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Revision as of 18:03, 24 October 2003 by Mkweise (talk | contribs) (+general meaning of the term)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)Yoga (Yuga, Sanskrit: "union" or "yoke") is one of the six darshanas (schools) of Vedic philosophy. In the general sense, a yoga is a spiritual path or practice undertaken the puropse of spiritual fulfillment (see e.g. bhakti yoga, karma yoga.) Outside of Hindu culture, "yoga" is usually understood to refer to hatha yoga, a popular regimen of physical and mental exercise used to increase control over one's mind and body, in order to reflect upon enlightenment. Yoga is a "union of the individual with the infinite".
States the Shvetashvatara Upanishad (2.8-15), "Holding his body stead with the three erect, and causing the senses with the mind to enter the heart, a wise man with the Brahma-boat will cross, all the fear-bringing streams...One who practices Yoga beholds here the nature of Brahma."
There are many paths within yoga but because of the popularity of physical yoga in the West, the term is often used to mean only the physical practices, which are more correctly referred to as asana or yogasana. In the broadest sense, yoga could be defined as the practice of Hinduism.
Yoga asanas constitute a system of exercises designed to improve the body's physical health and clear the mind. They are the starting point to more advanced meditation practices.
Many different types of yoga exist, each with its own philosophies and practices. Some yogas are meditative and focused on spiritual centeredness, while others are more physical and are based on poses, or exercises, called asanas. The history of yoga goes back at least five thousand years. Yogic philosophy was codified around 150 BC by Patanjali in the Yoga Sutra, which states that the goal of yoga is stilling of the mind. But it is already a part of the much more ancient Vedic tradition.
The most common type of yoga taught in the West is Hatha Yoga. Hatha, a Sanskrit word that means 'sun' (ha) and 'moon' (tha), represents the opposing energies - hot and cold, male and female, positive and negative, yin and yang. Hatha yoga attempts to balance the mind and body through physical exercises (Poise, Balance & Strength), controlled breathing and the calming of the mind through relaxation and meditation.
Many modern schools of Yoga, with its focus on asana, derive from the school of Sri Tirumalai Krishnamacharya who taught in Mysore, India from 1931 until his death in 1993. Among his students prominent in popularising Yoga in the West were Pattabhi Jois, B.K.S. Iyengar, Indra Devi and Krishnamacharya's son T.K.V. Desikachar. Desikachar founded the Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandiram in Madras (now Chennai), with the aim of making available the heritage of yoga as taught by Krishnamacharya.
Some modern schools and styles of Yoga:
- Bikram Yoga - pioneered by Bikram Choudhury
- Ashtanga Yoga - eight limbs of yoga (Raja Yoga)
- Iyengar Yoga - pioneered by BKS Iyengar
- Viniyoga
- Kundalini Yoga - coiling like a snake
- Kriya Yoga
- Nada Yoga - yoga of sound
Some modern teachers of Yoga: