Understanding Yoga

A lavish life of money and happiness is the success the world craves. People want an easy life that is stress free and easy, but in most cases life is not. All ages can relate to the stress life brings: college students have stressful classes, full time workers do not have enough time in the day, the unemployed cannot find work, any and every person has stress in their life. The main issue when it comes to people living their lives is they do not take time to relax. Sleep has become optional along with time to relax the body and brain. This world and all who are in it are too focused on being successful to realize that keeping the mind and body healthy is a large part of success. Even though this world never seems to stop running, it seems

that taking care of the stress of life is becoming a part of people’s everyday lives.
Especially with the younger generations, yoga has become a part of their daily routine. At any time of the day, taking time to do yoga gives people a chance to regroup and destress. In order to be successful, people need to make sure they are taking care of themselves first. If some people claim to not have time, they may become overloaded with thoughts and emotions that could result in failure. To those who will take at least a half an hour a day to do yoga will have better health and chances for success. The younger generations take time to understand how yoga can benefit them and how they can incorporate it into their lives. Being that stress can absorb a person’s life, it is interesting that people will not take time to do yoga to live a better and less stressful life.
With yoga having a broad range of meanings, yoga has changed drastically throughout time. Originating in India, Yoga today is nothing close to what it was when it first came to the world. As early as 200 BCE- 400 CE, yoga was a term used for when a warrior passed away in battle. Warriors were taken to the highest heaven on a chariot. It was not until the third century that yoga was looked at as practice focusing on the calmness and insight. During the fourth and fifth centuries, there were schools that taught yoga as a practice. For example, The Yogā Cāra (“Yoga Practice) School of Mahāna Buddhism taught yoga with a focus on body, speech, and mind: body focuses on posture, speech is what introduced using the syllable “OM” used to focus the mind, and mind used to regroup thoughts and life (White 3-5). After the India’s reform movement in 1882, yoga took off in India as a practice. In 1926, yoga gurus traveled to the west spreading yoga to other areas. Scientific views and focusing on ways to benefit people’s health came around in 1946 (White 20). With a practice as broad as yoga, there is space for people to make it their own and to alter it to fit their life. The timeline of how yoga has changed is a prime example of its flexibility.
With a broad activity like yoga, it can be intimidating starting out.

Being there are many types of yoga, understanding it can be a challenge. Mainly, yoga focuses on position, breathe, and mind; different types of yoga can focus more on one than the other. Even though there are hundreds of different types of yoga, studying the main four pathways of yoga is a great way to start understanding yoga. According to the website that was last updated in 2017, Advaita Yoga Ashrama (yoga practice with a higher purpose), the four main pathways are different types of yoga that appeal to different types of people: Bhakti, Jnana, Karma, and Raja Yoga. For those who want to keep in touch with their emotions, Bhakti Yoga would be the most appealing. Its main focus is the devotion and love people have for themselves and others. Then, Jnana Yoga is most interesting to those who are in touch with their mind. Jnana Yoga helps them focus on absorbing more wisdom. With people who want to be selfless, Karma Yoga is the type for them. The main goal of Karma Yoga is to reach complete selflessness not only in the studio but also in their lives. Lastly, Raja Yoga helps those who need more self-control. Participating in this type of yoga gives people a sense of being in control of their body (Advaita Yoga

Ashrama).
With these four pathways, people can pick one that they feel would benefit them the most or choose more than one. Even though they do have their own purpose and goal, people may need all four to balance their lives. Life is not always perfect; therefore, throughout different parts of people’s lives bring new stresses. These pathways should help people get through any stress they may be going through. Yoga is an activity that people can make their own. People can take the information yoga provides to them and they can alter it to fit and help them with their lifestyle.
Yoga can be beneficial in everyday life and stressful times, but where does stress come from and how does yoga actually help? From the youngest to the oldest of people, every person has stress. High school and college students experience school and social related stress. The transition into adulthood is a tremendous transition. Due to college expenses, a large financial burden follows. This alone can result in an incredible amount of stress. Poor time management and academic commitments add to create more stress (Misra, et. al.). All of these aspects in a college student’s life can make success in college almost impossible. But for students to avoid failure, they can use physical activity, like yoga, to release stress. Using buffers can help students focus and have a better experience academically and socially in college.
After college comes a job. The United States and Sweden both have the highest stress rates for the working population. Due to employees being overworked and being in stressful work environments, worker’s compensation, due to stress, has tripled over ten years (Karasek, Theorell 2). While work life is stressful, there is also stress at home. When family members or friends get sick, it can be hard to stay positive and healthy. These times can be the most stressful in people's lives, so it is immensely important that they focus on themselves too. Yoga gives people that time and they can clear their minds or regroup their thoughts.
Even though stress plays a large role in most people’s lives, taking action to relieve stress is not always people’s top priority. With a busy schedule or better things to do, taking time to do yoga is not on their radar. Some people do not realize the impact stress can have on their lives. If there is no action to reduce stress, the consequences could be crucial. Stress itself has many side effects physically, mentally, and emotionally. After a stressful day at work, people may feel aches and pains all over their body. A headache is also a side effect that most experience. These can cause problems sleeping and restlessness. People’s moods can change to being anxious, irritable, and/or sad. These mood changes can affect behavior and can cause angry outbursts, over/undereating, drug/ alcohol use, and/or social withdrawals (Mayo Clinic). All these symptoms could be prevented or solved with relaxation type activity such as yoga.
It is most common that if stress is not taking care of, it can turn into depression. The symptoms of depressions are similar to those of stress, but they are much more extreme. With those who were stressed and sad are now sad and hopeless. They lose interest entirely with activities they enjoy and work. People’s minds will have a harder time solving problems and concentrating on tasks. Substance abuse is more commonly linked with depression than stress. Physically, people’s body can start to shut down with the lack of energy, loss of appetite, and sleep issues (Mayo Clinic). In order to prevent depression, it is important to handle it right away. From The Science of Yoga: The Risks and the Rewards, the author William J. Broad states, “Yoga has become a good friend to whom I turn no matter how crazy my life gets” (Broad 5). This quote reminds people that even when life gets busy, it is important to take time and relax.
The mind and body are directly related; for example, when the mind is stressed so is the body. Yoga works with posture, breathing, muscle, and flexibility exercises that improve blood circulation. With improved blood circulation, the mind relaxes and can work more efficiently. Combining mind and body exercises is yoga’s way of balancing people’s bodies as a whole. When people do yoga, their body gets to relieve mental and physical tension.