The Art Of Yoga And It’s Amazing Health Benefits
The art of yoga is a rather tough subject to discuss today. Globalization seems to have vanquished the real meaning and purpose of this miraculous ancient art. To make it easy for the common man to understand, the whole philosophy has been reduced to a simple concept. In essence, the contents of yoga, in its entirety may be a little complicated for westerners to understand.
Western civilization may find its contents to be mystical and complex, thus finds it hard to understand. To be on the safe side, it is good to gain a thorough understanding of a particular subject before you begin to speak of it from an expert’s viewpoint. Yoga is mainly perceived as a physical activity in the western part of the world. The rich philosophies behind yoga practice have been reduced into a simple form of art that focuses merely on achieving inner balance and peace.
It has its origins in the Hindu religion and is a physical manifestation representing one of the six schools of Hindu thought. In India, yoga is considered a very spiritual experience that has a physical aspect to it. Viewing yoga as a physical activity is definitely a mistake. Most westerners are aware of the strange symbols associated with yoga practice, but often they are misunderstood.
Operating from the wrong paradigm, yoga became a form of sports in the western world. Nevertheless many have been attracted to yoga as a form of practice to achieve inner peace and balance. The allure of yoga as an effective way to gain inner peace and balance has beckoned many to embrace this activity as well.
The so called experts in this industry have been quick to use these promises and people have been fascinated. There is plenty of evidence to show that yoga has been wrongly implemented in the West. Different groups practicing yoga have its own cultural structure and these influences are responsible for those fatal errors detected in the practice of this ancient art.
The fast paced lifestyle of the western civilization left no chance for them to indulge in quiet, introspective moments to really understand this concept. Sometimes, the most important part of this practice is neglected, for instance the essential meditation. The Hindus have a different set of value system that is very different from the west, and places low importance in the mere accumulation of physical wealth. Unless these values are changed, it is impossible for westerners to achieve the true wisdom and enlightenment as defined by the parameters of the Hindu religion.
It takes patience and time to experience a successful meditative session. This is what the westerners lack. The west seems cursed with the obsession to pursue the goal of building better lives in the form of lavish lifestyles and not in the philosophical way.
Here, yoga as been practiced by those who desire to look good and stay in style. There is a lot of information going out promoting yoga as a form of sports. In fact you can grab any of those and start practicing yoga anywhere you want to. During the early years of yoga practice in the US, a lot of yoga “gurus” have emerged, claiming to be experts of this discipline. Yet they gradually dwindled into what they actually are, merely fake gurus and yet they still have real support from their disciples. Obedient disciples of this distorted form of yoga have become agents of growth of this unhealthy philosophy.
June 21 2008 01:37 pm | Yoga