When you practice yoga, it is, of course, not necessary to have a full understanding of yoga history in order to fully benefit from your practice. A brief understanding of the history behind yoga, however, may increase your desire to take up the spiritual side of yoga practice and inspire you to find out more about the tradition behind the discipline.
Yoga was first passed from generation to generation by word of mouth. The first writings about yoga were written in Sanskrit in early religious manuscripts in India called the Vedas. The word ‘yoga’ has many meanings. The root of the word is ‘yug’ which means ‘to hitch up’, referring to fastening horse bridles to a carriage. But yoga also means ‘to actively put to use’ or ‘yoke’ or ‘join’. Yoga means a method of joining, a vehicle or means of joining or extablishing union with God. Men who practice yoga are even today called yogi or yogin and women who practice yoga are called yogini.
Yoga is not just about stretching and breathing and holding poses. Yoga is a philosophy on how to live life and deal with the physical as well as the spiritual challenges that human beings face daily.Hatha yoga, or the yoga that you do when you take a yoga class or perform yogic poses, was begun as a physical form of meditation. The physical act of yoga calms your body and allows your mind to become calm. It also gives you the physical strength to sustain long periods of meditation which is why the saints and sages practised physical yoga thousands of years ago in preparation for deep meditation and self-realisation.
When you perform the physical practice of yoga, you are only engaging in part of the disci
pline as it was originally practiced for thousands of years. Yoga is an incredible form of exercise and is calming for the body and mind, but it can also be used as a spiritual practice and a way to calm the emotions and will.Here are a few types of yoga being practiced today. Bhakti yoga, Mantra yoga, Mantra Meditation And Yoga, Hatha yoga.
