Yoga, which means union or balance (1), dates back further than 2,500 years ago to the sacred Hindu religion. The ancient Rig-Veda (Knowledge of Praise) contains hymns created by kavi (seer-poets) able to look beyond their five senses. The hymns detail their ecstasies and insights, and form the basis of archaic Yoga (2). Devotees of Yoga today still seek these ecstasies and insights, and have various forms of Yoga to pursue to help them achieve them.

Just like a flower can have many petals that extend from one stem, Yoga has many types that all share basic fundamentals. The four forms follow:

3. Raja Yoga (the science of mental control)

4. Gyana Yoga (the path of knowledge)

While these forms of Yoga may appear disparate, in reality they complement each other.

Raja Yoga, the science of mental contro

Yoga has enjoyed great success over the past few decades. "Enrollment at the District's Unity Woods Yoga Center [in Washington D.C.] has shot up 300 percent in four years; the school just opened a third branch to meet demand" (14). The White House and Capitol Hill staffers along with top lawmakers, diplomats, congressional aides, corporate law firms and the editor of the Washington Post are all participants in Yoga, exploring for its benefits. In New York the rulers of Wall Street and Madison Avenue are pouring into high class fitness facilities to reap the profits of Yoga for the high level of stress in their lives. When Yoga came to Western civilization it existed mostly in its original language of Sanskrit, where as now Jane Fonda has her own Yoga video. It has rested at No. 1 on Billboard's Health & Fitness Video chart with a right price of around $10. Many people who started out with Fonda in the 80's are relieved to be away from the "feel the burn and work to you drop" exercises and into Yoga exercises that will clear your mind and tone your body with out wearing yourself out. Millions of Americans practice Yoga everyday with doctors prescribing it for the treatment and ease of heart disease, arthritis, osteoporosis, carpal tunnels and diabetes. In the 'New Age' of our hectic, stressful, and often exhausting society Yoga is an efficient alternative to possibly harmful exercises that put stress on the joints and muscles such as aerobics. Older generations are especially looking for ways to feel better and stay fit with out putting intense pressure on the body. Yoga is more than an exercise program three times a week; it is a way of life.

Why try Yoga? Why not? Its short- and long-term benefits are expansive. The mind and body both gain an increased flexibility via Yoga. The student of Yoga has the opportunity to become two people: one in charge of his heart and head, and the other regulating the outer body. The only opponent is one's self and affords the chance to witness strengths and weaknesses of the choices one makes. Awareness of multiple points of view results and the person consequently becomes more observant

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Approximate Word count = 1448
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)