Introduction to Yoga

The Sanskrit word, Yoga, is often translated into English as “to unite”, “to yoke” or “to control”. The term “Yoga” refers to a set of disciplines which originated in India whose goal is to assist people in attaining a state of perfect spiritual insight and tranquility. This state is brought about by a person performing specific physical and mental exercises to achieve the union of physical, mental and spiritual states. Yoga, one of the six main schools of orthodox Hinduism (darshanas), is associated with meditative practices in Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism and for these reasons the terms used in the practice of Yoga are in Sanskrit.  One of the major types of Yoga, Hatha Yoga, and a specialized branch of Hatha Yoga known as Iyengar Yoga are most often practiced in the west.