Yoga as Inevitability: A Study on Health, Betterment & Sublimity in all Ages

Lodh, Dr. Ratna., Das, Koushik (2019). Yoga as Inevitability: A Study on Health, Betterment & Sublimity in All Ages. International Journal of Integrated Research and Development, 3(1), 58-62. ISSN: 2278-8670

Yoga as Inevitability: A Study on Health, Betterment & Sublimity in all Ages

ABSTRACT: In the Twenty first century Yoga is a way of life. Yoga is a spiritual science for the integrated and holistic enlargement and magnification of our physical, mental as well as social & spiritual facets. It is result of human wisdom and insight on physiology, psychology, ethics and spirituality, collected together and practiced over thousands of years for the well being of humanity. Yoga is a fantastic remedy for overcoming problems that modern man is facing in his daily life. Today, as we prepare to enter the 21st century, a spiritual heritage is being reclaimed of which yoga is very much a part. In the past, over thousands of years, the yoga practitioners developed a series of practices by which people could attain physical health, mental harmony and spiritual upliftment. But time has change in the modern world of 21st century where yoga means internalizing the awareness and discovering the inner self. In 21st century yoga is a part of daily life routine and practice. Yoga has succeeded physical, mental, and moral changes of human body that no other can, that is why it is most relevant in your daily life. Thus, our purpose of this paper makes an attempt to analyze the relevance of yoga in human life till date, as overall effect on socio-psychic space in which every man exists.

Keywords: Yoga, relevance, integrated, inner self, way of life, inevitability.

Introduction:

“Yoga is not an ancient myth buried in oblivion. It is the most valuable inheritance of the present. It is the essential need of today and the culture of tomorrow.”                                                                                                   Swami Satyananda Saraswati

Yoga is an ancient art based on a harmonizing system of development for the body, mind, and spirit. The continued practice of yoga will lead you to a sense of peace and well-being, and also a feeling of being at one with their environment. In Sanskrit, the word yoga comes from the root yuj which means “to add”, “to join”, “to unite”, or “to attach” in its most common senses (Wikipedia). On a more practical level, yoga is a means of balancing and harmonizing the body, mind and emotions. This is done through the practice of asana, pranayama, mudra, bandha, shatkarma and meditation, and must be achieved before union can take place with the higher reality. It is an art and science of healthy living. The practice of yoga may lead to the unification of the human with the celestial. The aim of yoga is the alteration of human beings from their ordinary form to an ideal form. Yoga is a process or system that maintains not only the health but also generates a sense of happiness and fulfilment. It also encourages personal growth and development. Yoga brings the mind and body into a mutual state of well being, balance, ease and vibrant alertness. The health of the human being is influenced by various factors. Yoga is one of the systems that include all these factors. These factors are regular exercise in the form of physical postures, proper breathing, sufficient rest and relaxation, meditation, positive thinking and balanced diet. Yoga not only provides techniques for the growth of human beings from their animal level to heights of perfection, it carves out a way of life for them. Yoga way of life is characterized by peace and tranquility, harmony and health, love and happiness, precision and efficiency. Yoga is a systematic process for accelerating the growth of an individual in his or her entirety. With this growth, one learns to live at higher states of consciousness. Key to this all-round personality development and growth is the culturing of mind.

History of Yoga:

The yoga we know today was developed as a part of the tantric civilization which existed in India and all parts of the world more than ten thousand years ago. In India monks went into seclusion for years with the goal of creating a disease free strong body. The original intention was to be able to sit in meditation for hours but with an achy body that is impossible to do. Yoga as we identify it today is the product of a complex spiritual evolution that has taken place over centuries, the exact history of Yoga is uncertain. The earliest signs of Yoga can be traced to Stone Age Shamanism, both Shamanism and Yoga has cultural similarities. The shamanistic civilization revered the sacred art of discern the cosmic order through inner vision; they used rituals to create shifts in their perceptual field to communicate with the spirit world. Shamans were the precursors of the Yogis. Archaeological findings from the Indus Valley Civilization, revealed a portrait of a Yogi meditating in what looks like an Asana, it is known as the Pashupati seal. 

The development of yoga can be traced to over 5,000 years ago, evidence of yoga postures were found on stone drawings dating from these times. Patanjali was the compiler of the yoga sutra, one of the ancient treatises on Indic philosophy that eventually came to be regarded as one of the six classical schools of the Indian philosophy. Yoga’s long rich history can be divided into five main periods: Vedic Yoga, Pre-Classical Yoga, Classical Yoga, Post-Classical Yoga and Modern Yoga.

In the history of the vast literature on yoga and in the present times, there have been several different conception of yoga .Yoga arose at the beginning of human civilization when man first realized his spiritual potential and began to evolve techniques to develop it. The yogic science was slowly evolved and developed by ancient sages all over the world. The essence of yoga has often been shrouded in or explained by different symbols, analogies and languages. Some traditions believe that yoga was a divine gift revealed to the ancient sages so that mankind could have the opportunity to realize its divine nature.

