Yoga:

Union of the individual soul and the Supreme Soul; the discipline by which such union is effected. The Yoga system of philosophy, ascribed to Patanjali, deals with the realisation of Truth through concentration of mind.

(See also: Yoga, Sanskrit Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul)

YOGA: (Lit.) union; union of the individual soul with the Supreme Soul; any course which makes for such union

(See also: YOGA, Hinduism, Hinduism Dictionary, Sanskrit Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul)

Yoga: Literally, "union." Union with the Supreme Being, or any practice that makes for such union. Meditation that unites the individual spirit with God, the Supreme Spirit. The name of the philosophy expounded by the sage Patanjali, teaching the process of union of the individual with the Universal Soul.

(See also: Yoga, Hinduism, Hinduism Dictionary, Sanskrit Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul)

Yoga:

Literally means “yoke” or discipline. With no qualifying adjective, usually refers to Hatha Yoga (discipline of the body).

(See also: Yoga, Pagan, Paganism, Pagan Dictionary)

yoga: (Sanskrit) "Union." From yuj, "to yoke, harness, unite."

The philosophy, process, disciplines and practices whose purpose is the yoking of individual consciousness with transcendent or divine consciousness. One of the six darshanas, or systems of orthodox Hindu philosophy.

Yoga was codified by Patanjali in his Yoga Sutras (ca 200 bce) as the eight limbs (ashtanga) of raja yoga. It is essentially a one system, but historically, parts of raja yoga have been developed and emphasized as yogas in themselves.

Prominent among the many forms of yoga are

-       hatha yoga (emphasizing bodily perfection in preparation for meditation),

-       kriya yoga (emphasizing breath control), as well as

-       karma yoga (selfless service) and

-       bhakti yoga (devotional practices) which could be regarded as an expression of raja yoga's first two limbs (yama and niyama).

See: Yoga, austerity, bhakti yoga, danda, hatha yoga, jivanmukta, raja yoga, shad darshana, siddha yoga, siddhi.

(See also: Yoga, Hinduism, Body Mind and Soul)

Yoga:

(lit. "Union") The sate of oneness with the Self, with God; the practices leading to that state.

(See also: Yoga, Kundalini, Kundalini Yoga, Kundalini Dictionary)

Yoga: meaning Union, A broad range of disciplined forms of meditation, which share the goal of freeing the mind from attachment, and distraction and opening the way for an experience of oneness with everything.  Recent discovery of 5000 year old medals illustrating classic yoga poses, have confirmed the ancient origins of Yoga. Yoga is also an integral part of Buddhism, Jainism and other offshoots of Hinduism.

(See also: Yoga, Yoga, Yoga Dictionary)

Yoga is often mentioned in company with Tantra. While the two have deep similarities, most traditions distinguish them from one another. They are similar in that both amount to families of spiritual texts, practices, and lineages with origins in the Indian subcontinent. (Coincidentally, both have been popularized to some extent in the West, with perhaps a shallower understanding of their nature.) It should be noted however that ...

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Yoga, Yoga - Yoga practice and intention, Yoga - The word yoga, Yoga - Diversity of yoga, Yoga - Yoga and religion, Yoga - Common themes, Yoga - Origins, Yoga - Hindu yoga, Yoga - Bhagavad Gita, Yoga - Patanjali, Yoga - God in Yoga philosophy, Yoga - Hatha yoga, Yoga - Natya yoga, Yoga - Buddhist yoga, Yoga - Yoga and tantra, Yoga - Notable Yogis

Read more here: » Yoga: Encyclopedia II - Yoga - Yoga and tantra

Yoga - Bhagavad Gita. Main article: Bhagavad Gita The Bhagavad Gita famously distinguishes several types of "yoga", corresponding to the duties of different nature of people. Capturing the essence and at the same time going into detail about the various Yogas and their philosophies, it constantly refers to itself as such, the "Scripture of Yoga" (see the final verses of each chapter). The book is thought to have been written some time between the 5th and the 2nd century BC. In it, Krish ...

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Yoga, Yoga - Yoga practice and intention, Yoga - The word yoga, Yoga - Diversity of yoga, Yoga - Yoga and religion, Yoga - Common themes, Yoga - Origins, Yoga - Hindu yoga, Yoga - Bhagavad Gita, Yoga - Patanjali, Yoga - God in Yoga philosophy, Yoga - Hatha yoga, Yoga - Natya yoga, Yoga - Buddhist yoga, Yoga - Yoga and tantra, Yoga - Notable Yogis

Read more here: » Yoga: Encyclopedia II - Yoga - Hindu yoga

YOGA: Indian Medicine places much emphasis on prevention and yoga is used with that in mind. There are many different type of yoga postural and stretching exercises and the student is always advised to go to a qualified teacher.

