The literal meaning of Yoga is union. The Union of the soul with the Supreme Soul is called Yoga.
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| Source: Yogapoint |
The word Yoga is generally understood to mean joining or uniting, but it has a dozen meanings. Yoga is an ancient term derived from the Sanskrit word ‘Yuj’ and the suffix ‘Dhan’ is added to the word ‘Bhav’. Yoga is discussed in the Vedas, Upanishads, Gita, Puranas, etc. In the Bhagavad Gita, “Yoga: Karmasu Kaushalam” means good and skillful actions, such as good deeds performed by driving the body as a vehicle with the mind as a driver. Similarly, “Samatvam Yoga Uchyate” is said, which considers equality as yoga: neither defeat nor victory, neither increase nor decrease, but equality or balance, not having the meaning of happiness and sorrow. Yogeshwar Shri Krishna has considered yoga to be equal or stable in favor-opposition, success-failure, victory-defeat.
The founder of yoga
philosophy, Maharishi Patanjali, has called yoga “yogaschittavritinirodha”
(Ramdev, 2008, Yoga Darshan). Chitta refers to the mind. The mind is restless
when good and bad things are playing around. Words, forms, tastes, smells,
touch, as well as lust, anger, greed, attachment, hatred, fear, etc. are
occupying the mind. All these are called vritti in one word. When these
emotional tendencies of the mind are restrained or stopped, that state is yoga.
To overcome this, practice and detachment are required: “Practice-Vairagyabhyam
tannirodha”. The Maharishi has given many teachings along with explanations of
the eight limbs of yoga, Yama, Niyama, Asana, Pranayama, Pratyahara, Dharana,
Dhyana and Samadhi. These are the eight limbs of yoga and are considered as
terminology. To remove the impurities of the mind by absorbing all these
elements, the sutra Yoganganusthanadashuddhikshaye jnandeeptira vivekkhyate:
has been given. This means: By following the elements of yoga, impurities are
destroyed and the light of knowledge, intellect and wisdom increase (Ramdev,
2008). When one goes deeper into Ashtanga Yoga, self-awareness, discipline,
service spirit, and the thought of becoming a good person and honest citizen
develop and the person starts behaving accordingly. In this way, he becomes
mentally healthy and ready to contribute something to the society.
Looking at the historical
development of yoga, it is found that Lord Shiva created 8.4 million asanas for
beings. Later, Maharishi Vyasa explained yoga with sutras, which were further
simplified by Vachaspati Mishra and Vigyan Bhikshu. Maharishi Patanjali
interpreted it as the philosophy of yoga. The Maharishi scientifically
investigated all the yoga asanas and pranayama that existed before him. Swami
Ramdev considered his yoga sutras and ideas to be the most scientific. He was
tested and given a package of asanas, pranayama and exercises that would be
suitable for everyone.
In the words of Yoga Rishi
Swami Ramdev, “Yoga is a philosophy of life, yoga is self-discipline, yoga is a
way of life. Yoga is the concept of a disease-free and samadhi-yukta life.
...Yoga is not only a medical science for the body but also for mental
illnesses. “Yoga is not a symptom-based medicine like allopathy, it provides health
from within by eliminating the root cause of the disease. ..Seeing yoga only as
an exercise is a narrow-minded and irrational view. We should rise above
selfishness, urge, ignorance, ego and look at yoga as a complete science.”
Some call yoga physical
exercise, religious worship, mental concentration, self-control, and even
magic. It can be difficult to immediately understand the inclusive yoga that
embraces various objectives. Although the Gita mentions Karma, Meditation,
Sankhya and Sanyas Yoga, yoga is mainly considered to be of four types: Raja
Yoga, Hatha Yoga, Laya Yoga and Mantra Yoga. Meditation on God while doing
one’s daily work is considered Laya Yoga, while chanting Matrikariyukta mantras
for twelve years and achieving Siddhi is called Mantra Yoga. Raja Yoga is the
realization of the soul by purifying the mind through the practice of Yama,
Niyama, Asana etc. Hatha Yoga is considered to keep the body healthy and the
mind happy through the practice of various Asanas, Mudras and Bandhas, Pranayama
and exercises (Yogic Jogging, Surya Namaskar). It can also be considered as
Power Yoga and is based on the principle of body movement.
