It is impossible to assign one difination to Yoga. Yoga is both philosophy and a practice that enables people to reach a place of deep, lasting peace, happiness and harmony. The word Yoga comes from the ancient Sanskrit language spoke by the traditional religious elite of India, the brahmins.

Many people thinks that in order to do Yoga:

1) You must be able to stand on your head for about an hour.

2) You must be able to twist your body just like pretzel.

3) You have to live in cave and eat once a week.

What do you think? If any of the above answer is YES in your mind then you dont know yoga and this website will help you to start with. None of the above question is true about Yoga. Yoga is a system of breathing exercises, movements and relaxation techniques that stretch and strengthen your body to keep your body, mind and spirit working togather in harmony. Yoga makes you feel great! It gives you a strong flexible body and a calm focused mind. It improves your health, stretches your muscles, sharpens your memory and eases your tension.

According to archaeologists, they found statuettes of men and women in Yoga poses of about 5000 years old in India. Yoga was developed by ancient sages of India and it was written in "Sanskrit". Yoga focuses on improving your physical, mental and spritiual well-being. The gola of Yoga is to harmonize your body, mind and spirit through combination of poses, meditation and breathing exercises. Unifying your body, mind and spirit allows you to achieve a sense of wholeness, peace and self-realization. Plese click here to get detail of them.

There are many ways Yoga can help you with your personal growth. Here are some of them:

Yoga can put you in touch with your real feelings and balance your emotional life.

Yoga can help you become less fragmented inwardly and move whole rear. In other words, it can help you understand and accept your self and feel comforatble with who you are. You won't have to "fake it" or reduce your life to constant role-playing.

Yoga can greatly improve your "hook-up" to other people. That is, you become more able to empathize and communicate with others.

Characteristic of Yoga:

Yoga is meditation

Yoga is fitness training.

Yoga is gymnastics.

Yoga is a way to improve and maintain your health.

Yoga is a way to control your weight.

Yoga is the "huffing and puffing" of proper breath control.

Yoga is a spiritual tradition from India.

Yoga is a teachinque for stess reduction.

Yoga is more than a system of preventative or restorative health.

The Eight main brances of Yoga:-
Yoga is a wide subject. There are thousands of things to know in Yoga. In Yoga there are eight man branch. If we make the tree of Yoga with eight branches -- each branch has it w own unique character. There are so many different paths, you are sure to find one that's right for your personality, lifestyle and goals.

Here are the eight prinicpal branches of Yoga:
1. Karma Yoga: The Yoga of self-transcending action
2. Jnana Yoga: The Yoga of widsom
3. Raja Yoga, The Yoga of Royal
4. Tantra Yoga: The Yoga of continutity
5. Guru Yoga: The Yoga of dedicaton to yoga masters
6. Mantra Yoga: The Yoga of potent sound
7. Hatha Yoga, The Yoga of Physical discipline
8. Bhakti Yoga: The Yoga of devotion

Karma Yoga: The Yoga of self transcendng action

Karma Yoga seeks to influcence destiny positively. This path's most important principle is to act unselfishly, without attachment and with integrity. Karma Yoga practitioners believe that all actions -- weather bodily, vocal or mental - have far reaching consequences for which we must assume full responsibility.

Jnana Yoga: The Yoga of wisdom

Jnana Yoga teaches the ideal of nondualism - that reality is singular and your perception of countless distinct phenomena is a basic misconception. What about the chair or sofa that you are sitting on? What about the light that strikes your retina? Jnana Yoga masters answers there questions by saying that all these things are real at your present level of consciousness, but they are not ultimately real as separate or distinct things. Upon elightment, everything melts into one, and you become one with the immortal spirit.

Raja Yoga: The Royal Yoga

Raja Yoga means literally "Royal Yoga" and is also know as "Classical Yoga". When you mingle with Yoga students long enough, you can expect to hear them refer to the eight fold paths as condified in the Yoga - Sutra of Patanjali. This is the standard work of Raja Yoga. Another name for this yogic tradition is "ashtanga-yoga" means "the eight - limbed yoga". The eight limbs of this prominent approach, which are designed to lead to enlightment or liberation are as follow:-
Dhyan
Samadhi
Niyama
Asana
Pratyahara
Pranayam
Yama
Dharma

Tantra Yoga: The Yoga of continuity

Tantra Yoga is the most complex and most widely misunderstood branch of Yoga. In the west and in India, Tantra Yoga is often confused with "spiritualized" sex. While sexual rituals are used in some schools of Tantra Yoga, this isn't a regular practice in the majority of schools. Tantra Yoga is actually strict spiritual descipline involving fair complex rituals and detailed visualization of deities. Another name for Tantra Yoga is "Kundalini Yoga" means "show who is coiled".

Guru Yoga: The Yoga of dedecation to a Yoga master(s)

Guru means "the master". In Guru Yoga, Yogi or Yogini's guru(teacher) is the main focus of spiritual practice, such as Guru is expected to be enlightened or at least close to being enlightened. In Guru Yoga the goal is to merge your sould with Guru's sould. You must require full faith in your Guru. In Guru Yoga, you are asked to honor and meditate on your Guru until you merge with him or her.

Mantra Yoga: The Yoga of potent sound

Mantra Yoga makes use of sound to harmonize the body and focus the mind. It works with "mantras", which can be a syllable, word or pharse. Traditionally, practitioners receive a "mantra" from their teacher in the context of a formal initiation. They are asked to repeat it as often as possible and to keep it secret. Repeation of"mantra" make their mind continuoulsy think of it and bring them nearer to enlightment.

Hatha Yoga: The Yoga of physical descipline

Tha main goal of Yoga is to unite your spirit, body and mind. Hatha Yoga approach the same goal through the body ratr than throug the mind or emotions. The first step of Hatha Yoga is to allow your body properly purified and prepare wihout this the higher stages of connection, meditation and ecstasy are virtually impossible to achieve. Yogi or Yogini needs to make sure to take proper care of the body so that you can injoy not only health but also longevity and elightenment.

Bhakti Yoga: The Yoga of devotion

In Bhakti Yoga, Yogi or Yogini believes that a supreme being transcends his/her life, and his/her feels connection between soul and supreme being. Bhakti Yoga includes many different ways to connect to supreme being like singin hymns of praise, making flower offering also called as "Mala" and thinking about the devine being.