8 moves to help you learn how to do a handstand

September 5, 2011  

The word Yoga evokes different Images to the mind of different people. For Some, it is a set of mystical rituals and mantra chanting practiced by half- naked monks and ascetics in Himalayan caves. One often hears of miraculous feats performed by yogis, like remaining underground for days together and so on. Yoga seems to endow them with superhuman powers. Others think yoga to be a battery of body-twisting ‘asanas’ and braeathing exercises that help in shedding flab and curing various bodily ailments. Advertisements proclaiming “reduce weight through yoga (No side effect)” are seen frequently. As a young person, you may have sometimes wondered about yoga, and concluded that it is not for you. If you are neither obese, nor do you want to say goodbye to the world and pack off for the mountains, how possibly could yoga be of any use to you? How can a student, a young person, benefit from something that seems to be a thing of the past something irrelevant to a modern, fast-paced life? Tobeing with, both the impression about yoga – that it is a set of religious, mystical rituals, or that it is  physical culture are absurd. Yoga is not fitness training, nor is it a path to achieve superhuman power. Question, then is what is yoga ? Great yoga master of the past like Patanjali, Vasistha, and above all, Lord Krishna have defined Yoga. These definitions look different, but convey the same meaning. In his Yogasutra, an immortal treatise on the subject, Patanjali defines yoga as “Yoga is the annihilation of the tendencies of mind”. “Yoga is the technique of calming down the mind” In Shrimadbhagvat Gita, the world yoga has been use at a number of places to clarity the many facets of this science. Etymologically, the root of the word Yoga in Sanskrit is Yuj, Which means to join. Literal meaning, therefore, of Yoga is union. Union of what, you may ask. To join together, there must be at least two objects or entities. One meaning of this is the union of Jeevatman (IndividualSelf) with Paramatman (supreme Self). Another meaning of this joining is the union of the two energy channels in human body: Ida and Pingala. According to yogic litratue, every human being possesses three bodies: physical, astral and causal. The two energy channels referred to above are not necessarily present in the physical body. They only have their seats there but belong to the astral body. The popular notions about Yoga among people at large are incorrect because they are incomplete. Physical exercise, Asanas, Pranaya, meditation etc are only components of Yoga. None of them is Yoga in its entirety. The integrated Yogic system is made up of eight parts: Yama, Niyama, Asana, Pranayam, Dharana, Dhyana and Samadhi. This system of Yoga is also known as Ashtanga Yoga (‘eight limbed Yoga). There are several paths for achieving the union of Individual self and supreme self. But the integrated system of Yoga. which was propounded by patanjali, is the most exhaustive and thorough of all.It is, therefore, also Called raja yoga, or ‘King among Yogas’. Some of the other yogic system are Karma Yoga, Bhakti Yoga, Jnana Yoga, Nada Yoga, Laya Yoga and so on.  The purpose of all these systems is the same. The choice of a particular path depends on the mental make-up and capabilities of  individual  sadhaka while the final goal of all yogas remains identical. For more details :   and