Yoga dating back to over 5,000 years ago, is a form of a spiritual practice in India. It was then brought to the Western world by Swami Vivekananda who is the founder of Venanda Society. During that time it was promoted as a healing system of theory and practice.

The word YOGA actually comes from a sanskrit word "Asthanga" which means "8 limbs".

"8 Limbs" was coined by "Pathanjali" in his Yoga Sutras.

Eight limbs reffered by the word ashtanga refer specifically to the eight spiritual practices outlined by the Patanjali in his Yoga Sutras:

Yama (moral codes)

Niyama (self-purification)

Asana (posture)

Pranayama (breath control) Pratyahara (sense control)

Dharana (concentration) Dhyana (meditation) Samadhi (contemplation)

Among all the types of Yoga, Ashtanga Yoga is a dynamic form of yoga which promotes flexibility, strength, endurance and clarity of mind.

According to records, It is a custoimzed style of Yoga taught by Sri K. Pattabhi Jois of Mysore, India.

See we have these great people to bring us Yoga - people like Pathanjali and Sri K. Pattabhi Jois. So without mentioning, Krishnamacharya, Yoga "history" would never be complete.

In fact, Krishnamacharya together with Sri K Pattabni Jois interpreted the Ashtanga method of asana practice from Yoga Korunta. It is an ancient text that you may not heard of before, but it described Vamna Rishi's version of hatha yoga.

Founder Sri Pattabhi Jois

Pattabhi Jois is a living yoga master who was born in 1915 and began his studies with Krishnamacharaya in Mysore, India at the age of 12. He is a leading teacher and practioner of Ashtanga yoga. People around the world look up to him. He maynot be as popular as Buddha, but Yogis really treat him like the true teacher - who has been there and done it!

In 1958, Pattabhi Jois published his treatise on Ashtanga yoga, Yoga Mala. There are six different levels of Ashtanga series through which a student progresses at his or her own pace according to his or her ability.

The above is just a brief account of Yoga history. Now you have learnt a little bit about Yoga, you must be asking yoruself, why so many people are into Yoga?

I got to tell you that...As you maybe aware of that Yoga is mainly known for its power to relieve stress through meditation and yoga music plays a big part in achieving these results.

Yoga is intinmately connected to the religious beliefs and practices of the Indian religions. Having said so, anybody can practise Yoga for health benefits.

Yoga is believed to be able to lower blood pressure, reduce stress, and improve coordination, flexibility, concentration, sleep and digestion.

Yoga is increasing in popularity with a recent research report suggesting that 17 million Americans have practiced yoga at least once in their lifetime. The present study demonstrates that the long term practice of yoga and meditation leads to a decline in the basal metabolic rate (BMR), and this decline is seen in men and women. In this posture you are simply made to lie as if you are dead.

Some people may find it different after doing Yoga.

Actually, your body is cleansing itself, so you will be experiencing the effects. You might find yourself feeling extremely energetic and experiece difficulty sleeping. Don't worry-this is a good sign that the yoga is truly filling you up with energy.

You don't have insomnia. You just have more time to do the things you enjoy.

Now I am going to share with you some of the Yoga styles.

Among all the Yoga Styles, Hatha Yoga is the most commonly pratised one in the Western world! It encompasses many of the physical types of yoga. It usually is slow-paced and gentle, and to be honest, is very suitable for beginners and the like!

If you prefer hot and sweaty environment, you want to take a look at Bikram Yoga as it is usually taught in a class with room temperature of about 24-27 deg Celsius. You may be wondering the point of this... no - no - it is NOT really to make everybody sweat but to replicate the temperature of yoga's birthplace in India and to enhance flexibility. This is particularly to help those athletes to adapt to hot and humid temperatures when they go to tropical countries to compete! Bikram focuses on 26 postures that are performed in a certain order. If you are not athletes, do take a look at this as you will be trained to adapt as the heat of the room lends for an intense practice.

I know some of you have been asking about "spiritual Yoga". Wait for it... and it is coming. The spiritual one is called Anusara Yoga. It is spiritually inspiring, yet grounded in a deep knowledge of optimal body alignment. Being a student of Anusara Yoga, you must listen to your body! In addition, you must respect its wisdom. This is good for people who wants to take up Yoga at their own pace. This is good for beginners too and people who have challenges with physical movements!

