Yoga – An ancient form of exercise which evolved thousands of years back in the Indian society and is being practiced continuously since then. It includes various forms of exercise to keep a person in good shape and to get rid of various forms of diseases and inabilities. It is also considered as a strong method for meditation which helps in relaxation of mind and body.

Short and Long Essay on Importance of Yoga

Essay 1 (300 words)

Yoga aids in controlling a person’s body, mind and soul. It brings the physical and mental discipline together to soothe the body and mind. It also aids in managing stress and anxiety and keeps you relaxed. Yoga asana is known to develop vigor, flexibility, and confidence.

Benefits of Yoga

• Improves flexibility of muscles
• Corrects the posture and alignment of the body
• Renders better digestive system
• Strengthens internal organs
• Cures asthma
• Cures diabetes
• Helps in curing heart-related problems
• Helps in skin glow
• Promotes strength and stamina
• Tones internal organs
• Improves concentration
• Helps in mind and thought control
• Keeps mind calm by overcoming anxiety, stress, and depression
• Helps in releasing tension
• Helps in blood circulation and muscle relaxation
• Weight reduction
• Protection from injury

These are among the numerous benefits of yoga. Yoga focuses on your natural tendency towards health and self-healing. A yoga session mainly comprises of breathing exercises, meditation and yoga asana that stretch and strengthen various muscle groups. It is a good substitute for avoiding medicines that are harmful to our mental and physical health.

One of the main benefits of practicing yoga is that it helps manage stress. Stress is common these days and is known to have devastating effects on one’s body and mind. Due to stress, people develop serious problems like sleeping disorder, neck pain, back pain, headaches, rapid heart rate, sweaty palms, dissatisfaction, anger, insomnia and inability to concentrate. Yoga is known to be really effective in curing these kinds of problems over a period of time. It helps a person in managing stress by meditation and breathing exercises and improves a person’s mental well being. Regular practice creates mental clarity and calmness thereby relaxing the mind.

Conclusion

Yoga is a very useful practice which is easy to do and helps in getting rid of certain serious health problems that are common in today’s lifestyle.

Essay 2 (400 words)

Yoga is a practice that works on eight levels of development in the areas of mental, physical, spiritual and social health. When the physical health is intact, the mind is clear and focused and there is no more. The main goals of yoga include:

• Physical Health
• Mental Health
• Spiritual Health
• Self Realization
• Social Health

Reasons to Practice Yoga Regularly

Yoga is an art that connects our body, mind, and soul together and makes us strong and peaceful. Yoga is necessary because it keeps us fit, helps burst stress and maintains our overall health. A healthy mind can concentrate well and do everything.

Yoga is important because by practicing Yoga you are being benefited on the following points:

Inner Peace – Yoga helps achieve inner peace and fight against stress and other problems. Yoga increases the peace level in an individual and makes him become more joyful resulting in more confidence.

Healthy – A healthy person can achieve and do more work than an unhealthy person. Life nowadays is very stressful and there is a lot of pollution around us. This is a cause of numerous health issues. Just 10-20 minutes of yoga each day can help regain your health. Better health means a better life.

Activeness – People nowadays feel lazy, tired or sleepy. Due to which they miss out most of the fun in life and are not able to complete their work correctly. Being active keeps you aware of the things happening around you and also helps you complete your work more efficiently and quickly. And one way to achieve this is by practicing yoga regularly.

Flexibility – People nowadays suffer from joint pains, face difficulties while bending or touching their toes. Regular practice of yoga helps in relieving these pains. The effect can be seen in a few days of practicing.

Increase Blood Flow – Yoga helps make your heart healthy and makes it work more efficiently by increasing blood flow in your body and veins. It helps in keeping your body oxygenated.

Power to Concentrate – Yoga helps your body to calm down and relax which means there is less stress and one can concentrate and focus quickly on his work. That is why children and teenagers are encouraged to do yoga because it helps them concentrate better on their studies.

Conclusion

Thus, yoga is a miracle and once followed, it will guide you the whole life. 20-30 minutes of yoga per day can change your life in the long run by promoting a balance between physical, mental and spiritual health.

Essay 3 (500 words)

Yoga comes from the Sanskrit word, ‘YUJ’. It means to join, connect or unite. It is the union of individual consciousness with universal consciousness. Yoga is 5000 years old Indian philosophy. It was first mentioned in the oldest sacred text – The Rig Veda (Vedas were a collection of texts containing mantras, spiritual information, songs and rituals to be used by Brahmins, the Vedic priests.

Yoga is being practiced in Indian society for thousands of years. A person doing yoga will move from one posture to the other called Asana. Yoga benefits people who practice it regularly.

The form of exercises performed in Yoga is called as ‘Asana’ which is capable of bringing about the stability of body and mind. Yoga Asana is the simplest and easiest way to reduce our excess weight and keep fit.

