Meaning of Yoga

Yoga is derived from a Sanskrit word ‘Yuj’ in verb form which means to unite or to join. Yog is its noun form and means union. It is concerned with the union of the individual soul with the Absolute or Divine soul. It is a science of development of man’s consciousness. Yoga is the “unification of Atma with Parmatma“. It also means the unification of physical, mental, intellectual and spiritual aspects of human being. The following definitions can be beneficial to understand the meaning of yoga:

– Checking the impulses of mind is yoga – Patanjali
– Yoga is attaining the pose – Mahrishi Ved Vyas
– Yoga is spiritual Kamdhenu – Swami Sampurnanand
– The knowledge about Shiva and Shakti is yoga – Agam
– Oneness of man with God is known as yoga – Shri Bharti Krishan Tirth
– In Bhagwad Gita, Lord Krishna says, “Skill in actions or efficiency alone is yoga.“

Importance of Yoga

It is a universal truth that modern age is the age of stress, tension and anxiety. Nowadays, most of the persons have not been leading a happy and fruitful life. They are indulged in materialism. They are running after money. For such people, money is mother, money is father and money is God.
In fact, money is everything for them. These people have excessive money in stores, even then they are mentally disturbed. They can’t sleep without sleeping pills. Their life is full of problems.
At last, it can be alluded that everybody, whether rich or poor, is not happy in the present-day life. Kin Hubbard has rightly said, “It is pretty hard to tell what does brings happiness: poverty and wealth have both failed.” everybody is in a hurry. Human beings have no time to think about leisure. Everything is time-bound and man is running after them. This makes him tired physically and tense mentally. In order to get rid of physical fatigue and mental tension and stress, man has devised certain means. He attends parties and takes drinks for relief, satisfaction and relaxation but instead of getting peace and relaxation he comes with more tension, stress and fatigue. Purchased relaxation does not provide him peace and satisfaction in real life. He further sinks in various complex problems. Most of the people are leading such a life. These problems are affecting such people physically, mentally and emotionally. That is why such people are falling pray to various diseases. At this juncture, yoga can be very significant for us. We can get rid of such problems by practicing yoga. The following points clearly show the importance of yoga:

Physical Purity:

Internal organs of our body can be cleaned by various yogic exercises basically there are three substances in our body that is what it if there is proper balance of this substances in our body, we may remain healthy Neti, Dhoti, Nauli, Basti, Kapala Bhati and Tratak, etc. are such yogic exercises or shatkarmas which keep the internal organs or our body in a clean state For the proper cleanliness and purity of our internal organs, we should perform these yogic exercises regularly.

Cure and Prevention from Diseases:

There are various diseases which usually hamper the smooth functioning of people. Yoga not only prevents us from many diseases but also cures them. Various yogic exercises increase the immunity power of an individual. If an individual performs yogic exercises regularly, the cannot fall prey to diseases. Vajrasana cures diabetes. A large number of diseases such as bronchitis, sinusitis, arthritis, gastritis, dyspepsia, asthma, high blood pressure, leprosy, hay fever, heart attack, sciatica, menstrual disorders, stress, urinary disorders, back-pain, hysteria, etc. can be prevented as well as cured by various yogic exercises.

Reduces Mental Tension:

Yoga can help in reducing the tension. It is a well-known fact that most of the persons remain under stress and tension They do not get peace anywhere. They feel upset and disturbed in the present day life. They think that money can bring happiness and peace in their life but it further intensifies their stress and tension. Pratyahar, Dharana and Dhyan play a vital role for getting peace of mind. Makarasana, Shavasana, Shalabhasana, Suptasana and Bhujangaasana are beneficial for releasing stress and tension.

Beautification of Body:

Everyone in this world wants to have a beautiful body because it is appreciated by everyone and in every society. Nowadays obesity is common. Everybody wants to be slim, because overweight people do not feel comfortable in any society. Various yogic asanas are best to get rid of this problem. Yogasanas make the body strong and perfect. Mayurasana is helpful for facial beauty. Through yogic exercises face becomes so beautiful that one does not require facial. In fact, yoga brightens the face.