Objectives of study:

• To find out the benefits of yoga in modern living.
• To find out the relevance of yoga in developing the psycho-physical robustness.

Benefits of Yoga:

Yoga is not a religion; it is a way of living that aims towards ‘a healthy mind in a healthy body’. Man is a physical, mental, social and spiritual being; yoga helps promote a balanced development of all the four. Other forms of physical exercises, like aerobics, assure only physical well-being. They have little to do with the development of the spiritual or astral body.

• Physical benefits- The health of the body is of fundamental importance in life. There are many health benefits from yoga; studies have shown that yoga can relieve many common and life threatening illness such as arthritis, chronic fatigue, diabetes, asthma, high blood pressure, back pain, weight reduction, obesity, common cold, epilepsy, constructions of muscle, backbone and spinal cord vertebrae setting, sinusitis, migraine, paralysis, prevention of drug addiction and respiration problems. Health, physical fitness and emotional stability are the objectives; bring yoga on a common platform for the benefit of the human individual. Health is a more general and comprehensive term conveying the ‘feeling of well-being’, while physical fitness is a more specific term. Physical fitness is the capacity of an individual to perform a given task at a particular time. Yoga increases strength, those help you to prevent diseases. 
• Mental benefits- It is a popular saying that a sound mind could lead to a healthy body. Everybody has right to be a happy. Happiness & peace comes from within. Healthy body makes us free from physical pain and thus mind will not get disturbed. Yoga provides tools through which one can cope with the pain and helps counter with the feeling of helplessness and depression. The system in modern learning children has to be different.  It has to be combined with certain practices which can remove their psychological blocks, which can make them aware of the psychological changes that happen in their body and brain, which can make them aware of their own distractions and which can give them the ability to focus on the theme of the subject they are studying. But Negative thoughts and fears create an imbalance in our nervous system and through this our physical function. This is the cause of many illnesses and sorrows. Clarity of thought, inner Freedom, contentment and a healthy self-confidence are the basis for mental wellbeing. Practicing yoga and participating in meditation, reduces students’ stress levels, which in turn is translated into better academic performance.
• Social benefits– Social health is the ability to be happy within oneself and to be able to make others happy. It means to nurture genuine contact and communication with other people, to assume responsibility within the society and to work for the community. Social health is also the ability to relax and experience life in all its beauty. The mind is constantly involved in activity – swinging from the past to the future – but never staying in the present. Yoga can even help improve your relationship with your spouse, parents, friends or loved ones. A fit and sound body helps to grow interpersonal and intrapersonal relationship. Psychological complexities are reasons of collapse of relationship; it creates mental complex, inferiority complex, self over-disciplining phobia. Yoga helps through meditation to enlarge the reception capability of mind and creates healthy individual and social relationship. A mind that is relaxed, happy and contented is better able to deal with sensitive relationship matters. Yoga in daily life means to work for ourselves and for the benefit of others. Yoga and meditation keeps the mind happy and peaceful; and watch how your relations with those around you blossom. 
• Spiritual benefits- Yoga not only deals with this broad definition of health, but also deals with other aspects like spirituality. When you achieve that yogic sprit you can begin knowing yourself at peace. If one succeeds in achieving skills which provide health and self confidence, one can justly raise his self esteem simply by observing himself living the improved result as an achieved fact. The main principle of spiritual life and the highest precept of mankind are: AHIMSA – PARAMO- DHARMA This precept embraces the principle of non-violence, in thought, word, feeling and action. Prayer, meditation, Mantra, positive thinking and tolerance, lead to spiritual health. Humans should be protectors, not destroyers. Those qualities that really make us human are the ability to give, understand and forgive. 

Relevance of Yoga:

Today, as we are in the 2nd decade of the 21st century, a spiritual heritage is being reclaimed of which yoga is very much a part. While yoga’s central theme remains the highest goal of the physico-psycho-spiritual path, yogic practices give direct and tangible benefits to everyone regardless of their socio-psychic position. Traditionally, yoga has always been a means of internalising the awareness and discovering the inner self. But in the modern age Yoga is a science and technology, yoga refers to the Science of health, happiness and harmony. But yoga has been much popular in modern days as the realistic art of holistic living. Holistic approach of health care includes 1.Preventive health 2.Primitive health 3.Curative health. As an example we may refer to the latest trend in disciplinary measures of female Anorexia which is a phobia generated among women who want to be attractive by building a fatless body by denying regular food habits. This can cause a fatal harm to not only malnutrition but brain failure and even brain death along with multiple organs failure. Yoga can take the mind out of this phobia and create self-confidence and a man can live a better life with all hindrances. 

