In the recent years, most people understand Yoga as the physical poses or movement (called Asana) that we do in the class, some may know that breathing exercises (called Pranayama) are also practised in Yoga, a few may know that relaxation & meditation practices (called Dhyana) are also included. They are all partly correct, as all these are part of Yoga; but what Yoga truly is?

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Yoga is a spiritual path that originated from India and has more than thousands year of history. In general, Yoga can be understood as philosophy or science of self discovery, self understanding and self transcendence. In yogic tradition, there’s one specific goal for all practitioners - attaining Moksha (self liberation). In ancient time, the Sage discovered that suffering was one of the most fundamental reality of our existence. We human beings are constantly trapped in some form of suffering. Through intense tapas (meditation), they realised that the reason why we suffered was because we haven't lived with our full potential. Our limiting ideas and self perceptions make us suffer constantly. We live with limited self-understanding because we are not aware of our expansive Self - our true nature. The process of Yoga is said to be the medicine that can help us to cure this suffering and re-align us to experience our true nature.

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Under this goal, there are diverse orientations, beliefs and methodologies developed throughout all these years. And there are various scriptures that elaborate on it, and a few famous ones are “Yoga Sutra of Patanjali”, “ Bhagavad Gita”, “Hatha Yoga Pradipika” etc. Thus, if you are interested in Yoga, please don't see it as only a type of stretching exercise or relaxation techniques. Behind the common ideas of Yoga, there is a broad view of philosophy and true knowledge waiting for you to discover. This discovery of yoga knowledge also helps you to discover the Real You! 

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近年來，大多數人將瑜伽 Yoga 理解為我們在瑜伽堂上所做的身體動作（稱為體位法），有些人可能知道瑜伽中也會做呼吸練習（稱為呼吸法），少數人可能知道放鬆和冥想也包括其中。他們都是部分正確，因為這些都是瑜伽的一部分。但是瑜伽到底是什麼？

 

瑜伽是一條已有數千年的歷史、源於印度的靈修途徑。通常，瑜伽可以理解為瞭解自我、發現真我的一門哲學或科學。在瑜伽傳統中，所有修習者都有一個共同的目標，就是從這個二元世界、生死輪迴中解脫出來。在遠古時代，瑜伽聖賢發現，事實上苦難是我們活於世上最基本的一個現實；雖然我們每一人都渴求喜樂，但實際上我們人類都不自覺地陷入不同形式的執著與痛苦。而聖賢們經過刻苦的打坐冥想後，意識到我們人類生而受苦的原因是因為我們沒有充分瞭解自己及發揮真正潛能。我們的自我想法局限，自我認知不足，我們自以為只是身體頭腦，這使我們不斷受苦。我們生活在有限的自我理解中，因為我們亦不了解我們真實廣闊的本質 - 我們的真我。瑜伽的修行過程被認為是可以幫助我們治愈這種痛苦，並使我們重新體驗真實本性。

 

在這一人生目標下，多年來，瑜伽發展出多種多樣的修習方向、哲學體系和實行方法，亦有不少經典文獻論及，如著名的《帕坦加利瑜伽經》、《博伽梵歌》、《哈達瑜伽經》等等。因此，大家不要只視瑜伽為一套伸展運動或者放鬆打坐練習；瑜伽背後的真理哲學，是真的值得我們去深入瞭解，從而幫助我們認識真正的「我」。

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