What is the meaning and importance of Yoga?

Meaning of Yoga  

Yoga is derived from a sanskrit word 'yuj', which means to unite or to join. Yog is its noun form which means union. It is concerned with the union of the individual soul with the Absolute or Divine soul. It is a science of development of man's consciousness. Yoga is the 'unification of Atma with Paramatma'. It also means the unification of physical, mental, intellectual and spiritual aspects of human being.

Importance of Yoga 

It is a universal truth that modern age is the age of stress, tension and anxiety. Now a days, most of the people are not leading a happy and productive life. They indulge in materialism. They are running after money. For such people, money is mother, money is father and money is God. In fact, money is everything for them. These people have excessive money in store, even then they are mentally disturbed. They can't sleep without sleeping pills. Their life is full of problems. At last , it can be alluded that everybody, whether rich or poor, is not happy in the present-day life. Everybody is in a hurry. Human beings have no time to think about leisure. Everything is time-bound and man is chasing time. This makes him physically tired and mentally tense.


In order to get rid of physical fatigue and mental tension tension and stress, man has devised certain means. He attends parties and takes drinks for relief, satisfaction and relaxation, but instead of getting peace and relaxation he suffers with more tension, stress and fatigue. Purchased relaxation does not provide him with peace and satisfaction in real life. He further sinks in various complex problems. Most of the people are leading such a stressful life. Myraid problems are affecting such people-draining them physically, mentally and emotionally.

That is why, such people are falling prey to various diseases. At this juncture, yoga can be very significant for us. We can get rid of such problems by practising yoga. 

 Benifits of Yoga

1.  Physical Purity: Internal organs of our body can be cleansed by various yogic exercises. Basically there are three substances in our body, i.e., vaat, pitt and kaph. If there is a proper balance of these substances in our body, we may remain healthy. For the proper cleanliness and purity of our internal organs, we should perform yogic exercises.


2.  Cure and prevention from disease: There are various diseases which usually hamper the smooth functioning of our body. Yoga not only protects us from many diseases but also cures them. Various yogic exercises increase the immunity power of an individual. if an individual performs yogic exercises regularly, he cannot fall prey to diseases.
3.  Reduces Mental Tension: Yoga can help in reducing tension. It is a            well-known fact that most of the people remain under stress and tension. They do not get peace anywhere. They feel upset and disturbed in present-day life. They think that money can bring happiness and peace to their life but it further intensifies their stress and tension. Performing Yogic asanas and activities regularly is beneficial for releasing stress and tension.

4.  Beautification of body: Everyone in this world wants to have a beautiful body., because it is appreciated by everyone in our society. Nowadays obesity is common. Everybody wants to be slim, because overweight people do not feel comfortable in our society. Various yogic asanas are best suited to get rid of this problem. Through yogic exercises face becomes so beautiful that one does not require facial creams. In fact, yoga brightens the face.

5.  Provides Relaxation: Rest and relaxation are essential for removing fatigue. When we indulge in any physicalor mental work, after some time we feel tired. At this juncture, we can't do further work. So, we need relaxation. Yogic exercises an asanas are the best means of reducing mental fatigue.
6.  Helps Maintain the Correct Posture of Body: Nowadays postural deformities are common in individuals. Without good posture they are unable to do work efficiently. They are not able to enjoy life. They usually put more energy in simple tasks. If we perform yogic asanas regularly, we can maintain the correct posture of our body.
7.  Spiritual Development: Through yoga, efforts can be made to attain spiritual development. We can have a good control on our mind by doing regular yogic exercises. If our mind is pure, we can make efforts to achieve spiritual heights. Yogic asanas enhance the meditation power.
8.  Increases Flexibility: Flexibility is very significant for every person. It makes the movements of body efficient and graceful. It is also helpful in preventing sports injury. Performing yogic exercises regularly is beneficial for increasing flexibility of body. Muscles also becomes flexible on performing yogic asanas.

9.  Reduces Obesity: Obesity is a worldwide problem. Obese people fall prey to various diseases. Yogic exercises can help in reducing obesity. Specially meditative asanas reduce obesity. Research studies have shown that obesity is also caused by mental tension and stress. So, by reducing mental stress and tension through meditative asanas obesity can be reduced.
10.  Improves Health: Yoga helps in maintaining and improving health by making our muscles strong and regulating other systems of the body such as respiratory, excretory, circulatory, nervous and glandular systems. It increases the efficiency of these systems in our body and thus improves health.

11.  Enhance Moral and Ethical values: Nowadays there is a declining trend in moral and ethical values. By following the first two steps of astanga yoga, ethical and moral values can be enhanced. In fact, the practice of yama and niyama such as non-violence, truthfulness, non-stealing, patience, etc., makes an individual more moral and ethical.
12.  Yoga can be performed easily: In present-day life, everybody seems to be in hurry. Life has become fast. Every individual complains of shortage of time. To do an exercise other than yogic exercises requires enough time and money whereas, yogic exercises can be performed easily. These exercises can be done in a short duration and are not expensive. Moreover, these exercises can be performed in less space.

Conclusion: Yoga is very signifant for human beings specially in present-day life. An individual can attain perfect health and can lead a happy, contented, exhilarated and productive life, if he performs yogic exercises regularly.



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