We often talk about benefits of yoga. We have an overview, but we have no idea about the base and history. To achieve most benefits it is very important to have a very good understanding of what we are doing and how will this help.
It is a spiritual and physical practice that works on our body, mind, and soul all together. Every posture works on all three aspects of a human body. This is a spiritual discipline that brings harmony to our mind body and soul. It is an art.
the word is derived from Sanskrit word yuj that means ‘to yoke’, or ‘to join’. Modern scientist believes that everything in the uviverse is just a manifestation of some quantum firmament.one who have experienced this oneness of existence is said to be and is known as Yogi. Yogi is someone who attained freedom i.e. mukti, nirvana, and moksha.
Aim of yoga is realizing yourself. It is a process of self-realization, overcoming of all the fears, anxiety and depression and getting into the state of Mukti, moksha, and attaining Nirvana. The moksha of all this will lead to a healthy life and thus focusing on just the poses is worthless. To live a healthy life, we have to walk on the path of self-realization, and it will calm down your soul, mind, and body.
This is considered as an immortal cultural outcome of Indus valley civilization (2700 B.C.). researchers have found many sculptures and paintings that indicates practice of even during the Indus valley civilization.
Hence, yoga is not a modern concept, it has its existence from the beginning. Thousands of years ago the first belief on religion came into existence. Shiva is seen as the first yogi or Adiyogi. It is believed that lord shiva was the first who invented Yoga and he named the different postures after the name of animals. Different seals and fossils can be found depicting the practice during that period.
Why yoga?
We have lots of different ways to stay healthy but why to choose. All other kind of exercises focuses mainly of physical wellbeing but focus on physical as well as mental wellbeing. This is an art. It has the power of self-realization.
There are basically 8 limbs
1) Yama: Yama is the principle that teaches us how to treat people around the world. How to be kind and patience. This includes:
- Ahimsa i.e. non harming
- Satya i.e. truthfullness
- Asteya i.e. non- stealing
- Bhramacharya i.e. total celibacy
- Aparigraha i.e. non- hoarding
2) Niyamas: niyamas means self-disciplines. So, this form teaches us how to maintain self-discipline in life. This includes:
- a) Saucha i.e. cleanliness
- b) Santosha i.e. contentment
- c) Tapas i.e. heat
- d) Savadhyaya i.e. self-knowledge
- e) Ishvarapranidhana i.e. full surrender to the divine
3) Asana: asanas is the practice of postures.
4) Pranayama: pranayama focuses on your breathing pattern. It controls the breath.
5) Pratyahara: this techniques helps in finding the ultimage peace.
6) Dharana: dhartana is a styate of meditation where you focuses on a single point.
7) Dhyana: dhayana is meditation. The state of deep meditation is dhayana.
8) Samadhi: samadhi is the last stage in yoga. It includes the enlightenment and your body.
These are the steps wise practice. To become a yogi, you first have to learn about treating people around you and thn creating a self-discipline lifestyle. After that you can focus on your asanas, pranayamas, and meditation.
Yoga is complete. It is not about practicing and sweating on the mat rather it is a very calm process. this is a spiritual path and along with time you can understand the importance. After the concept of yoga, a new concept was generated and is known as modern yoga. This generation is having modified the traditional form of yoga and in that the base of yoga was ignored. The true kind of yoga is being ignored to give the students fast results.
Everyone has included their concept in traditional yoga. Though we can’t really treat them as wrong, but they are far more different from the traditional form. We have modified poses. And in some cases, we have changed their names. All this created a lot more confusion to the learner. This was going on from years now and in the current scenario people treated the modern concept as the correct form and no one knows about the correct posture. But the main concept of yoga is to achieve self-realization, mental and physical peace. All this can be achieved through yoga.
People often has a misconception that belongs to Hindu religion but that’s not true at all. There is no sign of Hindu God in yoga. It is just a way to healthy lifestyle irrespective of any religion, caste or culture.
How to practice yoga:
- Calm place: It is advised to select a very calm place for practicing yoga. This will help in deep and better meditation.
- Set goals: Set your daily goals of yoga. Make a list of your asanas in advance so that you won’t get distracted between the session.
- Practice slowly: Yoga is a slow process you have to focus more on correcting your posture rather than practicing getting more sweating. A correct formation of posture is more efficient than practicing more no. of asanas.
Yoga should be a way of life. Every age group must include in their routine. Practicing is beneficial in:
- Improving strength: It enhances the strength of an individual. This is a natural way to increase your strength and stamina.
- Improve flexibility: Practicing postures will improve your flexibility. A flexible body is free from unnecessary stiffness.
- Better sleep: people suffering from anxiety, depression or sleeplessness can be cured with yoga. Practicing helps in better sleep.
