Hatha yoga is a 5000 year old system that is used to improve the health of your body, mind and spirit. Hatha yoga combines the stretching exercises of the asanas. Breathing techniques and mental concentration are included in hatha yoga.

The lotus position of the asanas is used in hatha yoga. The goal of hatha yoga remains the same as that of the other types of yoga. The goal of hatha yoga is to blend the spirit of the universe with that of the human spirit. The spiritual, mental and physical health aspects are improved amazingly with the practice of the Hatha yoga. It also gives you peace of mind and improves your concentration. Concentration is the root ingredient of any yoga and its success.

In some ways all the types of yoga are related. Preparing the body to give in is the main goal of hatha yoga. If the mind is relaxed and the spirit within you is enlightened you wont feel the pain and the stress that you are experiencing. This is achieved with the practice of hatha yoga. You need to understand the relation between your body and the spirit. If you do not understand the relation between them you might get confused. You spirit is responsible to accomplish any task.

If your body is not fit then your spirit may not accomplish what is wants. Hatha yoga helps you to maintain your body and the hence the spirit positively. This positive attitude keeps your mind healthy with good concentration. Hatha yoga comes to the mind of the people when they hear yoga, since it is the popular branch of yoga. The other types of yoga that gave rise from hatha yoga are the Kundalini, Ashtanga, Bikram, and power yoga.

Hatha yoga is considered and known as the vehicle of the soul. Hatha yoga is so relaxing that it drives both you body and spirit into the universe. This feeling can be compared to a person floating with no gravity at all. Many people are easily distracted by the outward forces and may not be able to focus on a particular task. Such people can get benefited with the hatha yoga. By constantly practicing hatha yoga you can find the divinity in yourself. This helps you to become stronger, relaxed and flexible apart from enlightening you.

With harmony between your mind, body and spirit the spiritual energy will flow through the open energy channels. This is achieved only with Hatha yoga. A healthy body is necessary for you mind and spirit to be strong. This is done by the practice of hatha yoga. It is easy to handle stress and get relieved of your pain and passion with the constant practice of hatha yoga. If you are exhausted with your work, hatha yoga makes you relax.

Visit Yoga workout guide for beginners or Different types of yoga for more information on yoga, its types, classifications, benefits and practice.

Choosing the best weight loss program can be a challenging task but it does not have to be that hard if you know what can fit your lifestyle and needs. The best weight loss program can be in the form of traditional dieting that consists of exercise and a proper diet, while taking in dietary and nutritional supplements.

What to choose

In choosing the best weight loss program, you should seek advise from your doctor or a dietician so you can be guided on which among these popular programs is best for you and your lifestyle: south Beach diet, Mediterranean diet, atkins diet, Detox diet, etc. Furthermore, find out which of these can you benefit the most from.

The atkins diet

The main goal of this weight loss program is to lose and maintain your ideal weight by cutting on your carbohydrate intake. In short, all your carbohydrates are removed from your diet, which include junk food, rice, cakes, cookies, breads, and biscuits among the many.

The south beach diet

This is a weight loss program that gives importance to eating of good fats and good carbs. This is originally intended for cardiac patients. It has 3 phases which involves avoiding bad carbs and bad fats.

Mediterranean diet

This weight loss program is inspired by the eating habits of Mediterranean countries like Southern Italy and Greece. It involves high consumption of bread, wheat, cereals, olive oil, red wine, fish, fruits, and vegetables. It is considered as a type of best weight loss program because it is high in dietary fibers and monosaturated fats, and low in saturated fats.

Detox diet

This is a regimen that involves a change in eating habits to detoxify the body. Detoxifying the body removes unwanted toxins and other kinds of contaminants that are harmful to the system. This claims to improve health, energy, mental state, and digestion, as well as resistance to diseases. This is done through fasting, calorie restriction, master cleanse (also known as the lemonade diet), increased consumption of fish, food combination, and increased consumption of fruits and vegetables.

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Yoga is not just a sum of few difficult postures of the body and excercise of the breath. It is a philosophy by which one wins over his body and mind. When one wins over the body and mind, one wins over the world, because body is a miniature world. When one wins over the body, mind and world, one liberates oneself. One realises the Self, realises what is divinity and attains the most peaceful and blissful state.

According to patanjali who is the final authority of Yoga, the aim of Yoga is to realise the Self(svarup). In philosophical language Self is called Soul(atman). According to the Vedic philosophy or ancient indian philosophy, the greatest thing in the whole universe is the Self or Soul. For this the Soul(atman) is called Brahman, the Supreme. Vedic philosophy does not believe in an imaginary God residing in heaven. It believes in Soul(atman). The souls of all beings are one and the same. This one and the same soul is none but God. So God is not an imaginary super being. He is what beings are.

These souls are described as conscious, knowlegeable, immortal, unchanging, indestructible, smaller than the smallest and bigger than the biggest. On the contrary, the world is unconscious, having no knowledge, mortal, changeable and destructible. In fact this world does not exist. The world is an imagination of conscious souls only. The conscious souls is the locus on which the world is projected. As in the dream we think the dream objects are real, so the world appears to be real because of ignorance. Once this ignorace disappears at the dawn of true knowledge, the world appears to be false. One realises that the Self is the only truth in the whole universe. This is also the divine truth.

This divine truth which is the cream of Vedic philosophy has been forgotten by all. The basis of all religions is to believe in an imaginary God. Religious texts are written in praise of such imaginary Gods by religious leaders. People obey the texts either out of fear of Gods or of religious leaders. Religious leaders take the help of rulers in order to impose their instructions on people. Rulers also take the help of religious leaders in order to keep their subjects and territory united. For thousands of years when people follow the same religious instructions, they accept them as true. However the truth is different. Whatever one feels through the five senses and whatever one thinks through the gross mind is false. Because these are related to the gross world only. People remain in perpetual ignorance and falsity, while religious leaders maintain luxurious lifestyles.

The complete Yoga teaches how to enter into total concentration(samadhi), where one realises the Self. This is such a sleeping state where one is fully awake and feels the Self; this is such a waking state where five senses and gross mind are at complete rest. This state cannot be described in words. Only it can be said that one realises oneself and goes immortal. One liberates oneself right in this birth. One rises above all pain and sorrow and attains the most blissful state. If one has to achieve something in order to get peace and bliss, it is the Self that gives it. Without realising the Self, sometimes a millionair may feel himself as poor; a powerful man may feel powerless.

late Munisvar Shiv kumar Shastri tried to preach this yogic philosophy to all. However his philosophy and yoga has not reached to many. His yoga is most complete, simple and may be practiced by people of all ages.

Author is a follower of late Munisvar Shiv kumar Shastri and tries to preach his philosophy and yoga. In order to know more about yogic philosophy, readers may go throgh the book 'Quest for Truth: the Spiritual and Yogic Way' written by the author. Readers may procure copies from bn.com or amazon.com and help the author in spreding true spiritualism and yoga worldwide.

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