Yoga is a complete mind and body practice that focuses more on attaining harmony and self-awareness rather than a specific physical goal. There are a number of different types of yoga practices and disciplines, each with a slightly different focus and requiring different skills, but there is no doubt that one is right for you. Because of this, yoga really is attainable for everyone and no matter your age, fitness level, culture or religion it will provide you with significant benefits to many areas of your life.

Yoga teaches the cultivation of a healthy mind-body-spirit balance and makes us aware of our connection to the world around us through the development of discipline and self-awareness. It does this through the mastery of the yamas and niyamas, which are the basic ethics that guide you to the attainment of this balance. It is also accomplished more practically through the yoga asanas (or physical postures), pranayama (the breathing techniques), pratyahara (or withdrawal of the senses) dhyana (meditation), and dharana (concentration).

Originating in India, yoga is more of a philosophy than a religion. In fact, it has nothing to do with a specific religion at all and it can be incorporated into any faith with no conflict whatsoever. Based on texts written thousands of years ago, the concepts of yoga were originally held reserved for priests and scholars in the higher castes of society. It wasn’t until about 300 BC that the texts were translated and reworked into the sutras that we know of today. Not only were the sutras made easier to understand and in a language that was more accessible to the common individual, but it has since become accessible to most people in the world through the spread of the ideas and translation.

Though yoga is based on ideas that are thousands of years old, its popularity and focus on balance makes it a very relevant practice for the modern busy life. The complete teaching of yoga forces us to take time to focus on ourselves and our place within the world around us. Yoga can really positively affect a number of physical and mental ailments that many people experience or suffer from. To find out more information about yoga check out some of our great articles.

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