Yoga is a family of ancient spiritual practices dating back more than 5000 years from India. It is one of the six schools of Hindu philosophy. In India, Yoga is seen as a means to both physiological and spiritual mastery. Outside India, Yoga has become primarily associated with the practice of asanas (postures).

Yoga as a means of spiritual attainment is central to Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism and has influenced other religious and spiritual practices throughout the world. Hindu texts establishing the basis for yoga include the Upanishads, the Bhagavad Gita, the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, the Hatha Yoga Pradipika and many others.

The four main paths of Yoga are
• Karma yoga: The yoga of action in the world
• Jnana yoga: The yoga of knowledge and intellectual endeavor
• Bhakti yoga: The yoga of devotion to a deity
• Raja yoga: The yoga of meditation
A committed practitioner of yoga is referred to as a yogi, yogin (masculine), or yogini (feminine).
The aims of the yoga practitioners are extremely varied.
1. Inspiration of Spiritual Element
2. Increased Flexibility and Fitness
3. Solutions to varied Health Disorders
4. All – round development : Mind, Body, Soul
Yoga entails mastery over the body, mind, and emotional self, and transcendence of desire. According to the followers, the Yogi eventually reaches the enlightened state (Moksha) where there is a cessation of thought and an experience of blissful union. This union may be of the individual soul (Atman) with the supreme Reality (Brahman), as in Advaita Vedanta; with a specific god or goddess, as in Dvaita, or dualistic forms of Hinduism and some forms of Buddhism.

Common to most forms of yoga is the practice of concentration (dharana) and meditation (dhyana). The awareness is concentrated on a fine point of sensation (such as that of the breath entering and leaving the nostrils). Sustained single-pointed concentration gradually leads to meditation (dhyana), in which the inner faculties are able to expand and merge with something vast. Meditators sometimes report feelings of peace, joy, and oneness.
Advantages of Yoga

Yoga emphasizes treatment of the root cause of an ailment. It works in a slow, subtle and miraculous manner. Modern medicine can claim to save a life at a critical stage, but, for complete recovery and regaining of normal health, one must believe in the efficiency of yoga therapy.

On a physical level Yoga postures stimulate the glands, organs, muscles and nerves in ways that traditional exercise cannot. Muscle tightness and strain is quickly relieved and both circulation and digestion improves. Stress-related symptoms like poor sleep, fatigue, muscle spasms, anxiety, and indigestion are greatly improved.
Through continued practice Yoga postures can have a profound effect on the inner dimensions of life, establishing deep calm, concentration, emotional stability and confidence.

Roderick Corkern is an active fitness and exercise equipment expert with over 16 years of helping people overcome fitness issues and teaching them to integrate exercise into their life.

Article Source: http://www.thecontentcorner.com

Technorati Tags: Bhagavad Gita, Bhakti Yoga, Health Disorders, Hindu Philosophy, Hindu Texts, Hinduism Buddhism, India Yoga, Intellectual Endeavor, Jnana Yoga, Postures Yoga, Raja Yoga, Six Schools, Spiritual Attainment, Spiritual Element, Spiritual Mastery, Spiritual Practices, Yoga Exercise, Yoga Meditation, Yoga Practitioners, Yoga Sutras

Since human beings began practicing yoga thousands of years ago, the symbol of a tree has often been linked with the discipline – and for good reason! Yoga has a multitude of branches when it comes to how you choose to practice and all of them are based on the same philosophy, or trunk, of spirituality. Hatha yoga is the one most well known to Westerners – the physical act of practicing poses. Here are a few other paths that you may choose to combine with your personal yoga practice.

Raja Yoga

In raja yoga, the main goal is a calm and spiritual, meditative state. There are eight principles that are followed strictly and in order in raja yoga and, though important, physical movement or poses is not the focus. The eight principles or stages are:

* Ethical standards or ‘yama’

* Self-discipline or ‘niyama’

* Posture or ‘asana’

* Breath control or ‘pranayama’

* Sensory withdrawal or ‘pratyahara’

* Concentration or ‘dharana’

* Meditation or ‘dhyana’

* Liberation or ‘samadhi’

Karma Yoga

The focus of karma yoga is on service and treatment of others. The basic idea is that our experiences today are a direct result of our past actions. Therefore, everything that those who practice karma yoga do today is in an effort to create a better future for themselves and those around them. They do this by eliminating the motivations of pessimism and egotism. This means living for others instead of ourselves.

Jnana Yoga

Those who practice jnana yoga are most concerned with the development of the mind. They are scholars interested in the philosophy behind yoga and they their yoga practice focuses on studying and understanding ancient and traditional texts. This is thought to be one of the most intense yoga disciplines as the learning is intense and difficult.

Unlike branches on a tree, the paths of yoga often intersect and overlap. Though it is difficult to hang from two or three tree branches at once, it is not difficult at all to practice more than one path of yoga. Try them all if you like and choose the ones that most appeal to you.

Article Source: http://www.a1-articledirectory.com

Stephen Kreutzer is a freelance publisher based in Cupertino, California. He publishes articles and reports in various ezines and provides yoga tips on www.justyogabasics.com.

Technorati Tags: Calm, Concentration, Hatha Yoga, Human Beings, Main Goal, Meditation, Meditative State, Multitude, Personal Yoga, Philosophy, Physical Act, Posture, Raja Yoga, Reason, Self Discipline, Spirituality, Westerners, Yoga Paths, Yoga Practice

Jnana means the knowledge. This yoga is the yoga for the intelligent and selected people. This yoga is the ultimate goal of all the other varieties of yoga. This yoga teaches you to look at the world as it is without any ignorance and bias. You can achieve this state by practicing rigorous mental discipline and virtue. This yoga is also called Raja Yoga or the king of all the yogas, since it is of the highest variety and rules over all the other varieties. This is the Yoga that Patanjali has described in his Yoga Sutras.

This yoga is made up of eight parts of which five are external and the other three are internal. Two of its parts viz yama and niyama deal with types of behaviour that the student of yoga should avoid like lying, cheating, stealing etc and those behaviours that he should cultivate like cleanliness, non-collection etc. Asanas and Pranayama are the next two parts of this yoga. Asanas are the physical movements that help in developing the suppleness of the body and thus cure any diseases. You can control your breath by using pranayama which increases the capacity of the lungs to take in the air and thus increase the vitality of the body. The next part Pratyahara denotes the withdrawal of the sense organs from the objects of enjoyment. The remaining three parts deal with the intense mental concentration.

Patanjali maintained that practicing these eight parts of yoga faithfully and intensely will over a period of time erase all the impurities of the body and mind and thus attain knowledge that will liberate the person from the bondage and ignorance. This yoga is called Ashtanga Yoga since it is made of eight parts. It is also called as Dhyana yoga due to its stress on mental concentration. Hence whenever there is any mention of yoga, it is usually implied that the person is talking about Jnana Yoga.

Article Source: http://www.hobbyarticledirectory.com

Kevin Pederson is the webmaster for Yogawiz where you can find information on , yoga basics, different yoga asanas, poses, Jnana Yoga,Ashtanga yoga and much more . Jnana Yoga is the science of knowledge and helps one unite with the Supreme.

Technorati Tags: Bias, Cleanliness, Collection Etc, Jnana Yoga, Knowledge, Mental Discipline, People, Raja Yoga, Stealing, Virtue, Yoga Sutras