Yoga teachings. What does it mean to truly learn yoga? Yoga theory Features of the teachings of yogis

Nizhny Novgorod State Medical Academy

Faculty of Dentistry

II year 262 group

Subject: philosophy

Performed:

Kurochkina Anna

Nizhny Novgorod

Yoga is a teaching that has come down to us from time immemorial and is mentioned in the most ancient sources, the teaching of which can be found in almost all religions, ritual practices and esoteric schools.

As they say, the birthplace of yoga is the oldest civilization on Earth - Arctida. This civilization flourished many thousands of years ago on the continent connecting America and Eurasia. After a global catastrophe, she disappeared into the waters of the Arctic Ocean. The surviving inhabitants of Arctida brought yoga to the priests and initiates of Hittis, Pacifida and Atlantis, and only then yoga came to India and Egypt.

Thousand-year traditions of Indian philosophy, dating back to the 15th - 10th centuries. BC. and preserved to this day, arose on the basis of ancient human civilizations.

Archaeological finds allow us to state with certainty that the teaching of yoga was known already 2.5 thousand years BC. It is to this period that images of yogis in characteristic poses found in excavations of the ancient culture of Moheanjo-Daro date back to. However, oral tradition speaks of a much older origin of yoga. At the same time, the esoteric history of yoga, as mentioned above, leads from India back centuries to ancient Egypt, and from it to even more distant legendary civilizations - Atlantis, Arctida and some others.

During the Vedic period (from the 15th to the 6th centuries BC), the Vedas appeared in India - the sacred books of Indian sages, and then commentaries on them - the Upanishads. The Vedas and Upanishads contributed to the development of philosophical thought in India, creating a number of philosophical schools, one of which includes the yoga system. However, yoga, considered one of the six traditional systems of Indian philosophy, is recognized by all these philosophical systems as a general method and practical means of understanding the world.

Let us turn to the historical roots, to the origins of the teachings of yoga. Scientific tradition attributes the identification of the teachings of yoga as an independent system to the legendary Indian sage Patanjali (11th-1st century BC). Patanjali identified yoga as an independent system based on existing knowledge and experience accumulated by practicing yogis. In his work “Yoga Sutra”, Patanjali sets out the philosophy and practice of that yoga, which is now recognized as classical by most researchers, including Russian philosophers. According to the tradition of the ancient sages, Patanjali does not claim authorship in creating the philosophical system of yoga. He only collects oral data that has reached him and comments on them in the spirit of a single teaching. The philosophical terminology and interpretation of yoga practice given in the Yoga Sutra is also consistent with the authoritative texts of the Vedas and Upanishads.

In the original teachings of Patanjali, yoga is divided into eight parts:

1) pit - restrictions in relationships with people and nature;

2) niyama - lifestyle prescriptions;

3) asana - various poses and body positions;

4) pranayama - breathing exercises related to energy gain;

5) pratyahara - control and weakening of the flow of perception, mental relaxation;

6) dharana - concentration of thought;

7) dhyana - meditation, regulated stream of consciousness;

8) samadhi - an altered, ecstatic state of consciousness.

These eight limbs or stages, called the Eightfold Path, make up the classical system of yoga. One can see that this teaching covers, as it were, three large layers, three seemingly independent directions of human development. Firstly, this is the ethical, moral sphere (yama and niyama), secondly, this is physical development, improvement of the body (asana and pranayama) and thirdly, this is the development of human mental powers (the next four steps). Thus, human development on the eightfold path is comprehensive, harmonious in nature. This holistic system leads a person to achieve ideal health, because “health is a state of complete physical, spiritual and social well-being of a person, and not just the absence of diseases and physical disabilities.” This is how the World Health Organization defines health.

If you imagine the eightfold path in the form of a ladder, then its foundation will be spiritual internal values ​​- solid moral foundations, principles and norms of interpersonal relationships. From them, the path of individual development leads through the improvement of the physical body to the achievement of amazing abilities and special states of consciousness.

The last stage of the eightfold path is samadhi, creative insight, a special state of body and mind, when the boundaries that separate him from the big world in which he lives disappear before a person, when he feels and realizes himself as undivided, completely united by humanity, by all of nature, by all space. Some authors call this state cosmic consciousness. Those who have ever experienced such a state, even if only for a few seconds, describe it as the best, most significant moments of their lives. Yoga teaches the conscious achievement of the state of samadhi. Achieving samadhi is the pinnacle of the eightfold path, therefore a person can be called a yogi in the full sense of the word only when he can confidently enter such an ecstatic state. Without this, he can only be considered a student studying the science of yoga. It would not be an exaggeration to say that people’s mastery of the state of samadhi contributes to the development of humanity as a species, so we can talk about yoga not only as a system of personal healing and self-improvement, but also as a system of human evolution.

Historically, the eightfold, classical path of Patanjali's yoga was virtually closed to the advancement of students. The world was dominated by Kali Yuga, a black period that lasted about four and a half thousand years. The spread of yoga in our civilization was associated with the separation of separate directions from the once unified system of yoga, focusing attention on any particular link of this teaching. At the same time, the student could choose one or another direction of personal self-improvement depending on his individual characteristics and inclinations.

Among these particular areas of yoga are the following:

- hatha yoga, aimed mainly at the development of the physical and physiological functions of the body, it is usually associated with the first four steps of Patanjali;

- Raja Yoga, which examines the development of higher mental functions of a person and covers the four subsequent stages of the eightfold path;

- karma yoga associated with the harmonious development of social and public relations of the individual;

- bhakti yoga, associated with the improvement of a person in the emotional sphere, in love for one’s neighbor, for nature, for God;

- jnani yoga, associated with the development of human thinking, expanding the boundaries and possibilities of his knowledge.

Less known are such paths as lapa yoga, mantra yoga, tantra yoga, as well as Tibetan yoga (respa yoga, moon-gom-pa yoga). In China and Japan, the practice of yoga was mixed with Buddhist philosophy and spread in the form of Zen Buddhism.

As a result of the missionary work of Vivekananda, a student of Ramakrishna, at the end of the 19th century, yoga became popular in the USA and developed in new directions. Let us note the Transcendental Meditation Society, which was founded in the 60s by Maharishi Mahem Yogi, who uses a specific psychotechnique of meditation. As a result of the educational activities of Vivekananda and Atkinson (yogi Ramacharaka), the teaching of yoga became widely known in Russia at the beginning of the 20th century. The subsequent spread of yoga in our country was significantly influenced by agni yoga, a teaching opened to Russia by Helena Roerich.

When people talk about yoga nowadays, they most often mean the section of hatha yoga associated with physical exercise. According to the teachings of yoga, our body lives due to positive and negative currents. If they are in balance, then we can talk about the health and harmony of the body. In the language of ancient symbolism, positive current is denoted by the word “Ha” (Sun), and negative current by the word “Tha” (Moon). From the merger of these two words we get the word “Hatha Yoga”, the meaning of which symbolizes the unity of opposites, positive and negative poles or phenomena in life.

Physical exercises represent the “ABC” of yoga, its necessary step, since only through complete physical health and control over the activities of the body can mental, spiritual and moral perfection be achieved. It is considered scientifically proven that both healthy and sick people, men and women, people of all professions and social classes, and almost any age can benefit from serious yoga gymnastics (although at every age a specialist’s consultation is needed).

The basis of physical exercises in yoga are asanas - special body positions. According to legend, the god Shiva discovered and gave man body postures designed to maintain health and achieve a higher level of consciousness. There are 8,400,000 asanas mentioned in classical literature. Of these, only less than a hundred are used by yogis at present, and only two to three dozen of them are considered the most important and sufficient to guarantee full health for life.

Patanjali points out: “Asana is a way of sitting pleasantly, steadily and without tension.” This means that the practitioner should strive for complete self-control over the body when performing asanas, so as to remain motionless in them for a long time and feel calm and comfortable.

The material contains 3 types of force - peace, movement and degradation, which are balanced until there is interaction with the spiritual. Thanks to their interaction, 5 elements appeared: the familiar fire, earth, water and air, and the fifth element - ether. And these elements already served as the beginning for the creation of everything that exists in the world.

It is worth noting that in yoga, as a general model and way of life, in principle there is no time. It views everything that exists as an endless process of change. That is, the spiritual component is constant, located outside of time and space, but for the material component, time is calculated by the changes that occur with it. This approach can tell you how to become happier: to live, realizing that you are an endlessly changing mini-Universe within a larger, constantly transforming Universe.

The efficiency of life, from the point of view of yoga philosophy, can be increased by daily streamlining of energy expenditure. Which, according to this teaching, each of us is allocated a strictly defined amount for life. When organizing your lifestyle, as required by yoga, you need:

• from 4 to 10 o’clock, wake up, calmly and without fuss, tune in to the new day. This includes cleansing, gymnastics, self-massage, etc.;
• from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., devote time to active activities. Try to do the most important ones before lunch;
• from 22 to 4 o'clock indulge in rest and sleep.

5 Benefits of Yoga System in Everyday Life

The general model of a lifestyle based on a teaching such as yoga is simple and consistent with the human biological clock. If you try to follow at least these simplified recommendations, you will soon notice how your awareness will increase, your mind will calm down, and a feeling of health will appear in your body. However, do not think that practicing the yoga system in everyday life is so easy.

Following a daily routine in accordance with the philosophy of yoga is a real severe asceticism. More and more temptations to retreat from it will appear around you all the time. But do not despair in cases of non-compliance. Try to track the reasons for its violation and continue to get used to the new routine. Moreover, yoga as a way of life has at least 5 significant advantages.

1. Yogic asanas relax muscle tension and heal physical and mental ailments.
2. The philosophy of yoga teaches us to be more attentive to ourselves and more aware, helping us to notice and eliminate negative aspects.
3. Yoga classes discipline, teach consistency and help you become more effective.
4. By practicing yoga, you will become more responsible: first you stabilize the area of ​​your own health, and subsequently all other areas of life.

By doing yoga, you will master universal calm and become inaccessible to stress.

Philosophy yoga in a broad sense, we can call it the ancient teaching about the spiritual self-improvement of man, which came to us from the Aryan civilization and developed into the form known today in the religious and philosophical schools of ancient and medieval India. This article will discuss the basic philosophical concepts and concepts of this teaching, which for almost two thousand years has been for many admirers of Indian spirituality an example of wisdom that leads a person to the highest possible goal of his life.

Yoga is one of the Darshanas, the six orthodox (following the spiritual tradition of the Vedas) schools of thought in India. Its theories and principles are set forth in the founding work of this school, the Yoga Sutra, and commentaries on this work. We know practically nothing about the author of the Yoga Sutras, Patanjali. In India, since ancient times he has been considered a great teacher, yogi and philosopher who lived in the 2nd century. BC. However, today most scientists agree that, in terms of content and terminology, the Yoga Sutra should be dated back to the 2nd century AD.

Patanjali was not the person who invented the teaching of yoga. We find the origins of the yoga he outlined in the most ancient monument of world culture - the Vedas (~ 2nd millennium BC), the sacred texts of India. The doctrine of the basic elements of yogic practice - concentration, contemplation, control of consciousness and the term itself " yoga» – present in the early Upanishads (~ VI – III centuries BC), commentaries on the Vedas. A special place in protoyoga is occupied by the ancient epic works of India: the Ramayana and the Mahabharata (~ 1st millennium BC). The most prominent part of the Mahabharata is the Bhagavad Gita. It contains many important parts of the teachings of yoga; it just lacks the systematization and classification of categories—basic philosophical concepts—necessary for philosophy. Patanjali acted as such a systematizer, summarizing and briefly formulating ancient spiritual knowledge. The theory and practice of the Yoga Sutras have fully stood the test of time and earned the right to be called classical yoga.

Patanjali's work, like many treatises of that time in India, is a collection of short sentences (sutras). For students, they may have served as a reminder for reconstructing the course of complex oral reasoning. However, for descendants who do not have the opportunity to personally communicate with the teacher, short sutras are often not enough. Therefore, the teaching of classical yoga that exists today was formed, in addition to the original treatise of Patanjali, by extensive commentary literature. In this article we focus on the “Yoga Sutra” and the most authoritative commentary, belonging to the philosopher Vyasa, “Yoga Bhasya” (5th century AD).

Proceeding directly to the philosophy of classical yoga, we will highlight two fundamental categories that contain all being, everything that exists. These are Purusha and Prakriti - spiritual and material substances.

Prakriti (matter) is everything that we see, hear, touch or feel in any other way. This is everything that the most advanced instruments can record, from the smallest particles to objects on a cosmic scale. The concept of Prakriti contains the entire universe, all physical objects and energy fields.

