About.
YOGA
The Sanskrit word yoga has several translations and can be interpreted in many ways. It comes from the root yug and originally meant "to hitch up," as in attaching horses to a vehicle. Another definition was "to put to active and purposeful use." Still other translations are "yoke, join, or concentrate." Essentially, yoga has come to describe a means of uniting, or a method of discipline.
The ancient Hindu text called the Vedas is the scripture that possesses the oldest teachings of yoga. The Vedas appeared sometime around the first and second millennia B.C. up to the 6th century B.C. in what is now India, Pakistan and Afghanistan. Many wise sages called rishis lived solitary existences in the forests, where they wrote down their visions to benefit mankind. Patanjali was one rishi in particular who, sometime between 400 B.C. and 200 A.D., recorded the Yoga Sutra, which aims to define classical yoga.
In the Yoga Sutra, Patanjali describes eight steps of yoga (also called the eight limbs of classical yoga). These include yamas and niyamas (which comprise the ethical foundation of yoga practices), asanas (physical postures), pranayama (breathing techniques), pratyahara (sense withdrawal), dharana (deep, sustained concentration), dhyana (meditation) and samadhi (bliss).
The reason yoga has played an important role in physical and mental therapy is due to the fact that the practice works on holistic principles or unification and harmony of the mind, body and spirit. Yoga has succeeded as an alternate type of therapy for diseases like arthritis, asthma, high blood pressure, diabetes, digestive disorders and other chronic health problems where modern science has sometimes failed. Medical scientists report that yoga therapy is also successful because it helps create a sense of balance in the endocrine and nervous systems, which directly impact all the other organs and systems of the body.
MINDFUL SELF AWARENESS
What is mindful self awareness? - Mindful self awareness involves acceptance, meaning that we pay attention to our thoughts and feelings without judging them—without believing, for instance, that there's a “right” or “wrong” way to think or feel in a given moment. a mental state achieved by focusing one's awareness on the present moment, while calmly acknowledging and accepting one's feelings, thoughts, and bodily sensations, used as a therapeutic technique.
Benefits of mindful self awareness-
Being mindful improves physical health. Mindfulness can also help relieve stress, treat heart disease, lower blood pressure, reduce chronic pain, , improve sleep, and alleviate gastrointestinal difficulties.
MEDITATION
Meditation is an approach to training the mind, similar to the way that fitness is an approach to training the body.
CONCENTRATION MEDITATION
Concentration meditation involves focusing on a single point. This could entail following the breath, repeating a single word or mantra, staring at a candle flame, listening to a repetitive gong, or counting beads on a mala. Since focusing the mind is challenging, a beginner might meditate for only a few minutes and then work up to longer durations.
In this form of meditation, you simply refocus your awareness on the chosen object of attention each time you notice your mind wandering. Rather than pursuing random thoughts, you simply let them go. Through this process, your ability to concentrate improves
MINDFULNESS MEDITATION
Mindfulness meditation encourages the practitioner to observe wandering thoughts as they drift through the mind. The intention is not to get involved with the thoughts or to judge them, but simply to be aware of each mental note as it arises.
Through mindfulness meditation, you can see how your thoughts and feelings tend to move in particular patterns. Over time, you can become more aware of the human tendency to quickly judge an experience as good or bad, pleasant or unpleasant. With practice, an inner balance develops.
In some schools of meditation, students practice a combination of concentration and mindfulness. Many disciplines call for stillness — to a greater or lesser degree, depending on the teacher.
OTHER MEDITATION TECHNIQUES
There are various other meditation techniques. For example, a daily meditation practice among Buddhist monks focuses directly on the cultivation of compassion. This involves envisioning negative events and recasting them in a positive light by transforming them through compassion. There are also moving meditation techniques, such as tai chi, qigong, and walking meditation.
