Yoga, which has risen and become popular all over the world in recent years, is not only a popular or fashionable fitness exercise. Yoga is a very ancient energy knowledge cultivation method, which integrates philosophy, science and art. Yoga is based on ancient Indian philosophy. For thousands of years, psychology, body and spirit have become an important part of Indian culture. Ancient yoga believers developed the yoga system, because they believed that by exercising and regulating breathing, they could completely control their thoughts and emotions and maintain a healthy body forever.
Archaeologists unearthed a well-preserved pottery in the Indus Valley, depicting the meditation form of yoga figures. This pottery has a history of at least 5000 years, which shows that the history of yoga can be traced back to longer.
The word yoga, which comes from Indian Sanskrit yug or Yuji, is a pronunciation meaning "consistency", "combination" or "harmony". Yoga is a system that helps human beings to give full play to their potential by raising their consciousness. Yoga posture uses ancient and easy-to-master skills to improve people's physical, psychological, emotional and spiritual abilities, which is an exercise method to achieve harmony and unity of body, mind and spirit. Ancient Indians believed that people could be integrated with heaven. They persisted by integrating different yoga practices into daily life: morality, selfless action, stable mind, religious responsibility, no desire, meditation and the nature and creation of the universe.
Simply put, yoga is a kind of energetic physical exercise and mental exercise, and it is also a philosophy applied to daily life. The ultimate goal of yoga is to be able to control yourself, control the body senses and tame the seemingly endless heart. The focus of the senses is the mind, which can control the mind, that is, the senses can be controlled; The control of the body is achieved by combining the senses, the body and conscious breathing. These skills are not only conducive to the exercise of muscles and bones, but also can strengthen the functions of the nervous system, endocrine glands and major organs, and promote health by stimulating the potential energy of the human body.
The condition of nervous system, endocrine glands and main organs of human body determines a person's health. Regular practice of yoga helps to eliminate mental stress and physical decline caused by neglecting physical health or premature aging. Therefore, practicing yoga can keep you energetic and clear your head.
Modern life has a fast pace, fierce competition and great pressure. Of course, moderate stress is also necessary, because stress can stimulate interest, invigorate the spirit and make people energetic. However, if this kind of pressure exceeds the limit that we can bear, the body will feel nervous and uncomfortable, its immunity will decrease, physical strength will be exhausted, and sometimes psychological frustration, muscle tension (which can cause spinal pain), fatigue, shortness of breath and even unconsciousness will occur.
Yoga includes stretching, strength, endurance and exercises to strengthen heart and lung function, so as to promote health and coordinate the whole body. Learning how to make the body work healthily also increases the vitality of the body. In addition, cultivating a state of spiritual harmony and emotional stability will also guide you to improve your physical, emotional, psychological and mental state, so that your body can be balanced and healthy.
The rise of modern yoga
Yoga didn't rise in the west in recent years. As early as the sixties and seventies, yoga has been accepted and recognized by westerners. There was an earth-shattering hippie culture in Europe and America at that time. Some young people who pursue personal freedom and are eager to release themselves are deeply attracted by the mysterious oriental culture, and some even travel across the ocean to India to seek spiritual enlightenment. They came into contact with yoga, and some of them became Yogi/Yogini, and lived a secluded spiritual life from then on. When practicing yoga, they may recite the scriptures.
Hong Kong was also influenced by hippie culture, when yoga was popular. At present, there are a group of "yogis" with long experience in Hong Kong who started practicing yoga at that time.
In contrast, the yoga craze that arose in the 1990s focused on the bodybuilding, figure and flexibility of the human body. Inspired by Hollywood stars such as Madonna, Christy Turlington and oprah winfrey, and with fashionable commercial packaging, yoga is once again popular in Europe and America, sweeping all kinds of fitness rooms, and it has become the new favorite of bodybuilding. This yoga craze soon blew back to the East, forming a worldwide fitness wave.
Yoga with a long history
Yoga has a long history. It can be said that it existed before the written history began. More than 2,000 years ago, patanjali systematized yoga and compiled a book "Yoga Sutra", which is called "Eight Yoga" or "Eight Limbs Yoga", and compiled a comprehensive knowledge of yoga philosophy with a paragraph of 196.
There is a Sanskrit proverb in Yoga Sutra: Yoga Cittavrtti Nirodha. These four words explain the essence of Yoga: yoga, Citta, Vrtti and Nirodha. The human body has 50 kinds of large and small glands, main glands and accessory glands, each of which controls an emotion, such as anger, fear and shyness. So the proverb means that practicing yoga makes people's consciousness control their emotions. Patanjali's Yoga Sutra is estimated to be the most authoritative and recognized by yoga centers or schools all over the world.
Yoga's "Eight Limbs"
According to the Yoga Sutra, there are different ways to practice yoga. Hathapradipika, a classical document recorded by SwamiSvatmarama, also explains the "eight limbs" in detail, that is, the eight steps to realize the unity of man and the universe: 1. Self-control (Yama): Emphasis on compassion, non-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.Pratyahara: Practicing phonetic meditation and converging feelings is the preparation before practicing concentration. 6.Dharana: it is the preparation before meditation to concentrate on improving the qi of life. 7. Zen: meditation enhances the vitality of life. 8. Meditation, or Samadhi: Beyond the realm of consciousness. When the body and senses are at rest, they seem to be sleeping, but the mind remains alert and awake.