By Purusha is meant the eternal Spirit, the spiritual principle. He is transcendental to Prakriti, that is, he is beyond all Nature. Purusha is the highest part of existence. He does not have the forms characteristic of Prakriti, therefore he cannot be imagined. He is conscious while matter is unconscious. However, one should not identify Purusha with the teaching about God that is familiar to Western people. Purusha is devoid of any personal attributes. The god of classical yoga - Ishvara - is a manifestation of Purusha, but He does not create the world and does not control it. Besides Him, there are other gods in the Spirit, but Ishvara is the highest among all spiritual beings. It also has the most important property for yoga philosophy to connect and separate Purusha and Prakriti.

Before the union of Spirit and matter, the latter is in an unmanifested state. This means that the universe does not exist, and the three basic properties or forces (gunas) of Prakriti are in balance.

Guna sattva is responsible for the principle of clarity, rajas - for the principle of movement, activity, tamas - for the principle of peace, inertia. When Spirit and matter unite, Purusha, as a conscious principle, begins to control Prakriti in a certain sense, causing changes in it. The gunas begin to interact with each other in many combinations and, passing through certain stages, form the objective world in all its forms. In this case, the first product of the interaction of the gunas becomes Buddhi-Mahat. This important concept of yoga philosophy denotes the ideal foundation of the entire future universe. In the course of further evolution, through a series of stages, five primary elements are formed: ether, air, fire, water, earth, from which all objects are composed.

The interaction of the gunas is a continuous change, the consequences of which we observe in our ever-changing world. These modifications determine our sense of time. That is, we can say that a second is not a small period of time, but some change we observe, for example, the movement of the clock hand to the next position. According to classical yoga, time as such does not exist, there is only the moment (now) of change. Any changes are possible in some space, therefore the objective world is also characterized by the category of space.

Unlike Prakriti, Purusha is not subject to change. Therefore, we can say that he is outside of time and space. Purusha is called the Spectator, observing the unfolding picture of change in matter.

Now let's look at the teachings of classical yoga about man. Here it is necessary to understand an idea that is unusual for the consciousness of modern Western man. In the anthropology of yoga, the inner world of a person corresponds to the outer being. A person is considered as a microcosm, which in its structure is identical to the macrocosm external to him. Thus, man is also the result of the union of Purusha and Prakriti.

Buddhi Mahat is the stage of development of Prakriti and the basis of the universe. In it, as a stage in the evolution of matter, individual Buddhi is formed, which is the ideal basis for the human psyche. Subsequently, the remaining elements of the microcosm are formed. These are the organs of perception - hearing, vision, touch, taste, smell; organs of action - arms, legs, organs of excretion and reproduction, organ of speech; the organ of the mind is the mind (manas). So, in fact, everything that we are used to identifying with ourselves, with our self - the physical body, memory, emotions, intellect, mental images, etc. – refers to matter and is potentially contained in the individual Buddhi.

Purusha in man is pure consciousness, his Spirit, his true Self. Yoga presupposes the existence of many “small parts” of Purusha, individual souls that manifest through different beings in Prakriti. Our true Self is eternal and unchanging. It is conscious and directs all processes in the sphere of Prakriti. The model of the union of Purusha and Prakriti in a person is often compared to two people lost in the forest. One of whom is without legs (Purusha), and the other is blind (Prakriti). It is clear that by uniting, they will be able to begin to get out of the forest. Purusha, interacting with Prakriti, fills a person’s individual buddhi, the matrix of all his mental phenomena, with the ability to self-awareness. Therefore, we, not knowing about Purusha, are aware of ourselves in our mental activity.

So, having examined the main philosophical categories of classical yoga, we move on to the theory of liberation, the central teaching about the meaning of human existence, for the sake of which both the Yoga Sutra and the commentary to it were written. Liberation is the separation in man of Spirit and matter, Purusha and Prakriti. Why is such a division necessary? The fact is that a person in his ordinary state does not know his true Self and identifies himself, at best, with his individual buddhi. But the ability of Buddhi to realize itself is no more than an illusion, because only Purusha has true consciousness. We always say to ourselves: “I walk, I feel, I think,” etc., thereby limiting our existence to the framework of Prakriti. As we already know, any manifestations of Prakriti are only consequences of the interaction of the gunas. They are changeable and no form is eternal. We, identifying ourselves with our psyche, become attached to its manifestations and to the forms of the objective world. All our suffering comes from this attachment. Attachments give rise to desires and expectations in relation to the world around us and to ourselves. But the world is changing - people close to us are aging and dying, the things we do do not bring the same satisfaction, negative emotions are replaced by positive ones, any pleasures always end. We want a constant feeling of satisfaction, but this is not achievable, and, as a rule, the more pleasure we get from something, the greater the disappointment later. Yoga philosophy

