David:

1. Yoga is not ancient Indian philosophy. It does not belong to anyone, or to Hinduism. It is the heritage of all mankind who have arose from a single source. The geographical, cultural, political and demographical entity known as India now, received it & practiced it to preserve the science of Yoga faithfully. Other inheritors lost it, while India preserved it as a sacred science, recognizing its essentiality. But all mankind are the inheritors. You have the same right as anyone from India has over Yoga. This is probably difficult for Americans to comprehend in the times of cutthroat copyrights, intellectual property rights and patents. The ancient seers of Yoga never claimed patents(not even signing their names, preferring to remain anonymous)and gave the science to all the children of mankind, saying that they themselves received it, proclaiming 'Loka Samastha Sukhinoh Bhavanthu"! May All Worlds be Happy! This is long before any religion even came into the picture.

Yoga is 'open source', but please don't misinterpret and use it to misguide humanity to make your own living. Using wisely, responsibly, remaining true to its actual content is a way of showing respect to the 'original' giver.

2. It is not based on the Patanjali Yoga Sutras. Patanjali is a seer who organised & codified the science into sutras, terse aphorsims, in the recent past, recognising that in the age of Kali, man's limited intelligence is liable to lose the science altogether. It is not even known if he is a human being as he is usually depicted with the lower half of his body coiled like a snake(pic). The snake is a representation of Time in Yoga. He is also known as the Lord of Time. In the Bhagavad Gita(circa 3200 BC), Krishna states that the ancient science was lost many times in the hoary past and every time He descends to deliver the same science to Man to subjugate evil. The science of Yoga is the original 'Operations manual' of man. It is the 'Science of Man'. We descended from a source and the way back to the source is Yoga. The path and the goal is Yoga. 

Hatha Yoga Pradipika is a recent (15th century )abridged work that lays emphasis on the physical posture part so that the main goal of Yoga is achieved without bodily interference.

3. I would rather not comment on the level of absurdity Yoga has been misinterpreted by commercial interests in America. Cherry-picking is both harmful and counterproductive. What would happen if the government let people cherry pick the American constitution and interpret it according to their own comfort zone?

4. There's no mud slinging going on here, only concern that the 'adulterated ' version may become 'mainstream' and the truth lost forever. Blowback effect ?

5.On the contrary, this is an attempt to prevent people from getting hurt by clearing the air. Are you stating that the "Ignorance is Bliss" mode, status quo, is Ok? Am I throwing a spanner in the well oiled sham?

Regards

Probably not.  The original yoga is too connected to its original religious sources, and they are too alien to the typical Christian, and the atheist doesn't want anything smacking of religion.  So we call it meditation and focus on the purely physical benefits.

And that part of it IS pretty healthy.  Just not what it was originally meant to be.

Dear Amy,

Thank you for inaugurating the thread.

I get the drift of 'taking the juicier parts' out of Yoga and using them for health.

1. Why call this cannibalized version 'Yoga' creating the wrong impression that Yoga is a physical exercise and also adding to the confusion? 

2. Why take up Yoga at all? Athletics, aerobics, pilates, callisthenics.....all physical practices devoid of any spiritual elements are available along with Christian meditation. Why take to this alien practice with its roots to religious sources?

3. If as you say, only the purely physical part is taken, why does it work while other physical exercise don't have the same healing effect?

3. If its taken only for the physical benefits, why all the academic delving into the classical Sanskrit texts for the roots of Yoga?

Regards

The people who originally brought Yoga to the Western world did so at a time when religion was a very important part of public life.  Maintaining social status and position was incumbant on publicly being viewed as Christian.  So the religious aspects of Yoga were changed or eliminated altogether.  At this time, "Eastern philosophy" was very popular, but Westerners wanted to cherry pick what they liked out of it, and Indians who worked with them accomodated their needs.

The trend continued in the 60's when young people again became fascinated with Eastern philosophies, cultures, and religions at a time when Christianity was still also very important to people (the liberals of the 60's were actually very religous but focused more on Christ's social agenda than traditional dogmas like Dispensationalism or Catholic orthodoxy).

Fast forward to the shallow 80's and 90's when people wanted good physical fitness but didn't want to have to think about it.  They took what they wanted from yoga

" tapasvibhyo 'dhiko yogi

jnanibhiyo 'pi mato'dhikah

karmibhyash cadhiko yogi

tasmad yogi bhavaarjuna"

"A yogi is greater than the ascetic, greater than the empiricist and greater than the fruitive worker. Therefore, O Arjuna, in all circumstances, be a yogi . 

Bhagavad-gita 6-46

Dear Sir, 

 We are ilving in such a deep ignorance and illusion, that our superficial and restricted consciousness accepts the snake as a rope. I think there is hope for those who seek the truth.

God bless you !

Hi Raveendra, I wrote an essay about exactly this phenomenon. Since I am still enrolled in a master's program and this essay was part of my bachelor's degree I am not sure if I can upload my essays here, it seems this is only for phD holders, professors etc.... ?!  but it contains all the necessary information (and more) so if you want I can send it to you !

Amy,

By only taking the parts we want, isn't the very purpose of Yoga lost? Why bother calling it Yoga at all?

