Origins of Yoga
“At the heart of this tradition is the desire to be healthy and whole, to integrate the various aspects of our human nature,” (Gillen & Gillen, 2007, p.19). The origins of yoga can be traced back to India where its development was expressed through the Sanskrit language. The word yoga comes from the Sanskrit word meaning “yoke or unite”. The art of yoga is a system which allows the participant to develop physical and mental strength (Zipkin, 1985). Yoga is thought to be rooted in Hinduism, but has been found to precede this religious practice. In the Indus Valley, stone carvings dating back 3,500 years or more depict figures in yoga positions. This places the origin of yoga back further than the beginning of Hinduism (Gillen & Gillen, 2007). Yoga is meant to unite the mind and body through breathing, exercise, meditation, and positive thinking, lifestyle, and relaxation. The uniting and balancing of these five areas provides for a sense of overall well-being as each is mindfully practiced.
The philosophical system of classical yoga is rooted in the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali . This Sutra consists of an eight-limb path of guidance to actions, thoughts and morality (Santangelo White, 2009). Each of the limbs addresses an essential part of classical yoga. When practiced in sequence, these limbs support the individual’s journey to acquire the full physical and mental benefits of yoga (Stephens, 2010). The eight limbs include the practice of each of the following sequential steps: Yama, promoting living together in peace; Niyama, eliminating toxins and negativity; Asana, emphasizing correct posture and effective control of movements; Pranayma, focusing on awareness of breathing; Pratyahara, working on learning re...
... middle of paper ...
...fluenced by personality mediators, environmental factors, and emotional response (Stewart Stanec, Forneris & Theuerkauf, 2010; Klingberg, 2009). According to Medeiros et al., (1983) stressful situations for children may occur for a variety of reasons such as parental divorce, problems with peers, issues at school, or pressures in sport activities. There are several signs and symptoms, both physical and mental, which may appear in children who are experiencing stressful situations. Children who are under stress may exhibit one of the following: headaches, stomach problems, nightmares, sleeping problems, poor concentration, depression, and not finishing homework (Gillen & Gillen, 2007). These symptoms can also interfere with everyday tasks children must accomplish, and hinder the amount of learning that takes place because of physical and mental instability.
It is the most appropriate yoga for those who are more intellectually or philosophically inclined. This yoga can be broken into three distinct steps. The first step is to learn, this means seeking out teachers and gurus who can pass their knowledge unto you. The second step is to think; this step requires you to separate your true Self from the self you are currently occupying. The final step is to change, that is, to change your self-identification to your true Self. This step can often include referring to yourself in the third person to further drive a wedge between Self and self.
Yoga is a physical and mental practice as well as a philosophy that began in India about 5,000 years ago (Lee, 2014). There are many types of yoga practice and over 15 million people in American practice yoga at least once a month (Statistic Brain, 2016). Yoga has grown to over a $6 billion industry (Girard, 2013). Bikram yoga is a specific routine of postures originally created by Bishnu Charan Ghosh and then modified by Bikram Choudury in Calcutta, India in the 1950’s. Today Bikram yoga is practiced in a room heated between 35-42 degrees Celsius or 95-108 degrees Fahrenheit with humidity of 40%. Bikram yoga is a series of 26 postures and two breathing exercises done over 90 minutes in exactly the same order each time.
The practice of yoga has been performed for countless years. It originated in ancient India while people were trying to maintain a state of everlasting peace. There are different traditions of yoga in Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism. Gurus, from India, first introduced yoga in the West. Later in the 1980’s yoga became a popular system of physical exercises across the western world. The earliest archaeological evidence of yoga’s existence is found in stone that illustrates symbols and figures of yoga poses. These place the existence of yoga back to around 3000 B.C., or even dated back earlier, possibly in the stone age Shamanism.
Yoga and Meditation being used as a form of physical therapy has been going on for thousands of years. We, the western society, have picked this up and created a yoga boom doing researches with results showing that it can improve physical health.
When I first read about the action research project, I was pretty excited to see that I was going to get to work with a child, plan an intervention, and carry out the proposed plan. This was the first experience I have gotten in my college career that has allowed me to work directly with a child by using a method of teaching and instruction that I could plan and execute. Although it seemed like a daunting task to have to do for the first time, I was very excited for the opportunity since that very thing is what I plan on making my future career out of when I graduate. As for any new experience, learning must be directly involved in order to gain a broader understanding and become more capable of progressing positively through the process. I was given a child in the Hillcrest junior kindergarten classroom to work with who is a student with English as his second language. Because I was given a child to work with, I also got to work with the classroom teacher in producing an intervention plan to carry out in the six weeks I worked with him.
