Yoga means to yoke, or join. The term yoga suggests the joining of the individual self (atman) with the higher self (Brahman.) As one of the six classic systems of Hindu philosophy, yoga is designed to escape the limitations of your body and achieve knowledge. By achieving perfect physical perfection, our mental state and lower self can journey into a higher consciousness.

Yoga doctrine states that physical and mental training should be used to acquire spiritual needs. The eight stages of yoga are as follows: self control, religious observance, postures, regulation of breath, restraint of the senses, steadying of the mind, meditation, and profound contemplation. Yoga, simply as an exercise has been proven to keep our bodies and minds in a in a greater balance and at peace.

Originating in India, yoga is used in a number of religions including Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, and Jainism to achieve spiritual enlightenment. In Hinduism, moral and ethical principles, philosophy, postures to keep your body fit, chanting, quieting of breath, and instruction by a guro are used to quiet your mind.

In Hinduism, many people use yoga to achieve Samadhi, which is an advanced state of meditation where there is "absorption into inner ecstasy." (http://www.hinduwebsite.com/y oga.asp) In Hinduism, yoga is used as a set of practices that bring a person closer to God. In fact, in Hindu culture the terms "Self-Realization" and "God-Realization" are interchangeable because through yoga, it is revealed that the true nature of self is the nature of God.

Yoga's ultimate goal is to achieve a union with self, or the higher self. All thought and desire should cease as your body achieves ultimate insight into the universe.

Sources:
http://library.thinkquest.org/ 28505/hinduism/yoga_.htm
http://www.hinduwebsite.com/yo ga.asp

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