Syllabus:

Modules at a Glance

Sr. No. Module No. of lectures

Module 1 Introduction to Yoga 4
Module 2 Yama and Niyama 8
Module 3 Asanas 8
Total 20

Course Objectives
1. To understand the fundamentals of Yoga.

Course Outcome

1. CO1: Describe the history and fundamentals of yoga. (Cognitive Level: Remember)
2. CO2:Demonstrate basic skills associated with yoga activities including strength and
flexibility, balance and coordination. (Cognitive Level: Understand)

Detailed Syllabus

1. Introduction to Yoga
• What is Yoga?
• History and Development of Yoga
• Fundamentals of Yoga
• Traditional Schools of Yoga
• Yogic practices of Health and Wellness
• General Guidelines for Yoga practice
• Food for thought

2 .Yama and Niyama

• Yama (Ahimsa, Satya, Asteya, Brahmacharya, Aparigraha)
• Niyama (Shauch, Santosh, Tapa, Swadhyaya, Ishvarapranidhana)

3.Asanas
• Standing (Tadasana, Vrikshasana, Pada-Chakrasana, Ardha
Chakrasana, Trikonasana)
• Sitting (Bhadrasana, Vajrasana, Ushtrasana,
Shashankasana, Vakrasana)
• Prone (Makarasana, Bhujangasana, Salabhasana)
• Supine (Setu Bandhasana, Uttanapadasana,
Pavanamuktasana)
Reference Books:
1. International Day of Yoga common yoga protocol – Ministry of Aayush 2.
Patanjali Yoga Sutra
3. Yoga Sutra with Bhashya (Marathi) – Shri Rele, Prasad Prakashan, Pune 4. Yoga Sutra
with Bhagya (Hindi) – Darshan Mahavidyalaya, Parsodi, Gujarat 5. Yogasutra (Marathi) –
Shri Kolhatkar, Prasad Prakashan, Pune
6. The Secret Power of Yoga" by Nischala Joy Devi
7. The Inner Tradition of Yoga" by Michael Stone
8. The Yamas & Niyamas: Exploring Yoga's Ethical Practice" by Deborah Adele
We will learn all about Yoga-

1. Overview of Yoga

Why this subject introduced in this course:

Yoga is an integral Part of Health and Physical Education now a days in
india.
The curricular area adopts a holistic definition of health within which
Physical Education and Yoga Contribute to the physical, social,
emotional and mental development of a Student.
The main emphasis of this textual material is on developing physical
fitness. Emotional stability, concentration and mental development
among the learners.
To encourage Yoga Practice and reflect on the learnings.

Yoga means to JOIN, to Unite.

Yoga is a healthy way of living.
Yoga is a healthy way of life, originated in India.
Now, it is believed to be a form of science accepted all over the world.
Although the origin of yoga is obscure, it has a long tradition.
Yoga for a common or lay person contains the practices of Yama,
Niyama, Asana, Pranayama, Pratyahara, Kriya, Prayers and Meditation,
which are helpful to keep oneself physically fit, mentally alert and
emotionally balanced.
This ultimately prepares ground for the spiritual development of an
individual.

What is Yoga?
The word ‘Yoga’ is derived from Sanskrit root yuj which means ‘join’ or
‘unite’.
The union of body, mind and soul.
As means, yoga includes various practices and techniques which are
employed to achieve the development of such integration.
These practices and techniques are means in the yogic literature and are
also referred collectively as ‘Yoga’.

What Yoga is not, a clarification

It is important to know that Yoga is not a religion.

As stated in the above explanation it is a group of physical, mental, and

spiritual practices. They include breathing techniques, postures,
relaxation, chanting, and other meditation methods. Yogic practices are
an integral part of all Indian religions and today are successfully used by
millions of people who are not religious or belong to a non-Indian
religion.

Quoting Sadhguru a modern-day teacher and yogi;

Yoga is a technology, and religion has nothing to do with it. What

religion you belong to has nothing to do with your ability to make use of
the yogic systems, because yoga is a technology. Technology does not
make any distinction as to what you believe in and what you do not
believe in.”

Meaning and Etymology.

The Sanskrit noun योग yoga is derived from the root yuj (युज्)
“to attach, join, harness, yoke”.

According to Panini, the great Sanskrit philologist, the word yoga can be
derived from one of these two roots: yujir yoga (to yoke) or yuj
samādhau (“to concentrate”).