Regards

Of course, it is not Yoga, Raveendra. It is something, that can be saled and consumed. This can not be made with Yoga or any other mental subject.

The "problem" (I don't know even how to name this) is that people mostly don't think at all. They simply copy each other. If everybody "yoga", then I also "yoga" and so on ...

Regards,

Eugene.

I'm certain that someone who is fully into the original would agree with Eugene.  They get something most people don't get because most people don't want it.

In fact, the Catholic Church and many other Christian churches discourage people from the westernized version of yoga even as a form of physical exercise because prayer in their view should be limited to the forms Christianity has traditionally used.

Since I have never tried Yoga, I can't have a real opinion.  I do Tae Kwon Do, and while I have a black belt I am under no illusion that I am any kind of kick ass martial artist.  I'm not.  I'd quickly get my butt handed to me in a fight.  Martial arts for me are an opportunity for physical fitness, some exposure to a different culture, and an introduction to what martial arts are all about.

The experience of Korea may be instructive here.  After World War II, the grand masters of the various kwans (schools) got together to discuss the future of Korean martial arts.  Their native styles had been driven underground during the Japanese occupation (starting about 1910 IIRC), and what remained was influenced by Japanese styles (which could be practiced openly).  Nine of the kwans banded together to form the World Tae Kwon Do Federation, to standardize, preserve, and promote Korean tae kwon do.  They are now a world wide organization, and their form of Korean martial arts is in the Olympics.

The point here is, Koreans managed to hang onto and control their form of martial arts through professionalization efforts.  There are no government regulations on how TKD is taught, but the organization is very well known and respected . . . even though it is not the only one (it is the largest).

People who are concerned about yoga would be well advised to consider a similar option to promote and preserve yoga as it was meant to be.  Such an organization wouldn't even have to focus on a single philosophy (if I understand it correctly, there are several).  As such a movement gains respectability (this will take time and effort) then education and out reach can help the problem you see.

I wouldn't expect people to change their attitudes any other way.

Mental/physical comparison is probably the main East & West mistaken. Since Western introduction of the rather confusing concept of "inert matter".

About the interesting issue of what has been "lost in translation" , I think language could help a lot. The Sanskrit literal meaning of "Yoga", from which the English "yoke" is derived (and Italian "giogo") - if this derivation is right -  could explain the mental trick  inherent to this old discipline.

People are ignorant aboutt the nature of Yoga.  See "What Is Yoga? Yoga Therapy?" at

http://yang-sheng.com/?p=3835

Advertising influences people to study so-called Yoga, especially many seniors.  The injuries caused by Yoga are not publicized.  See the above article.

The same thing has happened to Tai Chi.

Advertising is a powerful tool.  Most information about exercise is hype produced by gyms, trainers and equipment manufacturers devised for profit..  Some scientific facts about exercise can be found at    

https://www.facebook.com/healthyexercises?ref=hl

People don't investigate activities for themselves.

As this is a professional network, I am trying to concise it as much as possible:

Talking about ancient scriptures and their reference to asanas, 'Hatha Yoga Pradhipika' & 'Gheranda Samhita' would be better texts to refer than on Yoga sutras.

Asanas are only meant to steady the body & sit in comfort for longer duration for higher practices like meditation & samadhi. It is people's choice & CAPACITY on where do they want to stop at this process of evolution.

It's surprising to see (in this discussion) that yoga is still attributed to religion & religious practicse! Yoga originated even before religions did.

Dear friends,

I think Yoga is one of the countless energies of God and as a part of God it is certainly absolute, because God himself is absolute! Therefore,  it have many aspects,  but all of them are good for those who follow them according to the time and the efforts they give to practice.

Hari Om !

Yoga is the ancient Indian philosophy of union. It is based on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, and most readily understood through modern Nonduality teachers,

No one is being duped. Hatha yoga asanas (positions, stretching, or postures) were brought to the West and achieved quick acceptance. They do make a person feel more alert and energetic, and sometimes help with mental clarity. There is some published research on asanas and pranayama, mostly in India.

Just because an industry is popular doesn't mean it is either bad or a scam. It is good to think twice before slinging mud around. You might hurt someone who helps people.

David, I don't think anyone is slinging mud around.

People who are FROM the culture that developed yoga have legitimate concerns about how the practice is being implemented in the West.  It would be like Hindus cherry picking from Roman Catholicism; only using Matthew and ignoring Mark, Luke, and John.  I think the Pope would have something to say about that.

The physical practices of yoga have proven health care benefits.  For some people, that's all they want out of it.  I'm fine with that.

But I'm also not Indian, and I'm not a Hindu.  So I accept that folks who are, have concerns about how something that is an important tradition in their faith is being used by outsiders.

