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| For many people today, '''yoga''' refers to an Indian-derived form of physical exercise--based on the famous postures (''asana'')--which may or may not include a spiritual component. In this form yoga has spread all over the world, in ever-increasing variety.
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| More fundamentally, "yoga" refers to a family of voluntary spiritual practices, together with their attendant texts and teacher-student lineages (''guruparampara''), aimed at release from the cycle of rebirth (''samsara''). This liberation is given various Sanskrit names:
| | '''Yoga''' is regarded by practitioners in the [[United States of America|U.S.]] as a healthy form of physical exercise. However, as classical yoga is taught by Swamis in India, yoga is more likely to be considered a path for calming the mind (by relaxing the body and taming one's breathing), which also happens in many cases to improve one's health. The ultimate goal of yoga, as stated in the second verse of the [[Yoga Sutras of Patanjali]], is to suppress the chattering thought-stream of the mind.<ref name=transTaimni1 /> Yoga<small><sup>1</sup></small> is translated from the [[Sanskrit]] as "yoke". |
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| :*''moksha'' ("liberation")
| | No one is certain why the word "yoke" was used to describe the set of various practices that constitute yoga, but more often than not, people have devised elaborate explanations for it, some of which make little sense, such as: "The yoke to which the word refers is the connection between the [[Atman]], the [[conscious]] or personal experience of the [[divine]] nature, and Brahman, the [[superconscious]] or [[transpersonal]] experience of [[divinity]], or the [[Godhead]]."<ref>Feuerstein, G. (1996). ''Shambhala Guide to Yoga'' Boston:Shambhala Publications.</ref> |
| :*''mukti'' ("release," i.e. from bondage) | |
| :*''kaivalya'' ("aloneness")
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| :*''samadhi'' ("equipoise")
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| :*''nirvana'' ("extinction" or "snuffing out," as with a candle, of egoism and delusion. Chiefly Buddhist, however cf. ''Bhagavadgita'' 2:72)
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| | There are innumerable "yogas" found and practiced within the various spiritual traditions of the world, both East and West. "Yoga" has come to be typically and specifically discussed in reference to the spiritual traditions and practices associated with [[India]], namely [[Hinduism]], [[Jainism]], [[Buddhism]], and [[Vedanta]]. <ref>Feuerstein, G.; Wilber, K. (2001). ''The Yoga Tradition: Its History, Literature, Philosophy and Practice''. Hohm Press.</ref> |
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| Its underlying assumption is that by stilling or concentrating the mind, the yoga practitioner can see through "Maya" or Illusion and perceive things as they really are. Then, and only then, is it possible to achieve the 'Union" which is referred to below.
| | A soapstone seal [http://www.indiana.edu/~isp/cd_rom/images/harappa/shiva_33.htm soapstone seal] from the [[Indus Valley]] archeological site of [[Mohenjo-Daro]] depicting a horned or headressed figure surrounded by four animals, and seated on a throne in what may be interpreted as a yogic or meditative posture, specifically ''badha konasana'' or "bound angle". The figure is often identified with [[Shiva]], perhaps in his role as [[Pashupati]] ("Lord of Animals"), and this interpretation suggests that Yoga was known in the Indian subcontinent from 2600 to 1900 B.C. |
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| "Yoga" in this sense is practiced within the religions of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism. In fact, it can be practiced by anyone who believes in One Eternal Absolute Being.