Moreover, the desire for the forms of Prakriti gives existence to our karma. Karma is a cause-and-effect relationship generated by humans and other beings. By our attraction to one form or another of Prakriti, we determine what we will be like in the future. For example, if we tend to be kind and honest, we want to be valued according to these virtues, which in turn gives rise to our desire to be the same in the future. Aspirations leave, figuratively speaking, imprints (vasanas) in our individual buddhi. Every moment we do something, feel, think, adding new imprints. After physical death, our spiritual essence is embodied in another body (reincarnation), and the vasanas are preserved, determining our future life. As long as our adherence to the forms of Prakriti remains, new imprints are added to the buddhi, which ensures subsequent births. Thus, we are in a series of rebirths (the wheel of samsara), eternally suffering in the changing world of Prakriti.

Liberation from suffering is possible, and the pursuit of it is the highest possible goal of existence.

Through the practice of yoga and philosophical reflection, a person gradually becomes more and more aware of his highest being, Purusha, achieves complete spiritual dispassion, and ceases to internally strive for anything in the material world. Then his karma is no longer created, and he comes to the separation of Spirit from matter, leaves the circle of samsara and achieves absolute liberation. Such a person will not be born again, but he may still continue to live in his present life, being in the constant awareness of himself as an eternal and unchangeable Spirit. This is the state of a god essentially equal to Ishvara. This existence cannot be described in words, but it is difficult to imagine a better existence than that in which even the potential possibility of suffering or any dissatisfaction is absent, and at the same time there is complete awareness.

This is how liberation is achieved.

The philosophy of yoga is extremely popular today. For many, it became a real discovery in life. Yoga saves tortured people from daily stress and helps them see what is most important, discarding what is unimportant. However, it does not come down to a banal set of physical exercises. Yoga as an ancient tradition and religion, yoga as - this is what will be discussed in this article.

Reasons for the popularity of yoga in the modern world

As already noted, yoga is extremely popular today. You could even say that it is fashionable in modern society. What are the reasons for such popularity?

To do this you need to answer one question. Modern personality - what is it like? Exhausted, depressed and depressed. A person of the 21st century, as a rule, spends his life in pursuit of dubious benefits. Yoga not only helps you cope with daily stress, but also teaches you to concentrate your attention (and strength) on the most important, truly important things.

The philosophy of yoga opens a person to the only true path to realizing his essence and helps him fully realize his inner potential.

Interestingly, the practical methods of yoga work in any case. Even if a person does not really believe in them or does not have the slightest idea about the essence and foundations of this philosophy. This is another unique feature of yoga.

Yoga Philosophy (briefly)

What is yoga? Is it fair to call it philosophy, science or religion?

The word itself translated from Sanskrit means “unity”. In a narrow sense, we are talking here primarily about the harmony and fusion of the human body and soul. In a more global sense, this is the unity of man with God.

Yoga is an Indian philosophy, very ancient. Its main postulates were outlined back in the second century by the famous guru Patanjali. However, it is incorrect to claim that the philosophy of yoga was founded by him. After all, it is believed that the Creator himself gave yoga to humanity (through the avatar Krishna).

The fundamentals of this teaching are not systematic. Their individual aspects can be found in various ancient Indian sources, starting with the Vedas. That is why historians cannot determine a clear chronological framework for this direction.

The philosophy of yoga is extremely multifaceted. The main goal of the teaching is to achieve nirvana. This term means complete reunification with the Creator.

Today, researchers identify several forms of yoga. This:

• karma yoga;
• bhakti yoga;
• jnana yoga;
• mantra yoga;
• hatha yoga and others.

Each of these directions is just one step towards the single goal of yoga philosophy - unity with the Almighty. In our article we will dwell in more detail on the last of these forms.

Parable of the Hidden Divinity

The philosophy of yoga for beginners is best illustrated by one of the ancient Indian parables. It will help to better understand the essence of this teaching for those who are just beginning to get acquainted with it.

So, the parable of hidden divinity...

According to legend, previously all people on Earth were gods. This is how Brahma created them. However, soon the ruler of all gods saw that they were using their power not entirely righteously, and therefore decided to take away their divine power. At the same time, he had a question: where to hide divinity from people so that they could not find it?

