History Of Yoga
For many people in the western world, yoga is a sort of physical exercise, to be put in the same category as kick-boxing, step aerobics, weight training, and jogging. Physical fitness departments in schools and universities, as well as in community centers, and fitness centers and gyms all over yoga as a part of their standard exercises. It doesn’t seem at all odd or out of place these days, since yoga has been growing in popularity for the past decade or so. Seeing it primarily as a form of exercise can make people forget—if they ever knew—that yoga is not just a physical exercise. The history of yoga is the history of a proud religion and serious meditation techniques that are designed to bring a soul closer to enlightenment through discipline, self control, and a complete openness to God’s love.
Yoga was first practiced in the sub-continent of India. The Hindu belief is that God is everything, which leads to the obviously conclusion that man is God. The biggest thing standing between man and God is ignorance, and so meditation is a practice that is supposed to help a person become more connected and understanding of God. That sort of understanding, or union with God, is the moment of enlightenment. Clearly, having a perfect idea of God is not an easy thing to do, and so certain techniques were developed to encourage self-discipline, physical and spiritual fitness, and a constant striving to reach the moment of enlightenment. You cannot separate the purpose of yoga from the physical exercises that are part of the yoga process.
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The history of yoga is about the striving of man to understand God and reach enlightenment.
Yoga was initially developed and practiced as a way to become closer to God.