Provides Relaxation:

Rest and relaxation are necessary to remove fatigue When we indulge in any physical or mental work then after sometime we feel tired At this turn we cannot work further so we need rest Shavasana and Makarasana are really very beneficial for relaxation Padmasana and Adamasana are the best means to reduce mental fatigue

Keeps the Correct Posture of the Body:

Nowadays postural deformities are common in individuals. Without good posture they are unable to do their work efficiently. They cannot enjoy the life. They usually put more energy in simple tasks. If we perform yogic asanas regularly we can keep the correct posture of our body, Vajrasana, Sarvangasana, Mayurasana, Chakrasana, Bhujangasana, Dhanrasana, etc are not only preventive asanas but curative also. Through this yogic exercises we can keep our body in high profile.

Yoga can be Performed Easily:

In present day life everybody seems to be in hurry, life has become fast. Every individual complains about shortage of time. To do exercise, other than yogic exercises require enough time and money, whereas, yogic exercises can be done easily. These exercises can be done in a short duration and are not expensive. Moreover, these exercises can be performed in less space.

Spiritual Development:

Through yoga efforts can be made to attain spiritual development. We can have good control on mind by doing regular yogic exercises. If our mind is pure, we can make efforts to achieve spiritual heights. An individual persistently pays attention to God, he forgets about himself. He does not know, who is he and what is he doing? Padmasana and Siddhasana are the best asanas for spiritual development. This asanas enhance the meditation power. Pranayama is also useful for spiritual development that brings peace in life.

Increases Flexibility:

Flexibility is very significant for every person. It makes the movements of body efficient and graceful. It is also helpful in preventing sports injury. Various yogaasanas increase the flexibility of body. Chakrasana, Dhanurasana, Halasana, Bhujangasana and Shalabhasana are beneficial for increasing flexibility. Muscles also become flexible by performing these asanas.

Reduces Obesity:

Obesity is a worldwide problem. Obese people fall prey to various diseases. Yogic exercises can help in reducing obesity. For example, Pranayama and Yogic asanas specially meditative asanas reduce the obesity. Research studies have shown that obesity is also caused by mental tension and stress. So, by reducing mental tension through meditative asanas obesity can be reduced.

Improves Health:

Yoga helps in maintaining and improving health by making our muscles strong and regulating other systems of the body such as respiratory, excretory, circulatory, nervous and glandular system. It increases the efficiency of these systems of body and thus improves health.

Enhances Moral and Ethical Values:

Nowadays there is a declining trend in moral and ethical values. By following the first two steps of astanga yoga, moral and ethical values can be enhanced. In fact, the practice of yama and niyama such as non-violence, truthfulness, aparigraha, non-stealing, swadhyaya, santosh, etc. make an individual more moral and ethical. In a nutshell, it can be concluded that yoga is very significant for human being specially in present-day life. An individual can attain perfect health and he can lead a happy, contented, exhilarated and fruitful life, if he performs yogic exercises regularly.

Elements of Yoga

Patanjali described eight elements of yoga in Yogasutras. These are called eight-fold paths or eight steps through which ultimate goal of yoga can be achieved, i.e., union of our soul to the supreme soul. These elements of yoga are stated below:

Yama, Niyama, Asana, Pranayama, Pratyahara, Dharana, Dhyana, Samadhi

Yama

Yama is the first element of Astanga yoga. Through the practice of yama one can abstain from doing things that keep one’s mind involved in the indiscriminate struggle for survival. One can remain away from violence. Yama consists of five moral codes of conduct. According to Mahrishi Patanjali, there are five yama, i.e., Ahimsa or Non-violence, Satya or Truthfulness, Asteya or Non-stealing, Brahmacharya and Aparigraha. The brief explanation of yama is givin below:

– Ahimsa or Non-Violence: It means, one must keep away from causing harm to any organism or human being. Anxiety, jealousy, hate, anger and such types of negative emotions are included in violence. So, we must remain away from these emotions. We must not injure anyone. We must not speak ill of others. We must not display any negative emotion. There must be love, affection and regard for human beings as well as other creatures.

– Satya or Truthfulness: Satya is very important yama. According to satya we must be truthful in thought, word and deed. We must not tell a lie. We must abstain from falseness of any kind. We must not speak to others in a deceitful manner. At any cost, we must speak the truth.