To solve this dilemma, Brahma called his advisors. They began to bombard him with various options: some suggested burying the divinity in the ground, others - throwing it to the bottom of the ocean... However, Brahma did not like any of the proposals. “Sooner or later people will reach the bottom of the oceans,” he answered thoughtfully.

Suddenly the ruler of the gods himself realized what needed to be done. He decided to hide divinity within man himself. And I was not mistaken. Man conquered the skies and the depths of the sea, drilled kilometer-long tunnels underground, but never really looked inside himself.

ancient finds

It is difficult to determine how deep the roots of yoga stretch into history. Thus, in the Indus River valley, archaeologists found ancient seals dating back to the second millennium BC. They depict people, as well as deities in unusual poses (in total, researchers counted 16 different positions). This find led historians to believe that one form of yoga was already familiar to the inhabitants of the Harappan civilization.

If we talk about written evidence, the concept of “yoga” is first found in the Rigveda - one of the most ancient monuments of Indian literature.

Patanjali and his Yoga Sutras

This teaching is included in the list of six orthodox schools of Hinduism. The philosophy of yoga is very closely related to the Samkhya movement. However, in comparison, yoga is more theistic.

Heinrich Zimmer also spoke about the kinship of these two schools in his time. At the same time, he argued that Samkhya provides a general explanation of human nature, while yoga reveals practical methods and paths to its complete liberation (the state of moksha).

Like any other school of Indian philosophy, yoga has its own sacred texts. These are the so-called “yoga sutras” expounded by the sage Patanjali. In one of them, by the way, the teacher reveals the very essence of the concept we are considering. According to the text of the second sutra, yoga is “the process of controlling the disturbances inherent in the mind.”

Swami Vivekananda: the life of a philosopher

One of the brightest representatives of this school is the Indian sage and Swami Vivekananda. The philosophy of yoga in his works acquired a new meaning. He was able to explain its key provisions from the point of view of the Western worldview.

Swami Vivekananda lived and worked in the second half of the 19th century. He was born in 1863 into a very religious family. He studied at the Scottish Church College, where he took a special interest in philosophy. At the same time, Vivekananda sets out to find a person who met God himself. And soon he finds it. It was a certain Ramakrishna. Soon Vivekananda becomes his student.

In 1888, he, along with other students of Ramakrishna, began traveling throughout India. Then it goes to other countries (USA, France, Japan, England and others). The sage died in 1902. Swami's body, like his, was cremated on the banks of the Ganges River.

During his life, Vivekananda wrote a number of works. The most important among them are the following:

• "Karma Yoga" (1896).
• "Raja Yoga" (1896).
• "The Philosophy of Vedanta: Lectures on Jnana Yoga" (1902).

Swami Vivekananda: philosophical views

Vivekananda has a very famous saying: “Only his names differ.” Some call him Jesus, others Allah, others Buddha, and so on.

Swami Vivekananda was distinguished by the originality of his thoughts. His main merit as a philosopher is that he was able to prove that the key ideas of Vedanta can be applied for purely practical purposes, in public life.

“Every person is divine in itself” - this saying of Ramakrishna became a red thread in the life of the philosopher. He was sure that no one would gain freedom until all other people became free. Vivekananda asserted that he had a real duty to work tirelessly to save other people. The philosopher extolled selflessness and urged everyone not to lose faith in themselves.

Swami Vivekananda's social views were based on the idea that there should be division. Religion, in his opinion, should under no circumstances interfere in issues of marriage, inheritance relations, and the like. He also believed that society should ideally be an even mixture of all four castes. Moreover, he was sure that religion should not interfere in the process of building an ideal society.

Yoga Hatha: school philosophy

The name of this is translated from Sanskrit as “enhanced fusion”. For the first time, the postulates of this school were systematized by Swami Swatmarama. He believed that hatha yoga is the process of preparing the human body for complex meditation.

The word “hatha” itself, as researchers suggest, consists of two components: “ha” - mind and “tha” - life force.

Hatha yoga is a complex teaching about how you can achieve bodily harmony through physical and mental influences on the body (these are asanas, pranayama, mudras and bandhas). Each of them affects a specific part of the human body. In hatha yoga, sets of certain exercises are specially selected with the help of which you can strengthen your health and fight serious diseases.

