| ||
| ||
|
||
|
|
|
The History of Yoga
The history of yoga is long and steeped in tradition. Contrary to what some people may believe, yoga was not developed as the newest way to slim down so they could fit into a smaller pants size. The history of yoga goes back 5,000 years. It originated in India, and the first time the word yoga was found in written form was in the Rig Vada, one of the sacred texts used by Vedic priests. Yoga is a means of achieving spiritual enlightenment. Originally, yoga techniques were passed down from teacher to student through word of mouth. These techniques had never been written down until the Indian sage Patanjali wrote down a systematic method of yoga in the Yoga Sutras. Patanjali is considered to be the father of yoga. According to Patanjali, there are eight limbs of yoga, which lead to the ultimate goal of enlightenment. Yama - abstaining from violence, stealing, lust, greed Niyam - developing devotion, purity, studiousness, contentment, discipline Pranayama - controlling the breath Pratyahara - going inward and withdrawing attention from the outside world Dharana - concentration Dhyana - meditation Samadhi - merging with the universal consciousness The Swami Vivekananda added to the history of yoga by bringing it to America. In 1893, he addressed the Parliament of World Religions and discussed the path of yoga. As a result of his speech, it quickly began to blossom as a practice in many areas of the country. Yoga has since gained major popularity in the United States and many different styles including Hatha, Bikram, and Iyengar, are practiced by millions of people. Knowing the history of yoga can help you, the practitioner, realize the richness that it has to offer. More than just a means of being fit and trim, yoga can help you live a healthy, whole, and empowered life. Della Menechella is a yoga and fitness enthusiast who has been involved in fitness for over thirty years. Here website http://www.beauty-fitness-yoga-source.com/ is filled with practical information about how you can make yoga and fitness a positive part of your life.
MORE RESOURCES:
Yoga - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Can a Yoga Prop Help Prop Up Your Practice? Some people may wonder if using a yoga prop can help them get more out of their practice. My personal opinion is yes. Yoga for Fun and Profit Stress levels around the world are on the rise. In order to deal with this, relaxation and stress reduction therapies have sprung up from everywhere. Yoga, Do Not Knock It Until You Try It Are you one of those folks who have never tried yoga? How about one of those grown up teenagers who likes cow tipping and thought you might knock over your sister when she was doing yoga? Yes, I know that is fun isn't it? I have done this on many occasion and watched the silly looking humans fall right over indeed. Not bad, it is easy too; a little push and see ya, over they go. Yoga Your Way To A Happy Vacation Yoga Your Way To A Happy VacationThere have been many studies into holiday stress. Sadly, those studies show that such stress does exist; that summer vacation can actually prove more stressful than the rest of the year. Eating Wisely and Weight Loss Please bear in mind that I am not a dietician, or a physician, and my opinions are those of a Yoga teacher, personal fitness trainer, and life-long student of Ayurveda. Always consult your family physician before changing your diet. Hatha Yoga One of the many subsets of the 5000 year old system used to increase the well being of the mind, body and spirit, is known as Hatha Yoga.In Hatha Yoga participants combine a series of stretching exercises referred to as asanas, specialized breathing techniques and mental concentration. Yoga Mats - Are They All Created Equal? Yoga mats are a basic part of every practice. What you might not realize is that there are several types of yoga mats that you can choose from. What is Self Mastery? - Part 1 Self Mastery, alone, sounds like a selfish term; but if you cannot help yourself, you will have limited ability to help others. Self mastery is the ability to make the most out of your physical, mental, and spiritual health. Christian Yoga? There is an interesting article in the September 5th issue of Time magazine. This particular article covers a spectrum of opinions about mixing Christianity with Yoga. What is Self Mastery? - Part 3 The next large component of self-mastery is mental health, and this is much trickier than physical health, due to many pitfalls that affect the mind along the way. The list of reasons why people fall prey to mental illness is so long; it could fill a large book. Yoga is Self Improvement After five thousand years of written documentation, Yoga may well be the oldest self-improvement system that ever existed. We don't know what Yoga knowledge may have been lost before man started to record it. Mind and Thoughts Yoga is controlling of thoughts arising in the mind. When thoughts are controlled or prevented through practice, the seer or practitioner(yogi) rests in his true self or soul(atman). Hot Yoga - Bikrams Twenty Six Even though the world population has shifted from mainly rural to mainly urban in the last decade, there are still lots of folks like me who live in the sticks. Doing things like taking a yoga class becomes a different thing in our case from driving to the neighborhood gym. Maybe Bikram is Right? For some reason, I had the time to sit down and watch a little television, and as luck would have it, Bikram Choudhury was being interviewed on 60 Minutes Wednesday.My wife, Marie and I don't often get home at that time of the night, as we are usually closing up the wellness center, so this was fate and a bit of luck. The Fountain of Youth & Your Hormones Everyone has heard of the mythical "Fountain of Youth", but very few realize that it actually does exist. And even fewer realize that it exists inside every one of us. The History of Pilates In order to understand the basics of Pilates and why it can work for you, you first need to understand where Pilates came from. Pilates was originally formed in Germany by a man of the same name. Don't Focus on Failure Internal defeat is a state of mind, where you begin to believe that most new ideas will fail. You might think -"After all, what I tried in last week's Yoga class, failed. Nine Things You Should Know About Yoga for Children Here are some guidelines and realistic expectations for parents, who are considering Yoga for their children. For your child, Yoga is much more than a kid's fitness class. Yoga Instruction - How to Find the Right Yoga Teacher for You In order to find a quality yoga instructor, you need to know what to look for. Since there is no universal certification program for yoga teachers, not all of them are created equal as you can see by the following example. How to Use Yoga DVDs and Videos to Round Out Your Practice I absolutely love using yoga DVDs and yoga videos during my practices. As a matter of fact, I use one of them almost every time I do yoga.
|
| home | site map |
| © 2006 |