Almost all people born in
this world seek happiness, peace and joy. They want. They earn wealth, acquire
knowledge, reach great positions to fulfill their desires. But are they all
happy, do they all have peace of mind? Of course not. What kind of person is
happy then? A healthy and fit person is happy, health is the basis of all
happiness. What kind of person is considered healthy then? In the Ayurveda text
Sushruta, the sage writes: Samadosha: Samagnischa Samadhatumalkriya:
Prasannaatmendriyaman: Swastas Ityabhidiyate. A person whose doshas (Vata,
Pitta, Kapha) are in equal or correct proportion, the fire that digests food is
also correct and the metals that support the body (rasa, blood, meat, fat,
bone, marrow and semen) are in equal (proper proportion), the function of
excreta is normal and the senses (eyes, nose, ears, skin, anus, genitals,
hands, feet and tongue) are healthy and fit and the mind is also happy, such a
person is called healthy.
The definition of a healthy
person by the sages seems broad and scientific. To achieve this, yoga teaches
us to maintain a healthy lifestyle, such as diet, conduct, behavior, etc. A
person whose diet, behavior, thoughts, and behavior are balanced and
restrained, whose mind is pure and has faith in good is considered a yogi.
Similarly, finding contentment in the mind is considered the best happiness:
Santoshadanuttamsukhalabh. The name of the practice of living and making a
simple, easy, happy and joyful life is yoga (Dhaubhadel, Yoga Darshan, 2068).
Yoga encompasses things like
humanity, equality, and social justice. Currently, Hatha Yoga is becoming
popular all over the world. It encompasses all three, physical, mental, and
spiritual. It shows the coordination of science, religion, and service.
Although it embraces spirituality, it is considered to have a scientific basis.
It seems to have risen above the circle of discrimination of language, caste,
color, caste, nation, region, rich, and poor class. Since it was born in a
Hindu background, its color is natural, but it seems to be absolute without
discriminating against other religions. It aims to provide physical and mental
health, consciousness, and moral knowledge. Yoga is useful for building a
healthy, disciplined, and characterful person. Yoga is a shared, mixed, and
multidimensional way of life. It teaches people to engage in good deeds
throughout their lives. It has the means and power to change a person's life.
Because it is useful for health and due to the constant sacrifice and penance
of Swami Ramdev and Acharya Balkrishna, Hatha Yoga has become institutionalized
in the world and is providing health benefits to crores of sadhaksadhikari.
In the words of Acharya Shri
Balakrishna, “Yoga is a complete science, a complete lifestyle, a complete
medical system. The secret of Yoga’s popularity is that it has never been bound
by the narrowness of gender, caste, class, sect, region and language. Seekers,
thinkers, ascetics, practitioners, celibates, householders can all benefit from
its presence. It has proven useful not only in the development and upliftment
of individuals but also in the four-fold development of families, societies,
nations and the world. The solution to modern human society, which is a victim
of stress, unrest, terrorism, poverty and ignorance, lies only in Yoga. Yoga is
a wonderful science that brings man to the abundant path of positive thinking.”
The general meaning of the
word Yoga is also relationship. According to the principles of Patanjali, real
control of the inclinations of the mind is Yoga. In reality, Yoga is
stabilizing our unstable mind. Many types of good and bad tendencies arise and
are eliminated in our mind. Yoga can prevent the disease within a person.
Yoga is a medical system for
the sick, while it is a way of life for the healthy. Yoga is a spiritual
journey from ignorance to knowledge, from the root to consciousness, from
weakness to liberation, from life to Brahman, from direct to indirect, and from
limited to unlimited. Some learned sages have said that yoga also means union
or union. In short, yoga is the union of one's will with the will of the
Supreme Soul. However, the definition of yoga has changed now.
Nowadays, people are
suffering from physical and mental problems. In this sense, yoga can now be
called the connection of the body with the mind. In this sense, yoga is the art
of living physically healthy, mentally calm, and spiritually
high-consciousness. Therefore, yoga should be seen and made a way of life.
