History, philosophy/concept, techniques of yoga and its effects on various systems of the body

Abstract

Yoga is the science of right living and can be incorporated into daily life. It is known to originate in India and practiced to attain samathi in the ancient days and now being used to promote health and wellbeing. Although currently Yoga is being practiced for the promotion of health and prevention of various diseases by the people, the information deals with its origin, evolution, philosophy/concepts, and types/techniques are less known. Previous reviews deal mainly with Yoga and its effects separately. Hence, this particular review provides a summary of the information related to history, philosophy/concepts, types/techniques and physiological/therapeutic effects in various systems of the body with possible side effects of Yoga based on the available traditional and scientific literature. This literature suggests that the ancient Indian science (i.e., yoga) has its own philosophy/concepts, different techniques that spread almost worldwide and the scientific evidence for its health benefits in various systems is increasing and encouraging its use in the system of medicine.

Keywords

• health
• history
• philosophy
• yoga