Yoga

Explore Yoga

WHAT IS YOGA?

Yoga is an ancient group of physical, mental and spiritual practices that is one of the six schools of Indian philosophical traditions. The practice is thought to have originated around 3000 BCE and is mentioned in the ancient Indian texts - the Rigveda, the Upanishads and the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali dating from the 2nd Century BCE. The practice was introduced to the West in the mid-19th Century by Swami Vivekananda and other yoga gurus, mainly as a series of postures or asanas. In Indian traditions yoga has a meditative and spiritual core, with the yoga training allowing practitioners to achieve meditative poses for long periods of time. Outside of India, Yoga has developed as a posture-based physical fitness practice for stress relief and relaxation.

The word Yoga comes from the sanskrit root, “yuj”, which means to join, harness or yoke. This was illuminated in the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, with the aim of “uniting” or joining the human spirit with that of the divine. The term has been defined in various ways by different Indian religious and philosophical texts.

The commentators state that to Patanjali, “yoga essentially consists of meditative practices culminating in attaining a state of consciousness free from all modes of active or discursive thought, and of eventually attaining a state where consciousness is unaware of any object external to itself, that is, is only aware of its own nature as consciousness unmixed with any other object.”

Yoga as exercise was created in what has been called the Modern Yoga Renaissance by the blending of Western styles of gymnastics with postures from Haṭha yoga in India in the 20th century, pioneered by Shri Yogendra and Swami Kuvalayananda. Before 1900 there were few standing poses in Haṭha yoga. The flowing sequences of salute to the Sun, Surya Namaskar, were pioneered by the Rajah of Aundh, Bhawanrao Shrinivasrao Pant Pratinidhi, in the 1920s.[210] Many standing poses used in gymnastics were incorporated into yoga by Krishnamacharya in Mysore from the 1930s to the 1950s.

Someone who practices yoga or follows the yoga philosophy with a high level of commitment is considered a yogi.

WHERE DID YOGA ORIGINATE?

The main consensus on the origins of yoga are that it developed in ancient India somewhere between 3300 - 1900 BCE in the Indus Valley. Ascetic practices of concentration and body postures described in the Vedas, may have been pre-cursors to yoga.

Systematic yoga concepts began to emerge later in early Buddhist texts, the Upanishads, Bhagavad Gita and Shanti Prava of the Mahabharata in the period from 500-200 BCE. The Indic traditions of Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism began to take form along with a coherent system of yoga. The Middle Ages saw many satellite traditions of yoga develop and the West adopted certain aspects of the tradition along with Indian philosophy in the mid-19th century.

One of the best known early expressions of yoga is the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali which commentators suggest included both the sutras (written work in the belief system of Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism) and related commentary. Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras are widely regarded as the first compilation of a formal yoga philosophy.

In later Hindu writings (12th century onwards), yoga became the name of one of the six philosophical schools (darsanas), which refers to traditions that accept the testimony of Vedas.The first Hindu teacher to actively advocate and disseminate aspects of yoga, not including asanas, to a western audience, Swami Vivekananda, toured Europe and the United States in the 1890s.The reception which Swami Vivekananda received built on the active interest of intellectuals, in particular the New England Transcendentalists, among them Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882),

Yoga and Vedanta are the two largest surviving schools of Hindu traditions. Yoga school believes that in the state of moksha, each individual discovers the blissful, liberating sense of himself or herself as an independent identity.

Yoga is now practiced in multiple forms and philosophies around the through home-based personal practices and at group-based studios and programs.

Major schools founded in the 20th century include Bikram Choudhury's Bikram Yoga and Swami Sivananda of Rishikesh's Sivananda Vedanta Schools of Yoga. Modern yoga spread across America and Europe, and then the rest of the world

HOW TO PRACTICE YOGA

Yoga as exercise is a physical activity consisting largely of poses or asanas, often connected by flowing sequences called vinyasas, sometimes accompanied by the breathing exercises of pranayama, and usually ending with a period of relaxation or meditation.

All of these aspects are collectively referred to and known simply as yoga, despite the existence of multiple older traditions of yoga within Hinduism where asanas played little or no part. The number of asanas used in yoga as exercise has increased rapidly from a nominal 84 in 1830, as illustrated in Joga Pradipika, to some 200 in Light on Yoga and over 900 performed by Dharma Mittra by 1984.

At the same time, the goals of Haṭha yoga, namely spiritual liberation (moksha) through the raising of kundalini energy, were largely replaced by the goals of fitness and relaxation, while many of Haṭha yoga's components like the shatkarmas (purifications), mudras (seals or gestures including the bandhas, locks to restrain the prana or vital principle), and pranayama were much reduced or removed entirely. The term "hatha yoga" is also in use with a different meaning, a gentle unbranded yoga practice, independent of the major schools, sometimes mainly for women.

Yoga has developed into a worldwide multi-billion dollar business, involving classes, certification of teachers, clothing, books, videos, equipment, and holidays. The ancient cross-legged sitting asanas like lotus pose (Padmasana) and Siddhasana are widely recognised symbols of yoga.The United Nations General Assembly established 21 June as "International Day of Yoga",celebrated annually in India and around the world from 2015.On December 1, 2016, yoga was listed by UNESCO as an intangible cultural heritage.

Yoga is practised with a variety of methods by all Indian religions. In Hinduism, practices include Jnana Yoga, Bhakti Yoga, Karma Yoga, Laya Yoga and Hatha Yoga.

WHY PRACTICE YOGA?

The impact of yoga on physical and mental health has been a topic of multiple studies, with evidence that regular yoga practice yields benefits for stress and back pain. Regardless of your level of yoga expertise, if you’re practicing regularly, you can feel better from head to toe.

Yoga offers physical and mental health benefits for people of all ages. If you’re going through an illness, recovering from surgery or living with a chronic condition, yoga can become an integral part of your treatment and potentially hasten healing.

According to Johns Hopkins University, there are at least nine (9) benefits to a daily yoga practice.

1. Yoga improves strength, balance and flexibility.

Slow movements and deep breathing increase blood flow and warm up muscles, while holding a pose can build strength.

2. Yoga helps with back pain relief.

Yoga is as good as basic stretching for easing pain and improving mobility in people with lower back pain. The American College of Physicians recommends yoga as a first-line treatment for chronic low back pain.

3. Yoga can ease arthritis symptoms.

Gentle yoga has been shown to ease some of the discomfort of tender, swollen joints for people with arthritis, according to a Johns Hopkins review of 11 recent studies.

4. Yoga benefits heart health.

Regular yoga practice may reduce levels of stress and body-wide inflammation, contributing to a healthier heart. Several of the factors contributing to heart disease, including high blood pressure and excess weight, can also be addressed through yoga.

5. Yoga relaxes you, to help you sleep better.

Research shows that a consistent bedtime yoga routine can help you get in the right mindset and prepare your body to fall asleep and stay asleep.

6. Yoga can mean more energy and brighter moods.

You may feel increased mental and physical energy, a boost in alertness and enthusiasm, and fewer negative feelings after getting into a routine of practicing yoga.

7. Yoga helps you manage stress.

According to the National Institutes of Health, scientific evidence shows that yoga supports stress management, mental health, mindfulness, healthy eating, weight loss and quality sleep.

8. Yoga connects you with a supportive community.

Participating in yoga classes can ease loneliness and provide an environment for group healing and support. Even during one-on-one sessions loneliness is reduced as one is acknowledged as a unique individual, being listened to and participating in the creation of a personalized yoga plan.

9. Yoga promotes better self-care.