(See also: YOGA, Alternative Health, Body Mind and Soul)

Within the various schools of Tibetan Buddhism yoga likewise holds a central place, though not in the form presented by Patanjali or the Gita. (For example, physical postures are rarely practiced.) An example would be "guru yoga," the union with the mind of the spiritual teacher which must be done at the beginning of the spiritual path and regularly throughout. In the tantric traditions a number of practices are classified with the name "yoga", for example, the two of the four general classification of tantras--"Y ...

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Yoga, Yoga - Yoga practice and intention, Yoga - The word yoga, Yoga - Diversity of yoga, Yoga - Yoga and religion, Yoga - Common themes, Yoga - Origins, Yoga - Hindu yoga, Yoga - Bhagavad Gita, Yoga - Patanjali, Yoga - God in Yoga philosophy, Yoga - Hatha yoga, Yoga - Natya yoga, Yoga - Buddhist yoga, Yoga - Yoga and tantra, Yoga - Notable Yogis

Read more here: » Yoga: Encyclopedia II - Yoga - Buddhist yoga

YOGA

Means union, or the yoking together of body and spirit. It is one of the more ancient methods of healing and of raising consciousness. It is a powerful tool to attain illumination, and like India herself (from whence this comes), there are many levels of expression. Yoga is a general term for many different types of practices.

The West is already familiar with Hatha Yoga, the practice of physical postures. However, there are more: Kriya Yoga includes breathing techniques, Tantric Yoga recognizes and aligns with the sexual energy, in the most profound awareness that sexual and spiritual are one, Bhatkti Yoga accentuates the path of devotion, Raja Yoga or the Royal Path, Kundalini Yoga also uses breathing techniques, and is concerned with the sacred energy of the spine, and so on. In each one, there is a profound technique of ancient knowledge, which can help you find what you are seeking on your life path.

(See also: YOGA, Alternative Health, Holistic Health, Body Mind and Soul)

Yoga

(from Sanskrit. verbal root, meaning "discipline," )

Any number of physical or spiritual disciplines arising in India. An Eastern philosophy involving spiritual discipline using various techniques to experience union with a Supreme Being. Many yogic paths exist and include work on the physical body as in Hatha yoga, which uses breathing exercises and sustained physical postures to gain physical and mental control over the body; Bhakti, the yoga of devotion and love using the heart as a vehicle for transcendence; and other types of yoga specific to a path or teacher including Iyengar, Jnana, Karma, Kripalu, Kriya, Kundalini, Raja, Siddha and Tantra yoga.

(See also: Yoga, New Age Spirituality, Body Mind and Soul)

Yoga:

Yoga: Conquest of the senses, union of body, mind and soul, and with God (RRV-6b).

(See also: Yoga, Hinduism, Hinduism Dictionary, Sanskrit Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul)

Yoga / Ashtanga Yoga.

(See also: Yoga / Ashtanga Yoga., Yoga, Yoga Dictionary)

A Theosophical definition of Yoga :

Yoga

(Sanskrit) Literally "union," "conjunction," etc. In India it is the technical name for one of the six Darsanas or schools of philosophy, and its foundation is ascribed to the sage Patanjali. The name Yoga itself describes the objective of this school, the attaining of union or at-one-ness with the divine-spiritual essence within a man. The yoga practices when properly understood through the instructions of genuine teachers  - who, by the way, never announce themselves as public lecturers or through books or advertisements  - are supposed to induce certain ecstatic states leading to a clear perception of universal truths, and the highest of these states is called samadhi.

There are a number of minor forms of yoga practice and training such as the karma yoga, hatha yoga, bhakti yoga, raja yoga, jnana yoga, etc. Similar religious aspirations or practices likewise exist in Occidental countries, as, for instance, what is called salvation by works, somewhat equivalent to the Hindu karma yoga or, again, salvation by faith  - or love, somewhat similar to the Hindu bhakti yoga; while both Orient and Occident have, each one, its various forms of ascetic practices which may be grouped under the term hatha yoga.

