Yoga is very safe, easy and healthy way to get fit whole life without any problems. It just needs regular practice in right way of body movements and breathing. It regularizes the connection between three components of our body such as body, mind and soul. It regularizes the functioning of the all body organs and prevents the body and mind to get disturbed because of some bad situations and unhealthy lifestyle. It helps in maintaining the health, knowledge and inner peace. By providing a good health it fulfills our physical needs, through knowledge it fulfills our psychological needs and through inner peace is fulfills the spiritual need thus it helps in maintaining the harmony among all.

Regular practice of the yoga in the morning provides outer and inner relief by keeping away from the countless ailments at the physical and mental level. Practicing postures or asanas strengthens the body and mind as well as creates the feeling of well being. It sharpens the human mind, improves intelligence and help in high level of concentration by steadying the emotions and feelings. The feeling of well being creates helping nature within us and thus enhances the social well being. Improved concentration level helps in meditating and provides calming effect and inner peace to the mind. Yoga is like a practical philosophy which develops self-discipline and self awareness within us through regular practice.

Yoga can be practiced by anyone as it is irrespective of age, religion, or health circumstances. It improves the discipline and sense of power as well as provides a chance to life healthy life without physical and mental problems. To enhance its awareness about all benefits all over the world, the Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi has suggested to the United Nations General Assembly to declare the 21st of June as an International Day of Yoga so that each and every may know about yoga and can been benefited. Yoga is an ancient Indian tradition which was originated in India and practiced regularly by the yogis to get fit and meditate. By seeing the benefits of implementing the yoga in daily life, United Nations General Assembly has declared the International Day of Yoga to be celebrated every year on 21st of June.

We cannot count the benefits of yoga, we can understand it only a miracle which has been gifted to the human fraternity by the God. It maintains physical fitness, reduces stress, control on emotions, feelings, controls negative thoughts, feeling of general well being, improves mental clarity, enhances self-understanding, connects to the nature and many more.

Benefits of Yoga

The art of practicing yoga helps in controlling an individual’s mind, body and soul. It brings together physical and mental disciplines to achieve a peaceful body and mind; it helps manage stress and anxiety and keeps you relaxing. It also helps in increasing flexibility, muscle strength and body tone. It improves respiration, energy and vitality. Practicing yoga might seem like just stretching, but it can do much more for your body from the way you feel, look and move.

Yoga asanas build strength, flexibility and confidence. Regular practice of yoga can help lose weight, relieve stress, improve immunity and maintain a healthier lifestyle.

In 2014, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi suggested United Nations to celebrate June 21 as the International Yoga Day as it is the summer solistice; the longest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere.

“Yoga is an invaluable gift of India’s ancient tradition. This tradition is 5000 years old. It embodies unity of mind and body; thought and action; restraint and fulfilment; harmony between man and nature; a holistic approach to health and well-being. It is not about exercise but to discover the sense of oneness with yourself, the world and the nature. By changing our lifestyle and creating consciousness, it can help in well being . Let us work towards adopting an International Yoga Day.” — Narendra Modi, UN General Assembly, September 2014.

History of yoga

Yoga’s history has many places of obscurity and uncertainty due to its oral transmission of sacred texts and the secretive nature of its teachings. The early writings on yoga were transcribed on fragile palm leaves that were easily damaged, destroyed or lost. The development of yoga can be traced back to over 5,000 years ago, but some researchers think that yoga may be up to 10,000 years old old. Yoga’s long rich history can be divided into four main periods of innovation, practice and development.

Pre-Classical Yoga
The beginnings of Yoga were developed by the Indus-Sarasvati civilization in Northern India over 5,000 years ago. The word yoga was first mentioned in the oldest sacred texts, the Rig Veda. The Vedas were a collection of texts containing songs, mantras and rituals to be used by Brahmans, the Vedic priests. Yoga was slowly refined and developed by the Brahmans and Rishis (mystic seers) who documented their practices and beliefs in the Upanishads, a huge work containing over 200 scriptures. The most renowned of the Yogic scriptures is the Bhagavad-Gîtâ, composed around 500 B.C.E. The Upanishads took the idea of ritual sacrifice from the Vedas and internalized it, teaching the sacrifice of the ego through self-knowledge, action (karma yoga) and wisdom (jnana yoga).

Classical Yoga
In the pre-classical stage, yoga was a mishmash of various ideas, beliefs and techniques that often conflicted and contradicted each other. The Classical period is defined by Patanjali’s Yoga-Sûtras, the first systematic presentation of yoga. Written some time in the second century, this text describes the path of Raja Yoga, often called “classical yoga”. Patanjali organized the practice of yoga into an “eight limbed path” containing the steps and stages towards obtaining Samadhi or enlightenment. Patanjali is often considered the father of yoga and his Yoga-Sûtras still strongly influence most styles of modern yoga.

Post-Classical Yoga
A few centuries after Patanjali, yoga masters created a system of practices designed to rejuvenate the body and prolong life. They rejected the teachings of the ancient Vedas and embraced the physical body as the means to achieve enlightenment. They developed Tantra Yoga, with radical techniques to cleanse the body and mind to break the knots that bind us to our physical existence. This exploration of these physical-spiritual connections and body centered practices led to the creation of what we primarily think of yoga in the West: Hatha Yoga.

Modern Period
In the late 1800s and early 1900s, yoga masters began to travel to the West, attracting attention and followers. This began at the 1893 Parliament of Religions in Chicago, when Swami Vivekananda wowed the attendees with his lectures on yoga and the universality of the world’s religions. In the 1920s and 30s, Hatha Yoga was strongly promoted in India with the work of T. Krishnamacharya, Swami Sivananda and other yogis practicing Hatha Yoga. Krishnamacharya opened the first Hatha Yoga school in Mysore in 1924 and in 1936 Sivananda founded the Divine Life Society on the banks of the holy Ganges River. Krishnamacharya produced three students that would continue his legacy and increase the popularity of Hatha Yoga: B.K.S. Iyengar, T.K.V. Desikachar and Pattabhi Jois. Sivananda was a prolific author, writing over 200 books on yoga, and established nine ashrams and numerous yoga centers located around the world.

The importation of yoga to the West still continued at a trickle until Indra Devi opened her yoga studio in Hollywood in 1947. Since then, many more western and Indian teachers have become pioneers, popularizing hatha yoga and gaining millions of followers. Hatha Yoga now has many different schools or styles, all emphasizing the many different aspects of the practice.

The source of this information is internet.