Oh Yoga! Exciting poses ! Well, let us dig deeper! Stereotypically, we think that holding seemingly impossible body poses and stretching as Yoga. Yoga which we refer in everyday conversation is rather different from its original meaning. That certainly can be a foundation of Yoga, but it means much more than that. Yoga does contain stretches and exercises, but it also incorporates meditation, chanting, prayer, breath work, and a variety of other practices.
Yoga word came from Sanskrit language, and it literally means ‘union’. The ultimate goal of practicing yoga is to attain a level of consciousness where you can experience everything as one. Yoga simply means being in perfect tune with the universe, being one with everything in the existence. But not all of us pursues that ultimate goal when we do Yoga.
Some of us do Yoga just as a part of physical exercise, a stretch before a workout, as a religious practice etc. However we do yoga, all we ever wanted is the stability in our body, mind and emotion. With the practice of yoga, our body and mind can be kept at the highest possible level of awareness and capability.
Let us know a bit about the history of Yoga
Yoga originally started in ancient India among Hindu culture. Yoga was first mentioned in Rig Veda and Upanishads around 5th century BC. The first and most comprehensive text on Yoga was ‘Yoga Sutras of Patanjali’ appeared around First century. It has spread around world in many different forms across the various languages and cultures. There are many different traditional and modern methods of yoga in Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism. It has gone through a series of changes and modifications since its inception. Sadly, modern yoga barely carries the essence of the ancient original yoga.
Yoga in the western world means modern forms of Hatha Yoga and posture based physical fitness, stress-relief, and relaxation techniques. Modern yoga focuses on poses designed to stimulate inner peace and physical energy. In ancient yoga, fitness was not the major focus, instead, improving mental focus and boosting spiritual energy were emphasized.
If you like to read more…
Yoga: Its Origin, History and Development. (2016). Mea.gov.in. https://www.mea.gov.in/in-focus-article.htm?25096/Yoga+Its+Origin+History+and+Development
White, D. (n.d.). Yoga, Brief History of an idea. http://assets.press.princeton.edu/chapters/i9565.pdf