Breathing is the basis of life

The main emphasis in hatha yoga is on breathing. Adherents of this school are confident that the influence of breathing on the body is so strong that with just pranayama (breathing exercises) you can significantly improve your condition. And skillfully combining them with asanas is the key to a healthy and strong body.

Hatha yoga as a medical philosophy puts as its primary goal the complete cleansing of the human respiratory system. In addition, this is a real art of relaxing the body and all its muscles. After all, real clarity of mind comes only to a relaxed body.

The state of the body, well-being, as well as a person’s thought processes are closely related to his breathing. I think everyone will agree with this. That is why in Hatha Yoga such attention is paid to the art and techniques of proper breathing. At the same time, she teaches people to breathe correctly not only during special classes, but also in everyday life. A wise and careful attitude towards one’s health is what hatha yoga teaches people. Philosophy and practice are organically intertwined in this teaching.

General goals and objectives of yoga

Anyone who decides to take up yoga seriously may pursue different goals. It could be a simple desire to improve your health or recover from a chronic disease. And for some, yoga is the key to achieving moksha (“union with Brahman”).

By the way, it is moksha - as the process and fact of liberation from samsara - that is the ultimate goal in many schools of ancient Indian philosophy. But in Vaishnavism, the main goal of yoga is the desire for God, the Creator. According to the teachings of this school, a Vaisnava then enters the spiritual blissful world, where he can enjoy devotional service to Vishnu.

Development of yoga in Russia

Individual residents of Russia showed interest in yoga even in pre-revolutionary times. During the era of the Soviet Union, this school was under an ideological ban, which, however, did not prevent individual enthusiasts from practicing semi-legally.

In Russia, at different times, many famous personalities acted as active promoters of yoga. Among these are the doctor B. L. Smirnov, professor V. V. Brodov, writer V. I. Voronin, engineer Ya. I. Koltunov and many others. At the end of the 80s, a higher educational institution began to operate in Moscow - the so-called Yoga Academy. Its founder was Gennady Statsenko. At the same time, a laboratory appeared in the capital of the USSR, which was studying unconventional methods of treatment and recovery. Of course, the area of ​​interest of this laboratory also included the teachings of Ancient India - yoga.

Today, yoga courses are taught in almost every fitness club. However, knowledgeable people still recommend attending classes at a specialized school.

Finally, some useful tips for those who are planning to start doing yoga:

• clothes for classes should be comfortable and made of natural fabric;
• you need to start mastering yoga small, gradually penetrating into the “depths” of this teaching;
• It is undesirable to skip classes, because each new session is a logical continuation of the previous one;
• Yoga practice must be approached extremely consciously and thoroughly.

And, of course, we should not forget that yoga is not only a healthy, fit body, but also an opportunity to feel the harmony of body and soul.

Finally...

Yoga is a philosophy of Ancient India, which is very popular in the modern world. However, this is not entirely philosophy, or rather, not only it. It is also science, religion, centuries-old tradition and practice. Why is modern man so attracted to the philosophy of yoga?

This question can be briefly answered with two main theses. First: yoga helps a person cope with the enormous pressure of cruel reality. Second: it is capable of opening the way for each of us to know ourselves, our inner essence.

Yoga philosophy refers to the ancient teaching about the improvement of the human spirit. This teaching came to us from the ancient Aryan civilization. Yoga is one of the schools of philosophy (darshan) in India. The basic principles of yoga are described in the treatise “Yoga Sutra”, authored by Patanjali. Very little information about the author has reached our time; various sources date the Yoga Sutra in the intervals from the 2nd century BC to the 2nd century AD. However, it is reliably known that Patanjali did not invent the teaching itself. The primary source of the yoga he described is the oldest written treatise - the Vedas (2nd millennium BC), as well as in the Upanishads (6-3rd century BC), and in such ancient works as the Mahabharata and Ramayana (1 millennium BC). All these ancient sources contain references to key yoga techniques, but there is no system or order. Patanjali was the first to summarize and systematize all the ancient knowledge about yoga in his work “Yoga Sutras” and after more than two thousand years, his work is deservedly considered a classic in the theory of yoga. The Yoga Sutra, like most books written at that time, consists of short statements - sutras, which most likely acted as reminders for memorizing long oral discourses. Obviously, this was enough for Patanjali’s students, but for followers who do not have the opportunity to contact the teacher directly, it is impossible to practice yoga only according to these sutras. Therefore, there are explanations for the Yoga Sutra. The most authoritative of them were written by the philosopher Vyasa, who wrote his treatise “Yoga Bhashya” in the 5th century AD.

