Practical Effectiveness of Yoga

Abstract

It is true that Yoga is ancient. In fact, its origin is shrouded in  antiquity. No one really knows when Yoga was first  developed or who gave it to man. There are many historical  conjectures which even suggests that the Gods themselves  taught Yoga to man. The fact is that yogic practices were  known even in the Vedic times, lndian Rishis of ancient  times, recognised the unalterable fact of life , namely that  man is not a mere body, not a mere mind, but a body mind  complex in which one reacts on the other end in which one  cannot be separated from each other. No modern  educationist and thinkers could possibly disagree with such a  comprehensive view of man. Yoga is the physical, mental  and spiritual practice, which originated in ancient India with  a view to attain a state of permanent peace. The term Yoga is  derived from either of the two roots, yujr yoga (to yoke) or  Yujsamadhau (to concentrate). The yoga sutras of Patanjali  define Yoga as “the stilling of the changing states of mind“.  Yoga has also been popularly defined as “union with the  divine“. Yoga even emphasizes that mind influences the  body more than the body influences the mind. In the present  paper, we have discussed about several benefits of Yoga  which can be highly used as a source of development for  individual as well as social well being.