Hello,

 How one culture's practices are "borrowed" and implented in another culture can be quite controversial. Indigenous people in North America are often upset by the commodification of their spiritual and aesthetic practices by White culture. Mindfulness is being adopted by western science more and more, often as a distress management technique rather than a spiritual practice. Is it enough that these "borrowed" practices bring peace, healing, and promote higher levels of well-being? The name of these practices is often retained, as in yoga, because they carry a history that can promote healing in itself and implies an alternative to strictly western materialistic approaches. As many of these posts suggest, such "borrowing" should be done respectfully with acknowledgement. Communication and discussions such as these are necessary to work out the concerns that arise. As for me, I have taken yoga and when I suggest the practice to clients as a counsellor it is because of it's spiritual overtones - otherwise I would suggest going to the gymn purely for exercise. People adopting such practices must make them consistent with the philosophy of life with which they are familiar. Maybe such borrowing is a kind of "foot in the door" technique. I am truly sorry if my own adoption of yoga, mindfulness, and the sweat lodge offend anyone from the culture they originated from. I am willing to engage in discussion about this with anyone at any time. What else can we do when a practice is helpful for us but we are not from that culture? Would it be safer to avoid the practices of other cultures in order to avoid disrespecting them?

Gordon

David:

1. Yoga is not ancient Indian philosophy. It does not belong to anyone, or to Hinduism. It is the heritage of all mankind who have arose from a single source. The geographical, cultural, political and demographical entity known as India now, received it & practiced it to preserve the science of Yoga faithfully. Other inheritors lost it, while India preserved it as a sacred science, recognizing its essentiality. But all mankind are the inheritors. You have the same right as anyone from India has over Yoga. This is probably difficult for Americans to comprehend in the times of cutthroat copyrights, intellectual property rights and patents. The ancient seers of Yoga never claimed patents(not even signing their names, preferring to remain anonymous)and gave the science to all the children of mankind, saying that they themselves received it, proclaiming 'Loka Samastha Sukhinoh Bhavanthu"! May All Worlds be Happy! This is long before any religion even came into the picture.

Yoga is 'open source', but please don't misinterpret and use it to misguide humanity to make your own living. Using wisely, responsibly, remaining true to its actual content is a way of showing respect to the 'original' giver.

2. It is not based on the Patanjali Yoga Sutras. Patanjali is a seer who organised & codified the science into sutras, terse aphorsims, in the recent past, recognising that in the age of Kali, man's limited intelligence is liable to lose the science altogether. It is not even known if he is a human being as he is usually depicted with the lower half of his body coiled like a snake(pic). The snake is a representation of Time in Yoga. He is also known as the Lord of Time. In the Bhagavad Gita(circa 3200 BC), Krishna states that the ancient science was lost many times in the hoary past and every time He descends to deliver the same science to Man to subjugate evil. The science of Yoga is the original 'Operations manual' of man. It is the 'Science of Man'. We descended from a source and the way back to the source is Yoga. The path and the goal is Yoga. 

Hatha Yoga Pradipika is a recent (15th century )abridged work that lays emphasis on the physical posture part so that the main goal of Yoga is achieved without bodily interference.

3. I would rather not comment on the level of absurdity Yoga has been misinterpreted by commercial interests in America. Cherry-picking is both harmful and counterproductive. What would happen if the government let people cherry pick the American constitution and interpret it according to their own comfort zone?

4. There's no mud slinging going on here, only concern that the 'adulterated ' version may become 'mainstream' and the truth lost forever. Blowback effect ?

5.On the contrary, this is an attempt to prevent people from getting hurt by clearing the air. Are you stating that the "Ignorance is Bliss" mode, status quo, is Ok? Am I throwing a spanner in the well oiled sham?

Regards

Amy, Gordon, Faran, Nikolay, Francesco, Marty, Venugopal:

Beautiful and important insights, but unfortunately I have only two fingers to type! Will get back to you tmrw. 

Regards

Raveendra, you are right that the word has been much misused. However, I challenge the assumption that yoga is 'a purely mental procedure'. Not so. The word means Union, ie, union of mind, body and spirit - a way of life or discipline for daily living. It is no more just about mental exercise than it is solely about physical posture and exercise. The real purpose behind the practice of yoga is to bring all aspects of one's life together in pursuit of this state of union.

I hope this helps!

Regards

Roger,

Yoga is nothing without mental exercise. If You want body, You can use sport.

Regards,

Eugene.

Dear all, 

Good question with interesting so far views from all of you. I think that a complete answer could be found not by merely putting the burden on the shoulders of those who practice it or thinking of it as a physical exercise, but rather by considering both the status and background of people practising yoga and the fact of the theoretical background of a theoretical and practical tradition -yoga- that aims to be imposed as an external and strange, though, to the western world, element. Please, don't let the term impose to create negative connotations; if such a tendency occurs, please, keep in mind its original etymological source that is the verb επιβάλλομαι, which means that somethings comes from beyond and places upon something else. Of course, in a globalised era like ours, to impose rather means to exchange...

By the way,  the last period in the history of ideas when West was naturally close to the East, was the Neoplatonism of late antiquity. Since then, mysticism developed in the West mainly and only within, or based on, the christian church tradition, which some times led to isolation.

