What is Yoga
 

Yoga is the art and science to live a life of total freedom

What is yoga, how old is the subject of Yoga, what is the purpose to do Yoga, What is the means and the goal of Yoga.

To understand anyth­ing in terms of what it is , it is important to understand what it is not, only then the conclusion becomes clear.

Yoga is not a religion, a religion in any ordinary sense.
 
Yoga is not a Therapy, one may come to the subject of Yoga as a therapy but it is not a therapy.

Yoga is not a effort to do only "Asanas"physical exercises, Asanas are a important  but a “Sadhaka” (a aspirant of yoga) after a while with the help of  a “Yogacharya” a (Yogi who has understood his inner self) understands the true purpose of it.

Above all Yoga is not a method to make one more egoistic.

There are many styles of yoga to suit the needs of different Yogis but the goal is the same. The goal of yoga is  to stop the disturbance in the consciousness and creating a unity "Yog" between the inner self and the outer.

Since ages the east has been trying to understand the root of what makes a human distressed and miserable, many methods and techniques have been discovered by great spiritual masters.

One of the great names is Maharishi Patanjali. Patanjali has penned down the subject of step by step from a unaware mind to the highest evolved consciousness  of no mind. "Yoga Sutras of Patanjali" is a work like no other whose appreciation has not come to surface yet.

The best explanation of Yoga is expressed by Maharishi Patanjali as " Chitta Vritti Nirodha". Yoga is the cessation in the movements in the consciousness.

More of it in the section "Yoga Sutras of Patanjali"
 
"Asana is perfect firmness of the body, steadyness of intelligence & benevolence of spirit"
Patanjali Yoga Sutras || 46
Thought for the Moment
Pranayama
The first thing after birth is inhalation.
the last thing before death is exhalation.