What is Yoga actually?
The origin of the word Yoga
begins with the word Yog. The deep meaning of Yoga is ‘Samadhi’. Yoga begins
with Samadhi. Maharishi Patanjali has clarified Yoga as
‘Yogaschittavrittinirodhah’. Yoga is to stop the tendencies of the mind. In the
Srimad Bhagavad Gita, it is said that ‘Yoga: Karmashu Kaushalam’ means to bring
efficiency in action, to do action with a selfless spirit. ‘Samatvam Yoga
Uchyate’ means to maintain equanimity. Yoga is the practice of making the mind
stable and thoughtless and leading towards emptiness.
Overall, Yoga is to stop the
tendencies of the mind, to maintain efficiency and equanimity in action, to be
able to keep the mind balanced even in sorrow, happiness or even or odd
situations. Yoga connects various dimensions including physical, mental,
spiritual, social. On this basis, Yoga is also holistic.
Yoga is also considered as a
science. Is Yoga really a science?
Yoga is not only a science
but also a ‘maha-science’. Yoga can be weighed, measured and tested to see if
its results are correct or not. If we look at the practices of yoga, they
include subtle and gross exercises, asanas, pranayama, etc. The results
obtained from these practices have been studied. Modern science has proven
this. Positive results have been obtained from yoga practices including asanas,
pranayama. This can be measured. Yoga has also been shown to be effective in
purifying the body and mind, and preventing diseases. Asanas, pranayama,
pratyahara, dhyana, and meditation have been tested by science. Yoga practice
benefits the body in various ways.
What benefits can be obtained
from yoga?
There are innumerable
benefits of yoga. Physical, mental, spiritual, social, and economic benefits
can be obtained from yoga. Yoga makes the body balanced, flexible, well-formed,
soft-hardened, makes bones and joints flexible and strong, makes the body free
from doshas (vata, pitta, and kapha) and diseases, and keeps the five elements
in balance.
There are various methods of
body purification in yoga. Yoga makes the mind happy. Practices done for the
mind benefit the body and practices done for the body benefit the mind. Yoga
helps in removing negative emotions and making them positive. It creates mental
peace and happiness. The mind controls mental illnesses including anxiety,
stress, exhaustion.
Yoga transforms the person. A
physically and mentally healthy person can make an invaluable contribution to
the family and society. Compliance with the Yama and Niyama under Ashtangi Yoga
improves social order. Niyama makes the person disciplined. A disciplined
person promotes non-violence, truth, non-attachment, non-attachment and
celibacy in the society. Due to which good relations are maintained in the
society. Social problems are prevented. When the individual and the society become
healthy, the level of consciousness improves. Spiritual awareness is enhanced
through yoga. This increases the feeling of kindness, love, and compassion. The
World Health Organization (WHO) defines health as physical, mental, social, and
spiritual. All these achievements are possible only through yoga.
Can yoga also be considered
as medicine?
Recently, yoga has started to
be studied, researched, and adopted as medicine. In some hospitals abroad, yoga
is also found to be combined with modern medical practices. Yoga can be found
to be effective in preventing, promoting, restoring, and promoting disease.
Yoga has been found to be very effective in preventing disease, treating it
after it occurs, and in physical and mental restoration.
Yoga works to connect all
four dimensions of health in general. In neighboring India, yoga is also found
to be combined with naturopathy, Ayurveda, homeopathy, and modern medicine.
In Nepal, too, the practice
of an integrated medical system is gradually starting. It is necessary to add
yoga to every medical system. This will help the body and mind heal and
medicine can also work effectively. Not only will the effect of medicine
increase, but yoga also has its own therapeutic potential in every disease. In
this sense, all problems, including physical, mental, social, and spiritual,
can be resolved through yoga practice.
What is the importance of
yoga in today's busy daily life?
Nowadays, life and daily life
are increasingly competitive. People do not have time, but they do not even
realize that they are wasting time. Time is spent spending hours on social
media, but there is no time for yoga practice. While the body needs to be active
and the mind should be stable, the mind should be active and the body should be
stable.