| | ==Yoga in modern times== |
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| In Indian philosophy, "Yoga" is the name of one of the six "orthodox" (i.e., Veda-affirming) schools, while "Yogacara" ("Yoga Practitioners") is an important school of thought within Mahayana Buddhism. | | In 1893, [[Swami Vivekananda]], disciple of [[Ramakrishna]], spoke before the [[World Parliament of Religions]], mentioning the need for a more universalistic approach to spirituality. While Vivekananda's allegiance lay primarily with [[Vedanta]], his remarks sparked considerable interest. |
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| ===The Name: its Meaning and its Practice===
| | In 1920, [[Paramhansa Yogananda]]] also went to the United States, held many conferences and made a lot to popularize Yoga and [[Kriya Yoga]], especially through his famous book "Autobiography of a Yogi", first published in 1946 and still a bestseller. This book gives a good overview of what Yoga is about. |
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| From Sanskrit ''yoga'' (योग) meaning "union." Derived from ''yugam'', a cognate of the modern English "yoke" (via Latin ''iugum''). Its Proto-Indo-European forebear is speculated to be ''*yugom'', from the root ''*yeug''- (Sanskrit ''yuj-'') meaning "to join" or "unite".
| | By the twentieth century, [[Yogi|Yogis]] became objects of both reverence and scientific research in the West as they availed themselves to the Sixties counter-culture movement and demonstrated themselves able to regulate involuntary activities such as heart-rate, blood pressure, and body temperature. The first of these individuals to be studied in the West was [[Swami Rama]], at the [[Menninger Institute]]. |
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| The term is attested since the ''Rg Veda'' in the sense of "act of yoking, joining, attaching, harnessing" but also "undertaking, business, performance". A mental sense of "exertion, zeal, diligence" is attested since the [[Mahabharata]], and the spiritual or mystical sense of
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| "abstract contemplation, meditation" likewise appears in the Mahabharata as well as in the [[Upanishad]]s.
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| A practitoner of yoga is called a "yogin" (masculine), "yogini" (feminine), or most commonly, a "yogi" (unisex). In this form it has become the nickname of Lawrence Peter "Yogi" Berra, the celebrated baseball player for the New York Yankees; who in turn inspired the name of cartoon character Yogi Bear.
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| Without this spiritual component, the "Union" which is the basis of Yoga cannot exist. Therefore, regardless of how popular the physical aspect of modern westernized Yoga practice has become, this form of practice can not be called Yoga.
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| Most would-be Yogis begin their practice of Yoga by learning some form of Hatha Yoga. For most of these students, the practice consists of learning the ''Asanas'' or poses.
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| The purpose of these ''Hatha Yoga Asanas'' is not to make its students more flexible, in-of-itself. It is to make them healthier by enabling their Prana or Internal Energy flow more freely and evenly. Greater flexibility just happens to be a by-product of this freer energy flow.
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| Indeed, the name ''Hatha'' is a compound Sanskrit word comprised of the words ''Ha'' and ''Tha''.
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| ''Ha'' represents a person's Solar or masculine energy and ''Tha'' represents their Moon or feminine energy.
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| Practicing all aspects of ''Hatha Yoga'' will give a student the chance to balance these two energies and open up their center ''nadii'' or energy channel, the ''Suhsumna'', which runs up the center of their spine.
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| Only balanced energy can flow through this channel. Its opening ensures the student an almost limitless source of purified energy. It can also lead to the awaking of a person's ''Kundalini Shakti''.
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| ''Kundalini Shakti'' is a person's Feminine energy and is located at (coiled around) the base of the spine at the ''Muladhara Chakra''.
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| There are Seven Chakras located along the spine. As they are purified, they open. When the top most ''Chakra'', the ''Sahasrara'', located at the Crown or top of one's head opens, it enables one's Kundalini to travel all the way up the ''Sushumna'' from the ''Muladhara Chakra'' to the ''Sahasrara Chakra''.
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| The opening of the Crown or ''Sahasrara'' ''Chakra'' and the resulting flow of Kundalini up into it, leads one to ''Moksha'' or enlightenment and liberation.
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| The Crown Chakra is the seat of our Cosmic Principle which is Masculine in nature. So once again, when the Feminine unites with the Masculine and "Union" or Yoga occurs, great things are possible.
