Yoga and health
Indian Journal of Community Medicine January 1, 2014 DavendraKumar Taneja 89 citations
Yoga is often misunderstood as merely physical postures, breathing exercises, and short meditation, and most research has tested only these components for therapeutic effects on conditions like stress, obesity, diabetes, and heart disease. However, yoga traditionally means union of individual consciousness with the supreme consciousness and comprises eight limbs: yama, niyama, asana, pranayama, pratyahara, dharana, dhyana, and samadhi. Intense practice of all eight leads to self-realization, the primary goal. Yoga is a holistic way of life promoting complete physical, social, mental, and spiritual well-being and harmony with nature, contrasting with modern civilization's economic and material goals that have caused social unrest and ecological damage.