The word yoga comes from the Sanskrit root " yuj " which means to merge, join, unite. Yoga is a science, art and philosophy of life that integrates with each other the three planes of the existence of the human being (mind, body and spirit), and the individual with the Universe, the Supreme, God or the Whole, through Shamadhi (state of happiness, harmony and fullness).
Yoga is one of the six fundamental systems of thought of India or Hinduism. It differs from the others by providing body control and magical power attributed to its advanced devotees.
Yoga is a spiritual and corporal discipline that allows the expulsion of the tensions and sorrows of daily life, of diseases and of the fluctuations of the mind. It provides serenity and composure and a state of inner unity in the face of the different battles that we have to fight in our lives.
It is the art of knowing yourself and knowing the eternal truth. Yoga is the study of the functioning of the body, the mind, the intellect in the process of achieving liberation. It is the experience of the knowledge acquired by oneself and not of what has been learned in books, of dealing with logic or theoretical argumentation.
The origin of yoga comes from India (2000 years BC), it exerted a powerful attraction on the Hindus because of the wonders that are attributed and because it accredits the performance of austerities, to which the Hindus are inclined. The great influence of yoga, on the other hand, can be suggested in Buddhism, which is also notable for its austerity, and for its spiritual exercises and transcendent states. When the knowledge of yoga spread, it fascinated and gained many followers in the West.
In terms of classification, yoga is a philosophy (of life and practice). There are four types, all different and incompatible with each other. Therefore, those who dedicate themselves to one of them should not mix it with another.
Many of the yogis (people who practice yoga) and almost all the Western devotees are practitioners of Hatha (or physical yoga), it is based on the control of the breath and the postures of the body, achieving the exact combination of both. The other ramifications of yoga have a degree of complexity, they are disciplines more linked to eastern cultures that make Yoga not only an exercise of well-being but a way of life, it is based more than anything on meditation. Among them are the Laya, Dhyana and Raya , the latter means "real", "superlative". Only a select few can access such an honor.