ORIGIN OF YOGA

Yoga originated in ancient India thousands of years ago, long before the first religion or belief system was born. It is believed that Shiva is the first Yogi or Adiyogi and the first guru. Thousands of years ago, on the banks of Lake Kantisarovar in the Himalayas, Adiyogi shared his knowledge into legendary seven sages as it was hard to put all his wisdom and knowledge in one person. The sages took this powerful yogic science to various parts of the world, including Asia, North Africa, the Middle East, and South America. India is blessed to have found the yogic system in its fullest expression.

The fossil remains of Indus-Saraswati civilization are evidence of the presence of Yoga in ancient India. This presence finds a mention in folk traditions. It is included in the Indus valley civilization, Buddhist and Jain traditions. According to the studies, Yoga was being practiced under the direct guidance of a Guru and its spiritual value was given a lot of importance. Sun was given the highest importance during the Vedic period and that’s how Suryanamaskar was invented later on.

However, Maharishi Patanjali is known as the father of Modern Yoga. He did not invent Yoga as it was already there in various forms. He assimilated it into the system. He saw that it was getting quite complex for anyone to understand it in any meaningful way. So he assimilated and included all aspects into a certain format – Yoga Sutras.

The role of breath is very important in the practice of Asana or Yoga positions. Breath is a vital force and our body requirement of oxygen changes depending on our actions. If we exercise then we require more oxygen hence the breathing becomes faster and if we are relaxing then our breathing becomes relaxed and deep. In yoga, the focus is integrated on the breath while indulging in slow movements as well as while doing complete Asana. Yoga promotes smooth and relaxed inhalation and exhalation during the practice.

Conclusion

Yoga is only partially understood as being limited to Asana. But people fail to realize the immense benefits yoga offers in uniting the body, mind, and breath. Yoga can be opted and practiced by any age group and any body size. It is possible for anyone to start. The size and the fitness level don’t matter as there are modifications for every yoga asana according to different people.

Essay 4 (600 words)

Yoga postures have always been an important discussion in yogic culture. In some yoga schools situated abroad, yoga postures are classified as Standing, Sitting, Lying on back and Lying on Stomach but the actual and traditional classification of Yoga includes four main paths including Karma Yoga, Jnana Yoga, Bhakti Yoga, and Kriya Yoga.

Classification of Yoga

Here is a look at the four main paths of yoga in brief to understand their importance.

1. KARMA YOGA – It is also known as the ‘Discipline of Actions’ in western culture. This form is one of the four essential pathways of Yoga. This teaches us to perform one’s duty without getting attached to the fruit or reward by doing selfless activities and duties. This is the main lesson that is being taught to Karma yogis. It is for those who seek the spiritual path and seek union with God. It can be also practiced in our routine life by conducting one’s duty in a sincere manner without expecting the reward. This is the path of spiritual development. Basically Karma is the action we do and its subsequent reaction. Life of an individual is governed by his karma cycle wherein if a person has good thoughts, good actions and good words he/she will lead a happy life whereas if a person has bad thoughts, bad actions, and bad words, he will lead an unhappy & difficult life. In today’s world, it is very difficult to lead such a selfless life as human beings are prone to fruits of labor they do. These are the reason why we are facing problems like high stress, mental illness, and depression. Karma Yoga teaches us to get rid of all the materialistic paths and lead a happy and content life.
2. JNANA YOGA – It is also known as the ‘Wisdom Yoga’. It is a very difficult and complex path among all. This teaches a person to merge with the inner self by practicing various mental techniques by meditating into deep conscience mind and conducting self-questioning sessions. It tells an individual to differentiate between a permanent conscious and a temporary materialistic world. This path teaches to steady the mind and emotions by focusing on 6 fundamental virtues – calmness, control, sacrifice, tolerance, faith, and focus. It is often advised to practice Jnana Yoga under the guidance of a competent guru to achieve the goal and to perform it in the best way.
3. BHAKTI YOGA – Also known as ‘Spiritual or Devotional Yoga’. It is associated with divine love as it is the greatest pathway to spiritual enlightenment through love and devotion. In this path, an individual sees God as the supreme expression and embodiment of love. Its main features are – to chant the lord’s name, singing his praise or bhajans and engaging in worship and ritual. It is the easiest and the most popular one. Bhakti Yoga leads to the purification of mind and heart and can be achieved by numerous mental & physical yoga practices. It also gives courage in adverse situations. It is basically developing compassionate feelings and focusing on purifying inner self with pure divine love.
4. KRIYA YOGA – It is the physical practice wherein several body postures are performed through meditation techniques of energy and breath control or pranayama. In this, the development of body, mind, and soul takes place. By practicing the Kriya yoga the entire human system is energized in a short time. All the internal organs such as the liver, pancreas, etc are activated. Necessary hormones and enzymes are secreted to keep the body healthy. The blood absorbs a high amount of oxygen and becomes de-carbonized quickly which helps in general well being and the number of psychosomatic diseases is avoided. Through more circulation in the head, the brain cells are energized, the working capacity of the brain is enhanced and the memory becomes sharp and a person does not get tired easily.

Conclusion

A Yoga guru or teacher can teach an appropriate combination of the four fundamental paths as it is necessary for each seeker. Ancient sayings have stressed that it is essential to work under the directions of a Guru to attain the above-mentioned Yoga paths.