Now, to the question. First, an answer is that, to the extent yoga over-highlights the priority of the intellect, or mind or whatever one wishes to call it, it is reasonable for people that they still pay a lot of attention to the body, since this is the big deal of the entire (meta-)capitalistic western culture we still experience, to adjust yoga to their bodily needs. Moreover, for some people, the apparent is the nature, physis, in which body fits as the most obvious reality; or, at least, fits most easily. Besides, living in a country that offers you the possibility to realise all your dreams, but which demands from you to be extremely physically competent (at least if you live in the Big Apple or other big cities of the US) in order to succeed or otherwise to survive, it is most natural and expected that yoga is taken for the benefit of the body. This few words address of course the recipients, the agents of yoga side, and especially those who are not interested in its spiritual aspects. (My opinion is that it is somehow naive not to see the sharply spiritual content of yoga. But let it be so).

Another aspect of the case is that the majority of the western world is not anymore interested to purely mental stuff. At least, not many theories and practical traditions that suggested purely mental things survived for long and at large. (Mainstream Christianity, to the extent that expelled body from salvation, in order to put in priority the soul, thus misinterpreting Christian asceticism of the body, also failed or collapsed. But this answers to another question).

There is one more thing that has to do with those who are practising yoga with the intention to spread it to other people. Namely those who are having a certain goal in teaching yoga that goes beyond themselves. As far as I remember, and correct me if I am wrong, yoga meets an unprecedented spread in the western world the last 20-30 years. Especially in the cases of the US, and Europe, which are the two major lands of the western world where yoga is practising, is well known the piety of the people and their strict Christian orientation, despite the several fluctuations (it seems to me that US people maintain their Christian identity and faith more than people in Europe do). So to the extent a bolding of the spiritual aspect of yoga could create any religious conflicts in the potentially interested in yoga people, I very well understand why many yoga trainers often underline the physical exercise dimension of it, almost omitting its purely spiritual dimension, which, nevertheless, is obvious to the average mind. And of course, to the extent they influence people, they try to convince them that it is just a physical activity. To the extent Americans are good people and they can easily trust something that sounds good -this is my personal experience- they can easily be duped. But, I don't think that they are to blame.

Of course, there is always the possibility to doubt the initial question, and ask: is it true that american consumers are duped indeed?

Best,

Panagiotis

Hello everyone,

Let's not oversimplify things. There is not much left of sports without mental exercise either. Have you ever had to pitch to a full count with runners on base at the bottom of the ninth?  Still, yoga is a special practice that explicitly combines the mind, body, and spirit (as Roger says). I don't remember reading anywhere that yoga is a "purely mental exercise" as the original post stated. The main thing is to make the effort of practicing whatever nourishes a wholesome balance of  body, mind, and spirit for you with your particular tolerances and social location. Get off  your duff and do it now! Wait a minute, I'm talking to myself. Time to do my morning stretches. Gotta go...

Gordon, the original poster's question had less to do with mental vs physical exercise, and more to do with the detachment of yoga from its original foundations as part of Hinduism.  The holistic aspect is eliminated in Western practice, including the spiritual aspects.  The OP questions if you can really call it yoga if so you far move away from its origins.

While there is a role for exercise in life, there is a need for more than satisfying such basic needs (sleep, eating, exercise, etc.). Around us we see a society suffering from selfishness, limited comprehension, limited intelligence, lack of fulfillment, addiction, and war. The advantage of paying attention to the teachings of spiritual leaders of the past and present is that we can learn what needs to change in ourselves so that we can be maximally useful as an instruments of positive change for our society.

Yes, the basics matter. Without proper exercise, even just stretching, we feel tired or achy, and that suffering limits our functioning and effectiveness.

But there is something spiritually wrong with most of us, too. We identify with the body, and hence we feel fragile and are fearful of death, seeing death not merely as a natural change, the end of one specific body, but as the end of our consciousness, to which we are attached. We are confused as to what witnesses thoughts, feelings, sensations, and perceptions. We become attached and even addicted to distractions: relationships, events, substances, and objects, as a result of our persistent behaviors of avoidance and seeking. We begin to define ourselves in terms of what we like or want and what we dislike or don't want. We seek or avoid, instead of accept. We live as much in the past and future as in the present, which we sometime realize is the only reality.

We don't need yet another object for our mind to spin around (even a refined object called yoga). We need, instead, to get back to those fundamentals we have been ignoring, questions like who am I, what is consciousness (awareness), and what is reality. We need to stop being satisfied with the usual explanations and advice (explanations such as awareness being an emergent phenomenon of the brain, when that is not actually our experience, and advice such as work hard, no matter what you do, to get good results, when our actual experience is that working hard makes us tired, confused, unproductive, and unhappy)..

Most of the 7.2 billion people of this world suffer, and yet spiritual leaders tell us that suffering is unnecessary. Almost none of these billions of people have every inquired of themselves (or have been asked in school) about what is aware of their experience. And yet we would have no experience without being aware. We are all convinced that duality (subject, object, and a verb to relate the two) is the only way to live, in spite of the monumental failure of this philosophy to bring peace and happiness to life.

We have all known people who were more peaceful, happy, loving, and satisfied than the rest of us. We should pay attention to such folk, and learn from those who are teachers how to gain this status for ourselves.

