30 Amazing and Interesting Facts about Yoga | Amazing Facts 4U
- The word “yoga” is derived from the Sanskrit root Yuj meaning to yoke or join together. It refers to the yoking of a conscious subject (jiva-atman) with a Supreme.
- In simple words, the purpose of yoga is to unite body, mind, and spirit.
- Yoga is not a religion, it’s a way of life that leads you to spiritual and physical self-realization.
- The first known appearance of the word “yoga”, with the same meaning as the modern term, is in the Katha Upanishad, composed about the fourth to third century BCE.
- The swastika is a yoga symbol that comes from the Sanskrit term Swastik, meaning “that which is associated with well-being.
- The yoga symbol “Om” is found in Hindu philosophy. It is said to be the primordial sound of the universe.
- At the initiative of Indian prime minister Narendra Modi, First International Day of Yoga was observed all over the World on 21st of June, 2015.
- Yoga is all about changing the breathing patterns and inhaling and exhaling in rhythm with various body postures.
- The lotus pose in yoga is a sitting pose meant to resemble the perfect symmetry and beauty of a lotus flower. Siddhartha Gautama, the founder of Buddhism, and Shiva God are typically shown in this pose.
- Patanjali (150 B.C.) was an Indian sage who recorded a series aphorism on how to practice yoga in the text Yoga Sutras. He is considered the father of yoga. His treatise on Yoga is titled “Patanjali Yoga Sutra”
- Yoga is defined as having eight branches or limbs. (Yama, Niyama, Asana, Pranayama, Pratyhara, Dharana, Dhyana, Samadhi). Only the third limb, “Asana,” refers to postures and poses that most people think of when they hear the word “yoga.
- Hindu leader Swami Vivekananda (1863-1902) is considered a key figure in introducing yoga into Western culture and his address to the Parliament of Religions in Chicago in 1893 is said to have initiated yoga’s evolution in the West.
- The Beatles, especially George Harrison, in fact helped introduce yoga into the West.
- Paramahansa Yogananda was an Indian yogi who taught Kriya Yoga to millions around the world.
- Those who practice yoga traditionally do not eat meat as they believe in Ahimsa (non violence). Besides this the meat is dead and has no Pranic Value (life force) within it while the yoga practice is designed to increase your Prana (life force).
- There are seven chakras (Energy Center) from the base of the spine up to the crown named Mooladhara, Swadhisthana, Manipura, Anahata, Vishuddhi, Ajna, and Sahasrar. When these are purified through yoga practice the yogi is able to retain Prana (life force) and develop spiritually and get divine powers.
- If you do yoga, your body takes few months to change, but almost immediately your mind changes, your emotions change, your presence changes, and you develop noticeable glow on your face.
- Yogic breathing expands your lungs. Yoga prevents osteoporosis. Yoga relives anxiety and depression better than the anti-depressant drugs. People who practice Yoga are believed to live longer than their counterparts who don’t.
- During yoga three Bandhas (energy ‘locks) are frequently done during asana. One at the throat (Jalandhara Bandha), the other below the belly button (Uddiyana Bandha), and one near the pelvic floor (Moola Bandha). They enhance life force.
- It is believed that about 20 million Americans regularly practice Yoga. The figure is increasing 20% per year.
- There are about 300 million people worldwide who practice Yoga.
- Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung was one of the first Westerners to study yoga in depth. His comments on developing higher consciousness in the East helped introduce the West to yoga concepts and practices.
- Scholars believe that the Rig-Veda (“praise of knowledge”), about 4000 years old, is one of the oldest known texts in the world containing elements of yoga.
- Studies show that yoga reduces the risk of heart disease by improving arterial flow. Yoga also helps treat diabetes, high blood pressure, and asthma.
- There are over 100 different schools of yoga, including Hatha yoga, Raja yoga (“royal yoga”), Jnana yoga (“path of knowledge”), Bhakti yoga and Karma yoga, (“discipline of action”). While each school of yoga has different practices, they have a unified goal i.e. the state of pure bliss and oneness with the universe.
- Ancient yogis believed that we only have a limited number of breaths in each life and our life span can be extended by taking slow and deep breaths.
- Ashtanga tradition observes “Moon Days” as yoga holidays because the human body has over 70% water and the phases of the moon are thought to affect our bodies as it affects the sea.
- Singer Madonna once claimed in an interview that she became so much “addicted” to yoga that she practiced it seven days a week.
- Computer manufacturer Lenovo has a tablet named Yoga.
- The Islamic clerics of Indonesia and Malaysia have banned yoga since it includes Hindu rituals and this may corrupt their Muslim faith. However, they have allowed Yoga as long as it is only for physical exercise and did not include chanting, mantras or meditation.
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