Yoga: What is yoga? How does it work?

Yoga is a mind and body practice with historical origins in ancient Indian philosophy. Various styles of yoga combine physical postures, breathing techniques, and meditation or relaxation.
In 5,000 years of yoga history, the term "yoga" has gone through a renaissance in current culture, exchanging the loincloth for a leotard and leggings.

Yoga has become popular as a form of physical exercise based upon asanas (physical poses) to promote improved control of mind and body and to enhance well-being.

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Fast facts on yoga
Here are some key points about yoga. More detail and supporting information is in the main article.
The word "yoga" is derived from the Sanskrit root yuj meaning "to yoke or join together." Some people take this to mean a union of mind and body.
A 2008 market study in Yoga Journal reports that some 16 million people in the US practice yoga and spend $5.7 billion a year on equipment.
Hatha yoga is the type of yoga most frequently practiced in Western culture. Ha means "sun" and tha means "moon."
There are many styles of yoga. A person's fitness level and desired practice outcome determines the type of yoga class to which they are best suited.
According to the US Consumer Product Safety Commission, there were more than 7,369 yoga-related injuries treated in doctors' offices, clinics, and emergency rooms in 2010.
Common yoga injuries include repetitive strain to and overstretching of the neck, shoulders, spine, legs, and knees.
The American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons (AAOS) believes the rewards of basic yoga outweigh the potential physical risks.
Yoga is defined as having eight branches or limbs: Yama, Niyama, Asana, Pranayama, Pratyhara, Dharana, Dhyana, Samadhi.
Practicing yoga has many potential health benefits including relieving low back pain, assisting with stress management and increasing balance and flexibility.
There is some evidence to suggest that pregnant women taking yoga classes are less likely to experience problems in later pregnancy and labor.
What is yoga?
In this section we will discuss the history of yoga, the philosophy behind it, the 'eight limbs of yoga' and the seven major chakras.

History of yoga
There is no written record of the inventor of yoga. Yogis (yoga practitioners) practiced yoga long before any written account of it came into existence. Yogis over the millennia passed down the discipline to their students, and many different schools of yoga developed as the practice widened in global reach and popularity.62

woman balancing on her bottom
The postures that are now practiced in yoga classes were not originally a dominant component of yoga traditions in India. Fitness was not traditionally a chief aim of the practice.
Sanskrit, the Indo-European language of the Vedas, India's ancient religious texts, gave birth to both the literature and the technique of yoga.1

The "Yoga Sutra," a 2,000-year-old treatise on yogic philosophy by the Indian sage Patanjali is a type of guidebook that gives guidance on how to gain mastery over the mind and emotions and advice on spiritual growth, providing the framework upon which all yoga practiced today is based. The Yoga Sutra is the earliest written record of yoga and one of the oldest texts in existence.

The Sanskrit word "yoga" has several translations and can be interpreted in many ways. Many translations point toward translations of "to yoke," "join," or "concentrate" - essentially a means to unite or a method of discipline. A male who practices this discipline is called a yogi or yogin and a female practitioner is called a yogini.

The postures that are now an integral part of health and fitness in many centers around the world were not originally a dominant component of yoga traditions in India. Fitness was not a chief aim of practice; focus was placed on other practices like pranayama (expansion of the vital energy by means of breath), dharana (focus, or placement of the mental faculty), and nada (sound).2

Yoga began to gain popularity in the West at the end of the 19th century, with an explosion of interest in postural yoga in the 1920s and 1930s, first in India and later in the West.