Ashtanga yoga is heavy on developing strength and stamina. Now you are warned that not everybody is suitable for Asthanga yoga, especially Pregnant women! The reason being that the poses are slightly more challenging than those performed in other styles. In order to really reap the benefits, you being a student have to move quickly from one pose to another so that you can build strength and flexibility in a speedy way! So ask yourself if you are in good physical conditions, otherwise, please do some easier ones first!

Another challenging type of Yoga that I know of is called Jivamukti Yoga. The difference between Jivamukti and Ashtanga is that Jivamukti is a highly meditative. Even though you are a beginner, you need to do standing poses in your first few sessions, followed forward bends, backbends, and inversions. The classes include chanting, meditation, readings, music, and affirmations.

If you fancy using a wide range of yoga equipment and props, such as belts, blocks, bolsters, blankets, chairs and swings, then Iyengar Yoga is for you! Thos equipment help to align your yoga poses! Iyengar Yogis see alignment of primary importance. Remember, as this can be dangerous, you must make sure that your Iyengar teacher is highly trained and as such classes like these can be harder to locate.

Another type of Yoga, which emphasises spontaneity is called Kripalu Yoga. Students have to pass the first stage by being able to master postural alignment and intertwining of breath and movement. You got to hold your poses at a short time. When you pass your first stage, you move on to the second stage with meditation. In this stage, you need to be able to hold your poses for even longer! The purpose of this type of yoga is to train you to become spontaneous and dynamic. It is said that this is the "secret training method" for a lot of Gymnasts in China! Kripalu movements are ease on the onlookers' eyes as it is incorporates continuous flow of postures and it is very meditation-orientated. This is gentle and yet dynamic!

Healers love another type of Yoga called Kundalini Yoga because it incorporates mantras (chanting), meditations, visualizations, and guided relaxation. It is believed that Kundalini Yoga focuses the Yogis on healing and "purifying" their mind, body, and emotions. Practising Kundalini Yoga, you actually activate the so called kundalini energy in the spine. You do so with different poses, breath control, chanting, and meditation. Some smokers find this extremely beneficial to quit smoking while doing Kundalini yoga and I myself find it a natural way of releasing endorphins just by breathing and doing the poses. Try it for yourself! You will know what I meant.

Vinyasa Yoga or more commonly referred as Power Yoga is a vigorous, athletic typed of yoga. It originates from Ashtanga yoga. Having said that though there is no standard set of poses to follow like there is in Ashtanga. Again, Vinyasa Yoga emphasises on strength and flexibility. There maybe little or no chanting or mediation. Vinyasa, which means breath-synchronized movement, tends to be a more vigorous style based on the performance of a series of poses called Sun Salutations (surya namaskars) in which movement is matched to the breath. A Vinyasa class will typically start with a number of Sun Salutations to warm up the body for more intense stretching which is done at the end of class. Some religious believers oppose strongly to such practices!

Shiva Rea has cultivated an energetic, creative, full-spectrum approach to embodying the flow of yoga called Prana Flow Yoga. Prana Flow draws from classical and innovative approaches to Vinyasa yoga and the state of flow, including Krishnamacharya's teachings, Tantra, Ayurveda, Bhakti, Somatics and Shiva's teaching experience from the last fifteen years. Classes include cycles of sequences (vinyasas) linked together via the breath. Classes include chanting and music, namaskars, meditation and pranayama (breath work), and shavasana.

Yin Yoga comes from China as it is apparent from its name! It is a slow, passive practice that stretches and stimulates the connective tissue rather than the muscles, thereby enabling deep opening, particularly in the hips and spine. Postures and are held for an extended period of time (anything from three to ten minutes) and is appropriate for beginners and experienced yogis. If you talk about energy flow and "luck" factor then Yin Yoga is for you!

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Yes, everybody is talking about Yoga!

However, as a matter iof fact yoga has been kept out of the reach of the "common men". This is particularly worse in developing countries like Cambodia, rural parts of China, India, Russia annd so on. Take for example, Yoga can be only practised by certain caste/class system in some remote villages! and,

According the news published in Washington post dated 2 Feb, it is now in the west, people are making it unaffordable and inaccessible to the average working person. This is a sad fact indeed!

Another piece of shocking news is although yoga has received a considerable amount of study to date demonstrating significant cardio-respiratory, musculoskeletal and metabolic health benefits, the degree to which the physical activity component of yoga may have contributed to these benefits has received virtually no attention.

Due to the above factor, good Yoga teachers play important role in spreading teh benefots of doing Yoga! They will always ensure that there are some criterias being included in the yoga sessions so that the participants are able to engage in the yoga routine safely.

You can find out more about doing Yoga safely at Squidoo Yoga