No system of yoga should ever be practiced unless under the direct teaching of one who knows the dangers of meddling with the psychomental apparatus of the human constitution, for dangers lurk at every step, and the meddler in these things is likely to bring disaster upon himself, both in matters of health and as regards sane mental equilibrium. The higher branches of yoga, however, such as the raja yoga and jnana yoga, implying strict spiritual and intellectual discipline combined with a fervid love for all beings, are perfectly safe. It is, however, the ascetic practices, etc., and the teachings that go with them, wherein lies the danger to the unwary, and they should be carefully avoided.

See also: Yoga, Mysticism, Body Mind and Soul)

YOGA

(Sanskrit for "union," related to our "yoke.") Conquering the self is known as Yoga, the esoteric Eastern teaching of human perfection that lies behind all occult wisdom. It is a thread that binds the individual to the "Supreme Reality" (or, as Watts would say, "The Supreme Identity"). In the Upanishads is written:

"By Vayu, the Inner Controller, as by a thread, O Gautama, are  this world, the other world, and all beings held together.

"Quite so... Now describe the Inner Controller.

"He who inhabits the earth, yet is within the earth, whom the earth does  not know, whose body the earth is, and who controls the earth from within --  he is your Self, the Inner Controller, The Immortal."

A teacher of Yoga is called a guru and a student is called a chela, a practitioner of Yoga is called a Yogi or Yogin. Yoga reveals the beginning yogi's weaknesses and also what transcendent strengths are available to him. There are 12 essential types of Yoga, here presented in arbitrary order:

Hatha-Yoga (The Breath: physical vitality). Bhakti-Yoga (Loving: The way of Devotion of Religion). Shakti-Yoga (Energy: The way of nature). Mantra-Yoga (Sound: Power through sound vibrations). Laya-Yoga (The Will: Mental powers). Yantra-Yoga (Formation: Powers through the use of geometric forms). Dhyana-Yoga (Thinking: Way of thought). Raja-Yoga (Methodology: Power to discriminate and develop consciousness). Jnana-Yoga (Knowledge: Intellectual power). Kundalini-Yoga (Kundalini energy: Development of psychic nerve energy). Samadhi-Yoga (The Self: The way of ecstasy). Karma-Yoga (Action: The way of right action). To these we must also add the esoteric Martya Yoga (willed death).

(See also: YOGA, Magick, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul, )

YOGA

The word yoga describes a variety of Hindu practices developed in ancient India to unify body and mind with universal spirit, thereby encouraging physical and mental well-being.

Yoga most commonly involves a series of stretching postures (called asanas), breathing exercises, and meditative practices. Diet is also considered important to this discipline. Yoga increases flexibility, improves muscle tone, and is helpful in the reduction of stress.

(See also: YOGA, Alternative Health, Massage, Bodywork, Body Mind and Soul)

Yoga: This is a system that integrates breathing, movement, energy and diet for optimum health. Yoga promotes the mind/body connection and involves meditation in order to achieve a sense of heightened awareness and peace. One of Yoga’s best known practices involves holding poses for minutes or far longer while meditating. It can help ease a variety of ailments, including reducing blood pressure and improving respiratory function.

(See also: Yoga, Alternative Health, Body Mind and Soul)

Yoga: A system of exercises, postures, breathing, meditation and relaxation. Students learn self-control and a state of being at one with oneself.

(See also: Yoga, Alternative Health, Body Mind and Soul)

Yoga

The word "Yoga" has two meanings, each of which go some way to explaining it.

The Sanskrit root yuj means to yoke or to bind, it also means union or communion with the will of the spirit (Paramatma or God). Yoga is a practice by which the mind, body and spirit can be focussed upon and unified with the spirit of the universe.

Yoga is about balance, harmony and moderation and the practice of Yoga consists of mental exercise, physical exercise and even guidance on diet and living. Yoga is the ultimate embodiment of the "Mind Body Soul - Whole" philosphy.

originated in India where the search for enlightenment and unity with the divine will was central to the culture, yet it has seen a resurgence in recent decades even in the more secular western world.

(See also: Yoga, Alternative Health, Body Mind and Soul)

yoga

(Sanskrit) "Yoke" 1. Union of self with the absolute or divine. 2. Methods or discipline employed to obtain such union. 3. Meditative practices originating in pre-Aryan India used by Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and some Moslems and Christians. 4. One of the orthodox schools of Hindu philosophy

(See also: Yoga, Body Mind and Soul)