International Journal of Latest Research in Science and Technology ISSN (Online):2278-5299 Volume 6, Issue 3: Page No.29-32 ,May-June 2017 http://www.mnkjournals.com/ijlrst.htm

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ROLE OF YOGA EDUCATION IN THE HEALTHY LIVING

Ar. Soumya Assistant Professor, Chandigarh University

Abstract - Today in this 21st century we look forward to reclaim our spiritual heritage which Yoga is very much a part of. The highest achievement of one's spiritual path forever remains, yoga 's central theme, still yoga practice gifts us the direct and tangible benefits regardless of our spiritual aims. One of yoga 's most important achievements is the physical and mental therapy. The principals of harmony and unification together make yoga so powerful and effective that it has succeeded as an alternative therapy for many a diseases as well as brought mindfulness, calmness, cheer and freshness into the daily lives of the ones who practice it regularly. And yet yoga pushes to achieve slot in our curriculum in order to provide us with healthy, joyful and stress free lives. Keywords: Yoga, Patanjali, Ashtang yoga, stress, diseases.

I. INTRODUCTION [ yoga karmasu kaualam Excellence in action is yoga -Lord Krishna in Bhagvad Gita Yoga as derived from the Sanskrit word "yuj", means union of the individual's consciousness or soul with that of Universal Consciousness or Spirit. In today's world many are unaware that yoga is not only a physical exercise but a holistic way of life that integrates all elements of ancient knowledge of Yoga, to make a prayerful discipline uniting the body, mind and soul. The great sage Patanjali, who is considered as the founder of yoga describes yoga as the means by which our minds can be made still, quite and free from all distractions. The Ancient yoga has many parts of yoga which not just describe sections of one's journey in life but also show us the path to achieve wholeness. Ashtanga Yoga - The Eight-Fold Path where "Ashta" means eight and "anga" means limbs or parts that describe us the path that yoga wishes for us. These eight limbs of Yoga are: 1) Yama -Yama refers to the Great Universal

Commandments. Patanjali lists five a) Ahimsa - Non-Violence b) Satya - Truth c) Asteya - Non -Stealing d) Brahmacharya - Control e) Aparigraha -Unselfishness

2) Niyama - Niyama refers to personal disciplines. Patanjali

lists five of these: a) Swacha - Cleanliness b) Santosha - Contentment c) Tapas - Great Effort d) Svadhyaya - Self-Study e) Ishvara Pranidhana - Faith In God

f) 3) Asana - Asana means postures 4) Pranayama - Pranayama means breath control. 5) Pratyahara - Pratyahara means control of the senses

(taste, touch, smell, sight and hearing.) 6) Dharana - Dharana means concentration. 7) Dhyana - Dhyana means meditation. 8) Samadhi - Samadhi or kaivalya, is the goal of Yoga

where in the yogi unites with God.

By following this eight-fold path a man gets health of body and control over his mind. He becomes wise and compassionate. For children, however, only the first three steps of Yoga are important: yama, niyama and asana. These steps prepare a child for the higher steps of Yoga which they can practice in the later stages of life. In this respect, far from simply being physical exercises, yoga is an aid to establish a new way of life which embraces both ours and world's realities. However, this way of life is an experience which cannot be understood theoretically and will only become living knowledge through practice and experience. II. LIFE IN THE EARLIER DAYS In order to understand the importance and necessity of yoga in the present circumstances, we must first take into consideration the lifestyle and living conditions of people in the earlier days. A peep into the past will help us in understanding the necessity for a practice that could help mankind live a healthy and meaningful life.

In those days earth was a place of fresh air, fertile land, good water, animals, plants and trees. Population was less wherein people lived around water sources like river and lakes. Animals provides power, natural oils provided light, plants were used to control diseases, all that was naturally grown and processed naturally were used in daily life.

Way back in the olden days people's daily activities were mostly physical requiring hard labour. Except for the few

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who were traders, physicians, administrators etc; others were engaged in activities that required hard labour. The daily activity of people started at sunrise and ended by sun set. Life was harmonious, peaceful, with no space for stress and anguish. Except the kings who fought for kingdom, mostly people lived in peace and life went at a normal and peaceful pace. People believed in God and Dharma. The system of work was without competition. There was security in life. People lived together, i.e. All the family members lived in one place. Members shared the work among them and also their income. The population of the world as a whole was less. Availability of resources like water, food, forest, and land was abundant. People's expectations and requirements were limited to clothing, food, shelter and land for producing the food. Hence the urge for more money to augment material wealth was negligible. Saints and Rishis living during those days guided people and helped them to lead healthy and peaceful life. The material joy those days were limited and hence people had nothing to long for. Moreover, they were advised and guided by wise men, that material benefits are short lived and eternal joy lies in peace and satisfaction.