In the context of the Yoga Sutras,

the root yuj samādhau (to concentrate) is considered the correct
etymology by traditional commentators.
However, both meanings (join-union and concentration-samadhi) have
been used interchangeably throughout history by most teachers and
commentators.

Definitions of Yoga:
1. In the PatanjaliYoga Sutras, Maharishi Patanjali gives his famous
definition of Yoga;
Yogaś chitta-vritti-nirodhaḥ
“Yoga is the cessation of the fluctuations of mind”

2. Yogen Atmadarshanam-
 Self is realized by means of Yoga.
As per brahadyajnavalkya Smriti scripture.

3. Yogah Karma Sukaushalam

As per bhagwat Gita-It means Individual can achieve proficiency
in their action sby practicing Yoga.

Origins and Development of Yoga

The origins of Yoga can be traced back thousands of years. Its history is
commonly divided by scholars into different stages.

Mythological origins

Lord Shiva is considered the first Yogi, Adiyogi

The practice of Yoga is believed to have started with the very dawn of
civilization. The legend goes that yoga has its origin long before the first
religions or belief systems were born.

In the yogic lore, Shiva is seen as the first yogi or Adiyogi, and the first
Guru or Adi Guru.
Many thousands of years ago, on the banks of lake Kanti sarovar in the
Himalayas, Adiyogi poured his profound knowledge into the legendary
Saptarishis or “seven sages”.

The sages carried this powerful yogic knowledge to different parts of the
world, including Asia, the Middle East, Northern Africa, and South
America.
Interestingly, modern scholars have noted and marveled at the close
parallels found between ancient cultures across the globe. However, it
was in India that the yogic system found its fullest expression.

Agastya, the Saptarishi who traveled across the Indian subcontinent,

crafted this culture around a core yogic way of life.

Indus Valley Civilization

The Seals of Indus Saraswati valley civilization with Yogic motives are
found.

The Number of seals and fossil remains of the Indus Saraswati valley
civilization with Yogic motives and figures performing Yoga Sadhana
and postures suggests the presence of Yoga in ancient India and its roots
can be traced to the Indus Valley civilization lasting from 3300 BCE to
1300 BCE (Before Common Era)

Earliest references (1000–500 BCE)

The Vedas, the only texts preserved from the early Vedic period and
codified between 1200 and 900 BCE, contain references to yogic
practices primarily related to ascetics(religious life) on the fringes of
Brahmanism.

The Rigveda’s Nasadiya Sukta suggests an early Brahmanic

contemplative tradition.

Techniques for controlling breath and vital energies are mentioned in the
Atharvaveda and in the Brahmanas (the second layer of the Vedas,
composed 1000–800 BCE).

Second urbanization (500–200 BCE)

In this period Systematic yoga concepts begin to emerge in texts dating

to 500–200 BCE, such as the early Buddhist texts, the middle
Upanishads, and the Mahabharata’s Bhagavad Gita and Shanti Parva.

Around the sixth and fifth centuries BCE yogic practices developed in
the same ascetic circles as the early śramaṇa movements (Buddhists,
Jainas and Ajivikas), these traditions were the first to use mind-body
techniques (known as Dhyāna and Tapas) but later described as yoga, to
strive for liberation from the round of rebirth.

The Upanishads, composed in the late Vedic period, contain the first
references to practices recognizable as classical yoga.

The first known appearance of the word “yoga” in the modern sense is in
the Katha Upanishad (probably composed between the fifth and third
centuries BCE)

Nirodhayoga (yoga of cessation), an early form of yoga, is described in

the Mokshadharma section of the 12th chapter (Shanti Parva) of the
third-century BCE Mahabharata.

Nirodhayoga emphasizes progressive withdrawal from empirical

consciousness, including thoughts and sensations, until Purusha (self) is
realized.
The Bhagavad Gita (Song of the Lord), part of the Mahabharata,
contains extensive teachings about yoga.

In addition to a chapter (chapter six) dedicated to traditional yoga

practice (including meditation), it introduces three significant types of
yoga: Karma yoga: yoga of action, Bhakti yoga: yoga of devotion, and
Jnana yoga: yoga of knowledge.

Classical era (200 BCE – 500 CE)

Key works of the era include the Yoga Sūtras of Patañjali, the Yoga-
Yājñavalkya, the Yogāchārabhūmi-Śāstra, and the Visuddhimagga.

