MEANING
yoga" in its original sense has little to do with exercise. "Yoga" comes from the Sanskrit verb yuj, to yoke or unite. The goal of yoga is to unite oneself with God; the practice of yoga is the path we take to accomplish this.
ORIGIN
Yoga developed in Hindusim and Bhudhism for spiritual disciplines. It is directed toward attaining higher consciousness and liberation from ignorance, suffering and rebirth throughout South Asia. It is considered as the one of the six orthodox systems of Hindu philosophy. Both the Buddhist and Vedic literature speak more about the yoga and meditation. The yoga of the olden days has changed a lot. Today, Aurobindo Ghose and Sri Chinmoy Ghose, that are considered to be the contemporary systems of yoga, stress that, spiritual realization can be attained without the withdrawal from the world characteristics of the olden traditions.
In general Yoga is practiced under the guidance of a guru who is called as spiritual guide. The practice of Yoga has been classified into eight states. Yama is the Yoga that is to restraint for vice. Yoga is usually practiced under the guidance of a guru, or spiritual guide. Patañjali divides the practice of yoga into eight stages. But the main Hindu tradition classifies the Yoga into three classes, they are: Janna Yoga, Bhakti Yoga and Karma Yoga. Jnana Yoga is to meditation to gain wisdom. Bhakti Yoga is the meditation for the path of love and devotion to a personal God. The third one is the Karma Yoga; it is the path of selfless action.
In other classification, the Patañjali's yoga is known as raja, or “royal,” yoga. Hatha yoga that is mostly practiced in western countries is the physical control and postures. Kundalini yoga, especially associated with Tantra, is based on the physiology of the “subtle body,” according to which seven major centers of psychic energy, called chakras, are located along the spinal column, with the kundalini, or “coiled” energy in latent form, located at the base of the spine.
Iyengar is founder of Yoga
P.S , you can call Yoga as a physical activity or a discipline
Hope this helps you.
Best regards,
Sidra
2006-06-15 04:36:55
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answer #1
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answered by Sidra T 3
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