Different factions of Hada Yoga
The ether pole is an example. Whether you play Chen-style, Yang-style, Sun-style or Wu-style Tai Chi, it's all Tai Chi, but the schools are different. Hatha yoga, also a branch of yoga, is the most popular and familiar yoga practice method at present. After 5,000 years of evolution and development, and the traditional oral teaching mode of yoga has replaced written teaching, the profoundness of yoga has led to its uncertainty in teaching. As a result, various factions practicing Hada yoga came into being, and the names of yoga poses of various yoga branches in the world are also different. Nevertheless, most branches of yoga follow the established basic rules, but are slightly different in teaching methods, key points and exercises. But the "protagonist" to be taught is yoga. Because everyone's preferences, age, physique and temperament are different, we should choose the one that suits us best. Now briefly introduce several popular and familiar Hada yoga sects, so as to give you a general impression:
1. Ananda Yoga thinks that physical and mental exercises are equally important. You must first clean up and improve your energy and get fully prepared for meditation. With repeated reminders and affirmations in mind, each yoga posture is finally used to broaden or enhance self-awareness. Another feature of Ananda Yoga is that it emphasizes a series of "energy-increasing exercises", which requires a certain part of the body to be tightened and relaxed repeatedly, and at the same time, it brings energy to it with breathing methods. It emphasizes that yoga posture must be extremely relaxed in order to prepare for subsequent meditation.
2. Ashtanga Yoga Ashtanga Yoga, also known as strength yoga, is the most specific type of Hada Yoga. It has 240 yoga postures, which are connected in series through six groups of action units combined with breathing to enhance the "heat" of the body and strengthen the body. Because it emphasizes that strength, flexibility and vitality are equally important, it is deeply loved by athletes or people who love strenuous exercise.
3. Holistic yoga combines all the steps of practicing yoga-yoga posture, pranayama, selfless dedication, prayer, singing, meditation and introspection, and especially emphasizes that meditation is the ultimate goal of yoga, which is more than the analysis of human body structure, and encourages students to achieve "physical relaxation", "peace of mind" and "promising" in practice. Each yoga session lasts 75 minutes, of which 45 minutes are used for yoga postures, followed by relaxation, breathing exercises and finally meditation. Although it is difficult, it is gentle and quiet, and it is followed by people who like to study traditional yoga in an all-round way.
4. Iyengar Yoga Iyengar Yoga can be said to be the most familiar Hada Yoga school in the West in recent years. It was founded by the internationally renowned Indian yoga master B.K.S. Iyengar, which made yoga scientific and medical, thus improving personal physical and psychological problems. This group of coaches especially emphasize the coordination of hands and feet, pelvis, spine and other body parts, the coordination of absolutely correct posture and muscle tightening and relaxation, and pay great attention to details, so they can lay a good foundation for yoga posture and improve some body postures. This school also pays special attention to "standing" exercise, and breathing skills are slightly less important. In addition, Iyengar Yoga believes that physical limitations need to be met when practicing, so students are particularly encouraged to use props to improve the accuracy of posture. These props include blankets, bricks, pillows, chairs, ropes and so on.
5. crippa Lu Yoga crippa Lu Yoga is usually described as "dynamic meditation". It pays less attention to the physiological details when practicing yoga postures, and pays more attention to the emotional and psychological feelings brought by yoga postures, so it requires students to maintain a gentle, compassionate and introspective attitude. This school believes that the body has its wisdom, and it will send messages to remind individuals how to practice yoga postures smoothly and naturally. Every yoga pose lasts for a long time, in order to discover or release the feeling of being suppressed. This introspective Hada Yoga consists of three stages: continuous movement (yoga posture), will and release (mind) and obedience to physical wisdom. In these three stages, yoga postures will have different difficulties according to different situations: mild, moderate and intense.
6. Kundalini Yoga Kundalini Yoga has a long history and is convinced that the energy of life (Kundalini) is hidden in the coccyx. As long as you practice through various exercises (breathing, posture, singing and meditation), this energy will be stimulated and guided to the "chakra" of the spine; When the "crown" is opened, people can realize the Tao. This school pays special attention to several breathing techniques: alternate nostril breathing, slow diaphragm breathing and a breathing method called "fire breathing".
7. Sivananda Yoga Sivananda Yoga combines five specific exercise methods: proper exercise, breathing, deep relaxation, vegetarianism and positive thinking and meditation. Each class has a specific process, including breathing exercises, Japanese worship, 12 traditional yoga postures and relaxation exercises. At the beginning and end of the course, there will be short singing and prayer ceremonies.
8.Viniyoga yoga also emphasizes the details of yoga posture, as well as physical strength and endurance. Learning yoga must be based on the principle of "Vinyasa Krama", that is, "organized yoga learning course", which combines yoga posture, pranayama, meditation, textbook research, consultation, psychological imagery, prayer, singing and ceremony. It will teach yoga postures according to students' individual psychological conditions, physical limitations and cultural differences; The health of the spine and breathing is more important than how to complete the yoga posture. Exhale and inhale will be consciously carried out at different times and lengths to cooperate with the practice of yoga posture.
9. Bikram Yoga Bikram Yoga, nicknamed "High Temperature Yoga", was founded by yoga master Bickram Chowdhury. It is the new favorite of the fitness industry in recent years. It is characterized by taking classes in a relatively high temperature room (38-42 degrees Celsius), which makes the body temperature rise rapidly and accelerates the function of perspiration and detoxification. Each class combines 26 yoga postures to help improve the flexibility of the body, strengthen muscles and joints and ligaments, and finally achieve the goal of physical and mental relaxation.