mantra, and sacred presence. https://abeltaine.blogspot.com/2025/05/hinduism-jewels-in-spiritual-tending.html

Prayer Beads: Embodied Prayer with Intention – Explores the spiritual use of prayer beads (mala, misbaha, rosary, etc.) as grounding tools in spiritual direction and personal practice. https://abeltaine.blogspot.com/2025/05/prayer-beads-embodied-prayer-with.html

Trauma Integration in Spiritual Tending – Offers grounded approaches to accompanying seekers who carry trauma, with attention to scope of practice, spiritual safety, body-based practices, and the sacredness of the healing journey. https://abeltaine.blogspot.com/2025/05/trauma-integration-in-spiritual-tending.html

Consent as Spiritual Practice – explores how offering and receiving consent is a sacred act across spiritual traditions. http://abeltaine.blogspot.com/2022/06/consent-as-spiritual-practice.html

Mysticism and Spiritual Direction – Considers how mystical experiences shape seekers and call for sensitive, grounded accompaniment. https://abeltaine.blogspot.com/2025/03/mysticism-and-spiritual-direction.html

For Further Exploration

• Thurman & Chopra, Dialog on Human Suffering – Deepak Chopra outlines Vedanta’s take on suffering and yoga’s liberative paths. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jhGJ32YdzXU&t=253

• Desikachar, T.K.V. The Heart of Yoga – A deeply rooted, accessible text by a respected teacher from the Krishnamacharya lineage.
https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/37055/the-heart-of-yoga-by-t-k-v-desikachar/

• Yoga Is Dead Podcast – A powerful tool for decolonizing and contextualizing yoga. Hosted by Indian-American teachers. https://www.yogaisdeadpodcast.com/episodes

• Yogic Studies Podcast – Interview on Tantra with scholar-practitioner Sravana Borkataky-Varma, reclaiming tradition and complexity. https://podcast.yogicstudies.com/1046752/4519004

• BBC Documentary on Yoga – Historical, social, and spiritual context for yoga in India and beyond. https://youtu.be/IhSL4cFYcaA

• Sun Salutation Practice – A gentle instructional video from a teacher who blends reverence with clarity. https://youtu.be/L4Z7lix6Qao

• The 8 types of Yoga from an interview of an American yoga teacher. Start at 4:28 - go to 26:30. https://youtu.be/mncaSaK1WdI

• Cope, Stephen. Yoga and the Quest for the True Self – A Western-trained psychotherapist and yogi offers deep reflections on yoga as a path of transformation.

https://stephencope.com

This Heart of Spiritual Direction series is ©2025 Amy Beltaine, all rights reserved. You may freely reprint any blog post, website, or print resource. Simply include the following attribution, and if you print online, make the link at the end live:

Article ©2025 Amy Beltaine, all rights reserved. Reprinted with permission. This article and hundreds of others, along with other free resources are available at http://www.AmyBeltaine.info