What is Yoga and What does it Include

Yoga

Yoga is a family of ancient spiritual practices that originated in India, where it remains a vibrant living tradition and is seen as a means to enlightenment. Karma Yoga, Bhakti Yoga, Jnana Yoga, and Raja Yoga are considered the four main yogas, but there are many other types. In other parts of the world where yoga is popular, notably the West, Yoga has become associated with the asanas (postures) of Hatha Yoga, which are popular as fitness exercises...

Yoga as a means to enlightenment is central to Vedanta, Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism and Jainism, and has influenced other religious and spiritual practices throughout the world. Important Hindu texts establishing the basis for yoga include the Upanishads, Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, the Bhagavad Gita, and the Hatha Yoga Pradipika.

Modern yoga practice often includes traditional elements inherited from Hinduism, such as moral and ethical principles, postures designed to keep the body fit, spiritual philosophy, instruction by a guru, chanting of mantras (sacred syllables), quieting the breath, and stilling the mind through meditation. These elements are sometimes adapted to meet the needs of non-Hindu practitioners.

Proponents of yoga see daily practice as beneficial in itself, leading to improved health, emotional well-being, mental clarity, and joy in living. Yoga adepts progress toward the experience of samadhi, an advanced state of meditation where there is absorption in inner ecstasy.

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