Yoga

Yoga is one of the traditional physical, mental and spiritual sciences that originated in ancient India about 5000 years ago according to the archaeological evidence .By nature it is a secretive teachings of divine origin which were earlier recorded on fragile palm leaves that were easily damaged, destroyed or lost and is be lived to be thousands of years older then the evidence we have. The word yoga was first mentioned in the oldest sacred texts, the Rig Veda. The Vedas were a collection of texts containing songs, mantras and rituals to be used by Brahmans, the Vedic priests. Yoga was slowly refined and developed by the Brahmans and Rishis (mystic seers) who documented their practices and beliefs in over 200 scriptures. The most renowned of the Yogic scriptures is the Bhagavad Gita, composed around 500 B.C.E.

Definition

The word, yoga, comes from the Sanskrit yuj, which means “to yoke.” Thus, yoga is the practice that aims to join the mind, body and spirit. The most popular definition of yoga is given by sage Pathanjali who formulated 196 aphorisms about yoga which explains various stages ,difficulties in practice ,means to trainband it and achieve the ultimate goal. “Yogas chitta vritti nirodha” is Patanjali’s definition of yoga. It means that yoga is the removing of the fluctuations of the mind. ultimate goal of yoga is to achieve liberation.

What is Yoga ?

Yoga is most often equated and limited to physical practice of asanas, particularly stretching exercises to build flexibility and relax the body. However, this is only one aspect of yoga as asana practice is just one of the “eight limbs” of yoga as listed in Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras .These eight limbs are:

• Yama – Five outer observances.
• Niyama – Five inner observances
• Asana – Physical culturing of the body to make it stable and healthy.
• Pranayama – Breathing practices to culture the mind as a preparatory phase for internal practices
• Pratyahara – Withdrawal of the senses and concentrating inward the initial step of internal practices.
• Dharana – Single pointed concentration
• Dhyana – Meditation
• Samadhi – Liberation

There are many different paths of yoga, including Bhakti yoga, Karma yoga and Jnana yoga,and many others. But all are rooted in the yamas and niyamas, and have the same goal of samadhi.