Everyone today wants to get into great shape or find new methods of staying fit. This has brought about modern exercise systems that are based on ancient techniques once used for the purpose of developing the mind, body and spirit.
Not many people realize that yoga has many similar movements as ballet. Many people will begin practicing yoga for the flexibility advantages that it offers. Even though there are things that yoga has in common with other exercises, there are numerous other benefits to studying it. Its popularity has increased over the years in western society and is now considered the fashionable way to get into shape. It might seem like a new form of exercise, but it has actually been around for centuries originating from Eastern cultures with spiritual roots.
But because of the Anglicization of yoga, it has lost a great part of its spiritual aspect, and has become just a new form of exercise to the western world. The meaning of yoga has been lost though the ritual itself has been preserved unchanged. In the olden days, yoga was viewed only as a small part of a larger whole, such as the branch of a tree. But now, the West views yoga as the tree itself, the essential deeper meaning has been lost.
The origin of yoga can’t be traced exactly, but there is evidence of it beginning roughly around the same time when the seals of the Indus Valley civilization were discovered. Figures are depicted in the lotus position at around 300 BCE. The vedas were being written at about this same time which are the source of modern day yoga exercises. The culture of the Vedas created the ancient Indian obsession with yoga rituals and sacrifice. The importance of sacrifice is demonstrated in the yogic corpse asana.
The greatest sacrifice practiced in yoga signifies death by lying in place. This might seem a bit morbid, but it actually has a lot of meaning behind it. According to the teachings of the Veda, the pose as a corpse means that the understanding of death with lead to freedom.
Yoga means ‘union’ and sacrifice was seen as something which would join the physical and the spiritual. The Vedanta sutras (verses 4:4, 13-14) say that the free soul is not attracted to material possessions. By wanting us to liberate ourselves from being attracted to materiality, compassion wants us to be self-sacrificing. This spirit of unselfishness and giving must needs be compassionate.
In modern day yoga self-sacrifice is also possible. Through practice of stillness and asanas, our outlook can be changed. It will feel as though we are a part of the whole and we will discover that giving is the same as helping ourselves since we are all one.
The study of yoga is actually a small part of the whole process, which was commonly known in ancient times. Thousands of years ago the focus on breathing and postures helped improve mind, body and spirit. However, today the concentration is more on the postures and not as much on the breathing. The benefits of the breathing techniques and positions offer great medical as well as physical advantages, such as decreased stress, more energy, flexibility, and strengthened muscles.