Introduction to Yoga

Advance Yoga
Headstand by Newsha

Yoga is the science of right living and, as such, is intended to be incorporated in daily life. It works on all aspects of the person: the physical, vital, mental, emotional, psychic and spiritual.

The word yoga is of great significance. It is derived from the Sanskrit root Yuj (Unite). Yoga means union, identification. Identify with the joys and sorrows of everyone, extend your horizons, live above the pettiness of life. This unity or joining is described in spiritual terms as the union of the individual consciousness with the universal consciousness. On a more practical level, yoga is a means of balancing and harmonizing the body, mind and emotions. This is done through the practice of

·         Asana (yogic postures),

·         Pranayama (yogic breathing practices for the expansion of life force in the body),

·         Mudra (internal exercise for activating glands; a psychic attitude),

·         Bandha (internal flexions to control the involuntary muscles of the body and release psychic knots and prana),

·         Shatkarma (the six purificatory techniques of Hatha yoga)

·         Meditation

And must be achieved before union can take place with the higher reality. The science of yoga begins to work on the outermost aspect of the personality, the physical body, which for most people is a practical and familiar starting point. When imbalance is experienced at this level, the organs, muscles and nerves no longer function in harmony; rather they act in opposition to each other. For instance, the endocrine system might become irregular and the efficiency of the nervous system decrease to such an extent that a disease will manifest. Yoga aims at bringing the different bodily functions into perfect coordination so that they work for the good of the whole body.

From the physical body, yoga moves on to the mental and emotional levels. Many people suffer from phobias and neuroses as result of the stresses and interactions of everyday living. Yoga has a special role to play in the world of today. Its practice alone can remove mental and physical afflictions.

So yoga is “integration and harmony between thought, feeling and deed, or integration between head, heart and hand”. Through the practices of yoga, awareness develops of the interrelation between the emotional, mental and physical levels, and how a disturbance in any one of these affects the others. Gradually, this awareness leads to an understanding of the more subtle areas of existence.