The word Yoga is derived from the Sanskrit word Yuj, which means to unite. Thus Yoga aims at the integration of the body, the mind, and the soul. It has its roots in the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, an Indian sage.
The six branches/types associated with Yoga include Karma Yoga, Jnana Yoga, Bhakti Yoga, Hatha Yoga, Tantra Yoga, and Raja Yoga. Outside India, Yoga is associated with Hatha Yoga and its postures (asanas). The ultimate aim of Yoga is emancipation. Yoga practice means an individual’s experience of Yoga over a period and a Yogi is a person who practices Yoga in Yoga classes.
The three main elements of Yoga include exercising, breathing, and meditating. People can easily practice these three elements in their daily life. Practicing the three elements will have good effects on their bodies, their minds, and their way of living.
Exercises
Yoga exercises are different from those you do in a gym or in your home. The critical difference is in the strenuosity. In yoga exercises, you simply need to maintain a certain pose for a short period of time.
After that you move on to a different pose and so forth. Not only is it easy to maintain a yogic pose for a short duration, but people of all ages can easily perform the exercises. The different poses help in exercising different parts of the body and the associated different muscle groups.
There is an important reason why each different pose in yogic exercises is maintained for only a short duration. This is because Yoga is able to effect a reduction in the stresses in the body only when the period is short. The short duration Yoga pose also helps in the equitable distribution of the residual stresses in the body in a balanced manner.
Pranayama or Breathing Technique
Yoga emphasizes the dependence on rich life-giving oxygen for a healthy body and mind. It stresses that different parts of the respiratory system must be provided exercise through breathing in three different ways.
The aim of Pranayama breathing is to maximize the supply of oxygen to all the different cells in the body. Three types of Pranayama breathing is practiced, namely high, low, and middle breathing to achieve this all important goal. The different names simply refer to the relevant portion of the respiratory system that is exercised.
Meditation
This is the third element and an important part of Yoga practice. Yoga emphasizes that you need to destress the mind before you can actually destress the body. You need to meditate everyday for some time to destress the mind. Meditation simply consists in sitting still for some time and concentrating your attention on a certain point in space without thinking of your worries at all.
Practicing the three yoga elements in your daily life can help you achieve a rejuvenated healthy mind and body bereft of illnesses and worries. |
