Yoga is a gift from Indian culture to the world, which teaches to establish harmony between body and mind and health and wellness. Yoga is a five-thousand-year-old style of Indian knowledge. Although many people consider yoga to be only physical exercise, yoga is not just exercise and posture. Yoga has been in practice for more than ten thousand years. The earliest mention of this tradition is found in the oldest surviving literature, the Rigveda. Patanjali is regarded as the father of Yoga and his Yoga Sutras have been completely devoted to the knowledge of Yoga. Yoga has never been unknown to us. We know this from the time when Indian culture did not even expand in the world. However, our Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave it special recognition when the first World Yoga Day was celebrated all over the world on 21st June 2015.
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Yoga is not just a physical exercise
When talking about yoga, most people come to know that it is just easy breathing exercises, which are done in many ways. If you are thinking the same way, then you are wrong because yoga is much above this. It is not only real but also spiritual and associated with siddhi. Yoga not only purifies the body, mind, and soul and brings us closer to nature, God, and itself, but it also introduces us to ourselves in the true sense. In this episode, it is also important to know that the ‘yoga asana’ we do is only a part of “Ashtanga Yoga”.
How many types of yoga are there?
Raja Yoga: Samadhi, the final stage of yoga is called Raja Yoga. It is considered to be the king of all yogas because it has some specialty in all types of yogas. Maharishi Patanjali has named it Ashtanga Yoga. And he has given eight types of it, which are as follows:
- Yama (swearing)
- Niyam (self-discipline)
- Asana (posture)
- Pranayama (breathing control)
- Pratyahara (control of the senses)
- Concentration
- Meditation
- Samadhi
Jnana Yoga: This yoga is considered the path of wisdom. It is a source of knowledge and an introduction to oneself. This removes the darkness of the mind i.e. ignorance.
Karma Yoga: We understand Karma Yoga through this verse that Yoga Karmo Kishalayam means to be absorbed in action. That is, karma is yoga
Bhakti Yoga: Bhakti means divine love and yoga means to unite. Love, devotion, and loyalty towards God, creation, creatures, animals, birds, etc. have been considered Bhakti Yoga.
Hatha Yoga: This yoga is an ancient Indian spiritual practice. Ha in Hatha means Hakaar i.e. right nostril tone, which is performed by Pingala Nadi. At the same time, the meaning of Tha is Thakar i.e. left nostril tone, which is called Ida Nadi, while yoga works to join the two. And through hatha yoga, an attempt is made to maintain a balance between these two Nadis.
Kundalini Yoga: In accordance with yoga, there are seven chakras in the human body. And when the Kundalini is awakened by meditation, the energy awakens and travels to the brain. And during this, she activates all the seven chakras.
Some important rules of yoga asanas:
- Yoga should be done after sunset and before sunrise. And it is more beneficial to do yoga early in the morning.
- And it is necessary to do a light warm-up before yoga so that the body opens up.
- Yoga should always be started with Tadasana.
- And yoga asana should be done on an empty stomach.
- And if you are doing yoga in the evening, then do it only after three to four hours of having a meal. Additionally, eat something only after half an hour of doing yoga.
- One should not take bath immediately after doing yoga but should stay for some time.
- One should always do yoga by wearing comfortable clothes.
- Where you are doing yoga, the place should be clean and quiet.
- And try to remove negative thoughts from your mind while doing yoga.
