For many people across the globe, yoga is a method to remain fit and healthy. However, it is not the complete definition of yoga. On the contrary, it is completely incomplete. Yoga is the meeting of the mind, body and soul. It is the balance of the 3 basic gunas or qualities that define the essence of the cosmos. The balance of truth, materialism and termination. When the holy trinity is in balance within yourself and connects with the holy trinity of the cosmos, you become a “Yogi”. Most of the time, you tend to master the Yoga asanas without balancing the mind and soul. On other occasions, your soul and mind are balanced but you find it strenuous to perform the asanas.
Shiva And The Yogic Way
Lord Shiva was the first Yogi. The reason is simple, he is the master of all the three gunas which are represented by his trident. Thus, it implies that he has his mind, body and soul in harmony. Therefore, if you want to master the asanas, master your mind and soul. Start with meditation. Once you have them in control you can control your body and perform the asanas.
Yoga in itself is a way of life. If you perform Yoga on a regular basis then you will automatically arrest the process of ageing. You will have a healthy heart, body and mind. You will gain better control over your emotions. You also become better at solving problems and looking at things with a different perspective. As a you improve your Yoga skills over the years, you will notice a change in your aura. During ancient times, sages in India had a divine aura around them. Layers of violet or white light are known as the purest aura. When you get this aura around your body, you reach closer to god. At that time, you get powers of pranic healing or cursing. That is why it was believed that the curse of the sages would actually fruitify.
It was lord Shiva who sent the seven sages in seven directions to spread Yoga at the beginning of the time. Today, we see diverse forms of Yoga across the world. At the end of the day, they all are based on the same principle. So, if you are thinking about embracing the Yogic way of life then you have to connect your mind, body and soul.
Yoga Diet:
Considering the fact, that a great Yogi is the one who has a balanced body, mind and soul, the diet also has to be the same. Patanjali was the first person to bring Yoga diet to the knowledge of the common man. He explained that Yoga diet had to be light and refreshing along with being healthy. As mentioned earlier in the article, Yoga represents the unison of three gunas which are the truth, materialism and termination. In Sanskrit, they are known as Satva guna, Rajas guna and Tamas guna. Satva foods are vegetables,fruits, legumes, cereals and pure ghee. Patanjali suggested that eating Sattvic diet is the best for getting your body prepared for Yogasanas.
Although, you need to first understand whether your body has a Kapha (cough), Pitta (heat) or Vatta (gaseous) temperament. Once you have figured that out you can reduce or increase the amount of food items that can put your body off balance.
There is a Sanskrit proverb which says that “medicine without proper diet is fruitless”. Here, Yoga can be considered as the medicine, so, if you don’t follow the Yogic diet then it will not give you the desired results.
Famous Yoga Gurus:
Recently, UNESCO, hosted a program for Yoga guru Sri Sri Ravi Shankar in Paris. He is a world renowned spiritual leader. He gave a short speech at the UNESCO function and also held a short meditation session at the venue. Today, yoga is famous in the world. But the global spread of this ancient Indian magical practice would not have been possible if Swami Sivananda would not have preached it in the 1960s. The western world was searching for a method to find inner peace and the songs of the 1960s reflected that struggle. Perhaps, this was the reason why the famous “Beatles” became the disciples of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi and began to learn yoga.
Yoga then became a new way to reach god and to attain peace of mind. The health benefits of yoga were then discovered by the west. Another famous yoga guru was B.K.S. Iyengar who recently passed away at the age of ninety-five. Iyengar was born to a hindu brahmin family and suffered from illness in his early childhood days. However, he took to Patanjali yoga sutras and mastered them. His fame spread across the world and many famous personalities including sportsmen such as Sachin Tendulkar and others became his disciples. Guru Iyengar suffered from two big heart attacks in the year 1996 and 1998. However, he continued with his faith in yoga and taught it’s significance to various Asian, European and American countries.
Yoga In The Indian Dance Form:
Adi-Yogi Lord Shiva was not just the one who created Yoga, in fact, he was the one who created the dance form. He is also known as Nataraja which means the king of dancing. In the Indian dance forms, you will find that the gestures and steps are nothing but Yoga Mudras or Yogasanas. These Yoga mudras and Yoga asanas are performed in a rhythmic form which makes them look extremely beautiful and divine. Music is played using the tabla (Indian drums), sarangi (Indian musical instrument) and sitar (Indian guitar) during the performance. Learning any of the Indian dance forms works on your mind, body and soul taking you closer to god. It is needless to say that they make your body flexible and healthy.
Perhaps, Lord Shiva knew that Yogasanas in the form of exercises would not appeal to everyone. So, he invented the dance form much like the modern times. In this way, the purpose of Yoga is served along with enjoyment and fulfillment of the heart.
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