Kim Anderson, age 13, of Dotham, Ala., for her question:
JUST WHAT IS YOGA?
Yoga is a word that has two meanings. It is both a school of thought in the Hindu religion and a system of mental and physical exercise developed by that school. The word "yoga" means "discipline" in Sanskrit, the classical language of India.
People in the yoga school, who are called yogis or yogins, use yoga exercise to achieve their goal of isolation of the soul from the body and the mind. Many non Hindus in Western countries practice some form of yoga exercise in hopes of improving their health and achieving peace of mind.
According to the yoga school, every human being consists of prakrti (CQ) and purusha (CQ). Prakrti includes a person's body, mind and ego or conscious self. Purusha is pure; empty consciousness or the soul.
The yoga school teaches that the soul is completely separate from the rest of a person, but that the person does not realize it. Man suffers because he wrongly believes that his soul is bound to his body and mind.
The yoga school, through yoga exercise, aims to give man prajna (CQ), or understanding, of the meaning of his soul. After a person has obtained this understanding, his soul will gain moksha (CQ), or release, from the samsara (CQ), or cycle of rebirth, in which Hindus believe.
Under the guidance of a guru, or teacher, a yogi goes through eight stages of training on the way to moksha: disciplined behavior (yams); self purification (niyama); bodily postures (asana); control of breathing (pranayama); control of the senses (pratyahara); fixing of the mind on a chosen object (dharana); and meditation (dhyana).
The eighth and final stage is called samadhi, which is a state of concentration in which the yogi realizes that his soul is pure and free, and empty of all content. The yogi then has reached kaivalya. Kaivalya is the isolation of soul from body, from all other souls and from all of nature.
In addition to the practices of the yoga school, other popular forms of yoga exist in the religious traditions of India. One form, called bhakti yoga, involves the dedication of all actions and thoughts to a chosen god.
Another form, karma yoga, stresses difficult bodily postures and breathing techniques, with better health as the main goal.
Various forms of yoga have become popular in the United States and Europe. One form, called Transcendental Meditation, requires less mental concentration than does the yoga of Hinduism.
Members of the Hare Krishna movement practice bhakti yoga by devoting themselves to the supreme god Krishna.
Hatha yoga has been called a method of gaining perfect health. But medical research has shown that it provides little more than does any good athletic program.