Yoga 101 Guide
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Yoga is not a religion but a philosophy. Yoga comes from the Sanskrit root word yuj, meaning to yoke, join or unite. Yoga is a physical and mental discipline designed to bring you a deep awareness and connection to yourself and everything around you. Yoga is the union of body, mind & spirit, and is the philosophical practice of experiencing your authentic self and the interconnectedness of all things.
When most people use the word yoga, they are referring to the physical practice of yoga, or hatha yoga. Literally translated, hatha yoga is sun-moon yoga (ha = sun, tha = moon). Asana is the Sanskrit word for posture, and is the term used when describing the various physical postures or poses of hatha yoga.
The ancient philosophy of yoga originated in India and dates back about five thousand years. Hatha yoga combines ancient yoga philosophy with 19th and 20th century gymnastics, bodybuilding and military training. Some of the modern physical poses that we practice today originate from an early 20th-century Danish system of dynamic exercise called Primitive Gymnastics, which was an offshoot of a 19th century Scandinavian gymnastics tradition (Source: Yoga Body: The Origins of Modern Posture Practice, Mark Singleton).
Sri T. Krishnamacharya is widely regarded as the father of modern day hatha yoga because he was instrumental in bringing the physical practice of yoga to the West in the 1930’s, even though he never actually stepped on Western soil. It was Krishnamacharya’s famous pupils who successfully introduced his hatha yoga teachings to Europe and the United States: Pattabhi Jois, Indra Devi, B.K.S. Iyengar, and Krishnamacharya’s son, T.K.V. Desikacher.
When most people use the word yoga, they are referring to the physical practice of yoga, or hatha yoga. Literally translated, hatha yoga is sun-moon yoga (ha = sun, tha = moon). Asana is the Sanskrit word for posture, and is the term used when describing the various physical postures or poses of hatha yoga.
The ancient philosophy of yoga originated in India and dates back about five thousand years. Hatha yoga combines ancient yoga philosophy with 19th and 20th century gymnastics, bodybuilding and military training. Some of the modern physical poses that we practice today originate from an early 20th-century Danish system of dynamic exercise called Primitive Gymnastics, which was an offshoot of a 19th century Scandinavian gymnastics tradition (Source: Yoga Body: The Origins of Modern Posture Practice, Mark Singleton).
Sri T. Krishnamacharya is widely regarded as the father of modern day hatha yoga because he was instrumental in bringing the physical practice of yoga to the West in the 1930’s, even though he never actually stepped on Western soil. It was Krishnamacharya’s famous pupils who successfully introduced his hatha yoga teachings to Europe and the United States: Pattabhi Jois, Indra Devi, B.K.S. Iyengar, and Krishnamacharya’s son, T.K.V. Desikacher.
Every time we step onto a yoga mat, we have the opportunity to experience yoga with a beginner's mind. This openness and curiosity allow each of us, from the most experienced practitioner to the brand-new student, to experience even more of the beauty and benefits of this beautiful thing that we call yoga.
