YOGA: ORIGIN, HISTORY AND EVOLUTION

THE BIRTH OF YOGA

Historians and specialists in Indian culture have difficulty locating precisely the origin of yoga.

What is yoga?

A statue that represents a yogi in full meditation session.

The reason for this is the fact that ancestral texts are extremely difficult to decipher!

And again, when it is possible to find writings. Because, according to experts, before, the Vedic culture (at the origin of everything) was quite adept at oral transmission.

That said, research indicates that the first forms of yoga would have arisen between 10,000 and 5000 BC. The figurines found in ancient sites would take the position of the yogis when they are in meditation.

The goal of yoga at that time: to impose its power on the gods who practice regular exercises very difficult for the body.

Previously, yogis spoke of isolation and loneliness. Today we are talking about liberation and linking our being with the environment that surrounds us.

In text that governs all the routes of contemporary yoga, as described in the Yoga Sutra. That's:

The four traditional paths: Karma Yoga, Bhakti Yoga, Jnana Yoga (these three disciplines form the Trimarga or the path of enlightenment) and Raja Yoga.

The paths of Kriyā Yoga: Tantra Yoga, Mantra Yoga and Hatha Yoga.

Everyone has their own practices and exercises.

YOGA OF YESTERDAY AND TODAY IN THE WORLD

After thinking about the origins, let's discover now the evolution of yoga through the ages!

Let's go back to its beginnings, some millennia before the year 0. We are located in the Haute Antiquité.

The first texts that evoke the practice of a form of meditation that includes precise postures and the recitation of a kind of spell come from the Vedic civilization. It is from this that Brahmanism is born, that it is a formalized ritual system of this ancient culture

It appears around the tenth century before Christ. AD

What is the original language of yoga?

Om (or aum) is a Sanskrit syllable that represents the primordial sound. The one who created the universe.

Around the 4th century BC, the Yoga Sutra will be written.

Thus, following these rules, different levels of yogis will emerge (the Vaishnava and Shaiva yogis yogis), which links this practice to the religious forms of Hindu culture (without being totally).

It is from the 2nd century AD J. - that the practice will be exported all over the world. This is thanks in the first place to the Arabs, the Greeks and the Persians. But also to a famous Italian explorer: Marco Polo.

The translations and precise descriptions of these Hindu rites will be published in the West.

Then, around the sixteenth century, everything will accelerate. The various cultural and commercial exchanges between peoples will encourage the discovery of new practices, including yoga (toulouse yoga).

Therefore, several western texts cite yoga between the sixteenth century and the eighteenth century.

With the arrival of the 19th century and the advancement of technologies, it was easier to travel and communicate. Therefore, the great yogis took the opportunity to explain to the whole world the true nature of yoga.

At that time, a significant number of federations and associations and yoga centers were created around the world.

The discipline was mainly known in the form of Hatha Yoga. But there are many others. Discover all this philosophy in the yoga class of Paris or elsewhere ...

WHAT IS DYNAMIC YOGA?

One practice adds to the already long list of yoga forms, which nevertheless attracts a growing audience: dynamic yoga. It is also called ashtanga yoga, vinyasa yoga or power yoga.

This is a variation of traditional yoga, because the emphasis is on sportsmanship, exercise and the sequence of postures (asanas) at a much more sustained price than in kundalini yoga or hatha yoga, while maintaining deep and conscious breathing ( pranayama).

We are approaching the fitness class, even if the Hindu philosophy of yoga remains pregnant.

Born under the teachings of Sri K. Pattabhi Jois (1915-2009), teacher of yoga and students Tirumalai Tirumalai Krishnamacharya, Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga and is quickly and coded.

Vinyasa, in Sanskrit, means "system of synchronized movements and breaths". The discipline aims to stretch the muscles as in a sports training while regaining control of your thoughts.

Fundamental rules dictate the practice of ashtanga-vinyasa yoga : Yoga, excellent activity

Rules of behavior ("niyamas" in Sanskrit),

1. Self-discipline ("yamas"),
2. The postural pattern of the body ("asanas"),
3. Breathing ("pranayama"),
4. Domain of the senses ("pratyahara"),
5. Concentration ("dharana"),
6. Meditation ("dhyana"),
7. Lighting ("samadhi").

Ashtanga yoga emphasizes eyes and breathing, but vinyasa yoga is less codified and practices a little more freely.

We can also hear about "power yoga": this variant focuses on the elimination of toxins through physical exercise.

Although you can access initiation courses, a minimum of physical condition is required, because the postures are fast and athletic.

Again, the benefits of dynamic yoga are manifold:

• Get flexibility and tone
• Deep muscle (lower back, abdominal lining, buttocks),
• Learn to breathe better with breathing work and cardiovascular exercise
• Deepen your self-knowledge
• Increase your capacity for concentration, focus on self-awareness and your body,
• Have a better management of stress, relieve tensions, evacuate fears and fears,
• Decreasing your blood pressure,
• To sculpt your silhouette, etc.

As a physical activity, dynamic yoga is not recommended during pregnancy. We find the same benefits as sports training, but enriched ...

In any case, we offer some recommendations and enhance the benefits of yoga

• Do not be intimidated,
• persevere,
• Do not force yourself to change your lifestyle to practice,
• Do yoga every day,
• Forgetting the judgment and the look of others,
• Just start, gradually go up in category.

YOGA HUMOR: BETTER TO LAUGH, RIGHT?

What happens if we go to yoga while we laugh?

Created in 1995 by Indian therapist and practitioner Madan Kataria, laughter yoga has happened in 22 years of existence of a small joke in India a global phenomenon identifying 5,000 laughter clubs in 106 countries.

The Indian doctor discovered that happy patients healed faster than those who were cranky.

Then, convinced that laughter could only bring benefits, he left his medical office, created the first school of laughter and traveled the world as a teacher of laughter yoga.

From this initiative, the therapy of laughter was born in many countries of the world: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, Spain, France, Australia, Finland, etc.

What is the purpose of laughter yoga?

Simply practice laughing out loud, even laughing for no apparent reason, collectively, because laughter is contagious and has a powerful capacity for a chain reaction.

One begins to laugh, then all the practitioners laugh in turn, even laughter.

But laughter is an excellent natural remedy against possible diseases, can train the abdominal belt, oxygenate the body, be less stressed and calm the mind.

In addition, practicing the yoga of laughter can change your mood: a laughter yoga session irrigates the brain with endorphins, as well as sports training.

A small message for depressed people: Laughter yoga is a yoga discipline for everyone, which can be practiced anywhere: at home, in a car, in company (why not), with friends, etc. - and at any time, see everyday life on the positive side and feel better!