Beginning Yoga Research Paper

Yoga is a practice for union. When yoga is being practiced the participant becomes relaxed and tries to achieve a higher state of mind.(Fisher 80) There are different types of yoga that help achieve different states of mind. Raja yoga is the path to mental concentration and is used by meditative people. Jnana yoga is the path to rational inquiry which is done by rational people, and for naturally active people there is karma yoga which is the path of right action. “Yoga is known as the disconnection of the connection with suffering.” –The Bhagavad Gita (hinduwisdom.info) Hinduism also has a series of gods and goddess who Hindu’s pray to and worship. Durga whom is called the Ideal Warrior, Sita, who is the

Yoga is an ancient Hindu spiritual meditation practice that some believe dates back to 3300 BCE, during the Indus Valley Civilization. Modern wellness practices use yoga as part of a cardio routine and as a therapy to alleviate health disorders such as

This is perhaps the most common view of yoga. That it is a form of physical exercise. This certainly needs to be clarified and I am going to provide some details about true yoga practice in order to do this.

The meaning of hathayoga is “yoga of force” and refers to an intangible energy network within our physical body called “the subtle body.” Accordingly to the medieval teachings of hathayoga, there are two energy channels, the solar and lunar, which are balanced through postures and breath-control to then force the body to move into a meditative state, which seems so important for gaining insight about our physical existence. However, this metaphysical side of hathayoga was not addressed at the yoga practice I attended at. With this in mind, yoga certainly has physical benefits, but to ignore the spiritual aspect of the practice should not be forgotten and challenges my understanding of yoga as taught in lecture. For example, yoga can be seen as a spiritual path where through the unification of mind, body, and our senses a greater understanding of the “ultimate self” or “reality” can be gained, which then leads to liberation. Thus, I think for today’s yoga it would be useful to also emphasize the spiritual components to further expand the experience of the practitioner. The origin of yoga from the Indian traditions emphasized that yoga is a vehicle for physical, metaphysical, and spiritual transformation of the practitioner. Yoga has a huge component of self-reflection and contemplation in order to gain insight for liberation from worldly suffering, which is often accomplished through meditation where a strong, healthy body supports that practice. For example, the Vedic tradition and early Hindu society used mantras to go beyond their physical experience. The performance of mantras can be seen as a meditative as well as contemplative practice where one strengthens their mind to then unite with divine beings. Not to mention, accordingly to the Upanisads, yoga of meditation (dhyanayoga) is a common method to reach insight about

The origins of yoga date back to India over 5,000 years ago. The Vedas, holy writings that are the foundation for Hinduism, possess ancient yoga teachings known as Vedic Yoga. Individuals became reliant on Vedic yoga to live their life in divine harmony.

After Vivekananda, there is a popularization of Yoga in the U.S., as a result of the additional work of several masters who came from India, and Americans. Rama Tirtha, Yogendra Mastamani, Ramacharaka, Selvarajan Yesusian, B.K.S. Iyengar and Krisnamacharya, are among those who come from india; Richard Hittleman, and Paul Brunton are examples of Americans who sympathizes with yoga and work to make it popular in this the U.S. (Feuerstein, 2006).

As time passed, so did the techniques and thoughts of people before them. During the 1700’s, yoga masters created a form of yoga called Tantra yoga “to try to cleanse the body and mind to break the knots that bind us to our physical experience.”(Burgin, 2011). This type of yoga is believed to have led to the primary type of yoga in the western world which is known as Hatha Yoga. In the late 1800’s to early 1900’s, yoga began to expand even more, attracting a wider variety of followers. In the 1920’s Hatha Yoga began to become very popular in the western culture, with the majority of it being within India. This was due the strong promotion from T. Krishnamacharya who educated many people about the benefits of yoga. He would later form the Hatha

The information under this part includes 8 yoga limbs, practice suggestions as well as breathing. Part two is about the practice and contains postures, pranayama, mudras, bandhas and kriyas. Part three of this book is about the yoga with a unique focus and it comprises of ailments as well as meditation. Part four is about finding your yoga and contains the nine branches of the yoga.

early Hinduism it was believed that Yoga would unify the body, mind, and spirit. In these

The yoga that most studios practice is derived from an ancient Indian practice that has roots in Buddhism, Jainism and Hinduism. However, many yoga teachers disregard the religious aspect of yoga and focus more on the self-discipline and physical aspects of the exercise. Yoga usually is practiced in a Dojo styled setting, with relaxing background music in comfortable clothing and on Yoga mats. It is used to focus oneself, as well as to build strength and self discipline.

In the wake of all that has been happening in our world, I find my revisiting of the yoga philosophy and practices to be at the perfect time.

Living Peace - What is Yoga?Yoga Firstly, let me get all the Yoga cliches out in this first paragraph.... Yoga means "Union" and it brings body, mind and spirit back into alignment. Yoga is so much more than just physical postures (asana) - it is a practise that uses the body and breath to return peace and equanimity to the mind, and bring you closer to your true divine nature. The philosophy and techniques of yoga are taught on the mat, but then are used off the mat out in the big wide world.  For example, noticing that you are competitive in class or have a tendency to push yourself too hard brings the realization that if you are doing that in a yoga class, then you are more than likely also doing it in your daily life.  Yoga brings awareness

This form of yoga was brought about by Calcutta native, Bikram Choudhury. Born in 1946, he began, and excelled, in yoga education at the young age of four.

a. Yoga was first introduced to the west in the late 1800s as an eastern

In short, Yoga is aiming to reduce unnatural and unnecessary movement and get closer to the law of nature. This includes to make your alignments better, to get healthy and balanced eating habits, to control your emotion or worries, to make a