Yoga is considered to be the sister science of Ayurveda and is said to have originated in India over 5000 years ago, at approximately the same time as the emergence of Ayurveda. In day todays world most of the people think that Yoga means rigorous physical exercises beyond human capabilities But Yoga is a perfect blend of physical and mental practices which purifies ones intellect and inturn leads to spiritual consciousness. Yoga means that which taks you on to a higher dimension/ higher perception of life. So that kind of posture which leads you to a higher possibility is called YOGASANA.
Definition:
Samatvam Yoga Ucchate ||
Eveness of mind is yoga
Kinds of Yoga:
There are basically four paths which all leads to the same goal, the attainment of ultimate reality.
Karma Yoga: The Yoga of action
Bhakti Yoga: The Yoga of Devotion
Gnana Yoga: The Yoga of knowledge
Raja Yoga: The royal Yoga path
Ashtanga Yoga (Eight fold path of Yoga)
Yama (Restraints): Rules of social discipline
Niyama (Observances): Rules of individual discipline
Asana(Boday Posture): Asana is the sanskrith word for posture, it is of three types
Meditative Posture
Relaxing Posture
Cultural Posture
Pranayama (Regulation of breath): Pranayama means ‘A pause in the movment of breath for getting success in Pranayama, perfection in practice of asana is prerequisite.
Pratyahara (Abstraction of senses): Pratyahara is the withdrawal of the senses of cognition and action from both the external world and the impressions in the mind field.
Dharana (Concentration): It is the process of holding/ fixing the attention of mind into one object/place.
Dhyana(Meditation): The state of mind, where in there are no vishayas/ sensory thoughts, is meditation.
Samadhi (Self realization): Is the deep absorption, where in only the essence of the object, place/ point shines forth in the mind.
Modern research has now thrown light on the Yogic processes especially Mediitation. Experiments on TM (Transcendental Meditation) have shown that Meditation can induce higher mental states.
It is shown that Transcendental Meditation for 20 minutes and Cyclic Meditation for 25 minutes can give much more rest than 6 hours of sound sleep.
Meditation is a Yogic process of providing deep rest to our mind and body, by allowing the mind to calm down to its basal states.
The benefits are many. Improved concentration, Memory, Emotional equipoise and higher creativity are felt.