In the past, over thousands of years, the yoga practitioners developed a series of practices by which people could attain physical health, mental harmony and spiritual upliftment. In the course of time, due to changes in the social and global environment, the ancient tradition of yoga was lost in many countries, but it continued to be preserved in India by the sannyasis. Sannyasa is not a religion; it is an order of people who have renounced the material world to experience the spiritual world. Physical and psychic therapy is one of yoga’s most important achievements. What makes it so powerful and effective is the fact that it lets one come out of the daily stresses and become composed according to survival ethics. The ancient yoga is more relevant in modern stressful life; yoga is a way of life with good living and for the benefit of the terms of existence. It is the only way through which the body will be fit and fine without any trainer, without equipment and medicine. Some of asanas are good for relaxation of the mind, while others are good for digestive, respiratory, circulatory, nervous and glandular systems. Pranayama promotes blood circulation and help to improve the oxygen supply all parts of the body. Meditation is good not only for restoration the lost psychosomatic balance, but it is equally good for prevention of loss of balance and construction of body such as Agoraphobia complex. Before 19 century, women used to be comparatively fat, with more BMI (Body Mass Index). This has been a practice since the age Renaissance till 19th century all over the world. Swami Vivekananda proclaimed-each soul is potentially divine. The goal is to manifest this divinity within, by controlling Nature external & internal. Do it either by work or worship. Psychic control or philosophy, by one or more, or all these he has free.

In the modern world, as we already referred to Vivekananda, we cannot but discuss at least one problem faced by the young generation. The corporate life has taken away all the ventilations of both male and females of the generation-Y who have been affected from teenage to their 30’s; the previous practice was playing indoor and outdoor games which have changed into digital games, software games, pixels, X-box setups and multiplayer online war games. The corporate life has taken away physical exercise and playgrounds; the teenage boys and girls are being addicted to Alcohol, LSDs, Slow-Mo drug, Brown Sugar, Smoking etc. These are their entertainment in the late night parties and office gatherings. But to a male it creates bronchial disease, respiratory issues, bronchial cancer, oral cancer and even importance. To a female it creates proleptic muscular dysfunction, renal disease, polycystic ovaries issues, giving birth to stillborn babies, cell death of the muscle fiber of womb etc. which has no remedies. The corporate life has become too costly to be entertained. The Rehab-Yoga’s and Psychic Yoga’s are highly helpful in coming out of these modern life hazards. Psychic yoga can heal a man from drug addiction and through interactive sessions and practicing yoga the addiction can be eradicated. This may happen in four rectification methods: Recollection, Contemplation, Recrudescence, and Composition of psyche.

Conclusion:

Yoga is a part of ancient human health, and life is a wonderful gift of God. Yoga is a multidimensional aspect and its scope has increased in the modern life of twenty first century. 21st June has been declared as Yoga Day in all over the world and it is celebrated in all over the globe. It is obvious that yoga is a boon for the ‘modern’ man of twenty first century, who is a victim of everyday stress. Yoga in today’s day to day fast life, trains the body, mind and spirit to become strong and flexible, release stress and create inner peace, while developing a deep connection with one’s spirit, intuition and personal power. Yoga in daily life offers the spiritual aspirant guidance on life’s path through the practices of Mantra Yoga and Kriya Yoga, all of these are essential for living a healthy balanced life. It is enviable that yoga must be made an integral part of our educational as well as health care systems. Yoga is more reliable with harmony with science. So, it is our primary duty to endorse it further. Well being and a free happy life, are in your hands and therefore inevitability of Yoga is to be cherished and developed for health, betterment and sublimity in all ages by every living person.

References:

• Bussing, A, Michalesen, and others, Effects of Yoga on Mental and Physical Health: A Short   Summary of Reviews, (vol. 2012), Article ID 165410, doi:10.1155/2012/165410
• Gupta, D.V, Need for yoga in modern life, International Journal of Advanced Research in  Management and Social Sciences, ISSN: 2278-6236(vol. 3, No. 12)
• Sivakumar, M.A, Impact of yoga and meditation among the student community, ISSN: 2321-8196 P.092-094
• Sivananda, S.S. Yoga in daily life, A divine life society publication, 1999.
• Saraswati, S.S. Asana Pranayana Mudra Bandha (1999), Yoga Publication Trust, Munger, Bihar, India.
• Saraswati, S.S. Yoga and Kriya (2004), Yoga publication Trust, Munger, Bihar, India.
• Yadav, S.K; Kumar, A; and others (18th June 2015), Importance of Yoga in Daily Life, doi:10.13140/RG.2.1.4538.3842
• Yoga Education(Bachelor of Education-B.ED), Nation Council for Teacher Education(NCTE). Published by Sri Juglal Singh, member secretory NCTE, ISBN: 978-81-931534-1-3
• Yoga Sastra, The yoga Sutras of Patanjali Examined, The Curistian Literature Society for India, Madras and London (1897)