The Yoga Tutor

The Meaning of Yoga
[ Excerpt from The Science of Yoga, page 17 ]

The term yoga comes from the world's most ancient language, Sanskrit. Its root, yuj, means to "join," to "yoke together," to "unify" or "unite as one." The English word 'union' could also be seen to derive from this same source.

The UPANISHADS (ancient Vedic texts) say, "That which was One became the Many." It is in the sense of separation or dwaitam (duality), where the root of all man?s suffering resides--a concept that will gain more clarity as we move further into our yoga studies.

Discontent with this sense of separateness, along with its resulting pain and suffering, led the ancient Rishis, or spiritual scientists, to delve deeply into the nature of the universe to discover its essential truths. Their discoveries enabled the embodied soul to once again enjoy the blissful union (or re-union) with that highest Self.

All of their experiences and experiments, over thousands of years collectively, form what is referred to as 'yoga'--a carefully marked path for others to follow. The UPANISHADS exclaim: "Lo! Ye who suffer know! A way has been found! A way out of all this darkness!" That way is yoga!

The science of yoga accelerates the return of the many to the One, the re-union of the jiva (the individual Soul) and paramatman (the Supreme, Universal Cosmic Consciousness, or God). The sages call this re-union, moksha, samadhi, kaivalya, jivana mukta. This is the true goal of yoga.

[Continued...]


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NOTE: This yoga article is an excerpt from The Science of Yoga, an online yoga training program with streaming yoga videos and 600 pages of step-by-step yoga instruction.


"The Science of Yoga is a course worthy of
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... It is indeed a masterful work."
 

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AwakeningWithYoga.com

 

Learn More About
The Science of Yoga Course

Foreword
About Yoga Home Study
Section 1 - Getting Started
Section 2 - Foundations of Yoga (1)
Section 3 - Foundations of Yoga (2)
Section 4 - Classical Ashtanga Yoga
Section 5 - Modern Yoga
Section 6 - The History of Yoga
Section 7 - Yama Niyama Introduction
Section 8 - Awareness
Section 9 - The Yoga Diet
Section 10 - Yoga Philosophy
Section 11 - The Yoga of Perception
Section 12 - The Yoga Path
Section 13 - The Virtue of Restraint
Section 14 - The Classical Yoga Texts
Section 15 - Yoga Cleansing
Section 16 - The Law of Cause and Effect
Section 17 - The Yoga of Digestion
Section 18 - Yoga Psychology
Section 19 - Yoga Psychology (Part 2)
Section 20 - Yoga Psychology (Part 3)
Section 21 - Yoga Psychology (Part 4)
Section 22 - Controlling The Senses
Section 23 - The Higher Stages of Yoga
Section 24 - Higher Stages of Yoga (Part 2)