Peoples understanding were limited to their area. Their knowledge was limited because communication depended on people. Spread of civilization was through travellers, To learn, students had to go in search of teachers. Written communication was not well developed. Only teachers handed down knowledge to the next generation. But in spite of these difficulties the wealth of knowledge that we now have is the greatest contribution to the mankind by our ancestors regarding aspects like environment, weather, planets, food, and health and so on. We are reinventing or proving most of that was said by them in a scientific way. III. LIFE IN THE PRESENT SCENARIO Industrial revolution Started the degeneration of man's health. New inventions that were beneficial and poised to give immediate benefit have invaded human life. Technology has tried to overcome nature's limitations. But as we see now it has not and could not change the nature totally to our advantage. A feet achieved in one field has affected some other area. Take e.g. The Fluoro carbon which is commonly used in refrigerators and air conditioners, have created a hole in the ozone. Research and development will not stop. Changes and progression are inevitable. But whether the new invention will be good is something that we are unable to conclude immediately. As times goes by one invention is proved wrong or some fine tuning takes place. Now a days people want to make and use materials that are not harmful to the environment. Unwittingly individual's benefits are indirectly affecting the society. Like this in most of the spheres of life we are damaging the environment knowingly and also unknowingly.

Luxuries and money has become the most important aspect in our life. Lifetime is being spent on earning, nurturing and growing them. The cyclic chain in earning makes one to keep going after the money and forget the rest. The pursuit for money and money only is in itself too dangerous for us, and in turn to society in general. Life is not just money alone, there is something beyond that. Awakening Of mankind within him, why he is born and what is the purpose of life

will make him realize that there is something beyond making money in life.

The living conditions today also fail to help us. To our dismay, the population is increasing at a geometrical proposition. All are trying to control the increase in population. Developed countries have been able to keep it within manageable limit. But in India, though the Government is trying to curb it, the growth is at a phenomenal rate. India is the second largest with more than 1 billion people. The increase in population without equivalent increase in resources has put tremendous pressure on the economy. Continuous failure in the monsoon and decreased yield in agriculture has shifted people from villages to towns and cities. Agriculture workers who suffered without steady employment throughout the year have also migrated to industrial area. Concentration people in industrial towns and cities made more population per land area, Due to the poor sanitation facility and more demand on limited water resources, people have to live in unventilated houses. More population means more transportation vehicles, which in turn produce more carbon dioxide, in addition to the pollution by industries, these have polluted the environment and as a result people health are affected. Inadequate hygiene, water, polluted air and poor sanitation have affected the surroundings. This has led to the explosion or malaria, flu, commutable and infectious diseases, allergy, and epidemic diseases. IV. IDEAL PRACTICE OF YOGA IN THE NEW LIFE

STYLE Yoga is most advisable and easy way to keep good health of a person in the modern times, where time, stress and bad environment have made life miserable.

The common day stress which we face today is for time. Compared to those when people worked during daytime after sunrise, now we are working round the clock. Those days' people worked in sunlight and in the field, but today we work under closed air-conditioned environment. Normal activity of person goes beyond 16 hrs. A routine life Starts with morning chores, and then going to work place. The time taken for travelling is enormous. Science had helped him to travel longer distance in a Shorter time. People living in metropolitan cities; travel an average of 150 to 300 kilometres every Week to their workplace, Unless a person reduces the sleeping time or the time taken for personal nature. He cannot do exercise or other practices to keep healthy.

The socio economic condition requires people to be always alert and be on their toe. Competition is everywhere, right from childhood till death. Population has made more people compete for limited resources, Moreover advanced transportation and communication systems have made it possible for exchange of information and technology, within negligible time. Any change that takes place in one place reaches us much faster than we presume. This fastness and speed has made life much easier in so far as material benefits are concerned. The technology used now becomes obsolete before we fully understand and start to use it. There is pressure on businessmen, senior Managers and people in important decision making jobs. All these factors compound

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the necessity for them to devote more time on various developments taking around us. The shortage of time develops Into stress both mentally and physically. The stress plays the vital role in deterioration of health. Inventions and innovations have made people to believe that joy is in material things. The happiness derived from materialistic things made people to long for still better and enjoyable material things. People spend their time in pursuit of happiness, which is endless. While running after material things people have lost health and thereby have lost their path in life. The air is polluted, ozone is damaged rain comes when we do not want it, does not rain when required and the climate has become worse. We are facing extreme hot and cold conditions. Food and water are contaminated with chemical residues. Automobiles and factories have spoiled the air and increased the noise pollution. The health of people is getting eroded without them knowing about it.

Against all these obstacles if mankind should come to the right path, their mind and body should be healthy. To keep a person fit and healthy in the present day yoga can play the most vital role. Yoga is the best form of exercise to stimulate the whole body. It can be done within the house having good ventilation. Perfect practice relaxes the body and the mind. After a good practice of yoga the mind becomes vibrant. Yoga relieves Stress in these present days more effectively and successfully and also for many illnesses yoga is advised. Today the focus is more on the practical benefits. There is a definite difference between yoga and normal exercise. Traditional exercises are oriented towards a certain goal such as, doing a number or sit-ups or push- ups. Yoga on the other hand is a process. Yoga teaches the concept of focusing your awareness while performing specific postures.

