WHAT IS YOGA?
Yoga originated in India more than 5,000 years ago. Yoga is derived from the Sanskrit yuj, meaning to bind, join, or yoke together. The purpose of yoga is to unite the individual being with the Divine.
Yoga is one of six orthodox systems of Indian philosophy systematized by Patanjali in the Yoga Sutras. In Indian belief, everything is permeated by the Supreme Universal Spirit (Paramatma or God) of which the individual human spirit (jivatma) is a part. The system of yoga is so called because it teaches the means by which the jivatma can be united to, or be in communion with the Paramatma, and so secure liberation (moksa).
One who follows the path of yoga is a yogi (male) or yogin (female).
In chapter one of the Yoga Sutras, Patanjali describes Yoga as "chitta vrtti nirodhah". Two translations are the restraint (nirodhah) of mental (chitta) modifications (vrtti) or as suppression (nirodhah) of the fluctuations (vrtti) of consciousness (chitta). Yoga is the method by which energy is directed into constructive channels and the restless mind is calmed.