What Is Yoga?

Yoga is an originally hindu discipline aimed at achieving a state of perfect spiritual tranquility and insight. So, you can say that it’s an ancient practice (since it was first practiced many years ago) for bringing the mind and body into harmony with the help of physical postures, exercise, breathing, a series of stretching postures (called asanas) and meditation.

The term Yoga is generally used to describe a range of body & mind practices used to access consciousness and encourage physical and mental well-being.

There are several forms of “physical” Yoga which include Hatha (Iyengar, Bikram, Ananda, Astanga Vinyasa/Power, Phoenix Rising, etc.) and Kundalini. The most popular forms are bhakti, karma and jnana in the Hindu tradition.

Yoga is also practiced in Buddhism (particularly Tantra yoga in the Tibetan tradition) and in the Jain religious tradition.

Yoga in the West is most commonly understood as the physical exercises that are practiced as part of this discipline.

How do you understand or define Yoga and what form do you take part in or interested in?

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Kat