According to the classical definition by Patanjali, yoga means controlling the modifications of mind. When prana through blood reach each and every cell then it creates natural balance in whole system. No modern exercise can relax us in the way yoga can. Yoga begins with the practitioner taking a resolve to dedicate him or herself to the discipline. The science of yoga has its origin thousands of years ago, long before the first religions or belief systems were born. There are several styles of yoga, but the core idea of every style is controlling the mind. A Brief History and Development of Yoga: The practice of Yoga is believed to have started with the very dawn of civilization. In other words, cleaning the mind of emotions and thoughts is yoga. In the yogic lore, Shiva is seen as the first yogi or Adiyogi, and the first Guru or Adi Guru.
When the blood circulation is too fast, we unnecessarily exhaust ourselves and age faster.
There is no “god” but the divine resides in godly actions. Yoga says that imbalance or illness in our personality is due to imbalance or disruption or lack of flow of prana. It transforms us and as we benefit from the changes, we must become goodwill ambassadors of yoga so that others may also benefit.
Yogic approach is holistic and includes every aspect. And many thousands of years ago, Shiva reached enlightenment in a place called Mount Kailash. History of Yoga Yoga’s history has many places of obscurity and uncertainty due to its oral transmission of sacred texts and the secretive nature of its teachings. These precious, but fleeting moments of awareness in union with the divine within ourselves, is the source of creativity and godliness. On average, it takes approximately 23 to 60 seconds for blood to make a complete circuit in our bodies. In the English language, the word health is defined as “the state of being free from illness or injury.” However, the Sanskrit word, swastha, means “to be established within oneself”. The origin of yoga itself precedes the Yoga Sutra and is attributed to Lord Shiva as the first yogi (adi yogi) and Parvati, his wife, as the first student.
Yoga requires discipline in order to achieve a stilled equanimity within ourselves so that we may know who we are, the purpose of our lives and to face life’s challenges. Such false knowledge is the responsibility of the teacher. Basic Concepts of Yoga. The Western medical world has come to acknowledge the effectiveness of yoga on managing various physical, mental and emotional illnesses to improve quality of our life. To this day, The Yoga Sutra and The Bhagavad Gita, another sacred Hindu scripture gives deep insight on yoga, are capable of transforming one’s personality, and are sources of inspiration to countless self-help books published around the world. Yoga teaches us to take charge of our entire being where as modern medicine delegates the responsibility to doctors and drugs.
Through physical practice we try to encourage blood and prana to reach everywhere by creating space and pranayama used as a carrier and coordinator between body, mind and emotion. In contrast, yoga allows us to create a healing state of mind and body ourselves. As we transform and balance our personality, our koshas (the sheaths), we also change on a cellular level, which positively influence our blood and energy flow. Many students misunderstand yoga as only a physical practice of asanas. A daily hour practice in the morning of asana, pranayama and meditation will slowly change the personality. Therefore, according to the Western definition, a person is healthy as long as he or she is not ill or injured. In the evening, a quiet reflection of our actions of that day also increases our awareness to live consciously. We can start the discipline from the body by having different movements then to breath management then to the mind management with the integrated and holistic approach to evolve as a better human being. Through the practice of yoga, we try to govern the subtle qualities of ourselves to spread godliness. According to Gavin Flood, continuities may exist between those various traditions: It is important for the student to seek a good teacher who is capable of teaching yoga in its totality and should be able to diagnose any imbalances in the student’s koshas. It is also symbolic of the balance that the practice of yoga creates within ourselves. The practice of asana is only a warm up for the main practice of breathing because it is the pranayama that can bring the deep relaxation to the body and mind. This sacred Sanskrit text is a compilation of 196 aphorisms in four chapters which outlines the Eight Limbs of Yoga offering wisdom and guidelines for living a meaningful and purposeful life. 3300-1500 BCE. Only in a relaxed state healing takes place. – Sutra 1.2, Patanjali’s Yoga … Yoga slows down the process through controlling the breath and relaxing the mind and the body. This is the quintessential difference between yoga and Western medicine. Through our practice of yoga, we strive to sharpen our awareness, which is distributed 70-75% to our bodies, 20-25% to our minds, 4% to our emotions and only 1% to our divine, higher self. Patanjali defined yoga as “Yogachittavrittinirodhah,” which means “Yoga is the removal of the fluctuations of the mind.” “Chitta” is mind or consciousness, “vrittis” are thought impulses and “nirodah” is removal. Suggested origins are the Indus Valley Civilization (3300–1900 BCE) and pre-Vedic Eastern states of India, the Vedic period (1500–500 BCE), and the śramaṇa movement. There are times where we need to rely on modern medicine. The very first stanza of The Yoga Sutra (1:1) states, “AthaYoganushasanam.” “Atha” means now, “anu” is atom and “shasanam” means to govern, signifying our responsibility to govern subtle (every) part of our own body, down to the atomic level.
According to the legend, Shiva was the first yogi. It is purely a physical and negative definition, not taking into consideration the imbalances in a person, which might be causing the ailment. There is no consensus on its chronology or specific origin other than that yoga developed in ancient India. Yoga is an experiential study through self-introspection. The term “yoga,” however, is found in ancient India’s earliest known scripts — the Vedas. The union of Shiva (consciousness and wisdom) and Parvati (creative energy shakti) symbolizes the completion of the whole through the fusion of the male and the female energies. Learn about the history of yoga, the roots of this ancient practice and tradition. Classical Yoga Period: The stilling of the ripples of the mind is Yoga. They date from the Vedic period, which began in 1500 BCE. This sacred Sanskrit text is a compilation of 196 aphorisms in four chapters which outlines the Eight Limbs of Yoga offering wisdom and guidelines for living a meaningful and purposeful life. Historians aren’t entirely sure when the notion or practice of yoga first appeared, and it’s often left to debate.
In contrast, the concept of swastha highlights the root of a problem and never isolates the symptoms from the entire person. Although the tradition of yoga is 5,000 years old, it is mainly attributed to the Sage Patanjali as the father of yoga, who transcribed the book, The Yoga Sutra, over 2,000 years ago. Although the tradition of yoga is 5,000 years old, it is mainly attributed to the Sage Patanjali as the father of yoga, who transcribed the book, The Yoga Sutra, over 2,000 years ago. Spending hours on the yoga mat but displaying inconsiderate or hurtful actions to others defeats the entire purpose of this lifestyle.
Although modern medicine and yoga are complementary to each other for the wellbeing of the society but there are some differences in their approach. The early writings on yoga were transcribed on fragile palm leaves that were easily damaged, destroyed or lost. But, it began long ago when people started trying to understand what life was all about. Yoga develops self discipline to live with mindfulness to prevent outer or inner illness and face the challenges of the society with confidence. Modern science has provided ample evidence to validate the benefits of yoga and thus perpetuated the yoga movement across cultural and religious barriers. The term yoga is derived from the Sanskrit word ‘yuj’ meaning to unite; the union of the individual self with the supreme self. Through meditation we can still the mind and get to know who we really are. The difference between Western medicine and traditional yogic methods lie in the distinction of understanding the meaning of health. One definition of the word Sanskrit, "well-formed, refined, perfect or polished," connotes substance and clarity, qualities exemplified in the practice of yoga. Only a legend can give us an idea about the history of yoga.