Publisher's Synopsis
Types of Yoga-Dance Yoga-Anusara Yoga-Bikram Yoga-Iyengar Yoga-Raja Yoga-Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga-Laughter YogaThe word Yoga derives from the Sanskrit "yuj," which means "to put under the yoke." The yoke is the tool that unites the oxen to the plow. As a metaphor, therefore, the purpose of Yoga is to unite the individual energy, jivatman, which identifies the divine consciousness present in each of us, with the universal energy, paramatman.The term yoga is associated with the Sanskrit word "yugta," which literally means "harness" or the reins that are used to guide the horse, the chariot of Hydra, the god of the sky. The mind is the horse that must be tamed, quieted by unstoppable thoughts. This last definition is reinforced by Patanjali's second sutra, present in the first pada; Yoga is the cessation of modifications of the mind.According to the classical teachings, the potential self is infinite. Every human mind belongs to the Infinite and to the Creativity even if in the practical actions it is limited.Yoga provides the technology for man to expand his mental faculties to achieve that balance necessary to control the physical structure and experience his infinite Self.This integrated system uses the following tools: Yama (abstention), Niyama (rules), Asana (postures), Shatkarma (purification), Pranayama (breath control), Pratyhara (withdrawal of the senses to direct attention inward), Dharana (ability to concentrate), Dhyana (meditation), Samadhi (achieving total well-being).In recent years Yoga has grown immense popularity due to the short and long-term benefits it provides to those who practice it.Yoga is just a discipline for the body, mind, and soul that serves to make us live better.Of course, Yoga is much more; there are millennia of behaviors, thousands of books to study, lots of different ways to practice it, there are things to know, and guidelines to esteem.But if we look at the correct meaning of Yoga, at the reason why Western society, notoriously reluctant to accept and understand oriental disciplines, has opened up so deeply towards Yoga, to the point of making it an integral part of daily life and sports activity, it is precisely because Yoga is nothing more than a beautiful "tool" that we have at our disposal to improve our quality of life.Secondly, why Yoga works.There is no hesitation about this: if practiced with that minimum of constancy that is the basis of every commitment, Yoga works.
