Yoga is a physical, mental, and spiritual practice or discipline. There is a broad variety of schools, practices and goals in Hinduism, Buddhism (including Vajrayana and Tibetan Buddhism and Jainism. The best-known are Hatha yoga and Karma yoga.
Introduction to the class
The origins of Yoga have been speculated to date back to pre-Vedic Indian traditions, but most likely developed around the sixth and fifth centuries BCE, in ancient India’s ascetic circles, which are also credited with the early sramana movements. The chronology of earliest texts describing yoga-practices is unclear, varyingly credited to Hindu Upanishads and Buddhist Pāli Canon, probably of third century BCE or later.
According to Jacobsen, “Yoga has five principal meanings:
- Yoga as a disciplined method for attaining a goal;
- Yoga as techniques of controlling the body and the mind;
- Yoga as a name of one of the schools or systems of philosophy (darśana);
- Yoga in connection with other words, such as “hatha-, mantra-, and laya-,” referring to traditions specialising in particular techniques of yoga;
“Like a flower bud, human life has the potential to blossom fully. Blossoming of human potential to fullness is yoga.”
– Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
The benefits of yoga are multifold.
- It has many health benefits
- It changes the behavior of a person because behavior depends on the stress levels in a person. It creates a friendly disposition and a very pleasant atmosphere in people
- More than words we convey a lot through our presence; our vibrations. Yoga helps to improve our vibes.
I would like to give an example:
When someone close to you says, ‘Have a nice day’, and when an airhostess greets you saying, ‘Have a nice day!’, just observe and see, you can notice a clear difference When the air hostess greets you saying, ‘Have a nice day’, she really does not mean it. But the same words, when it comes to you from a close friend, it carries certain vibes - Speaking in terms of Quantum Physics, we are all emitting vibes or wavelengths. When communication breaks down, we often say, ‘Our wavelengths don’t match’.
This is because our ability to communicate depends on our ability to receive communications from others. Here, yoga helps us to have that clear mind - Another issue that we face in society today is prejudice. All types of prejudice: prejudice of religion, race, gender, class, educational status, financial status, etc.
Preparation for class
All you need is to be not eaten before the yoga practice few hours or more, you can eat fruits or light veg soup 1 hr before if very hungry. You will need a yoga mat or a towel, blanket and comfortable sport clothes, preferable natural material. Have some water with you – in case you get thirsty.