Yoga means "union". What does stretching unify us with? Or exercise, or eating? In most cases, not much. We need to learn the philosophy of union, which works not on the level of the body, and not on the level of thinking, but on the level of existence and awareness, the level of our true nature.

Hello Amy,

 Thank you for explaining the full context of the question, which I addressed above. In this case I was addressing the actual wording of  the initial question and the sometimes derisive tone I pick up from time to time about "just exercise." I was also trying to have a sense of humour about the whole thing. I think it is the mindfulness and focus with which we do anything, from chopping wood to cleaning pots to stretching, rather than what we call it or where it comes from, that makes an activity healing and determines whether or not it will help us transcend subject object separation. Will asking ourselves what it is to be aware of our experience going to put food in our belly and a roof over our head? As for what happens to us after we die, and what our true nature is, these are profound questions that may transcend language altogether. Now for my evening stretches, which I hope no one will judge to be mere materialistic western exercise limited to the physiological body.

Dear All,

Some developments and vindications: A side-angle on the issue that appeared today in the Washington Post.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/indias-new-prime-minister-narendra-modi-wants-to-rebrand-and-promote-yoga-in-india/2014/12/02/7c5291de-7006-11e4-a2c2-478179fd0489_story.html

Things are definitely coming to a head.

Regards

Thanks for posting this Raveendra. I had no idea about all these patent wars - what a silly notion to try and patent yoga in the west! I am glad so many people get to benefit from the adapted practice in this part of the world, but it's spiritual roots must be honoured. I hope India succeeds in it's "broad expansion of the wellness practice into all facets of civic life." The west can then learn from that as well.

Very timely question! You must have insider knowledge...

Have a great day, Gordon

Again, something related:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/12/10/yoga-religious-history_n_6270756.html

Regards

Dear All,

http://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-magazine-monitor-29435965

IMHO, the tax is well justified. 

The reason is that, when 'selling' the dubious form of yoga to consumers, it is touted as 'all exercise' devoid of the Indian spiritual roots, (which the american consumer with christian roots and lack of information about yoga, fears).

However when asked to pay tax, the same seller now falls back on the 'original spiritual meditative practice with eastern roots' story and not being a physica exercise, and therefore claims that it should not be taxed.

Hopefully, this issue springing forth should merit a deeper introspection and the truth should finally emerge.

Regards

Well, Raveendra brings up a good point.  If there is no spiritual aspect to what you are doing, then it is not religion and has no First Amendment protections and does not qualify for a tax exemption.  The purveyors of a yoga form that is strictly about the exercise doesn't qualify, even if they claim to include meditation . . . because meditation by itself is not religion (it is a tool used by religions, which is not the same thing).

Dear All, 

A very apt summary of the situation:

http://theweek.com/articles/537675/does-yoga-belong-india

Sir, I beg to differ from the concept that yoga is a purely mental procedure. Yogic practices are not only the practice of mental exercise, it's a combination of mental as well as physical exercises. I have carried out physiological studies of Surya Namaskar, where I have found that each posture of 12 postures of Surya Namaskar is practiced with chanting of a 'mantra'. Now, the pertinent question is why these mantras are there for practicing surya namaskar. However, I have not got any proper answer from any of the books or reference materials on yoga. Notwithstanding, I have conjectured that perhaps these mantras have been added to regulate the pace of the practice of SN. After carefully studying various yogic litterateurs, I have found that every physical posture of yoga is advised to practice by observing one's body movements and breathing.  The benefit of yogic practice is derived due to practice of physical postures along with the practice of meditation and pranayama component. Of course, the training effect of any battery of yogic practice depends on the exercise intensity and duration of yogic postures. 

Dr Biswajit Sinha:

I hope this overview will be of help to all those interested in this topic, and that you will find it relevant to your point of view.

If by "yoga" we mean the practices very briefly described in the Yoga Sutras by Patanjali, then you are correct. Yoga is there described in eight categories of life, from inner to outer. This has usually been interpreted to mean that moving any of these "limbs" of Yoga moves them all. But in practical terms, and especially in the modern world, the greatest power to transform ourselves is contained in the innermost subtle level, that is, in the fields of thinking and being (or awareness).

This point of view is confirmed in the famous spiritual work, the Bhagavad Gita, where Yoga is clearly described as our true nature of consciousness, the source of correct action. Although the Gita uses somewhat religious-sounding language, in which Lord Krishna represents universal consciousness, the language is not hard to understand, and clearly references a mental procedure, not breathing exercises, good behavior, or physical postures.

So, it is correct to say that Yoga comprises eight areas of behaviors and practices. But it is also correct to say that Yoga has its greatest power to transform on the mental level. The same word, Yoga, can thus be used with very different implications. And add to these two implications the popular definition of Yoga as asanas, or postures, and the word becomes quite ambiguous. When using the word Yoga, it is clearly necessary to define exactly what one means by the word.

If we look at actual practices listed in the Yoga Sutras and the Bhagavad Gita, as well as the Vedic philosphy of Vedanta, and evaluating the research that has been published, we find that the most remarkable yet repeatable and consistent benefits of Yoga are most clearly reflected in the hundreds of papers on Transcendental Meditation (TM), which was the essence of the Yogic practice of dhyana as interpreted for the modern world.

