Leisure Kicks - The essencial sport and leisure guide

Though the earliest beginnings of yoga are still unclear to historians, it is accepted that yoga’s system of philosophy originated in India more than 5,000 years ago. The Sanskrit word ‘yoga’ can be translated in many different ways including 'union' between mind, body and spirit, as well as ‘yolk’ or ‘join’.Yoga comes out of an oral history which, according to historians, was first collated by Indian sage Patanjali into the Yoga Sutra, a collection of philosophies. It provided an approach for dealing with day to day life and for taking hold over one’s own emotions. The physical side was later developed as Hatha Yoga, as a supplement to meditation. This is the most widely taught form of yoga in the West. Classes teach students to exercise to stretch and flex the body, develop breath awareness, relaxation and sometimes meditation. Some classes may be low impact while others such as Bikkram can be very demanding. The practice was once entwined with religion such as Hinduism, but now things are much more separate. Today, yoga teachers may vary on how much of the history and philosophy they include in their classes. Some may introduce these aspects as a ‘theme’ for sessions. 

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Mariko Bhakti practicing at the Veerupaksha temple in Hampi
Ramnath Bhat