Yoga teaches you to make the
body active and the mind stable. When the body is active, disorders and defects
cannot arise. An epidemic of non-communicable diseases has spread due to an
inactive lifestyle. Yoga helps in eliminating primordial, primordial physical
and spiritual diseases. Yoga starts practices that make the life of the rush
calm. Through yoga, the mind becomes happy, joyful and stable. This reduces stress.
Yoga promotes sattvicness. Yoga motivates people to adopt sattvic food,
thoughts and lifestyle. If yoga can be made a part of a busy daily life, life
becomes harmonious.
How can yoga be used in many
ways?
The slogan of this year's
National Yoga Day is 'Yoga for a Healthy Society, Prosperous Nepal and World
Peace'. If the mind is not prosperous, prosperity cannot be achieved by
increasing the standard of living alone. The first prosperity is to have a
happy mind. Being healthy is also prosperity. There should be prosperity of
body, mind and soul.
Yoga can be made a powerful
means of employment. If skilled yoga manpower can be produced, there is a high
possibility of employment. Recently, yoga is becoming popular worldwide.
Nepal, a land of asceticism
and a land of sages, can produce plenty of yoga gurus. Why send only workers
from Nepal abroad? You can send them by making yoga gurus. Going abroad as a
yoga guru also brings respect and reasonable income. Yoga can also be linked
with tourism. Nepal is naturally very beautiful and fascinating. There are many
places of asceticism and meditation here. If international level yoga research
centers, yoga villages, meditation centers and ashrams can be built in various
places, foreign tourists can be attracted.
How can yoga contribute to
world peace?
Yoga is a philosophy of life
based on the foundation of Yama and Niyama and discipline. Yama includes
non-violence, truth, non-attachment, non-attachment, and celibacy. Peace is the
state of non-violence in mind, speech, and action. Non-violence is the first
religion. Where there is lying and mischief, conflict is created. Yoga teaches
the practice of speaking the truth. Where there is theft and fraud, there is
strife. After not accumulating too many things, there is no corruption. Yoga
teaches us to have pure conduct like Brahman. Fighting and quarreling are not
the only unrest. There is also a great conflict in the mind of a person. First,
the mind must be calm. Only when the mind is calm can work be done in the areas
of society, nation, and world peace. A yogi has a sense of awareness with
friendship, kindness, compassion, and love. A person whose inner heart is pure
does not take the path of war and violence.
How can a person adopt a
yogic routine?
To make every day full of
yoga, one should first learn yoga from a skilled instructor and be mentally
prepared. It is not appropriate to practice yoga based on videos posted on
social media.
It is more beneficial if yoga
is learned in the presence of a guru. You can get up at Brahma Muhurta and sit
in Malasana and have breakfast. It is advisable to practice yoga only after
purifying the body.
In yoga, you can practice
Shatkarma (Dhauti, Vasti, Neti, Nauli, Trataka and Kapalbhati) to purify the
body. Yoga practice should be started with mantra prayer. Always maintain a
positive attitude. In subtle exercises, you can do exercises for the eyes,
neck, hands, waist, spine, stomach, and feet. In gross exercises, you can
practice upward movement, rope attraction, line movement, and other exercises
to warm up the body. After completing these exercises, it is advisable to enter
the asana.
There are pranayama that
provide coolness and heat to the body and balance it. These pranayama practices
can be practiced for 30 minutes. Pratyahara can be practiced to control the
senses. By concentrating the senses of perception and action in one place, you
can reach the stage of Dharana. As you increase its practice, Dharana
automatically transforms into meditation. As the practice of meditation
increases, the subject of meditation disappears, and the meditator also
disappears, and the state of nothingness is reached. From there, yoga finally
begins. This is the state that leads to samadhi. During yoga practice, we align
the body, mind, and consciousness in one direction.
Is yoga practice for only one
hour? No. Yoga is something that is practiced 24 hours a day. The type of yoga
practice you choose should be chosen according to your condition. There are
yoga asanas on an empty stomach, after eating, during illness, and for
recovery.
It is appropriate to do yoga
according to the season, body condition, and disease. You should practice
appropriately according to your condition. Patkarma, asana, and pranayama
should be practiced from simple to complex. It is better to practice yoga
during Brahma Muhurta whenever possible.
