A Valuable Practice - Yoga

789 Words4 Pages
Yoga Imagine an activity that increases your flexibility, strengthens your muscles, centers your thoughts, relaxes you and calms you down. Yoga does all that and more! It is one of the most exciting practices of our time. It has become extremely popular, because it makes people feel energized, be happier and more peaceful. Yoga is aimed to unite the mind, the body, and the spirit. Those practicing it believe that the mind and the body are one and with the right environment and attitude they can heal themselves. Yoga therefore is considered therapeutic. It helps you become more aware of your body's posture, alignment and patterns of movement. The benefits of practicing Yoga are both physiological and psychological. So what is Yoga and where it came from? Yoga is an ancient physical and spiritual discipline and branch of philosophy that originated in India more than 5,000 years ago. The word Yoga comes from the Sanskrit word "Yuj" which means to yoke, join or unite. This implies joining all aspects of the individual - body with mind and mind with soul - to achieve a happy, balanced and useful life. Yoga is believed to be handed down from a Guru (spiritual teacher) to a Sisya (spiritual student). According to P. J. Mazumdar in his book “The Circle of Fire: The Metaphysics of Yoga”, the ultimate aim of Yoga is to reach "Kaivalya" (emancipation or ultimate freedom). This is the experience of one's innermost being or "soul" (the Purusa). Then one becomes free of chains of cause and effect (Karma) which tie us to continual reincarnation. In Kaivalya one is said to exist in peace and tranquility, having attained absolute knowledge of the difference between the spiritual which is timeless, unchanging and free of sorrows, and the material which is not. Yoga is therefore a spiritual quest. However, along the path of yoga, the aspirant also gains health, happiness,
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