These papers present very clear evidence for the quick establishment of the fourth state of consciousness (Turiya), which is inner silent alertness (samadhi). Samadhi is the goal of any form of dhyana (meditation). It is samadhi alone that can effortlessly dissolve and eliminate stored stresses efficiently, improving every aspect of life.

Today, instruction in TM is still available in centers throughout the world. But in those countries in which TM has a high course fee ($960 per adult in the USA), an alternative course of instruction called Natural Stress Relief (NSR) is more attractive. With a course fee less than 7% of that of TM, and free of all mysticism, and with two published studies to confirm its effects as similar to those of TM, the NSR course is a practical way for anyone to obtain the goal of Yoga (Union with pure consciousness), eliminating the pervading suffering experienced by almost everyone living in the modern, stressed world.

Note that, although the previous paragraph may sound commercial, the TM and NSR organizations are all nonprofit. In addition, the NSR organizations are run only by unpaid volunteers.

Yoga, whether gained through all the eightfold limbs of practice and behavior, or gained more simply through transcending thought using the technique of TM or NSR for a few minutes twice a day, is fulfillment of life. It means living in the peace and happiness that are sought by all 7.2 billion of us humans. It means eliminating our stored stresses (see discussion at http://www.nsrusa.org/about-stress.php) so that the potential of each human can be fully expressed and lived. It means enjoying peace, freedom, love, and happiness, lived in the eternal now.

A facet of the drawbacks faced when the physical part is over-emphasized instead of the spiritual:

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/24/us/cracks-show-in-bikram-yoga-empire-amid-claims-of-rape-and-assault.html

Regards

Another insight into the difference:

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/yoga-differences-in-india-america-prime-minister-narendra-modi-yoga-minister-shripad-naik/

A new study examining the practice of Yoga in the USA:

http://psychcentral.com/news/2015/05/01/transformation-of-yoga-in-the-united-states/84132.html

I found an article about Yoga.It's interesting, that "20 mln.Americans have performed Yoga"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7PMZjA21-ow

Your link seems to point to a pretty Russian song, with images of a lake, not an article about the history of yoga. But, in any case, note that Yoga really means "union" or "unity". Many people have "performed" physical positions and exercises, but few of them have experienced the permanent return to their own true nature (the elimination of fear and the clear perception of peace, happiness, and freedom) that is union with the Self based on the full elimination of stress stored in the nervous system.

This very website for researchers is an intense reminder that we live in a world steeped in ignorance, in which illness and problems are taken to be normalcy and in which clinicians and researchers are feeling around in the darkness of their own lack of knowledge for hints as to how to help a suffering humanity.

Some of these questions and answers are struggling to distinguish concepts such as anxiety, unhappiness, and depression, which are all dreadful illusions caused by our conditioned and ignorant beliefs resulting from an almost universal lack of functioning of the nervous system. How can ill clinicians and researchers understand their own illness, held in common with their patients, when this common illness affects their very ability to understand, draw proper distinctions, and even comprehend the difference between causes and effects?

Those of us who have a little knowledge of the source and resolution of suffering have an uphill battle in front of us, trying to spoon-feed this knowledge to people who are so  filled with false beliefs that they cannot appreciate the value of even the smallest spoonful of this knowledge of possibilities. For them, the best that can be achieved is a career in learning how to speak of concepts, and how to use them to bring the most infinitesimal moments of relief to their suffering patients.

There are so many wonderful vistas of transformation possible, yet we must be satisfied with such tiny successes. I pray for an opening of minds and imaginations. In this I place my hope for the future and an end to suffering.

Please don't talk on subject with bias in your mind. Either to criticise or to praise certain form since it belongs to a developing country viewed with contempt by most western countries.In most of world problems and degradation of morality is thankfully by the Americans and their capitalist lobby mafia. Naked consumerism has been promoted world over. prices have gone up. See countries like Greece. Merry making without money.

Yoga is sure antinode to naked consumerism and materialism and all kinds of vices used by people to fool each other and make money , today sign of achievement.

Now Yoga is nothing but control of mind ,thoughts and lifestyle to harmonise with nature and inner self atma leading to union with Parmatma.

There are several parts of Yoga.  Mainly classifies tow types of Yoga Raj Yoga and Hatha Yoga

It is true that what is going on in world in name of Yoga is crude mockery and same business mafia capitalising on it like they did herbal products 25 years back. Even some Indian teachers are minting money having opened 3 star and 5 star yoga centres in USA to rob the rich. It is shameful

The physical exercises are very much part of Yoga as a path to self contentment, happiness, health and ultimate nirvana. Doing yogic exercises is not matter of 30 minutes of regimen or no need to have mats,special clothing. All this is drama.

These exercises are wonderful means to do internal stretching of organs and muscles both.Pranayama is oxygenation of blood  and empowering lost elasticity of lungs. Hence Yoga is a keep fit regimen not curative nature. Not at least in short run.

Kung fu is a martial art. Those who practice it also are very fit. Their bodies act like electric whip. But not suitable for common man. Yoga-ashanas can be done by any body, even in home.

