Yoga in Armenia: "Yoga is the Strength of Body, Stability of Mind and Brightness of Thinking"

• 05.17.2015, 14:00
• Naira Mkrtchyan
•  Asia,  World,  Armenia,  No-politics

 At the UN General Assembly in 2014, Prime minister of India, Narendra Modi suggested defining an International Yoga Day. And in December, receiving a record number of votes - 175, UN GA unanimously adopted a resolution, announcing June 21 as International Day of Yoga.

 As UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon noted: "By declaring June 21 as International Day of Yoga, the General Assembly paid attention to the multifaceted benefits of this ancient practice for health and well-being in our modern world”.

 Coming to power in May 2014, Prime Minister Modi established Ministry of Yoga and Ayurveda after a few months. By the way, yoga is taught in the schools of India. Yoga has been recently introduced in Indian jails.

 There was always a big interest towards yoga in Armenia. Back in Soviet times, when it was very difficult to find a book on this subject, and people were multiplying the books by copying or printing on the typewriter, there were people practicing yoga; lectures were read for those interested.

 Currently, there is no shortage of information and it has become easy to go to the homeland of yoga, there is a possibility to personally go to India and take yoga courses from Indian teachers. After returning from these trips, many people have set up yoga centers in Armenia. Among them are Yoga Federation of Armenia, Himalayan yoga center, yoga-house, Lotus, Shoonch, Nirvana centers and more.

 First, let’s give some information about yoga. Yoga is a Sanskrit word that has many meanings, but basic meaning is “union” – union of your inner world with nature and the people around you. Yoga is very serious and the ancient science - the science of concentration on God. Indian scriptures, Vedas also tell about yoga. Yoga is a combination of physical and mental work in order to achieve spiritual, high and well-balanced state. The ultimate goal of yoga can be varied from improvement of physical health up to moksha – liberation from the cycle of births and deaths.

 The main branches of yoga are karma-yoga (service), jnana-yoga (knowledge), bhakti-yoga (devotion or worship), kriya-yoga (skill, it covers also hatha-yoga) and Raja yoga or ashtanga-yoga (Integral, includes all four directions).

 Outside India, yoga is largely associated with hatha-yoga and its asanas - physical exercises, which does not reflect the mental and spiritual aspects of yoga. In the context of the philosophy of Hinduism, Yoga is meant as the Raja-Yoga system, which was described by sage Patañjali in his "Yoga sutras ".

 I would like to point out that yoga has nothing to do with religion. It is a philosophy, ideology, a way of life. It is a system by which a person is engaged in self-healing, begins to understand his/her inner world and reaches spiritual perfection by means of meditative techniques and mental concentration. The idea of ​​yoga is one’s happiness of mind. Yoga is a way to calm the mind’s vibrations. Yoga philosophy is based on love and freedom. The old proverb says: “Yoga doesn’t take time, it gives time”. Everyone can practice yoga, regardless of age, gender, religion.

 President of Yoga Federation of Armenia, Hakob Baghdasaryan says that yoga is our forgotten past, it was present in the ancient Armenian culture, because there is information about the chakras, the energy centers, in the sources related to Armenian studies, including those kept in Matenadaran.

 Christine Gasparyan, 24 years old, specialist on European Affairs: I started to practice yoga to get rid of everyday and work stress. It brings relief, comfort, also motivation for new initiatives. I heard that there are people who do not like yoga, but for me it brings both physical and mental peace. I am practicing for a few months and hopefully after some time I will be able to overcome the physical intensity and reach higher mental state of balance, which is the basis of yoga. A person who practices yoga is calm and balanced in all aspects of life.

 Lilit Simonyan, 37 years old, yoga trainer: I am into yoga since childhood, when my aunt was practicing yoga in Soviet times. Later I learnt yoga from a specialist who had stayed in an ashram (monastery) in India for a year and learnt yoga there.

Thanks to yoga I became physically stronger, more peaceful. Thanks to yoga last year I had a baby without any difficulty, quickly and easily, as opposed to others girls who had babies at the time with me and who were younger to me for 10-15 years, which surprised my doctors. My child is very healthy and relaxed.

 Anna Karapetyan, 64 years old, retired: First of all, yoga has taught me a healthy lifestyle, proper nutrition. It gave me the knowledge about life, love towards nature and humanity. Through yoga you can understand your task on this planet, appreciate what you have, strive for harmony. As a result, your thinking changes, you start seeing things from a right perspective, sort of more globally. I am really pleased that at this age I discovered yoga. Now I look at things differently. I wish I was associated with yoga earlier, then maybe I wouldn’t have made some mistakes in my  life ...

 Now let’s cite a few ideas about yoga.

“Yoga teaches us to cure what need not be endured and endure what cannot be cured” Bellur Krishnamachar Sundararaja (BKS) Iyengar

 “Yoga is a way of life, which makes it possible to achieve full physical, mental and moral health. The rational nature of yoga is in contradiction with the religious rites and dogmas. The yoga system in fact has nothing to do with religion and different beliefs. The technique yoga is rigorously justified. Its usage leads to the desired results without the need to believe in the supernatural power. Yoga is not limited by caste, religion, faith, race, ethnicity, age, gender. Those who think that yoga practices are connected with faith in God, are wrong …” Sri Yogendra

 “Yoga is firmness in body, stability in mind and clarity in thinking”. Gheranda Samhita

 “Your body exists in the past and your mind exists in the future. In yoga, they come together in the present”. BKS Iyengar