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the mobileexcape
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What is Yoga?
The
classical techniques of Yoga date back more than 5,000 years. In ancient
times, the desire for greater personal freedom, health and long life, and
heightened self-understanding gave birth to this system of physical and
mental exercise which has since spread throughout the world. The word Yoga
means “to join or yoke together,” and it brings the body and mind together
into one harmonious experience.
The whole system of Yoga is built on three main structures: exercise,
breathing, and meditation. The exercises of Yoga are designed to put
pressure on the glandular systems of the body, thereby increasing its
efficiency and total health. The body is looked upon as the primary
instrument that enables us to work and evolve in the world, and so a Yoga
student treats it with great care and respect.
Breathing techniques are based on the concept that breath is the source of
life in the body. The Yoga student gently increases breath control to
improve the health and function of both body and mind.
These two systems of exercise and breathing then prepare the body and mind
for meditation, and the student finds an easy approach to a quiet mind
that allows silence and healing from everyday stress. Regular daily
practice of all three parts of this structure of Yoga produce a clear,
bright mind and a strong, capable body.
Types of Yoga
There
are over a hundred different schools of Yoga. Some of the most well known
are described below:
Hatha Yoga: The physical movements
and postures, plus breathing techniques. This is what most people
associate with Yoga practice.
Raja Yoga:
Called the “royal road,” because it incorporates exercise and breathing
practice with meditation and study, producing a well-rounded individual.
Jnana Yoga: The path of wisdom;
considered the most difficult path.
Bhakti Yoga: The practice of extreme
devotion in one-pointed concentration upon one’s concept of God.
Karma Yoga: All
movement, all work of any kind is done with the mind centered on a
personal concept of God.
Tantra Yoga: A way of showing the
unseen consciousness in form through specific words, diagrams, and
movements. One of the diagrams that is used to show the joining of the
physical and spiritual bodies is two triangles superimposed upon one
another. The downward- ointing triangle represents the physical body, or
the female aspect having to do with work, action, and movement; the
upward-pointing triangle represents the spiritual body of support,
energy, and vastness.
Kashmir Shaivism: This Yoga system
states that everything in the universe has both male and female
qualities. In Kashmir Shaivism, these male and female principles form an
equal partnership, so interdependent that they cannot be separated. The
attraction between them produces the ultimate union of opposites,
creating the immense complexity of the universe that we enjoy and
celebrate. Unlike other philosophies, Kashmir Shaivism is based in
emotion rather than intellect. In fact, Shaivism says that intellectual
understanding by itself will never lead us to the realization of the
summit of Yoga. The system's great exponents teach that the egotistical
intellect blocks our ability to fully experience our individual power.
History of Yoga
No one knows exactly when Yoga began, but it certainly predates written
history. Stone carvings depicting figures in Yoga positions have been
found in archeological sites in the Indus Valley dating back 5,000 years
or more.
There is a common misconception that Yoga is rooted in Hinduism; on the
contrary, Hinduism’s religious structures evolved much later and
incorporated some of the practices of Yoga. (Other religions throughout
the world have also incorporated practices and ideas related to Yoga.)
The
tradition of Yoga has always been passed on individually from teacher to
student through oral teaching and practical demonstration. The formal
techniques that are now known as Yoga are, therefore, based on the
collective experiences of many individuals over many thousands of years.
The
particular manner in which the techniques are taught and practiced today
depends on the approach passed down in the line of teachers supporting the
individual practitioner.
One of the earliest texts having to do with Yoga was compiled by a scholar
named Patanjali, who set down the most prevalent Yoga theories and
practices of his time in a book he called Yoga Sutras (“Yoga Aphorisms”)
as early as the 1st or 2nd century B.C. or as late as the 5th century A.D.
(exact dates are unknown).
The system that he wrote about is known as “Ashtanga Yoga,” or the eight
limbs of Yoga, and this is what is generally referred to today as
Classical Yoga. Most current adherents practice some variation of
Patanjali’s system.
The eight steps of Classical Yoga
are:
Yama, meaning
“restraint” — refraining from violence, lying, stealing, casual sex, and
hoarding.
Niyama, meaning
“observance” — purity, contentment, tolerance, study, and remembrance.
Asana, physical
exercises.
Pranayama,
breathing techniques.
Pratyahara,
preparation for meditation, described as “withdrawal of the mind from
the senses”.
Dharana,
concentration, being able to hold the mind on one object for a specified
time.
Dhyana,
meditation, the ability to focus on one thing (or nothing) indefinitely.
Samadhi,
absorption, or realization of the essential nature of the self. Modern
Western Yoga classes generally focus on the 3rd, 4th, and 5th steps.
Yoga
probably arrived in the United States in the late 1800s, but it did not
become widely known until the 1960s, as part of the youth culture’s
growing interest in anything Eastern. As more became known about the
beneficial effects of Yoga, it gained acceptance and respect as a valuable
method for helping in the management of stress and improving health and
well-being. Many physicians now recommend Yoga practice to patients at
risk for heart disease, as well as those with back pain, arthritis,
depression, and other chronic conditions. |
