What is Yoga?

Yoga is derived from Sanskrit root 'YUJ' which has various meanings.They are "to bind, to join ,to attach, to concentrate one's attention on,to use, to apply, joining, individual soul with universal soul, joining body with mind, uniting the body with mind and spirit", etc. In a nutshell, yoga means, to unite the various aspects of the life to achieve a harmonious whole, learning to live in the present moment.

Pathanjali, a sage who lived around 300-400 B.C. is the father of Yoga. His works called 'Pathanjali YogaSuthra' deals with the principles of Yogic Philosophy. He condenced these principles into 8 concise points called the 'Ashtanga Yoga' or 'Raja Yoga' which consists of 185 terse aphorisms. These are considered to be the eight steps in which a man or woman will ultimately attain self realisation and liberation from the body and mind.                  

The following are the eight steps of Ashtanga Yoga:

1.Yama : means following non-violence and truth. It helps a man to follow a set of moral codes that helps in practicing and preaching the virtue of truthfulness and restraint.

2.Niyama : helps in the development of personal conduct and behaviour of man. Cleanliness of both body and mind is essential in a man's development. He should also be friendly with one and all. Help eveybody share whatever knowledge he has with others and ultimately be a good Samaritan.                

3.Asana : is the practise of physical postures. There are about 84 lakhs of asanas according to the 'HataYoga Pradipika'. Yoga asanas are a set of postures, which help in toning both external and internal parts of the body. Because of this unique feature, yoga is offered as a prevention and cure for many diseases and disorders.

4.Pranayama : is the control of breath. One can live without solid food for 40 days, without water for 3 days but cannot live without breathing for a few minutes. On an average man takes 16,000 to 20,000 breaths per day.                     

5.Pratyahara:The control of our senses from exterior objects.                    

6.Dharana : concentration. Helps in the co-relation between the left and right parts of our brain. It helps a person to pursue whatever he does with full involvement and attention.

7.Dhyana : is meditation. It is a higher level of concentration, wherein a man is able to control the brain waves. It helps to achieve liberation from the distraction of the mind and body.

8.Samadhi : or super consciousness is a higher level of meditation. It helps in attaining self-realization, which is the ultimate aim of Yoga.                      

Different Yogas :

The etymology of the word yoga and its various definitions are analysed. There are various methods of practicing yoga based on the theory of practising. Yoga is classified with different names by different scholarly persons of yoga. Among them 'Ashtanga Yoga' of pathanjali, 'Hatha Yoga', 'Mantra Yoga', 'Laya Yoga', 'Tantra Yoga', 'Natha Yoga', 'Swara Yoga', 'Siddha Yoga', 'Bhakti Yoga', 'Gnana Yoga', 'Karma Yoga' are the most important Yogas.