Yoga philosophy

Everything that exists is divided into two components - Purusha and Prakriti. Purusha is the spiritual component and Prakriti is the material component. Matter is everything that we can see, hear, feel in any possible way and is called Prakriti. In other words, this is practically everything, from molecules to planets and galaxies. Purusha is the eternal Spirit or spiritual principle, beyond the limits of the material world, it does not have a specific form, and it is difficult for a person to imagine it. Purusha is the highest part of existence and at the same time has consciousness, while in matter there is no consciousness. However, Purusha should not be confused with the Western concept of God. However, in the classical version of yoga, there is a god - Inshvara, this is the embodiment of Purusha, but besides him there are many other deities, and he is considered the main one among them. Inshvara did not create the Earth and does not dominate the world, but can connect spirit and matter. There are three main forces that make up Prakriti (matter). These forces are called gunas. Guna sattva – peace, guna rajas – movement, guna tamas – degradation. As long as the spiritual principle does not influence matter, these forces are balanced. When Spirit and matter unite, forces begin to interact and change, forming everything that exists. When forces interact, the first thing that is formed is the ideal basis of the universe (Budhi-mahat). Subsequently, five elements are formed: water, earth, fire, air and ether. From the five elements everything else that exists in Prakriti is formed. A very important point in this philosophy is the lack of time. Yoga views everything that exists as a continuous process of change, so there is no time, but there is a process of change. That is, time is a change in the state of matter. Unlike Prakriti, Purusha is considered unchanging, therefore it exists outside of space and does not depend on time. Purusha is compared to an observer who monitors the changes of Prakriti.

Yoga teachings about man

The main point in the philosophy of yoga is that man is a micro Universe within the larger Universe, and accordingly, is also the result of the union of Purushu (spirit) and Prakriti (matter). As a result of the interaction of Purushu and Prakriti, Budhi-Mahat, the ideal basis of the Universe, is created, everything happens exactly the same in a person, only each person creates an individual Budhi. Further, as a result of transformations, other organs appear: organs of action, organ of consciousness, sense organs. All this relates to the material and is located in individual buddhi. The spiritual part of a person, his Purusha, is the Spirit, his true Self, which never changes and controls all processes and changes in our material part of Prakriti. The teachings of yoga compare Purusha and Prakriti with a blind and legless man who is lost in the forest and can only get out by joining forces.

Central teaching of yoga

The classical teachings of yoga say that the ultimate goal of human existence should be liberation from material things. In the standard state, a person is able to perceive himself only from a material point of view. A person identifies himself with his actions (I do), feelings (I feel), thoughts (I think), but this is all material and is contained within the framework of Prakriti, in fact, all this is the result of the interaction of forces (gunas). And the true consciousness, the true Self, is Purusha. Everything material changes - our loved ones are subject to aging and death, repeated events do not bring original satisfaction, pleasure always ends, and emotions change from positive to negative. A person wants to constantly have fun, but this is impossible. And the more pleasure a person receives, the more disappointed he is when the pleasure ends. The desire for material things affects Karma. In fact, karma is a cause-and-effect law that states that all actions performed by a person affect what his future will be like. In the Vedas, this law is interpreted in this way: whoever sows good will reap good, whoever sows evil will reap evil. Unlike the Western concept of “fate”, which does not depend on a person, the concept of “karma” completely determines the future depending on a person’s actions, both good and bad. All our aspirations for material things leave imprints on our budha. Every moment we do something, think, say, and this leaves new traces, and after the death of the body, our spirit is reborn in a new form, depending on what traces were left in the previous life. Thus, there is a constant cycle of rebirth (the wheel of samsara), and a person is constantly present in the material environment and must constantly suffer. According to the teaching, one can escape the cycle of rebirth only by practicing yoga and gradually coming to an understanding of one’s higher existence and renunciation of the desire for material things. A person who manages to renounce material attachments will cease to be reborn, will break out of the circle of samsara and will exist only in the spiritual world in the form of an unchanging Spirit, which is equal to the god Inshvari. Such an existence cannot be imagined, but it excludes suffering or dissatisfaction. However, with the ever-increasing popularity of yoga, its original goals are being lost, and now people who practice yoga strive to gain more in the material world than to achieve spiritual liberation.