Generally speaking doing a combination of isometric and aerobic exercises daily for 30 minutes is enough to keep one fit . But at the same time one has to control diet( Eat alkaline food), keep mind cool and off distress. Stress occurs because of there things -Fears, greed(desires) and sense of failures. Health of person depends on tripod of Food,exercise and mind. Yoga addresses all three.

"Sometimes suffering can't be removed, but we can help (medically or warm-heartedly) a human being to grin and bear it. And the human being can grow up to the big measure of his/her dignity through this cooperation both of body and soul, in which a doctor plays his significant role, because he can keep up the body and can inspire the human being to life"Antony Surozhsky. I visit the seminars of American Professors in our University and know that Yoga is used in the system of schooling in America. I think it's great. Having a certificate of an instructor in artistic gymnastics, I tried to use Yoga elements in my own -not very good situation.Surely it was my humble expperience, but It works! 

Raveendra Nath Yasarapu, you seem to address your comments to me, yet you do not know me, my opinions, or what I do for a living (I am a retired volunteer, receiving no salary).I am familiar with your facts, and do not disagree with them. However, your opinions about me are way off base. --David

David,

There's some confusion here. All comments are made in general with no one in particular. Please go over them again. I havent addressed anyone here since many months. I cant understand how you felt they have been addressed to you. Please be assured that they are not. 

Appreciate your posts and insights into yoga.

Regards

David,

There's some confusion here. All comments are made in general with no one in particular. Please go over them again. I havent addressed anyone here since many months. I cant understand how you felt they have been addressed to you. Please be assured that they are not. 

Appreciate your posts and insights into yoga.

Regards

Roland:

Why is it in the American context that Yoga has been twisted out of shape? And this twisted fad has been exported to other parts of the world...

Regards

Most people do no research for themselves to discover the nature of a subject.  They rely on advertising and their friends.   See “What s Yoga?  Yoga Therapy” at 

 http://yang-sheng.com/?p=3835 

The same applies to most Tai Chi classes, which have no resemblance to classical Tai Chi, but are made up, short forms devised for profit.    

Marty, It may be overly severe to imply that "Yoga" studios are offering a short form for profit. Some researchers (mainly in India) have published studies that focus on related families of physical techniques, such as pranayama or asanas, and claim great value for cardiac health or general quality of life.

It is not just that the original knowledge of life, whether expressed as Yoga or any of the other six Vedic philosophies, has been lost, but that teachers and researchers alike have focused on physical techniques that do have some value because they are easier to teach to a highly stressed world.

I believe that few spiritual teachers are concerned with profit. But they are concerned with reaching people in these times of deep ignorance. I myself teach transcending, which, although a mental technique, is highly stripped down from its full glory as a philosophy of life. I do this to reach people, and to help transform the lives of a few hundred or a few thousand clients from misery and suffering to peace and happiness. I feel that such a goal (which I've already achieved) is well worth the compromises that I've made in the range and depth of the teaching.

I never said that about Yoga, but Tai Chi.  Both should be called different names.

I know about the research of some health benefits.

Most so-called Yoga teachers have never studied anatomy or physiology.  Consult experts for serious problems.

More on the roots issue:

https://www.yahoo.com/health/yoga-gets-trendier-but-is-it-losing-its-roots-123554978182.html

Regards

 Yoga is for the development of our mind & body .Which helps us to move with the tune of the within .As we all know well mental tension ,& worries have become the problem of individual in a present century .

Quite good individual are the passing the stage of frustration & stress not only this ,this has also become the function & problem for Management under the compass of H.R.D 

In the above areas Yoga exercise play an very important part for controlling our physical stage with the rhythm of inhale -exhale breathing .This i believe only as my personal opinion .

 Yoga is for the development of our mind & body .Which helps us to move with the tune of the within .As we all know well mental tension ,& worries have become the problem of individual in a present century .

Quite good individual are the passing the stage of frustration & stress not only this ,this has also become the function & problem for Management under the compass of H.R.D 

In the above areas Yoga exercise play an very important part for controlling our physical stage with the rhythm of inhale -exhale breathing .This i believe only as my personal opinion .

Yoga is not just a physical exercise. While asanas are helpful, the genius of Patanjali and his predecessors was in seeing how the mind can be used as a more efficient path to self-realization.

Patanjali wrote of an eight-fold path, suitable to anyone living in any lifestyle.

The most efficient techniques of the eight are dhyana , dharana, and samadhi.

Let's take a detailed look at these techniques, from Patanjali's Yoga Sutras and other sources, such as the Bhagavad Gita. Bear in mind that society currently pays attention to very little of the Vedic tradition of India. Mostly, society considers the physical techniques of yoga asanas and the mental techniques of mindfulness, which are mostly taught as just one technique--breathing awareness.

Dhyana literally means "transcending". It is not focus or concentration. Breathing awareness, for most stressed people in our stressed society, allows the attention to refine just a little, but then stop at the level of the body, where breathing lives. No further progress can be obtained, if breathing awareness is continued. Breathing awareness is not dhyana. Only transcending (such as TM or NSR) is dhyana.

That is why Patanjali listed a number of practices. Some people make better progress starting with one than another.