– Asteya; Asteya means non-stealing. The propensity to use others’ objects, money or thoughts for our own benefits is stealing. We must abstain from it. If we think about stealing something it is also considered stealing. If we do not use our surplus money in other person’s sufferings, it means that we are stealing it from the God. So, neither we should steal anything nor we should motivate others to steal. We should feel satisfied, whatever the God has given us.

– Brahmacharya: Not to take such diet that stimulates sexual desire, not to read pornographic or sexy literature, and not to indulge in masturbation or any sexual relations is called Brahmacharya. We must keep the above points in our mind so that we can follow the path of brahmacharya.

– Aparigraha: Parigraha means – to collect money and property for self interest and on the contrary Aparigraha means – to lead a life with minimum requirements. It is an attitude of mind that does not consider anything to be our own. We should not desire for physical pleasures. So we must follow aparigraha.

Asana:

After yama and niyama, asanas come at the third number. Asana means ‘position or posture of body’. It also means to sit in easy posture. Due to its popularity, most people think that yoga is nothing but asana, They are not aware that asana is a step towards yoga. In fact, asanas are performed to keep the body flexible, agile and young. Asanas also enhance the beauty of the body by reducing inappropriate accumulation of fat in the body. There are various types of asanas such as corrective asanas, relaxative asanas and meditative asanas. These types of asanas have different types of effects on various organs of body. These asanas activate the functions of various organs. Asanas can be performed from young age to old age without any problem.

Pranayama:

Pranayama is the control of the process of breathing. It means the appropriate control of inhalation and exhalation. Basically there are three constituents of pranayama, i.e., Puraka (Inhalation), Kumbhaka (Retainning the breath) and Rechaka (Exhalation). There are various types of pranayama such as Ujjayi, Suryabhedi, Sheetkari, Sheetali, Bhastrika, Bhramari, Murcha and Plavini. It helps in metabolic activities and enhances the function of heart and lungs. It also provides longevity to life.

Pratyahara:

Pratyahara is a process of self-control in which an individual becomes able to control over his senses. Indeed, to introvert the mind and senses is called pratyahara. In pratyahara, the senses no longer respond to the external objects that hinder mental concentration. The attachment of various senses such as words, beauty, touch, taste and smell, etc. diverts the individual from the way of self-welfare. The practitioner of pratyahara starts feeling extreme pleasure in God.

Dharana:

Dharana is the concentration of the mind. Generally, it is seen that the mind has a tendency to get scattered but if the scattered mind is bought under control and set to one focal point, concentration is said to be achieved. The focal point can be in the center of the forehead or navel or a pointed soothing light at a distance. Dharana is the first step towards samadhi. In fact, dharana is a mental exercise which enables a yogi to go ahead towards dhyana and samadhi.

Dhyana:

Dhyana is a process of complete constancy of mind. It is a stage prior to samadhi. Generally, dhyana remains attached to our life at every moment. Whenever we perform any specific task in the family, it is usually advised to do that task with ‘dhyana’ (Dhyan se Karna). But we do not understand its appropriate meaning. In fact, dhyana is a complete concentration of mind over a period of time without any divergence.

Samadhi:

The union of individual’s soul with the Supreme soul is called samadhi. Samadhi is also called the checking or destruction of all the impulses of the mind. During the state of dhyana, when the disappearance of self-awareness takes place, the yogi attains the state of samadhi. He begins to feel the real truth. He forgets himself completely. He begins to experience divine pleasure.

From Saraswati HEALTH AND PHYSCIAL EDUCATION book.

Yoga was taught to the Saptarishis, or Seven Sages, by Adiyogi, the first yogi and guru.
Over 15,000 years ago, on the banks of the Kantisarovar lake in the Himalayas.
Adiyogi taught the Saptarishis seven different aspects of yoga, which became the foundation for the seven basic forms of yoga, to pass the knowledge and tradition of yoga on to humanity.
The Saptarishis spread the yogic science to different parts of the world, including Asia, the Middle East, Northern Africa, and South America. The Saptarishis are revered in Hinduism as enlightened beings who understood the meaning of Brahman, the Divine, Consciousness. The full moon day when Adiyogi taught the Saptarishis is observed as Guru Purnima.

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