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| ===Origins===
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| A soapstone seal <ref>[http://www.indiana.edu/~isp/cd_rom/images/harappa/shiva_33.htm soapstone seal]</ref> from the Indus Valley archeological site of Mohenjo-Daro depicts a horned figure (or, a figure wearing a headdress) surrounded by four animals, and seated on a throne in what may be interpreted as a yogic or meditative posture. (The soles of his feet are pressed together.) The figure is often identified with Shiva, perhaps in his role as Pashupati ("Lord of Animals").
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| If the identification is accepted, this suggests that something like yoga was known in the Indian subcontinent from 2600 to 1900 B.C.
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| ==Yoga in Hinduism==
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| ===Vedas===
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| The word "yoga" is found in the ''Rg Veda'' [t.k.], mentions "yoga" as a kind of discipline.
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| The fifteenth book of the''Atharva Veda'', the ''Vratya Kanda'', connects it with ''pranayama'' (breath control), for the purpose of improving the musical quality of hymns sung to Rudra.
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| ===Upanisads===
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| The ''Maitrayaniya Upanisad'' (2nd or 3rd century BC) defines yoga as "The oneness of the breath and mind, and likewise of the senses, and the relinquishment of all conditions of existence" for the purpose of uniting Brahman with Atman. It presents a sixfold path including
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| :(1) ''pranayama'' ("breath control")
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| :(2) ''pratyahara'' ("withdrawal of the senses from objects")
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| :(3) ''dhyana'' ("meditation")
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| :(4) ''dharama'' ("concentration")
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| :(5) ''tarka'' ("contemplation")
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| :(6) ''samadhi'' ("absorption")
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| Note the similarity to Patanjali's ''Yogasutras''.
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| ===The Bhagavadgita===
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| The ''Bhagavadgita'' (''Song of the Lord'') is a Vaisnava treatise composed around the time of Christ, or perhaps a century or so before, and incorporated into the text of the epic poem ''Mahabharata''. Its format is that of a series of dialogues between the god Krishna, and the hero Arjuna.
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| Although his cause is just, Arjuna is reluctant to enter into battle against his relatives and teachers, and asks Krishna whether it would not be preferable to simply abandon the fight. Krishna's answer takes the form of a lengthy (seventeen out of a total eighteen chapters) discourse. His answer is that Arjuna (being a ''kshatriya'', or member of the warrior class) has a duty to fight, but should remain unattached to the "fruits" of his action, devoting these to Krishna. In the process, several "yogas" are distinguished:
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| *''Karmayoga'' (the yoga of "action" in the world)
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| *''Jnanayoga'' (the yoga of study and the pursuit of wisdom)
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| *''Bhaktiyoga'' (the yoga of religious devotion)
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| Other yogas are sometimes identified in the ''Gita'' as well.
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| The question of which yoga the ''Gita'' intends to recommend is a major question occupying Hindu philosophers. Sankara is the most prominent philosophical exponent of ''jnanayoga''; Ramanuja, of ''bhaktiyoga''; and M.K. Gandhi, of ''karmayoga''. A number of commentators see the three as harmonious; an example would be the "integral yoga" (''purnayoga'') of Sri Aurobindo.
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| ===The Yogasutras of Patanjali===
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| Patanjali is considered the founder of "Yoga" as a philosophical school; i.e., as one of the six "orthodox" (Veda-affirming) ''darsanas''. It is often paired with another of the six, the Samkhya school, whose teachings it closely resembles.
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| Samkhya is known for its dualistic metaphysics, in which ''prakrti'' ("matter") and ''purusa'' ("consciousness") are
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| Patanjali's yoga is sometimes called Raja Yoga ("royal yoga") by way of distinction. The Yogasutras are divided into four books (Sanskrit ''pada''), containing in all 195 aphorisms (sutras), divided as follows:
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| '''I. Samadhi Pada''' (51 sutras)
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| Samadhi refers to a blissful state where the yogi is absorbed into the One. The author describes yoga and then the means to attaining samadhi. This chapter contains the most famous verses: "Atha yoga anusasanam" ("Yoga begins with discipline") and "Yogas citta vritti nirodha" ("Yoga is control of citta vrittis" - i.e., thoughts and feelings).