For those who are not
suitable in the morning, you can practice in the office to keep the mind steady
and the body mobile during work. Corporate yoga is very popular now. When
employees, teachers, and students practice yoga during office hours, it improves
their results along with the development of positive emotions.
Students can be made to do
yoga, meditation, and pranayama during prayer time. Asanas, pranayama, and
meditation can be done while sitting on a chair. A yogic routine can be made by
incorporating asanas, pranayama, and meditation. Yoga can be used to gain the
feeling of yogic diet, sattvic diet, and selfless service. If you can make
yourself yogic while performing work, thinking, and meditating, it also
increases your decision-making ability and memory. Yoga is mandatory for
everyone, not just employees, students, security personnel, and businessmen.
What is the status of yoga
education in Nepal?
Formal yoga education is
gradually progressing in Nepal. Various dimensions of yoga have been included
from the school level. In some schools, separate yoga teachers are appointed
and teaching is being done.
A 100-mark course is being
taught as an optional subject in grades 9, 10, 11 and 12. Yoga education is
also being combined with naturopathy at the certificate level.
Nepal Sanskrit University is
conducting a six-month yoga and naturopathy training, Kathmandu University is
conducting yoga science and health at the undergraduate level, Tribhuvan
University is conducting yoga science at the master's level and a one-year
postgraduate level yoga science program.
Various training courses are
also being conducted by the Council for Technical Education and Vocational
Training (CTEVT). 200-400 hours of yoga training are also being conducted by
the private sector. Yoga is also being included in various training courses
including service entry, promotion in various sectors of the Nepal government.
Finally, your message to
society and the general public on the occasion of National Yoga Day?
This year's National Yoga Day
is being celebrated with the motto 'Yoga for a Healthy Society, Prosperous
Nepal and World Peace'. When an individual is healthy, then the society is also
healthy. Let's start the transformation from ourselves. Let's spread the
practices we have done to society. Make our health prosperous. Let's work with
equanimity, perform our actions skillfully. Let's make the country full of
yoga. Let's create an environment where international tourists come to Nepal to
learn yoga. Let Nepal lead the world in yoga. World peace is possible only when
the mind is peaceful. Yoga connects health, prosperity and peace. Let's do
yoga, become healthy, spread positive feelings in the society. Let's work for
world brotherhood. This is for the welfare of everyone.
Various definitions of yoga
(1) According to Patanjali
Yoga philosophy - Yoga is the cessation of mental inclinations.
(2) According to Samkhya
philosophy - Yoga is the establishment of the nature of the individual and
nature and settling in the self of the individual.
(3) According to Vishnu
Purana - Yoga is the complete union of the soul and the Supreme Soul.
(4) According to Bhagavad
Gita - Yoga is about maintaining equanimity in the conflicts of pain and
pleasure, profit and loss, enemy and friend, cold and heat etc.
(5) According to Bhagavad
Gita - Duty is not a bond, therefore, performing duty motivated by a sense of
selflessness is skill yoga.
(6) According to Acharya
Haribhadra - All behaviors that lead to salvation are yoga.
(7) According to Buddhism -
Concentration of a skillful mind is yoga.
8) According to B.K.S.
Iyengar --"Yoga is a light, which once lit, never goes out. Rather, the
better you practice, the brighter the flame becomes."
9) According to Amit Ray
--"Yoga is not a religion. It is a science, a scientist of well-being, a
science of youth, a science of integrating one body, body and mind and
soul."
10) According to Jason
Crandell -- "Yoga is the best opportunity to be curious about who you
are."
11) According to Cindy Lee
--"Your body probably becomes very flexible after doing yoga, and so does
your mind.
12) According to Sadhguru
--"Yoga is always trying to change the body because if the body changes,
the mind matures itself."
13) According to Sri Sri Rao Shankar-- "Yoga is the natural rhythm of life that brings you closer to yourself and others."
"Yoga is the path to
flowering,
Yoga is the path to
purification,
Yoga is the realization of
the self,
Yoga is the joy of being in
yourself,
Yoga is the ocean of bliss,
Yoga is the journey of the
self."
