Get To Know Yoga Experts In Modern Age

By Author: Ralph C Dreher
Total Articles: 2
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The origin of yoga dates back to more than three thousand years. According to Vedic literature, yoga is a set of techniques to control body and mind. Patanjali is credited as "father of yoga" for his extraordinary work in making and standardizing the principles of yoga. This article throws light on people who made considerable contribution to develop and popularize modern yoga techniques that are getting increasingly popular across the globe.

Modern yoga is believed to begin in the Parliament of Religions held in USA on 11th September 1893. In this summit, Swami Vivekananda made a long lasting impression on US citizens with his spiritual speech and attracted many students to yoga. The modern age of yoga starts with Sri Ramakrishna and his students - Swami Vivekananda and Ramana Maharshi.

One of the greatest masters of yoga in modern age is Sri Tirumalai Krishnamacharya. He is considered the "father of modern yoga". His techniques, called Astanga vinyasa yoga involving breathing and movement combined - take eight paths to master control over breath, posture, concentration, meditation, etc. Astanga vinyasa is more ...
... prominent in Indian yoga style. It begins with sun salutations and closes with shava asana.

Tirumalai Krishnamacharya also popularized yoga under "yoga korunta" written by Vamana Rishi of ancient India. Yoga korunta developed new methods in yoga teaching comprising acrobatics and athletics. It became more popular for these reasons.

Swami Sivananda was another leading personality in popularizing yoga in modern age. Under his leadership, it underwent significant changes from teaching to techniques (methods) to make it simple and attractive. Swami Sivananda gave five principles to govern practice of yoga. These include relaxation, exercises, breathing, appropriate diet, meditation and positive thinking.

Hatha Yoga Pradipika by Sri Swatmarama (15-16th centuries) is a compilation on Hatha yoga. The leading exponent of Hatha yoga in modern age is B.K.S. Iyengar. It got popular as a set of modern yoga techniques in many countries. It is a kind of forced meditation that helps banish evil thoughts. The difficulty is in its postures - one has to stand single legged and hold hands up.

It emphasizes purifying the body as a way to purifying the mind. Many masters have come forward with their unique methods of teaching Hatha yoga.

In modern yoga teachers' point of view, yoga is a complete set of tools to keep the body fit. Since each individual teacher have their own set of goals in making new yogic techniques (flexibility in learning skills, goals, etc.), there is a huge diversity in current yoga practice.

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