An International Yoga Day is also celebrated every year on the 21st of June. Many people actually performing it in Yoga Asanas or Yoga Mudras

1. Yoga Asanas- Help You to Attain the
Perfect Mental Health Ever
“yogāṅgānuṣṭhānād aśuddhikṣaye jñānadīptirā vivekakhyāteḥ॥28॥“
“योगाङ्गानुष्ठानादशुद्धिक्षये ज्ञानदीप्तिरा विवेकख्यातेः ॥२८॥“
“By the sustained practice of the eight limbs of yoga, the impurities are destroyed,
and the light of wisdom, discrimination shines forth.”
-Patañjali Yoga Sutra 2.28
Ancient Indian wisdom proposes that the universe is divided into two aspects:
physical and metaphysical. Similarly, the universe of the brain is also divided into two
entities; physical – the brain matter; and metaphysical – the mind.
Aha! The mind. What an intangible entity it is. Our bodily health depends on the
fitness of these two entities, physical and metaphysical. Although physical exercise
helps the body to stay fit, it does little or nothing for mental fitness.
This is where comes in yoga for a healthy life. In our modern times, yoga is an
internationally acknowledged practice embraced and performed daily by millions of
people around the globe for solving their physical and mental issues. An
International Yoga Day is also celebrated every year on the 21st
of June.

2. International Yoga’s Ancient Indian Origins:
Although you might have heard the word around or seen many people actually
performing it in Yoga Asanas or Yoga Mudras, the concept of yoga is much more
than the asanas or mudras. As it evolved over the millennia, the origin of the word
and the concept itself could be traced back to the pre-Vedic or Vedic period of 1500
BC to 1000 BC, when the ancient Indian text of Rig Veda was composed by sages of
those times, who have developed this systematic ritualistic practice of staying
healthy and fit.
Though the precise date could not be pinpointed, for generations, Vedas were an
oral tradition strictly kept between certain supposedly purist communities of migrated
peoples. As these people developed their supposedly superior Sanskrit language,
the word Yoga evolved from the other Sanskrit word ‘Yuj, meaning to join or to unite
something.
The union is supposed to be more than physical. It also comes into the metaphysical
realm, as in the union of mind and body as Mind and Bodily or Individual and
Universal Consciousness’s unification is the ultimate Yogic and Vedic goal of those
pre-historic times.
A Universally Eternal IVC Yogi:
Vedic Scriptures depict Lord Shiv as the first Yogi who has believed to have
distributed his own knowledge of Yogic unification to the Saptarishis; the seven
learned sages, who then spread over this divine knowledge – that it is possible for
humans to evolve beyond their physical limitations into the supernatural realm of
metaphysical – throughout the mankind.
However, many historians want to prove – with the several seals and fossils
depicting figures resembling Lord Shiv performing Asanas or Mudras in Yoga
Sadhanas – that the practice of the system of yoga was not only known but
might have been developed in the Indus Valley Civilization or IVC dating back
to 3300BC-1500 BC.
Surmounting the Unhealthy Times:
Whatever its history, the Yoga Asanas today offer unbelievable cures to people with
illnesses, disorders, and diseases for which the other contemporary medical systems
could not provide any promising results.
A seventeen year old young girl was suffering from the disorder of anorexia and
attempted suicide multiple times before being introduced to the yoga class in the
hospital. Her situation was so severe that she was in a terrible state of affairs, as she

3. has been offered a choice of either going into a hospital or getting sectioned. Her
suicide attempts increased to monthly, and she had been kept on a three-yearly
suicide watch.
Initially, when she was in the class, she did not take it seriously, thinking it was just a
fad. But eventually, she began to realize that Yoga’s benefits were enormous. Yoga
taught her to look at her body in a new way. That is externally as well as internally.
This unifying relationship changed her perspective about physical and mental fitness.
Gradually performing it for over a year, only for ten minutes daily, the young girl
finally learned to stay calm, not to overthink, not to be anxious, to get rid of her
eating disorder, do meditation, and not to panic every time something happens
opposite to her desires. It helped her maintain steady relationships with family and
friends. Yoga even helped her get into university and do well in her studies and in
her education.
In another example, a middle-aged man of around fifty who could not quit drinking
and smoking found that after doing Yoga Fitness class for only six months, he was
not only able to quit those addictions but also began to be happier, friendlier,
compassionate, welcoming, and more open to possibilities. Initially, he was also
reluctant to join the classes, thinking of them as a waste of his time, but he soon
found out after joining them that Yoga was the best way of stress relief.
He recollects that for ten years, that is, from the age of forty, he was drinking and
smoking daily, shopping, and indulging in substance abuse on a regular basis. He
was also feeling very low with depression, no confidence, and lowest self-esteem at
that point in his life. However, post his first class, he says that everything changed
forever.
In another example, a media person was going through a period of excruciating
insomnia. It would keep her awake for the whole night till 4.00 am. She recollects
that she would just beg and beg to her mind to go to sleep but to no avail. And then,
she found out about nearby Yoga classes and began going there. She says that the
positive results were immediate. She loved the slow, patient, methodical, mindful
and positive thinking approach of the ancient fitness system, which she believes now
is timeless.

4. Counting the Eight Limbs:
All these examples are just a trickle of the transformational stories that the practice
of Yoga Asanas has delivered to its millions of adherents. Since most of us are only
aware of Yoga Asanas, we might think it is a limited system. But the reality is that
Asanas or postures’ is only one aspect of the Ashtanga or Eight Limbed Yogic rituals.
The other seven limbs are Niyama’s (Rules), Yamas (Ethics), Pranayama (Breath
Control), Pratyahara (withdrawal of sense), Dharana (focusing the mind), Dhnyana
(Meditation), and Samadhi (unconditional state of universally conscious blissfulness).
Attaining the Perfect Mental Health Ever:
Again, these limbs could not be mistaken for steps. Just like a table has four limbs,
the Yogic Ritual System has eight limbs. Pull one, and the table comes falling down.
The same is with Yoga Sadhanas.
However, there are sequential systems, as in either one system starting with Yama,
following it with Niyama, followed by Asanas, and then Pranayama, Pratyahara,
Dharana, Dhnyana, and then Samadhi or the other system starting with Samadhi
and ending at Yama.
Whatever the sequential system, the ultimate goal is unifying one’s own
consciousness with that of the consciousness of the universe. That way, one could
be the healthiest, fittest, smartest and become the wisest of the sapiens.
So, when are you commencing the process of your unification? If on 21st
June 2022,
then see ya on Tuesday.!