What do you understand by YOGA. Is it just doing Yoga Asanas or is it Just Meditation. What exactly does this word Yoga stand for?
Yoga
Yoga means union with your atma or your inner self. It is combination of physical exercise with meditation. But now a days we are emphasising more on yoga asanas.Yoga in Indian traditions, however, is more than physical exercise; it has a meditative and spiritual core.Yoga is a part of this Vedic literature and was propounded by Maharishi Patanjali nearly 5000 years ago. He elucidated eight limbs of yoga, namely – Yama (social ethics), Niyama (personal ethics), Asana (postures), Pranayama (life force), Pratyahara (turning the senses inwards), Dharana (one-pointed focus), Dhyana (meditation), and Samadhi (merging with the self).
Yoga is not just exercise, it is how skillfully we communicate, and act in any given situation. So here, yoga is described more as a mind skill. In the Bhagavad Gita, Lord Krishna says, “Samatvam Yoga Uchyate”– equanimity in the mind is a sign of yoga. The ability to remain centered in adverse situations is Yoga. Whatever brings us back to our nature, which is harmony and joy, is Yoga. While postures make the body healthy, pranayama and meditation take the mind deep within. Uniting diverse aspects of life…of existence is Yoga.
