Yoga is a Sanskrit word. It has many meanings. It is derived from the Sanskrit root yuj meaning 'unite'. Union of Jivatma (Individual soul) with paramatma (Universal soul or God) is called Yoga. Meaning of Yoga is very vast.
Yoga is associated with all the religions of India. Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism have adopted meditation practices of Yoga. Yoga is also one of the six Astika (orthodox) schools of Hindu philosophy. Texts on Vedas, Upanishads, Hindu Tantras and Buddhist Tantras have all extensively use the Yogic practices.
Major branches of Yoga are Jnanayoga, Bhaktiyoga, Karmayoga and Rajayoga. Veda and Upanishads are the source of Jnanayoga, Narada Bhaktisutra is a text on Bhaktiyoga, Bhagavadgita is an authoritative text on Karmayoga and Patanjala Yoga sutras on Rajayoga. Bhagavadgita covers all the major Yogas. Hathayoga is a major branch of Rajayoga. Hathayoga Pradipike, Shiva Samhita and Gheranda Samhita are the major texts on Hathayoga.
Types Of yoga
Adho Mukha Svanasana
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The technique of Adho Mukha Svanasana is relatively simple. First you sit on the floor and slowly shift to your hands and knees. Then you set your knees directly below your abdomen and align them with your hips. Your hands should be set slightly forward of the shoulders. When you get in this position you should curl your toes under and spread your fingers wide out on the ground. This will help you become more stable and grounded through your arms. When you become stable you should take a deep breath. As you exhale, raise your hips towards the sky and push the floor with your hands. Be sure to keep pressing your heels down toward the floor while you keep your knees slightly bent. It is crucial that the weight of your body should be evenly distributed between your hands and feet. You can either hold this position or you can move on to straighten your legs. As you do so, make sure that your heels continue to push against the floor so that they become just as stable and grounded as your hands. All the force that you apply with your heels should be channeled throughout the legs and feet. You should hold this position for four to twelve long exhalations. When finishing up with this position you should reverse the steps taken to get into the Adho Mukha Svanasana. Once you become more intermediate, you will be able to go into the Adho Mukha Svanasana directly from a cat stretch. The Adho Mukha Svanasana helps you feel the hips initiating the movement and also reinforces your hollow spine. Anulom Viloma
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Yoga Sutras of Patanjali
In Indian philosophy, Yoga is the name of one of the six orthodox philosophical schools.[27][28] The Yoga philosophical system is closely allied with the Samkhya school.[29] The Yoga school as expounded by the sage Patanjali accepts the Samkhya psychology and metaphysics, but is more theistic than the Samkhya, as evidenced by the addition of a divine entity to the Samkhya's twenty-five elements of reality.[30][31] The parallels between Yoga and Samkhya were so close that Max Müller says that "the two philosophies were in popular parlance distinguished from each other as Samkhya with and Samkhya without a Lord...."[32] The intimate relationship between Samkhya and Yoga is explained by Heinrich Zimmer:
These two are regarded in India as twins, the two aspects of a single discipline. Sāṅkhya provides a basic theoretical exposition of human nature, enumerating and defining its elements, analyzing their manner of co-operation in a state of bondage (bandha), and describing their state of disentanglement or separation in release (mokṣa), while Yoga treats specifically of the dynamics of the process for the disentanglement, and outlines practical techniques for the gaining of release, or 'isolation-integration' (kaivalya).[33]
Cure Without Medicine
Anyway, other religions like Buddhism and Jainism, too, absorbed the techniques of yoga. Today millions are turning to this age-old system because of its therapeutic goodness. If you have a little patience, you can cure yourself of most ills without pills. and with time, such bodily discipline also influences consciousness and concentration, silencing the wandering Cain in your mind forever.
Medical research has endorsed the benefits of yoga postures on the body. Yoga is just the remedy for ailments like a poor spine and painful joints. The stretching and compressing during these asanas, and the alteration of the body’s orientation and centre of gravity generate ‘piezoelectricity’ (electricity caused by pressure) in the body tissues.
A regular practice of yoga exercises regulates the growth, maintenance and strengthening of body tissues. In fact, the whole body metabolism is stimulated and the body’s healing powers improved.
Medical research has endorsed the benefits of yoga postures on the body. Yoga is just the remedy for ailments like a poor spine and painful joints. The stretching and compressing during these asanas, and the alteration of the body’s orientation and centre of gravity generate ‘piezoelectricity’ (electricity caused by pressure) in the body tissues.
A regular practice of yoga exercises regulates the growth, maintenance and strengthening of body tissues. In fact, the whole body metabolism is stimulated and the body’s healing powers improved.
Indian Tantra
In response to the fierce asceticism that was the social norm for this yogic style of practice, other esoteric branches developed which looked to incorporate spirituality more into daily life. Notably, tantric principles were first developed and refined during this period of social recoil. They generally began to catch on during the early and middle part of the first millennium and, as with fashions, have waxed and waned in popularity ever since.
Indian tantric systems utilise the forces of nature--especially desire--in a way that accepts, redirects, and refines them. This is in contradistinction to most ascetic methods which apply denial as their chief lever for working with negative emotions such as lust, greed, and hatred. By appropriately channelling the raw power of, for instance, sexual desire, a spiritual practitioner can not only learn to manage troublesome mind-states, but also get a boost of confidence and energy as well.
And, as you might imagine, the misuse of such deep-seated human forces can lead to much havoc as well. Thus, Tantra has mostly lead a dual social life--being popularly accepted by the masses as a more palpable way to digest necessary spiritual disciplines, and also being cautiously respected and approached by more ardent and serious practitioners. With proper support, however, these principles can be tremendously helpful.
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