Derived from the Sanskrit word “yuj” which means “to unite or integrate”, yoga is an over 5,000-year-old Indian body of knowledge. The central teaching of yoga is maintaining an equanimous state of mind. Being able to do any action with awareness.
The purpose of yoga
“The purpose of yoga is to stop misery before it comes.” Whether it is greed, anger, jealousy, hatred, or frustration, all these negative emotions can be healed or re-oriented through yoga.
Yoga is a skill in action and expression. Yoga is the skill to live your life, manage your mind, deal with emotions, be with people, be in love, and not let that love turn into hatred. In this world everyone loves, but that love does not stay the same for long. It turns into hatred, sometimes almost immediately. Yoga is that skill, that perspective that maintains love as love.
Benefits of Yoga
Yoga Makes You More Skillful
Yoga helps in developing skills within oneself. Yoga is not just an exercise. It is how skillfully you can communicate and act in any given situation. Innovation, intuition, skills, and better communication: all these are effects of yoga. Yoga always promotes harmony in diversity.
It is the silence in you, the quietness in you, which is the mother of all skills. Yoga is the mother of perfection. Action is never the mother of perfection. The action doesn’t bring in skills. What brings skills is yoga.
It improves Communication Skills
Behaviour depends on the stress level in a person. Yoga creates a friendly disposition in people and a very pleasant atmosphere. Yoga helps to improve our vibes. We convey a lot through our presence, even more than our words.
Our ability to communicate depends on our ability to receive communications from others. Yoga helps us to have a clear mind.
Helps in Stress-Free Living
Yoga provides us with tools and techniques to lead a stress-free and tension-free life. The purpose of yoga is to put a smile on our face irrespective of all the stress and tensions, or situations that we are put through in our day-to-day life. Stress is too much to do, too little time, and no energy.
Improves Your Emotional Quotient
Yoga has a secret to turn around this state of mind. It empowers you to feel the way you want to feel at any time, instead of being a victim of your own feelings. Yoga makes you independent.
When energy (prana) is low, then suicidal tendencies come. With the help of breathing techniques and yoga, you can overcome these tendencies in no time.
Yoga makes your emotions softer and more peaceful. It brings freedom in your expression and thought patterns. These are the real signs of Yoga.
Yoga is not just to do with the flexibility of the body. Of course, that too is a part of Yoga. The body becomes flexible, and the mind grows in faith and conviction. If all this happens, know that it is the gift of Yoga, and consider yourself as a Yogi.
Yoga Helps in Personal Growth
Yoga does not mean just yoga poses. They are actually a minuscule part of yoga. The major portion is about the Self, about the consciousness.
We have to see yoga as a science – the science of well-being. Yoga can improve our relationship with people, and our behaviour with people. It makes our emotions very stable and our intuitive ability very strong.
Yoga is such a boon or gift to mankind that nobody should be deprived of it. Everyone has the right to peace; everybody has the right to be in deep love and everyone has the right to be healthy. Everyone has the right to access the ocean of love that we are.
Benefits Students
Yoga brings focus to the mind, especially for students. Studying becomes an effortless process for them. You don’t need to struggle to learn. Your memory becomes sharper. Your intellect becomes brilliant And, overall, your energy becomes very positive.
Works as Natural form of positive intoxication
Many of our youth are struggling with addiction. If they choose to take up the path of Yoga instead, a different intoxication and energy surges from within that uplifts and takes them to a higher place. Yoga is a kind of intoxication too, but it is one that uplifts you and elevates you to greater progress. It prevents your downfall into ignorance and negativity. It brings a wave of harmony and belongingness throughout society.
It Evolves Individuals Spiritually
Yoga is that which unites the individual with the greater consciousness, the larger universal reality. Yoga brings the union of the soul with God. God is not seated somewhere high up in the heavens. God is that all-pervading supreme energy that is hidden deep within us all. The art of awakening that divine energy is Yoga.
Makes the World a Better Place to Live
Yoga is the journey of realising that ‘God resides within me.
The purpose of yoga is to stop misery before it comes.
When a conflict is boiling somewhere, ask people to breathe, sit together and communicate better. You will see that you can resolve the conflict right at its very root cause. Whether it is greed, jealousy, anger, hatred, or frustration, all these negative emotions can be healed or re-oriented through yoga.
Yoga Improves interpersonal communication
Many different types of prejudice – prejudice against a particular religion, race, gender, class, educational status, financial status and so on – these different types of prejudice have clogged the minds of people. That is how conflicts arise in society. Yoga helps us to reach out and resolve conflict created by prejudice. Spontaneously and naturally, yoga makes our mind free from prejudice.
Yoga always promotes harmony in diversity. It encourages diversity. The word ‘yoga’ itself means ‘uniting’ (uniting diverse aspects of existence, of life).
Increases Sense Caring and Sharing
Yoga helps people to be more responsible, and to take more responsibility in their life. This is called Karma Yoga. A Karma Yogi is one who takes responsibility.
We all play many roles in our life. We have an option to play the role either as a yogi or as a non-yogi; one who is responsible or one who is not-so-responsible. You can have a responsible teacher, a responsible doctor, or a businessman who cares.
Caring, sharing, and responsibility are the characters that yoga nurtures inside of us.