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| '''II. Sadhana Pada''' (55 sutras)
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| ''Sadhana'' is the Sanskrit word for "practice". Here the author outlines two forms of Yoga: ''kriya yoga'' (action yoga) and ''ashtanga yoga'' (eightfold yoga).
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| ''Kriya yoga'', sometimes called ''karma yoga'', is reflected in the philosophy of the ''[[Bhagavad Gita]], Chapter 3'', where ''Arjuna'' is encouraged to act without attachment to the results of action. It is the yoga of selfless action or as some have observed, of service.
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| ''Ashtanga'' ("eight-limbed") yoga consists of the following aspects:
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| 1. *The five ''yama'' (abstentions; the word means "restraint"). These are also found in Jainism; Buddhism has a similarly-conceived list.
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| :(1) ''Ahimsa'' (abstention from violence, ''himsa'')
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| :(2) ''Satya'' ("truth", abstention from lying)
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| :(3) ''Asteya'' (abstention from theft)
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| :(4) ''Brahmacharya'' (abstention from sexual activity)
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| :(5) ''Aparigraha'' (abstention from possessions)
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| 2. The five ''niyama'' ("observances"):
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| :(1) ''Shaucha'' ("{purity")
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| :(2) ''Santosha'' ("contentment")
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| :(3) ''Tapas'' ("heat", i.e., austerities, self-mortification)
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| :(4) ''Svadhyaya'' ("self-contemplation")
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| :(5) ''Ishvarapranidhana'' "surrender to the Creator")
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| 3. ''Asana'' ("seat"). The term which is now generally translated as "physical postures" originally referring to ''seated'' postures.
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| 4. ''Pranayama'' (control of ''prana'', the vital breath or "life force")
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| 5. ''Pratyahara'' ("withdrawal" of the mind from the senses, or the senses from objects)
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| 6. ''Dharana'' (concentration, i.e., fixing the attention on a single object)
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| 7. ''Dhyana'' (meditation)
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| 8. ''Samadhi'' (equipoise)
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| '''III. Vibhuti Pada''' (55 sutras)
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| Vibhuti is the Sanskrit word for "power" or "manifestation". This book describes the higher states of awareness and the techniques of yoga to attain them.
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| '''IV. Kaivalya Pada''' (34 sutras)
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| ===The Hathayoga Pradipika===
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| ==Yoga in Buddhism==
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| ==Yoga in Jainism==
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| ==Yoga as exercise==
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| In 1893, Swami Vivekananda spoke before the World Parliament of Religions, mentioning the need for a "Raja Yoga" (i.e. a more spiritual or universalistic) approach to religion. While Vivekananda's allegiance lay with Vedanta, Western interest in yoga soon grew.
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| By the twentieth century, a new (and arguably nationalistic) emphasis on sport and "fitness" led to hatha yoga being understood in these terms, both in India and in Western countries. Yogis were made objects of scientific research which showed them to be able to, inter alia, regulate supposedly involuntary activities such as heart-rate, blood pressure, or body temperature.
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| B.K.S. Iyengar
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| Sri Yogendra
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| Swami Kuvalayananda
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| Globalization affected yoga by
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| ==Yoga as healing==
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| ==Notes==
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| <div class="references-small" style="-moz-column-count:3; column-count:3;">
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| <references/>
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| </div>
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| ==References== | | ==References== |
| | <references> |
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| Alter, Joseph S. ''Yoga in Modern India: The Body Between Science and Philosophy.'' Princeton UP, 2004.
| | <ref name=transTaimni1> |
| | | I. K. Taimni, ''The Science of Yoga'', Quest Books; 4th edition (Jan. 1, 1961), 465 pp, ISBN 978-0835600231 . This verse is widely understood as meaning that yoga is a way to subdue, for a time, the normally unceasing thought-stream that all humans experience. |
| Feuerstein, Georg.