Yoga is the art of awareness
on the canvas of body, mind, and soul. Yoga is a journey to the self through
the self. Yoga does not just change the perspective we see, it changes the
person.
Types of Yoga
There are mainly three types
of yoga. They are: Jnana Yoga, Karma Yoga, and Bhakti Yoga.
In the Shrimad Bhagavad Gita,
Lord Krishna has mentioned three types of yoga:
1. Jnana Yoga:
About Jnana Yoga, the Gita
teaches that by spreading the light of knowledge to the entire world, it is
said to save them from the bondage of lust.
There is nothing purer in the
world than knowledge. Self-knowledge takes a person on a journey to Samadhi.
2. Karma Yoga:
In the Bhagavad Gita, the
action performed by someone with devotion is called Karma Yoga. In Karma Yoga,
the first thing that is said is to give up work.
Karma is worship. It is
worship. 'Needless action' is the main and only essence of the Gita.
3. Bhakti Yoga:
Regarding Bhakti Yoga, the
Gita says that if a person wants the presence of God, then he should worship
God. If there is a yogi who constantly thinks of God in his heart, that yogi is
the most perfect.
To realize God, one should
follow the path of Bhakti Yoga. Rishis, Maharishis, and yogis travel this path.
In Yoga Pradeep, 10 types of
yoga are described.
They are:
1. Raja Yoga
2. Ashtanga Yoga
3. Hatha Yoga
4. Laya Yoga
5. Dhyana Yoga
6. Bhakti Yoga
7. Kriya Yoga
8. Mantra Yoga
9. Karma Yoga
10. Jnana Yoga
Patanjali has given
importance to Ashtanga Yoga .
Ashtanga Yoga means the eight
limbs of yoga. These eight limbs are considered to be the essence of all
religions. These eight limbs are:
1. Yama
2. Niyama
3. Asana
4. Pranayama
5. Pratyahara
6. Dharana
7. Dhyana
8. Samadhi
Importance of Yoga
Dali Lama has said, 'If every
eight-year-old child in the world meditated, we would eliminate violence from
the world within a generation.'
Yoga should be made a way of
life. Do yoga for at least 30 minutes daily. In which 10 minutes are physical,
10 minutes are breathing, and 10 minutes are meditation to make the mind happy.
1) The practice of yoga
brings lightness to the body and prevents the growth of free radicals.
2) Yoga makes all the organs
and cells vital and healthy.
3) If you have good knowledge
about the methods of yoga practice, there is no difficulty in doing it alone.
4) Yoga practice helps in
controlling the mind and senses.
5) While practicing yoga,
there is a deep effect and use of breathing. Due to which the ability to absorb
sufficient oxygen is developed.
6) Yoga organizes the
circulatory system in the body.
7) It works to clean the
heart and blood vessels.
8) Yoga involves the practice
of contracting, stretching, and relaxing the body.
9) Yoga involves the process
of developing immunity and eliminating foreign substances to make the body
disease-free.
10) Yoga reduces excess
calories in the body.
11) Yoga increases the
flexibility of the spine, bringing youth, youthfulness, and vitality to the
body.
12) Yoga loosens the joints.
13) Yoga practice purifies
all the nerves and blood vessels.
14) Yoga increases the
ability to take in oxygen by contracting and expanding the lungs sufficiently.
15) Yoga provides life-saving
information on food and lifestyle management and is beneficial.
16) Yoga practice strengthens
the organs of the digestive system. It has no side effects.
17) Yoga teaches
non-violence, peace, character building, moral education, mind control,
intelligence development, development of good qualities and overall way of
living.
18) Yoga plays a major role
in balancing hormones and enzymes in the body and making the body active and
energetic.
19) Yoga cleanses the brain.
It helps in keeping the mind healthy and positive.
20) Yoga is the best method
for physical, mental, intellectual and spiritual focus and development.
Karma is my religion. Karma
is my worship. Karma is the truth of life and the world. —Yogrishi Swami Ramdev
Through yoga, yoga and
Ayurveda, complete health can be achieved. —Ayurveda Shiromani Acharya Shree Walkrishna
