The word “Yoga” is not just something that can be explained with a single sentence or a word. It is a diverse body of thoughts and varying opinions, it is as diverse as every other subject like physics or biology. In the ancient religion of Hinduism, the word “yoga” stands for spiritual technology, this involves meditation and asceticism. The main goal of yoga at this junction is to get a better understanding of your real self.

Yoga has been redefined over the years, because many people from different backgrounds are embracing Buddhism. Yoga in its diverse form has been highly influenced by other Asian philosophies and religion. Therefore, different religions have been given different definitions to the practice of yoga, while many people are ignorantly performing various exercises that are highly influenced through the use of yoga. Therefore, yoga can be defined based on its operating environment.

Yoga in a western environment:
Yoga is a relatively new idea in the western context; it was introduced in the latter half of 19th by Swami Vivekananda, an Indian spiritual philosopher and leader. He made speeches on Yoga practices and it has a high level of impacts on the western world, as result yoga became a phenomenon to be reckoned with. He died at a relatively young age around 30. But his ideas will forever remain as a guide to the practice of yoga in western society.

The helpful sides of yoga
Many yoga practitioners have confirmed that the traditional forms of yoga practices can enhance strength, flexibility, endurance, general well being. It can also reduce stress and psychological trauma. It is also helpful for people suffering from asthma and any heart related conditions especially for people that practise yoga breathing techniques.

Yoga had been known to enhance better sleep, lower blood pressure, helps to stop smoking, slows heart rate, reduces anxiety, relax muscle tension slow aging. It is also good for stress management; this is why many U.K companies introduced the use of yoga as an instrument for managing stress among their workers. It is a pathway to increased productivity, creativity and profitability.

Yoga as a popular form of exercise and spiritual balancing, it is also the most frequently misunderstood concepts by a lot of people, this notions cannot be avoided because of yoga’s incredible popularities. Many people that have experienced a particular types of Yoga, but have not have the experience of another will definitely based his general ideas of yoga on what he has seen. The irony of this is that yoga can be different depending on your trainer or instructor.  Some of the misconceptions about yoga have been highlighted below.

1. Yoga is another form of exercise: This is true to some extents, but yoga is more that an ordinary exercise. It is more of a combination of body exercise, physiotherapy, psychology and spirituality.

2. Yoga is like any other movement: This is a very wrong conception; yoga has diverse ethics that works contrary to an ordinary physical ethics. It can be seen as a way of aligning the body, the mind and the spirit in a perfect harmony at achieving inner balances.

Yoga is a vogue: This is true to some extents, but the operation of yoga is beyond an ordinary exercise, it constitutes a body of knowledge that has been in existence for years. Therefore, anything in a vogue can always be renewed but yoga’s series of exercises is unchangeable.