The word yoga योग comes from the Sanskrit word for "union" understood "the body and mind." This word has the same Indo-European radical that can be found in the French yoke and the English yoke.
It also presents the idea that atman must be guided by it absolute. But beyond the union of these two elements, yoga is the creation of a truth through a variety of channels Yogic.
The history of yoga dates back to at least 5000 years, evolving into Indian lands. While some scholars assume that originally existed Yogic practices among indigenous peoples pre-Aryan (and thus pre-Vedic), they were originally outlined in the shastras Vedic (religious texts).
Examples of the concept and the yoga terminology appear in the Puranas (collection of Hindu mythology), in the Mahabharata, in the Vedas and Upanishads (mainly in the thirty pieces of Vedanta, or the end of Vedas, which are the point Culmination of the Vedic philosophy).
David Frawley, a specialist in Vedas, writes: Yoga can be traced to the Rig-Veda, the most ancient Hindu texts which addresses the union of our minds with the Sun of Truth and the fact to be guided by the . The list of the first great teacher of yoga includes the names of many famous Vedic sages comme Vasishta, Yajnavalkya and Jaigishavya.
The first Yogic importance is the Bhagavad Gita, also known as Gitopanishad.
The Bhagavad Gita The Bhagavad Gita - literally: Song of God or Divine Song - is seen as a fundamental part of the scriptures of Hinduism. Within are discussed in detail the different yogas and their philosophies. She refers to herself as the writings of yoga (see end to each chapter).
It summarizes the thinking Yogic into eighteen chapters. Basically, yoga consists of four main streams: Raja Yoga (meditation psycho-physical), Bhaktu Yoga (devotion and worship), Karma Yoga (Action) and Jnana Yoga (transcendent knowledge). Other forms existing birth took place long after the Bhagavad Gita and the Yoga Sutras and are essentially forms of Raja Yoga.
According to the Bhagavad Gita, though each path is different, their goal remains the same: to achieve the Brahman and escape the cycle of rebirths through self-realisation.
Here are some quotes from the Bhagavad Gita and establishing the four
main yogas:
"Raja Yoga is usually a stillness of body and mind through meditative
techniques used to achieve its true nature." Bhakti Yoga is simple
worship and devotion, can be summarized in the admiration of a Hindu
deity that the practitioner is chosen, (today to find the hi in the
adoration of Christ, for example) (...) "The Karma Yoga is essentially
action or implementation of its obligations jati or caste, without
desire or expect a reward. This is a sort of constant sacrifice to act
on Supreme. This includes, but is not limited to, dedicate himself to a
particular profession, and any kind of service, if they are carried out
without preoccupation for personal gain. "So Jnana Yoga is a process of
learning to distinguish what is real from what is not and what eternal
what is not."
The Sutras Yogic After the Bhagavad Gita, the text determining that followed was the Yogique Sutra. This compilation of thoughts Yogic was codified between the second and third century BC. AD Patanjali and prescribed by the membership to eight precepts, the sum of which is the Ashtanga Yoga. Patanjali is also known for having written a commentary (Mahabhashya) on the Sutras of Panini-the Supreme Sanskrit grammarian. In fact, Panini, and Patanjali Katyayana are considered to be the highest authority, not just for Sanskrit, but for the entire Linguistics. The philosophy of Yoga believed entirely in the epistemology of Samkhya school, as well as his concept of individual minds (Purusha) and Nature (Prakriti)-but differs from the atheism of Samkhya.
These eight precepts do not simply a systematic moral principles
described in the Bhagavad Gita, but indicated the practice of Raja Yoga,
suggest the foundations of Tantra:
Yama (moral code), Niyama (personal purification and study), asana
(postures), Pranayama (breath control), Pratyahara (control sensations),
Dharana (concentration), Dhyana (meditation), Samadhi (absorption)
The yogas The Kundalini Yoga What is yoga seeking to bind? The answer lies in the philosophy Tantric. The man has two poles. The first, known as Shiva, is located above the head. It is awareness, observer unmoving, unchanging and eternal. The second cluster is located at the end of the trunk, to the place genitals and anus. It is the creative energy Shakti, it is hot, fickle, alive and unconscious. Yoga lift the duality that exists between these two poles, namely between the observer eternal and the changing nature. For the Yoga Shiva and Shakti unite.
How is this union? For the Kundalini. It is a special form of human energy. Kundala means loop or ring, and Kundalini means poetically loop hair of the beloved. It is sometimes called the power of the snake, because its shape is that of a coiled snake and asleep in the lowest centre of the body at the base of the spine. Kundalini is the energy that can move the lower pole, nature, to the upper pole of consciousness, in order to realize the cosmic union. Eveillée, it is the creative power of consciousness containing the essence Shiva and Shakti.
How energy Kundalini awakening? Entering its conscience (Shiva) the
various manifestations of nature (Shakti). And by creating a link
between the various processes of nature (Shakti) and the eternal law
(Shiva).
Whatever the yoga we practice all methods awaken the Kundalini energy original curative which neutralizes the duality of human beings. Kundalini Yoga is designed primarily to raise this energy and, therefore, is to work on his conscience. As we have learned from Yogi Bhajan, the awakening of the Kundalini in the practice of Kundalini yoga is a gradual process and almost imperceptible. Also, do not expect an explosion of inner light instantaneous or sudden. You feel on the contrary, an immediate feeling of alertness and sleep accompanied by a progressive growth of consciousness. The potential for change that comes Kundalini yoga as it is infinite.
Yoga Sutra and its derivatives meditative practices such as asanas (postures) and Pranayama (breath control) existed long before Patanjali, but his vision greatly affect most schools Yogic that followed. But faced with the difficulty of the practice of Raja Yoga, many gurus developed methodologies personal.
The guru, is considered by all schools Yogic as indispensable. Recognized as a Siddha (fan) who has reached the eight siddhis (powers) permitted by yoga, it guides the shisya (student) through yogic disciplines.
Hatha Yoga, the most famous Hindu traditional school, is the basis of nearly all modern systems. It is representative of all yogas (other than Bhakti, Karma and Jnana), which have become so popular in the West today.
A Hatha Yoga outside the Hindu culture, the term usually refers yoga in Hatha Yoga. Hatha Yoga is, however, a particular system transmitted by Swami Swatamarama a wise Yogic the fifteenth century in India, author of Hatha Yoga Pradipika.
Hatha is a Sanskrit word which means 'sun' (ha) and the moon (tha). The Hatha Yoga tries to balance the mind and body through physical exercises or asanas, control of breathing, relaxation and meditation. The teaching of asanas was originally practiced to improve the physical health and clear the mind in preparation for meditation in the pursuit of enlightenment.
In the West, Hatha Yoga has become quite popular as exercises purely physical separating from its original purpose. Currently, it is estimated that 30 million Americans practicing Hatha Yoga.
Extract from Shvetashvatara Upanishad (2.8-15), "Taking into his body firmly with the three sides erected, and guiding them with his mind until his senses heart, a wise man with the equipment in Brahman can exceed all the fears from the waves ... Someone who practice the precepts Yogic see here the nature of Brahman."
Many schools modern Hatha Yoga derived from that of Sri Tirumalai Krishnamacharya, who taught in Mysore in India from 1931 until his death in 1993. Among his students who popularisèrent yoga in the West, there was Sri Krishna Pattabhi Jois, BKS Iyengar, Indra Devi and the son of Krishnamacharya TKV Desikachar. Desikachar founded the Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandiram in Madras (now Chennai), with the intention to make available the legacy of yoga as it was taught by Krishnamacharya.