YOGA

The Sanskrit word for “yoking” or “union” had been derived from the term Yoga. It initially originated in India and is used for a group of psychological, religious, and physical exercises. Amongst the 6 traditional theoretical branches of Hinduism, one is yoga. Amongst many types of yoga disciplines present, there are four varieties of yoga: bhakti yoga, kriya yoga, jnana yoga, and karma yoga. Scientists have proven that orthodox yoga practices including Om chant, different yoga postures, etc. could help increase

Many pieces of evidence have been found showing that yoga is as old as the Indus valley civilization. The mention of yoga is also found in Rig-Veda and Upanishads. The timeline of texts in the past time that described yoga is very ambiguous. The Patanjali yoga doctrine dated back to the second century The yoga doctrine got importance later on only after it was presented by Swami Vivekanand. Salvation is the supreme target of yoga.

The literate people of western Europe came to know about yoga only by end of the nineteenth century. In 1851, N.C. Paul issued his paperwork on yoga philosophy.

Swami Vivekananda was the 1st Hindu teacher to support yoga doctrine. He went to different parts of the world spreading knowledge about the benefits of yoga on our health and lifestyle.

As a form of exercise: Yoga

Yoga is usually considered as physical work which consists mainly of yoga postures, meditation, Om chants providing a lot of relaxation and peace to mind and body.

Many students of Krishnamacharya founded doctrines of yoga: many film stars in Hollywood were taught yoga by Indra Devi; a yoga mandala in Chennai was established by K.V. Desikachar.

No. of yoga postures has grown from an initial 84 to 900 which were accomplished by Dharma Mittra. The ultimate aim of doing yoga has also changed to good health.

Nowadays, yoga has got turned into a huge business that involves a variety of books, clips, instruments, etc. Sitting postures of ancient times like the Lotus pose are referred to as the symbol of yoga in the world. All around the world , 21st June is celebrated as International day of yoga. It is also regarded as cultural heritage by the UN assembly and UNESCO.

Factual information

1. Yoga is practiced daily by 36 million people in the US.
2. Around 50% more Americans had started practicing yoga in the past 4 years.
3. Of the total no. of people who practice yoga around the world, around 72% are women.
4. Term ‘yogis’ is used to refer to male yoga practitioners and ‘yoginis’ is used to refer to female yoga practitioners.
5. Amongst the most commonly used health approaches in the US, yoga is most commonly used.
6. The no. of people who daily do meditation has grown by three times from the year 2012.
7. Around 100,984 participants were involved in a yoga class organized in India, making it the largest-ever held yoga class in the world.
8. Yoga can be practiced in over a hundred styles.
9. The no. of registered yoga teachers around the world are 52,000(according to 2016 data).
10. Yoga has also been a point of interest in various social media platforms with about 1 billion yoga posts only on Instagram.
11. Yoga also helps to slow the process of aging.
12. Around $16 billion is spent every year by Americans on yoga and its equipment.
13. The craze of yoga is increasing to such an extent that making yoga a career choice is also increasing day by day.
14. Yoga is said to have originated around 5000 years ago.
15. Initially, yoga was practiced as a method of healing by saints.
16. Before the year 1937, women were not allowed to be a part of yoga classes but men were allowed to do so.
17. In past times, people used to do yoga on grass or animal skin like we use mat nowadays.
18. Angela Farmer made the 1st yoga mat in the world in 1982.
19. Yoga can be used to work any muscle of our body as it works on the whole of our body.
20. Every week, if we practice yoga at least two times, then it will relieve us from depression and anxiety.
21. Lower back pain which is a common problem amongst the people around us can also be cured by practicing yoga.
22. Yoga can also help us in preventing, curing, or reducing the effects of diseases such as obesity, heart-related disease, etc.
23. By getting the top most marks in yoga tests, the prisoners in India can lower their punishment.

Yoga must be practiced daily to maintain a healthy lifestyle and body.

Yoga is that magical tool which if followed by the heart can make a person healthy and peaceful.

                                                                      Authored By

                                                                                       Lakshay Mittal