How YOG turned into YOGA

YOG is an original Sanskrit word which means to join or to attach to the roots. Yog in itself represents a lifestyle in a sequential step-by step process that leads to the ultimate goal of eternal peace. YOGIS / sadhus are religious followers who have left all worldly pleasures to gain eternal peace and yog is one of the most important pillars in path to selfrealization. For many centuries YOG knowledge was confined within the religious followers because they focused on the ultimate goal only. Indeed living in worldly pleasures will not allow you to get eternal peace and Jain sadhus are perfect example of this. Therefore it was expected that anybody who wants to learn yog needs to become a sadhu. As times changed, sadhus started observing lack of concentration in their daily rituals. They were witnessing lack of physical, mental and spiritual strength to cope up with changing environment. With climate and ecological changes around them, they were also witnessing lack of immunity and were getting sick more often. Sadhus observed that animals around them were not getting sick or being affected by their environment. That is when they started observing animals postures. With years of research and experiments, they came with similar postures called asanas that will help them gain strength and immunity. These asanas were not just for muscular strength, but to strengthen all internal organs, joints, muscles and sense organs that lead to unification of mind, body and soul. The purpose of these asanas was to bring yogi back on track to achieve their ultimate goal. Because yogis very firmly believed that A healthy mind can only stay in a healthy body To achieve eternal peace, needs a very healthy mind and they will do anything to stay healthy. Yog knowledge was indeed confined to yogis but was still in public knowledge and well-formed institution. Whoever

wanted to be part of their institute was required to leave worldly pleasures. First written reference of Yog is found 20,000 before or 17,500 B.C. In 1500 B.C. yog is defined in a very rich literature called Atharva Veda Samhita. Since then YOG has been very prominent in Indian history. Various traditions of yog are found in Buddhism and Jainism. Patanjali in 600 B.C. simplified the original scriptures. Unfortunately at some point in the history, this knowledge turned into a well-kept secret especially when India got invaded by Mughal Empire. Yogis were afraid of this knowledge going into wrong hands and could be misused. This made yog less popular relative to older times. In modern era, as western influence reached India, they wanted to learn more about yog. Some of profound yog teachers who have devoted their lives to popularize yog in modern world are Iyenger, Yogendraji, Swami Vivekananda and more. The craze is so much since 1960s that anything is being sold in the name of Yoga. Today when the products are being named after Yoga their sale is more than normal like Yogi Tea or Yogic cosmetics etc. In fact there are more yoga institutes in US than in India. As yog was spreading in the western world, people started calling it yoga, and that is when Yog became Yoga. Ashtang Yoga OR eight limbs of Yoga Yoga considers complete inter-relation between body, mind and soul. It creates a healthy body which can store a healthy mind to help control our thoughts. In fact, yoga is what connects soul to liberation. The chart below indicates the eight sequential steps / parts of yoga to know one-self. It all starts with discipline. Social discipline i.e. following Ahimsa (non-violence), never speaking lie, non-stealing, noncollectiveness and Brahmcharya (continence) is what defines an outward virtue of a person. Self-discipline is cleanliness, contentment, austerity,

swadhyay (self-study) and Ishwar Pranidhan (total surrenderness to God) is what defines internal virtues of a person. These represent the ten virtues of Jainism which remind us of the characteristics of our soul. These are all labeled as discipline, because this implies a life style that needs to be followed all the time and not temporary. Body postures or asana are classified as in the following chart. These asanas are designed to improve the nervous system of our body as most emphasis is given to the asanas for vertebral column. This is the fundamental difference between Yoga and any other form of exercise. Yoga helps improve nervous system and respiratory system that helps to focus and control mind. Yoga helps improve our concentration power that helps us to meditate better. In the original vedas, there are 84 asanas described. Of these 28 are meditative postures and 56 are physical / cultural postures. These asanas are actually the bridge between mind and body. They are scientifically designed with human body in mind. Asanas not just improve formation of muscles and outer look of the body, but also give exercise to internal organs viz., kidney, liver, lungs and endocrinal systems. Pranayama (control on breathing through breathing exercises) improves our respiratory system to help us inhale deep breath and exhale completely. In our modern lifestyle where we focus so much on food and drinks, we have forgotten the importance of breathing which is most important for our survival. Pranayama is key to

stress and anger management. It is the stepping stone to connect out body to our mind. Pratyahara (control on sense organs), dharana (control on mind) and dhyan (meditation) offers various techniques and methods to blend mind body and soul. This is what differentiates yoga from other exercises like aerobics or running. All these eight limbs lead to a healthy body. Its a healthy body that can produce the right level of vibrations to influence mind in a positive way. In return a positive energy motivates us to be in discipline and perform asanas on regular basis. This forms a loop in our lives to know ourselves better every day There are many Yoga institutes all over the world today. In fact New York City has more yoga institutes that in New Delhi. Most of these institutes focus on stretching and body flexibility focusing only on the physical aspect of body. I had the same idea until I met Pt. Radheshyam Mishra (www.yogalife.co.in) a renowned teacher trained from worlds oldest organization of Yog The Yog Institute, Santacruz, Mumbai, India. We know now that yoga is not 30 minutes in a gym, rather a lifestyle or even an obsession for eternal peace. There are thousands of books written on yoga and there is always so much to learn every day. If I want one thing that readers of this article to get out; it will be that visualize yoga as an integrator of body, mind and soul with an objective to know true self.