Dhyana, in stressful times, must be learned. It is very unlikely that a stressed person can invent or discover dhyana for themself. This is the fundamental reason why "meditation tips" are useless. Truly effective meditation must be learned from a course or a master teacher.

Dharana, on the other hand, is true concentration. As a practice it must be done effortlessly, like any other effective spiritual practice. A stressed person puts effort into concentration, turning it into a technique for creating stress, not eliminating it. That is why one hears that intensive practice so often produces deep fatigue, with a need to recover after taking intensive retreats. In stressful times, concentration tends to lead to more stress and more obstacles to peace and freedom.

The result of any effective practice, whether dhyana, dharana, or the simple awareness of awareness, is samadhi. Samadhi is the temporary state of absorption, or transcendence, in which the awareness of time and space stops, in which there are no thoughts or feelings, but in which our true nature as awareness is perceived in its full glory, without veiling or distraction by stored stresses, tensions, or conditioning.

Samadhi is temporary because stored stresses will become active, creating thoughts, feelings, and other experiences once again. Samadhi is a state of deep rest, which allows stored stresses to dissolve and release.

But each "dive" into samadhi eliminates more stresses, so there are fewer and fewer obstacles to our true nature as peace, freedom, love, and happiness.

Eventually, full realization returns to us as we awaken to our true nature. We are not a body hosting a mind, doing things and experiencing suffering, but instead pure, impersonal awareness, free from all action.

Problems mostly disappear from life, and the few bad habits or odd qualities that remain are fully accepted, so they are no longer problems. Challenges still occur, but are welcome for their variety and entertainment, while life itself continues to abide in its eternal, infinite, unchanging, aware, and satisfied silence.

I personally feel, who is duping whom and in what way, should have absolutely  nothing to do with  yoga. Irrespective of all these, the fact remains that yoga has its effect on body,  mind and their coordination with each other. Our fore-fathers developed this wisdom through generations and practiced yoga to keep themselves fit, bodily as well as mentally, while leading a very hard life doing meditation in remote places.  

great question, i am also profoundly impressed by the illuminating discussions, the fact is I am stunned by the complicated interface of mind and body , brain and brawn, I reckon Yoga could be practically a cure for the current psychosomatic irregularities of individuals as the aftermath of  hugely stressful lifestyles and confrontations with other  greedy narcissistic people ,  life is a rat race indeed .

the pitfall  , however, is turning yoga into a makeshift ironically pragmatic physical response for enhancing a  possessive harsh mentality wreaking  physical and emotional damages to others !

Mental is always more difficult for people than physical exercise.

Dear All,

Two articles to highlight the points raised here...

http://upliftconnect.com/decolonize-your-yoga/

http://www.yogitimes.com/article/the-true-yogic-journey-begins

Regards

It is a very offensive and naive comment of someone who has read superficially about great Indian Yoga. Yoga is not merely exercises. That is just a small part of It. Nothing can survive for thousands of years if it offers no value to society or users . Coming from seemingly an Indian is more shocking .There are several forms of yoga, too. Patanjali yoga is one for example. hath yog is another. It is total art of living ,controlling your mind, body and soul. Mind is main cause of our majority of troubles. Now coming back to physical part or exercises these are not merely dog or lion positions. These are very smartly and with deep research created stretching exercises both for muscles Voluntary and Involuntary and organs inside body. Pranayama is another part of yoga that is based on working of internal organs and adequate intake of Oxygen and chest expansion . With little knowledge of a subject one should not make sweeping remarks degrading entire field of science or art or customs of a community .That too in a research portal . The benefits have been demonstrated on thousands of people. Western medicine doctors themselves have come to holistic treatment approach and recommend to several patients yoga also besides changing lifestyle and food habits.But yoga is not medical treatment for diseases. It is to keep lifestyle and body and mind healthy , release cosmic energy into you and acquire a self disciplined life of control on you mind and desires. It is more of a preventive health plan to live healthy all round. But it does cure some diseases also. Many are difficult to treat by traditional medicine or western medicines. By the way, global pharma industry hates it . Reasons are very obvious. They wish to manufacture new chemicals and dump in human bodies .Making billions of dollars with huge margins . There is no medicine that does not have side effect and at least 200 thousand Americans die annually because of stupid doctors wrong prescriptions and bad effects of medicines. I shudder to even think of such Stats for countries like India. People don't follow exercises properly, and for required period, leave mid way or do not have healthy life style not changing food habits , to take adequate rest ,proper postures while working and sleeping and lack patience , since, 'pop a pill get well' is, the practice today. Quick fixes we all want. Keep in mind that human body can be healthy only if it sweats and does not swallow various toxic items and relies on natural food .Immunity is the key. Yoga has direct impact on this immunity of body . Most people don't do it properly. Even Pranayama they can't do properly and for minimum time required , daily . Can you get cured if you take only one tablet of antibiotic instead of two times a day ? Most people who do yoga are breathing already polluted air in metros and big towns .It can hurt more. But Yoga does work . Coach should be knowledgeable , as to which asanas and how to do it for how much time . I guess all doubts are cleared . At age of 67 my angiography was totally clear.