Introduction: After reading “Like It Or Not, Western Yoga Is A Textbook Example Of Cultural Appropriation”, the author Smith states that yoga practice is an example of culture appropriation. Yoga practice has its origin from Hinduism. People in the USA have adopted this practice and practice it as their own way. Therefore, they have ended up practicing yoga incorrectly since it lacks many of the original elements. According to this article, US yoga practitioners are utilizing asana as spiritual practice.
They noticed that the conditions related to their muscular system, respiratory system, nervous system, and the digestive system improved notably. It has been studied and suggested that regular practice of Yoga increases the brain gamma-Aminobutyric acid levels which helps in regulating the excitability of the nervous system and muscle tone as well. This helps in reducing anxiety and improving mood functions, letting people lead much more emotionally balanced lives. Apart from the abovementioned advantages, yoga also helps in keeping cardiovascular diseases in check. The three principles of yoga: asana (exercise), pranayama (breathing), and drishti (meditation) help in monitoring heart activities and keeping it functioning healthily. It does so by reducing blood pressure, speeding up recovery related to heart failures or cardiac arrests, and lower other cardiovascular risk factors that some people might have genetically imbibed in them. Similarly, it helps people with chronic back aches. Regular practice of yoga can bring relief over a period of time, than medications alone. Pain medications for back ache or spine-related spasms generally have dangerous side effects such as gastric problems, nausea, and the relief they provide last for a very short period of time. Yoga on the other hand gives back pain sufferers a much necessary relief through stretching exercises and also by meditating which plays a major role in alleviating any kind of
PROF. HR NAGENDRA,, . "Karma Yoga Questions & Answers." SVYASA University. n. page. Web. 29 Apr. 2014. .
In a world full of skepticism towards the alternative, Yoga has created a place of growing belief for itself. As Timothy McCall, M.D. states in his book Yoga As Medicine: The Yogic Prescription for Health & Healing: A Yoga Journal Book:
For Hinduism, the ultimate liberation is returning to Braham. According to Bhagavad Gita, there are three ways of practice that lead to liberation.¬¬¬¬. These are janna-yoga (the way of knowledge), bhakti- yoga (the practice of devotion) and karma-yoga (the course of action). In other words, one can practice any of these methods to achieve union with God. This paper I will analyze some important aspects of bhakti-yoga and how it can lead one to attain ultimate liberation—return to Atman. In doing this investigation, I hope to help the reader broaden their knowledge on liberation in Hinduism. As Radhakrishnan says we may climb the mountain from different paths, but the view from the summit is identical for all.
Yoga is a practice that anyone of any age can complete anywhere at anytime. It originated in ancient India and is estimated to be nearly five thousand years old. Through yoga, one is able to find his or her path to peaceful bliss within him or her self (Finney 25). The mind and the body become balanced with each other, giving one the sense of enlightenment (The Magic of...Meditation). Depending on the styles and poses a person is to choose, yoga benefits a person not only physically, but mentally as well.
A succinct definition of action research appears in the workshop materials we use at the Institute for the Study of Inquiry in Education. That definition states that action research
Yoga is thought to be an experimental method for achieving profound liberalization. Through this it implies kids think that its less demanding to interface their brains with their souls and hearts. They increase better control over themselves furthermore achieve self-regard, and mindfulness. Support of qualities and virtues like satisfaction, truth, and peacefulness is likewise conceivable through yoga. It clears an advanced heavenly way for them, a way that takes them through different phases of physical, passionate, and mental improvement.
This week’s analysis is associated with the yoga class provided online to help with stress reduction. The first term that I came across was psychophysiology and how this principle is based on the mind and body being one and how our thinking affects all physiology. This principle was the perfect definition of yoga because yoga focuses on how the mind and body connects with each other. It gives you a sense of relaxation throughout your mind and body together. Furthermore, the yoga that was in the video was a yoga style called hatha. Which practices asana (yoga postures) and pranayama (breathing exercises). According to the book, this practices helps bring peace to the mind and body and prepare our body to do deeper exercises. The art of breathing was mentioned during the exercise and in the book. Breathing is very important when trying to unite the mind, body, and spirit. So, having slow, deep breathes was a main focused during the exercise. Another term that was used in the video was the art of stretching, which allows us to become aware of our flexibility of our muscle while moving. Lastly, the art of balance is significant because it allows us to move into the next form of position on both sides of our body. Some of the workouts pose that was mention in the textbook that I did was two knees to the chest, cobra, and head of cow. Overall, hatha
Karma yoga, as denoted by its name focuses on the concept of karma a karma yogi strives to attain moksha which is considered to be ultimate liberation and in and to the karma cycle along with freedom from the process of reincarnation. It is considered to be the path of action, and service to others it begins by understanding the selfish act actions bind the soul. This causes the yogi to undertake a life of selfless service were all work f...