Yoga
The disciplines pertaining to the Indian school of physical and mental thought is called yoga. A yogic practitioner is associated with the practice of asanas and spiritual thought. The term yoga, which has its origin in Sanskrit roots, means ‘to unite’. Yoga does aim at the holistic unification of body, mind and soul.
There are six branches of yoga and the importance of yoga has been elucidated very extensively in many ancient Indian scriptures. The origin of yoga has been traced to as early as 500 BC. Yoga also constitutes one of the six orthodox philosophical schools of thought.
Yoga has been hailed as a manner of disciplining and achieving control over oneself. Also, it has been proved to be an effective impetus in the achievement of individual and collective goals. Karma yoga, Bhakti yoga and Jnana yoga are the three most popular varieties of yoga which have been extolled at length in the Bhagavad Gita. Pranayama or breath control is another essential facet of yoga, which has helped in cure of physical and mental ailments.
Yogic culture has been vibrant not just in the spectrum of Hinduism but also in other traditions such as Buddhism, the Sufi tradition and Tibetan Buddhism. The ultimate goal of yoga is to develop internal and external harmony.