Yoga, the science of man, based on ancient Indian wisdom and culture, is an art of living a healthy, balance, peaceful and contented life. Yoga, being a total integrated system, studies in man in Wholeness-Body, Mind and Spirit and is integrated to certain principles, ideas, values, attitudes and a way of life for personal and social benefits.
Conceived by the great sages in their quest for self-realisation, it has come to be recognized during its long travels from the hermitages to the cities, as the science of man, a philosophy of life, a code of conduct and attitude and an approach, as well as an art of living, which is capable not only of ensuring physical well-being, mental peace, harmony, moral elevation but also the spiritual uplifts of man.
Yoga had recognised and accepted the importance of the mind and the subconscious over the total human personality much earlier than modern psychology did in its present form. Yoga is stepwise, stage wise eightfold path to final liberation from pain and suffering. These steps progressively take us to the highest state of creativity, of discriminative knowledge and toward attaining the desired perfection.
The Above steps are:
YAMA :Conditional Yoga behaviour, personal and social
NIYAMA :Attitude sublimate to Yoga norms
ASANA :Discipline of the physical body
PRANAYAMA :Control over bio energy through respiratory action
PRATYAHARA :Withdrawal of the senses inwards through abstraction
DHARANA :Concentration
SAMADI :Transconsciousness
Yoga is based on a deep understanding of man and his position in this world and was the first system evolved in the world to recognise the connection and the interaction between body and mind. It studies in depth the very structure of the human personality, through analysis of the psychological complexities and the course of human pain, sorrow and suffering. It has laid down psychosomatic means through its various psycho-physiological processes for dealing with the Body-Mind complex and tries to harmonise and integrate the human personality at all levels and stages of life.
Yoga is basically a way of life which has been evolved as a system to go beyond the personality complex and achieve absolute freedom-liberation of the spirit from the matter.