The benefits of yoga are numerous which include improved physical fitness, Stress control, general well being , mental clarity, and greater self understanding. People of all ages can do yoga, it can also be adapted for people With disabilities or special needs. The poses enhance muscle strength, coordination, flexibility and agility and help a person feel better. Regular practice of yoga helps to keep our body fit, controls cholesterol level, reduces weight, normalizes blood pressure and improves heart performance.

According to the National Institute of Health, when people actively seek to reduce the stress in their lives by relaxing the mind, the body often works to heal itself. In this sense, yoga can be seen not only as a means to get into shape on several levels, but also as a tool for self healing. Other studies show that patients with heart problems who followed a stress reduction program that include Yoga did better than patients who exercised or did nothing.

Further, preliminary studies in the United States and India reviled that yoga may be helpful for specific conditions, such as asthma, epilepsy, anxiety, stress and others. As for athletics yoga can be a powerful enhancement in regular training exercises. Adding yoga in a routine training program helps developed strength, flexibility and range of motion , concentration, cardiovascular health, stress, tension and stiffness. The most significant benefit of adding yoga to a training program is its effect on performance. Yoga allows an athletic to train himself harder and at a higher level because

the range of physical action is greater and the fear of injury is lesser.

V. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES OF LEARNING YOGA For one's physical body Yoga improves posture, increases the intake of oxygen, and enhances the functioning of the respiratory, digestive, endocrine, and reproductive and excretory systems. Its effects on the emotions are equally beneficial by calming the mind, attuning us to the environment and diminishing insomnia. Yoga is highly recommended for people in competitive, stressful working environments, for those who suffer from headaches, back and shoulder aches, allergies, and asthma. Yoga also cures behavioural disorder, nervous breakdown and manic depression. The regular practice of yoga helps us to accept whatever physical or mental conditions we might be suffering from by increasing our immediate sense of well-being, concentration, and calmness. Much healing can be done, but it takes practice and consistency. We all have the capacity to self-destruct, particularly if things go wrong. The yogic knowledge in this life is a tremendous gift and we have to take responsibility for it. Yoga gives you the capacity to face up to life's challenges. Similarly, when you respect your body, you tend to do things that will enhance its vitality. Part of yoga practice is deep breathing, which helps to make the body more alkaline, The acid - alkaline ratio is crucial to good health. It should be 80 per cent alkaline, 20 percent acid. Over acidity can be harmful for bones and tissues, leading to fatigue, dulled mentality, headaches, depression and arthritis. Refined carbohydrates, animal proteins, coffee and alcohol, as well as stress and pollution are all acid forming.

Yoga works on a psychological level too. In a yoga position, one should concentrate on a total awareness of our energy, and how it flows. One should learn how body and mind works together. Almost all exercises can be beneficial depending on the intent and body condition; practicing yoga ultimately leads towards long-term health and well-being. VI. YOGA AS A SCIENCE AND ART

Basically speaking, creativity is a fact of an imaginative mind. Creativity is dormant in every human being and it is possible for all aspirants to unfold, develop and channelize this creative faculty effectively. The role of creative faculty in arts and science has now been understood by the modern man probably more than ever before. The emergence of creativity as the core of technology has added aesthetics or a new dimension in the field of science. Basically, art has been impregnated into the science.

Similarly, in the field of arts, music, sculptures, painting etc, a scientific outlook is up. Trend in modern terms tries to understand the science of arts and the arts in science. Hitherto, science and arts were considered as branches of knowledge totally separate from each other with no opportunities for their mutual In fact, this has been so in the history of the growth of science, whenever a new break-through occurred. The mutual interactions of critical and creative faculties in man are leading to a breakthrough in the understanding of mind, a new dimension of mind, far deeper and subtler- Man is curious to get to the subtle substratum,

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from where creativity emerges. This has now become the direction of search.

Yoga, a conscious and systematic process to accelerate the growth of human mind, is now emerging as a new tool in this search. Yoga, in general, and meditation, in particular, is providing man a means to reach the subtle layers of mind. It has been shown through the experimental results on meditation; that knowledge and creativity are structured in subtler layers of mind or deeper states of consciousness. These creative and critical faculties of mind lie hidden in these higher states of consciousness. Thus, the foundation of arts and science are now being found in deeper states of our consciousness, Hence, yoga has brought a breakthrough in unravelling the hidden dimensions of mind. All those seeking to develop greater critical and creative faculties now have YOGA as a new tool and millions of people all over the world have taken to the study and practice of Yoga and are reaping its benefits.

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