Yoga
A disease-free world has been an enduring aspiration of the modern age. Amidst the many answers and remedies for health for all the simple truth of the potential healing capacity of every individual’s body is overlooked. For activating the healing energy in oneself, all one has to do is to connect the mind and body in such a way that they work in perfect harmony.
The ancient system of yoga originated in India has enabled any individual devoted to its practice to achieve this harmony leading to a disease-free body. That yoga, who has only in recent times captured the international limelight does not take away from the fact that this system has satisfied practitioners for thousands of years. It is not any reworking of the ancient to cater to the modern that accounts for its present popularity but a rediscovery of a millennia-old wisdom that India had to offer.
The word ‘yoga’ comes from the Indian language
Sanskrit ‘yuj’ meaning ‘to yoke’ or ‘to unite’. The basic purpose of yoga is to create unity between the mind and body while the ultimate purpose is to yoke the soul with the Supreme Spirit.
The great Indian philosopher Patanjali Maharshi describes yoga in his Yoga Sutra (Circa AD 300 – 400) as “chitta vritti nirodha” - cessation of the fluctuation of mind. In general terms, yoga can be understood as certain physical exercises that help one stay in the domain of physical and mental health.
Let us have a look at the main aspects of the science as postulated by Patanjali. According to him, a practitioner has to pass through eight stages before reaching the final state of superconsciousness, which is the unitive experience of yoga. Yama, Niyama, Asana, Pranayama, Pratyahara, Dharana, Dhyana and finally Samadhi are the eight stages through which the yogi traverses to become one with the Universal Spirit.
Asanas form the third limb of the Ashtangayoga - the octapartite yoga. Patanjali, the great philosopher of India defines asana thus: “Sthira sukham asanam” i.e. asana is a steady and comfortable posture. Such a posture gives rise to mental equilibrium. There are hundreds of such postures a human body could assume. Over the centuries, it has been proved that they exercise every muscle, nerve and gland in the body. The regular practice of asanas eliminates diseases as well as ensures the maintenance of a healthy body.