Sage Patanjali, the author of “The Yoga Sutras”

Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras are considered the first compilation of yoga

philosophy. Influenced by Buddhist, Jain, and Samkhya traditions it
culminates the systematization of yoga which began in the middle and
early Yoga Upanishads.

Patanjali defines the word “yoga” in his second sutra and made the
famous classification of Ashtanga yoga “the eight limbs of yoga”. He
defined the eight limbs
as yamas (abstinences), niyama (observances), asana (postures),

pranayama (breathing), pratyahara

(withdrawal), dharana (concentration), dhyana (meditation)
and samadhi (absorption).

The eight limbs form a sequence from the outer to the inner. Postures,
important in modern yoga as exercise, form just one limb of Patanjali’s
scheme; he states only that they must be steady and comfortable.

The main aim of Yoga is kaivalya, the discernment of Purusha, the

witness-conscious, as separate from Prakriti, the cognitive apparatus,
and the disentanglement of Purusha from its muddled defilements.

Middle Ages (500–1500 CE)

The Middle Ages saw the development of Tantra yoga traditions. Hatha
yoga also emerged during this period.

The first references to hatha yoga are in eighth-century Buddhist works.

The earliest definition of hatha yoga is in the 11th-century Buddhist
text Vimalaprabha.
Hatha yoga blends elements of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras with posture and
breathing exercises. It marks the development of asanas into the full-
body postures in current popular use and, with its modern variations, is
the style presently associated with the word “yoga”.

Modern revival and Introduction in the West

Yoga and other aspects of Indian philosophy came to the attention of the
educated Western public during the mid-19th century. Swami
Vivekananda, the first Hindu teacher to advocate and disseminate
elements of yoga to a Western audience, toured Europe and the United
States in the 1890s.
Later in the 20th century, modern yoga has been led by different gurus
for over a century, ranging from Vivekananda with his Vedanta-based
yoga philosophy to Krishnamacharya with his gymnastic approach, his
pupils including the influential Pattabhi Jois teaching asanas linked by
flowing vinyasa movements and B. K. S. Iyengar teaching precisely-
positioned asanas, often using props.

History in short- Yoga-

Yoga has its origin thousands of years ago in India.
It has originated from a universal desire to attaining happiness and
getting rid of sufferings
According to yogic tradition, Lord Shiva is considered the founder of
yoga.
A number of seals and fossil remains of Indus Valley Civilisation, dating
back to 2700 BC indicates that yoga was prevalent in ancient India.
However, systematic reference of yoga is found in Patanjali's
Yogadarshana.
Maharishi Patanjali systematized the yogic practices
After Patanjali, many sages/yogis contributed to its development and as
a result yoga has now spread all over the world.
In this sequence, on 11 December 2014, the United Nations General
Assembly (UNGA) with 193 members approved the proposal to
celebrate ‘June 21’ as the ‘International Yoga Day’ worldwide.
Importance of the Yoga-
Good health is the right of every human being
But this right depends on individual, social and environmental factors.

Health is a positive concept, but Positive health does not mean merely
freedom from disease, but it also includes a jubilant and energetic
feeling of well-being.
For Example, I am free from all the diseases but still I do not feel happy
and I am sad all the time, lethargic, lack of energy, no zeal to initiate
anything. Am I healthy?

Yoga is one of the most powerful drugless system of treatment and

Prevention.
It is having its own concept of wellness which has been scientifically
understood and presented by many.
Yoga can be adopted as lifestyle for promoting our physical and mental
health.
Yoga would help to inculcate healthy habits and lifestyle to achieve
good health.

Aim of Yoga for students-

To encourage a positive and healthy lifestyle for physical, mental and
emotional health of children.
Yoga helps in the development of strength, stamina, endurance and high
energy at physical level.
It also empowers oneself with increased concentration, calm, peace and
contentment at mental level leading to inner and outer harmony.

Objectives of Yogic Practices

• To develop a understanding of yogic practices and apply this
understanding accordingly in one’s life and living.
• To develop healthy habits and lifestyle
• To develop humane values in students
• To develop physical, emotional and mental health through yogic
activities.
" I t ' s n o t a b o u t b e i n g go o d a t s o m e th i n g .
I t ' s a b o u t b e i n g go o d to y o ur s el f .”