Yoga (yoga; ? ), which originated from ancient Indian culture, is one of the six philosophical schools in ancient India. It explores the truth and methods of Brahma and me. What modern people call yoga is mainly a series of methods of self-cultivation, including mindless thoughts of adjusting posture, breathing and heart, so as to achieve the unity of body and mind.

The word yoga means unity and correspondence in Sanskrit. It comes from Sanskrit YUJ, which means a tool called "yoke" to control cows and horses. The original prototype of this word is the original root of Indo-European language family *yeug-, which means "connection, combination and unity". Specifically, the word "yoga" in Sanskrit can be translated as "unity of inner self".

Yoga has a history of thousands of years, and the only classic is the Yoga Sutra (an important theoretical work of yoga) written by the famous yogi patanjali in 200 BC. Strictly speaking, yoga is a general term for physical and mental exercises, such as China's return to the source and guidance. Yoga is also a general term for physical and mental exercises in India. At one time, people who practiced all kinds of physical and mental exercises, regardless of any faction, were regarded as yogis (yogis, female yogis).

There are many schools of religious philosophy in ancient India, but two books are regarded as classics by most Indians, one is Upanishads and the other is Bhagavad-gita. Brahmanism in ancient India advocated the theory that "Brahmins are like me". Due to the popularity of Hinduism and the influence of Shankara, another famous yoga founder, these two books were later regarded as classics by most yogis. Yoga is a physical and mental exercise and has nothing to do with religion. It can also be said that it was adopted by any religion in ancient India. Its highest purpose is to realize all the possibilities of human beings, from the unity of spirit (self) and nature (Brahma, self and supreme consciousness) (that is, "Brahma is like me") to becoming a Buddha and an immortal, or the highest purpose mentioned by other sects, yoga is one of the recognized ways.

There is an old saying in India that there are two ways to transcend the orbit of the sun (to achieve eternity). One is to die in yoga; The second is to dump the body on the battlefield. In fact, this is in line with China's traditional values, such as Taoism's theory of "turning merits into gods" and Confucianism's belief in "martyrs' shrine".

Five categories of yoga

Body, Hada yoga.

Heart, Raja Yoga.

Knowledge and wisdom yoga.

Love and passion for yoga.

Italian, action yoga.

Yoga qigong

Hatha yoga, Hatha yoga. Ha, he means the left and right nostrils. A sect that focuses on extreme breathing and physical exercise, the ancient Hada yogis are characterized by wearing earrings, abstinence, fasting, holding their breath, standing on one foot for a long time or raising their hands. In addition, sleeping on a nail bed, swallowing gauze to clean the esophagus, and cleaning the bladder and anus are also exercises that Hada yogis often do.

The ancient Hada yogis pursued the ultimate expression of the human body, and sometimes performed performances of squeezing the body into a small box and burying it underground for a few days to prove that the potential of the human body has been developed. In the 1950 s, there were still Hong Kong columnists writing columns in newspapers to teach them how to clean themselves through Hada yoga. In modern times, few people practice Hada yoga in this way.

Modern Hada Yoga is generally regarded as the practice of asana, so all factions that emphasize asana physical exercise can be summarized as Hada Yoga.

Win Raja Yoga.

That is Raja Yoga, also known as "Luo Yoga". Taking patanjali Yoga Sutra as the main classic, Shengwang Yoga emphasizes the parallel exercise of body and mind with eight steps, especially meditation and meditation, so as to achieve the goal of samadhi. At present, some Indian temple groups still flaunt their victory over Raja Yoga.

Wisdom yoga

Jnana yoga, also known as "knowledge yoga". Yoga explores truth with rational thinking and logical thinking. China's Laozi and Zhuangzi can be regarded as wise practitioners.

Shan Zhi yoga

Bhakti yoga, also known as "pious yoga". Pursuing the love of Tao that transcends emotion, rationality, purity and goodness can be achieved through strict religious attitudes such as meditation, chanting and worship, and actively doing good deeds.

