What is Yoga? Yoga Basics

Yoga is a group of ancient spiritual practices originating in India. As a general term in Hinduism it has been defined as referring to "technologies or disciplines of asceticism (Asceticism describes a life characterized by abstinence from worldly pleasures) and meditation (Meditation describes a state of concentrated attention on some object of thought or awareness.) which are thought to lead to spiritual experience and profound understanding or insight into the nature of existence. Yoga is also intimately connected to the religious beliefs and practices of the other Indian religions.

Outside India, Yoga is mostly associated with the practice of asanas (postures) of Hatha Yoga or as a form of exercise, although it has influenced the entire Indian religions family and other spiritual practices throughout the world.

Yoga, in general, is a spiritual practice or discipline that helps the individual to unify the body, mind, and heart.

Yoga is a direct experience of the vast interrelatedness of all life and of all things. You will feel at peace at the end of a yoga class because there is a natural realignment of your body, which leads to a natural realignment of your perception of life and of who you are.

You will need to develop discipline and there is hard work involved especially when you first begin.

Hindu texts discussing different aspects of yoga include the Upanishads, the Bhagava Gita, the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, the Hatha Yoga Pradipika, the Shiva Samhita, and many others.

Major branches of Yoga include: Hatha Yoga, Karma Yoga, Jnana Yoga, Bhakti Yoga, and Raja Yoga. Raja Yoga, known simply as Yoga in the context of Hindu philosophy, is one of the six orthodox schools of thought, established by the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali.