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AYURVEDA AND YOGA
Ayurveda and yoga are sister Vedic sciences that have been united for thousands of years for the sake of healing body, mind, and consciousness. Generally speaking, Ayurveda deals more with the health of the body, while yoga deals with purifying the mind and consciousness, but in reality they complement and embrace each other. Both yoga and Ayurveda are mutually supportive and offer many ways to prevent and heal various disorders as well as to cleanse and rejuvenate the body.
Besides sharing a philosophical foundation, both systems have many similarities in relation to attitude, nutrition, diet, hygiene, exercise, cleansing practices, as well as spiritual practices
The word yoga is derived from Sanskrit, and in its simplicity means ‘to bind together’ and ‘to reunite’. Yoga is India’s greatest gifts to the world, and we here in the west have only recently come to known and appreciate its many wonders.
Hinduism developed in India the same historical period that yoga did and ‘Yukteswar’ ‘Yogananda’ two rich and profound philosophies have had great influence on each other, so mach so, that until the beginning of the twentieth century all yogis were devout Hindu priests.
Then in the early part of the twentieth century, Hindu yoga master or swamis, traveled to the west in order to share their religious beliefs and practices. These teachers brought a new spiritual awareness to the west. Yoga as it has been developed in the west is largely concerned with the physical exercises and health promoting breathing exercises and yoga, it has moved away from its original religiosity.
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