Action yoga

Karma yoga, through a series of practical actions to actively join the WTO, achieves the perfection of merit. Mahatma Gandhi was a practitioner of action yoga. China's Confucianism can also be viewed in this way.

Yin yoga

Mantra yoga. One of the many methods of yoga practice is adopted by many yoga factions, and their differences are religious singing, mantra chanting and secret mantra singing. Emphasize the unity of mind and body, focus on self-confidence when reciting. Long-term reciting often leads to readers' religious experience, and the effect is strong and simple, so all major sects attach great importance to this practice.

Generally speaking, seven "seed words" are used in chanting, each representing seven rounds of people.

Eight branches of yoga

The classic literature "Hatapurapidika" recorded by Swami Swatmarama explains in detail the "eight limbs" of yoga, that is, eight methods:

1. Self-control (Yama): Emphasize compassion, not greed, integrity, purity, not being bound by desire, etc.

2. Ma Niya: It includes purifying body and mind, contentment, self-restraint, practicing the ancient teachings of sages, and keeping a pious heart for heaven and earth.

3. pose: a stable and comfortable posture.

4. Breathing control and energy therapy.

5. Practice voice meditation to concentrate your feelings.

6.Dharana: it is the preparation before meditation to concentrate on improving the qi of life.

7. Zen: meditation.

8. Meditation, or Samadhi: Beyond the realm of consciousness. The body and senses are still and seem to be sleeping, but the mind remains alert.

Modern yoga

According to the physical and mental health needs of modern people, there are many kinds of yoga. Some factions emphasize unique exercise methods, some emphasize effects, some emphasize objects, and some are named after masters.

High temperature yoga

Bikram Yoga. The key point is to practice posture in the classroom where the temperature is as high as 40 degrees Celsius, and it is fun to sweat a lot. Occasionally, people have symptoms such as vomiting and collapse because of poor health. Because Bikram yoga has patent problems, some high-temperature yoga exercises are called Bikram yoga to avoid it. Different names have the same content, but practitioners will use better temperature and humidity control equipment to distinguish them.

Huilan Zhang

In China, when the word "yoga" is mentioned, people immediately think of Whelan. 1985, a 30-minute TV series "Huilan" was broadcast on CCTV 1 and CCTV 2 almost every morning and evening, from 1985 to 1999 without interruption. Out of selfless love, Whelan is willing to share yoga with others, and has never used it for personal gain. Whelan decided to use TV as the best way to realize her wish. So she started this arduous task, making first-class yoga TV series for the people of China.

Soothing yoga

Restoration Yoga, a posture exercise with the main purpose of relaxing as much as possible, focuses on guiding the body to relax and relieve, mainly for people with insomnia and high stress. The famous Sivananda Yoga School is similar to this.

iyengar yoga

Yoga is named after Iyengar, a famous Indian national treasure. He is over eighty years old and has been engaged in yoga teaching for decades. He is the most respected founder of yoga in the world today. Its yoga practice is characterized by precise posture, attention to practice sequence and the use of auxiliary equipment. At present, he is also a yoga master who has publicly introduced breathing exercises the most.

Asitang yoga

A school of yoga founded by Sri K. Pattabhi Jois. Master Pattabhi is a disciple of Master Iyengar. Eight branches yoga is characterized by strong and continuous posture practice, emphasizing the coordination of movement and breathing, and adopting Ujjayi breathing method. Ashtanga Yoga arranges several consecutive postures according to the difficulty, and each group takes one to two hours or even longer to complete, which contains many difficult movements. Eight yoga will make practitioners have strong confidence in their bodies.

Prenatal yoga

As the name implies, it is also because yoga classrooms need to add curriculum features to attract students.

Kmy yoga

Practicing yoga posture with parents and children is also due to the need to add curriculum features in yoga classrooms to attract students.

Plastic ball yoga

General yoga asana exercises are supplemented by large or small elastic balls and other instruments.

other

In addition to the above, there are many yoga exercises mixed with different sports systems, such as Qigong Yoga, Taiji Yoga, Pilates Yoga, Indian Dance Yoga and so on. With the increase of yoga instructor centers, various new practices are often introduced.