Yoga is predominantly concerned with maintaining a state of equanimity at all costs. Yoga is a synergy of the body, mind and spirit as yoga always maintains that a calm mind with conscious breathing is extremely important for complete wellness.
In Sanskrit, the term 'yoga' stands for 'union'. A yogi's ultimate aim is to be able to attain this 'union' with the Eternal Self with the help of certain mental and physical exercises.
Yoga is a synergy of the body, mind and spirit for holistic health and complete wellness. |
The basic idea of yoga is to unite the atma or individual soul with the paramatma or the Universal Soul. According to philosophy of yoga, by cleansing one's mind and controlling one's thought processes one can return to that primeval state, when the individual self was nothing but a part of the Divine Self or the Cosmos itself. This is the sense encapsulated in the term samadhi. The aim of the yogi is to be able to perceive the world in its true light and to accept that truth in its entirety.
In Sanskrit, the term 'yoga' stands for 'union'. Yoga’s ultimate aim is to be able to attain this 'union' with the Eternal Self with the help of certain mental and physical exercises. It is often said that the Cosmic Womb himself had originally advocated the traditional system of yoga, from which all other yoga schools have evolved. But for all extant knowledge of yoga and its practices, such as yoga asanas and pranayama, the entire credit goes to Maharishi Patanjali. It was Maharashi Patanjali who systematized the various yogic practices and traditions of his times by encapsulating them in the form of aphorisms in his Yoga Sutra. Here, he describes the aim of yoga as knowledge of the self and outlines the eight steps or methods of achieving it.
In Sanskrit, the term 'yoga' stands for 'union'. Yoga’s ultimate aim is to be able to attain this 'union' with the Eternal Self with the help of certain mental and physical exercises. It is often said that the Cosmic Womb himself had originally advocated the traditional system of yoga, from which all other yoga schools have evolved. But for all extant knowledge of yoga and its practices, such as yoga asanas and pranayama, the entire credit goes to Maharishi Patanjali. It was Maharashi Patanjali who systematized the various yogic practices and traditions of his times by encapsulating them in the form of aphorisms in his Yoga Sutra. Here, he describes the aim of yoga as knowledge of the self and outlines the eight steps or methods of achieving it.
These steps are:
- Yamas or eternal vows of Yoga
The most often mentioned Yamas are – Ahimsa (non-violence), Satya (non-falsehood, truthfulness), Asteya (non-stealing), Mitahara (non-excess in food, moderation in food), Kshama (non-agitation about suffering, forgiveness), Daya (non-prejudgment, compassion) that really help in stabilising our mind.
These include restraining oneself in one's actions, words and thoughts