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| Love, Robert. [http://cjr.org/issues/2006/6/Love.asp "Fear of Yoga."] Originally published in ''Columbia Journalism Review'' (Issue 6, Nov/Dec 2006).
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| Sparrowe, Linda. [http://www.yogajournal.com/history/ "The History of Yoga."] Exerpt from ''Yoga: A Yoga Journal Book''
| | ==Footnotes== |
| | <small><sup>1</sup> ''Yoga'' (योग), derived from the [[Sanskrit]] ''yugam'', a [[cognate]] of the modern English "yoke" (''iugum'', [[Latin]]). Its Proto-Indo-European forebearer is speculated to be ''*yugom'', from the root ''*yeug''- (''yuj-'', Sanskrit) meaning "to join" or "unite".</small> |
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Yoga is regarded by practitioners in the U.S. as a healthy form of physical exercise. However, as classical yoga is taught by Swamis in India, yoga is more likely to be considered a path for calming the mind (by relaxing the body and taming one's breathing), which also happens in many cases to improve one's health. The ultimate goal of yoga, as stated in the second verse of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, is to suppress the chattering thought-stream of the mind.[1] Yoga1 is translated from the Sanskrit as "yoke".
No one is certain why the word "yoke" was used to describe the set of various practices that constitute yoga, but more often than not, people have devised elaborate explanations for it, some of which make little sense, such as: "The yoke to which the word refers is the connection between the Atman, the conscious or personal experience of the divine nature, and Brahman, the superconscious or transpersonal experience of divinity, or the Godhead."[2]
There are innumerable "yogas" found and practiced within the various spiritual traditions of the world, both East and West. "Yoga" has come to be typically and specifically discussed in reference to the spiritual traditions and practices associated with India, namely Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, and Vedanta. [3]
A soapstone seal soapstone seal from the Indus Valley archeological site of Mohenjo-Daro depicting a horned or headressed figure surrounded by four animals, and seated on a throne in what may be interpreted as a yogic or meditative posture, specifically badha konasana or "bound angle". The figure is often identified with Shiva, perhaps in his role as Pashupati ("Lord of Animals"), and this interpretation suggests that Yoga was known in the Indian subcontinent from 2600 to 1900 B.C.
Yoga in modern times
In 1893, Swami Vivekananda, disciple of Ramakrishna, spoke before the World Parliament of Religions, mentioning the need for a more universalistic approach to spirituality. While Vivekananda's allegiance lay primarily with Vedanta, his remarks sparked considerable interest.
In 1920, Paramhansa Yogananda] also went to the United States, held many conferences and made a lot to popularize Yoga and Kriya Yoga, especially through his famous book "Autobiography of a Yogi", first published in 1946 and still a bestseller. This book gives a good overview of what Yoga is about.
By the twentieth century, Yogis became objects of both reverence and scientific research in the West as they availed themselves to the Sixties counter-culture movement and demonstrated themselves able to regulate involuntary activities such as heart-rate, blood pressure, and body temperature. The first of these individuals to be studied in the West was Swami Rama, at the Menninger Institute.
References
- ↑
I. K. Taimni, The Science of Yoga, Quest Books; 4th edition (Jan. 1, 1961), 465 pp, ISBN 978-0835600231 . This verse is widely understood as meaning that yoga is a way to subdue, for a time, the normally unceasing thought-stream that all humans experience.
.
- ↑ Feuerstein, G. (1996). Shambhala Guide to Yoga Boston:Shambhala Publications.
- ↑ Feuerstein, G.; Wilber, K. (2001). The Yoga Tradition: Its History, Literature, Philosophy and Practice. Hohm Press.
1 Yoga (योग), derived from the Sanskrit yugam, a cognate of the modern English "yoke" (iugum, Latin). Its Proto-Indo-European forebearer is speculated to be *yugom, from the root *yeug- (yuj-, Sanskrit) meaning "to join" or "unite".
