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Yoga history and origin essay
Essay about history of yoga
Yoga history and origin
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Today, many people are taking up yoga techniques for physical exercise, and most don’t know the history of yoga. They believe there is nothing wrong with implementing this form of exercise into their daily regiment to promote a more healthy body.
However, the practice of yoga is much more than a system of physical exercise for health. Yoga is an ancient path to spiritual growth, and originates out of India where Induism is practiced. The practice and goal of yoga dates back to the Upanishads, written between 1000-5000 BCThe history of yoga is based in the Indus Valley civilization. The techniques are practiced by the Indus to initiate spiritual growth. The yogis encourage union with the finite jiva (transitory self) and with the infinite Brahman (eternal self). Brahman is a term used by the Hindus to mean "God." So, what are we supposed to unite with? Yogis usually think of God as an impersonal, spiritual substance, coexisting with all of reality. This doctrine is called pantheism which is the view that everything is God. In the Bible, God reveals Himself as the personal Creator of the universe.
Since it is taught by the yogis that everything is God, it then stands to reason, man is God. Christianity, on the other hand, teaches us there is a clear distinction between man and God. Since God is the Creator, we are one of his creations and created “in the image” of God.
Unlike the yogis, the Bible presents man’s primary problem to be sin -- a failure to conform to God’s character and standards. The solution is Jesus Christ’s death on the cross. He calls men to freely receive all the benefits of His salvation through faith in Christ alone.
Yoga views man’s problem primarily in terms of ignorance. Man simply does not un...
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...es that Jesus was a “good man,” how then could He be both good and crazy, or good and a liar? He must have been telling the truth. He is the only way.
Buddha didn't rise from the dead, nor did Confucius or Zoroaster. Muhammad didn't fulfill detailed prophecy. Alexander the Great didn't raise the dead or heal the sick. And though there is far less reliable information written about these “religious” leaders, they are believed in and followed by millions.
Christianity: Not Religion – A Relationship
Christianity is not really a religion; it is a relationship with God. It is trusting in Jesus and what He did on the cross for you (1 Corinthians 15:1-4), not on what you can do for yourself (Ephesians 2:8-9). Christianity is not about ornate buildings, flamboyant preachers, or traditional rituals. Christianity is about truly accepting Jesus as your Lord and Savior.
Yoga, as a way to achieve higher self-awareness, was around as early as 200 B.C. in India and has been gradually growing in popularity in the western world over the past four decades. Traditional styles of yoga, including Hatha yoga, which consists of thousands of poses, have long been studied as an effective form of complimentary or alternative medicine (CAM).
Yoga is a discipline both involving physical and mental control that originated in India. The word Yoga is derived from the Sanskrit word, "yug", meaning union and it means the joining of the individual spirit with the universal spirit. The type of yoga known as Hatha Yoga, ("Ha"- sun, "tha"-moon) is what is most commonly practiced and this yoga involves the path of the mind and body and is the most physical. There are eight limbs or steps of Hatha Yoga, the first step being the five Yamas. There are five yamas and these concern your behavior to the world.
The Christian religions do however present much more of an appealing atmosphere than such other religions which are as large as the Christian. The Christian religion is one of few religions where punishments for sins are not severe. In the Christian religion, even if you have lived a life of sin, so long as you repent in the end, you will be saved and given eternal life. This is not so in other religions. Such religions as Hinduism for instance do not believe this. For everything you do wrong you will be punished. For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction, if not in this life, then the next. Hindu's also believe that punishing the body is part of the path to salvation. Christianity is nothing like this. Many Christians live in high class society. Christianity is one of the most appealing in that any sins may easily be corrected and that Christians may live comfortable, if not wealthy lives without guilt.
...at was conducted as a dissertation submitted to the institute of transpersonal psychology for the degree of doctor of philosophy by James spencer in 1987. In this study spencer made 2 groups of people practice yoga. One group has no knowledge whatsoever in yoga and other have a strong foundation in it and other group were masters in yogi. Both groups practiced the same type of yoga and then spencer asked both groups the same questions (49).
