Yoga. An associate of mine from the US remembers his days as a young kid watching "Yoga For Health" and "Lilias Yoga and You," both on PBS channels. He remembers how he used to think "How in heaven's name do they bend like that?" After trying some of the positions he saw he thought he would end up in traction.

So why would anyone want to put themselves through that kind of torture, unless of course you're triple jointed? Well, we're not going to try to answer that burning question in this article but instead trace the origin and a little of the history of yoga.

Yoga is an ancient form of movement that goes way back to Indian culture and philosophy. The practice of yoga involves a series of motions that are believed to be essential to achieve a sense of physical and emotional well being. Contrary to what a lot of people think, yoga is not a religion. It is actually a part of a series of Indian systems. The Indian "Darsana" or "sight, way of seeing" is composed of six systems. Yoga is simply one of them.

According to the teachings of yoga it is a method for helping us see and know our inner selves. The word "Yoga" itself means "unite." Thus yoga is a means of uniting the mind and body into one. The yoga exercises themselves are meant to unite your soul with the universe as well. Quite a system. It is regarded as a divine science, again, not as a religion but as a means of obtaining inner peace.

The earliest

In a future article we'll cover the various types of yoga which are broadly classified into 8 categories. They are Bhakti Yoga, Karma Yoga, Jnana Yoga, Raja Yoga, Mantra Yoga, Laya Yoga, Tantra Yoga and Hatha Yoga, which by the way is the kind of yoga that was taught on those PBS shows mentioned earlier in this article. You may still be able to find them somewhere in syndication or possibly on video. Because of the amount of material involved in the 8 categories an in depth analysis of each will not be possible but hopefully after the next issue you'll have at least some idea of what is involved with each.

Stay tuned.

-------------------------------------------------------
Michael Russell
Your Independent guide to Yoga
-------------------------------------------------------

• Yoga Exercises For Pregnant Women


• Beginning Yoga Breathing – All You Need To Know


• Yoga Clothing - What To Wear For Yoga?


• Selecting A Yoga Class - 3 Tips


• Why Not Try Bikram Yoga?


• Yoga Therapy


• What to Look for When Hiring a Yoga Teacher (Part 1)


• What to Look for When Hiring a Yoga Teacher (Part 2)


• Karmic Yoga and the Breath


• Foundations of Yoga: Brahmacharya (Restraint of Sexuality)


• Yoga Teachers, Prepare for the New Years Rush – Part 1


• Yoga Teachers, Prepare for the New Years Rush – Part 2


• Yoga Teachers, Prepare for the New Years Rush – Part 3


• Yoga in Practice: Ajna Chakra


• Yoga for Great Tennis