Yoga History

Land of Yoga -India

India is rightly called the land of yoga. All systems of yoga developed from this ancient land. We came to know of yoga from Saint Patanjali who gave `yoga-sutras` in the 2nd century. The yoga sutras were not in written form and it was meant to be memorized. Sage Patanjali defined yoga as '' chitta-vritti-nirodh''. Some define yoga as union of individual consciousness to cosmic consciousness.

Swami Sivananda says, 'Yoga is a way of life'. This means any individual can benefit from the practice of yoga to achieve physical, mental and spiritual well-being. Yogic practices confer, on the practitioner, immense mind and body control.

Systems of Yoga

Here are four systems of Yoga. They are

1. Jnana yoga
2. Karma yoga
3. Raja yoga
4. Bhakthi yoga

According to Saint Patanjali, there are eight principles to be followed in the system of yoga.

1. Yama: Anyone practicing yoga should adhere to the values of non-violence, truth, honesty, celibacy and show restraint.
   
   
2. Niyama: They are observances to be followed by the yoga practitioner like contemplation, contentment, penance and study of scriptures.
   
   
3. Asanas: These physical exercises help in concentration of the mind.
   
   
4. Pranayama: It involves breathing exercises that help the aspirant to gain control of prana or life energy.
   
   
5. Pratyahara: It is a stage of sense withdrawal. The aspirant's mind is focused on the internal object of concentration and has a feeling of detachment from the outside world.
   
   
6. Dharana: In this stage, the aspirant is able to concentrate on one subject or an idea.
   
   
7. Dhyana: It is the stage of steady concentration on one subject or an idea.
   
   
8. Samadhi: This is the stage where the individual consciousness merges with the divine consciousness.