According to the Upanishads (“end of the Veda”), “the Brahman is all in all. It is that mysterious cosmic power which emanates from everything associated with the cult” (Woodburne 53). He is also known as the expression of God itself. In Bhakti Yoga, God is seen as a person rather than something that is inside of everyone’s soul. Also, there is two more God’s in this Yoga path that will be discussed. For instance, Shiva which is the destroyer of ego/judgment and Rama who is the sustainer of the universe. Shiva’s wife is named “Parvati” (Religionfacts.com). In Jnana Yoga, God is seen as the “infinite sea underlying the waves of our finite selves; God is impersonal, transpersonal, because personality seems to be finite” (Hinduism Study Guide). However, in Bhakti Yoga, “God is personal; there is a distinction between the self and God; thus, the goal in Bhakti is to adore God with every element of being” (Hinduism Study Guide). Bhakti and Jnana Yoga (mode) are used to practice Karma
New styles of yoga emerge almost daily, with ever-new focuses: hormone yoga, naked yoga, business yoga, acro yoga (yoga with an acrobatic bias), to name but a few. Yoga is experiencing a real boom - the whole world over! It has also grown to be of economic significance. There are yoga institutes. studios, seminars. workshops, clothes, accessories, yogi foods and much more besides. There is no end in sight to the ever-expanding world of yoga. More and more people are recognizing the wide range of benefits associated with it, because everyone can find their own style and path to inner
Everyday society assumes yoga is just a physical health practice that will make people substantially fit. Social media is making people believe that Yoga is mostly good for exercising in a social, trendy fashion environment. What society does not know is Yoga plays a huge role in emotional hygiene, more so than physical health, Yoga develops a healthy emotional stability for its participants that lead to a healthy lifestyle. Emotionally, Yoga can develop a healthy emotional lifestyle for its participants while leaving a person with more positivity, determination and strength in the human mind.
Yoga is religion that is a branch of Hinduism. Patanjali is a yogi who helped bring about yoga as it is thought of and practiced today. One of the main goals of practicing yoga is surpassing ignorance in order to reach the true self. The true self, Atman in yoga is the part of each human being that is attached to the Brahman or true reality of the existence.
According to the history of yoga section on yogabasics.com, Yoga was originated from India about 5,000 years ago, but some researches think it may have been discovered 10,000 years ago. It was developed in the northern part of India by the Indus-Sarasvati civilization (Burgin). Yoga can be divided into four parts; Pre-Classical yoga, Classical yoga, Post-Classical yoga and Modern period. During the Pre- Classical yoga era, yoga was first mentioned in an old sacred text called the Rig Veda, which is an ancient sacred text. Inside the Veda it contained different songs, mantras (slogan) and rituals, which were used by the priests. Throughout this stage devotion was mostly toward the idea of two types of yoga, self-knowledge and action in other words known as karma yoga and wisdom which is known as jnana yoga. Once the era of the classical yoga came into existence the beliefs of different yoga techniques expanded. The classical yoga period was the beginning of the systematic presentation of the eight limbs of yoga. Listed on Brooklynyogaschool.com the eight limbs are; Yama, Niyama, Asana, Pranayama, Pratyahara, Dharana, Dhyana, and Samadhi. All eight limbs are used throughout a yoga session. The post- classical yoga period was when the practices of rejuvenating the body and prolonging life began (Burgin). The ancient Vedas was rejected during this time frame and the
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:
In the United States, the number of people who practice yoga has increased by 50% since 2012, up to 36 million. However, the fact of the matter is that this increase does not seem to be due to the ties between yoga and Hinduism. The form of yoga practiced in the west is known as hatha yoga and focuses on the beneficial physical and de-stressor aspects. However, it provides little insight into the origins and purposes of yoga as evident through its lengthy history and many schools, especially in Hinduism. Yoga, as related to Hinduism, can be defined as the spiritual discipline that focuses on bringing harmony between mind and body and is used to achieve a union with God.
As has been already mentioned, this is a very specific branch and is not very widely practiced. Just like any other subject of study, yoga too has different schools of thought and practice. Jnana (Gyana) Yoga – This school of thought believes in the principle of acquiring knowledge through understanding. Bhakti Yoga – This practice emphasizes on the importance of having faith and devotion toward God and pray to him with true feelings of love and faith in the heart, instead of trying to please him in order to get rewarded or for the fear of punishment. Laya Yoga – This school of thought recognizes Yoga as the study of tantra and mantra.
This paper is about the Hatha Yoga practice from Hinduism. Hatha Yoga focuses on asanas, postures and exercises, and breathing techniques, pranayamas to improve physical and mental health.
The practice of Yoga dates back to thousands of years ago and is believed to have been introduced to the world by a person who was known as Adiyogi. Adiyogi, more famously know as Lord Shiva himself, was first seen in upper parts of the Himalayas, where he was seen in a mystic
Yoga is the science of right living and as such is intended to be incorporated in daily life, It works on all aspects of the person, the physical, vital, emotional, psychic and spiritual (Saraswati, 2009) The term “yoga” is a common word in the Sanskrit language, the language in which most of the yoga scriptures are written It also happens to be one of the most versatile Sanskrit terms having a whole range of meaning that extend from simple union to team, constellation and conjunction It is derived from the verbal root yuj meaning to harness, yoke, prepare, equip and fasten (Feuerstein, et al 2011)