Yoga is an ancient mind-body practice whose first visible evidence was traced back to the ancient Indus valley civilisation, more than 5000 years ago. Thereafter the science of yoga continued to grow and develop in various parts of the Indian sub-continent.
The Rise of Hatha Yoga
The most popular form of yoga that is mostly practised in the modern world is Hatha yoga. Its origin can be traced back to the 14th century and is hence a much more recent development compared to other yoga disciplines such as Raja yoga.
Hatha Yoga as Therapy
Although the main objective of yoga practice is spiritual in nature and was practised in this way for thousands of years in Indic civilisations, the application of Hatha yoga for therapeutic benefits has increasingly become popular in the last 100 years or so. In fact, growing interest by the medical community in Hatha yoga as a therapeutic science will certainly ensure its growth in this direction. Other aspects of Hatha yoga like pranayama (breathing practices) and kriya (cleansing techniques) are also becoming more accepted than before. For instance, an increasing number of studies has established pranayama as an effective technique to balance and calm the human mind.
Therefore at Yoga Vihara, we place a strong emphasis on applying the science of therapeutic yoga to provide maximum holistic benefit to all practitioners.
Yoga – the Antidote to Stress
Stress has become synonymous with modern lifestyle and the only way to deal with it, is to understand the source of life’s stresses and then tackle it through proper understanding of yogic life principles. By practicing yoga both physically and mentally, we can bring about the necessary changes in our understanding of life and hence, cope better with stress. It is therefore, of paramount importance that you look for qualified teacher(s) to guide you on this path.