Instinctive Drive June 18 Instinctive Drive | Page 24

Y
oga is a group of physical, mental,
and spiritual practices or disciplines
which originated in ancient India. The or-
igins of yoga have been speculated to date
back to pre-vedic Indian traditions, but
most likely developed around the fifth
centuries in ancient India's movements.
Yoga gurus from India later introduced
yoga to the West following the success
of Swami Vivekananda in the late 19th
and early 20th century. In the 1980s, yoga
became popular as a system of physical
exercise across the Western world.
Yoga in Indian traditions, however, is
more than physical exercise; it has a med-
itative and spiritual core. Many studies
have tried to determine the effectiveness
of yoga as a complementary intervention
for cancer, schizophrenia, asthma and
heart disease. The results of these studies
have been mixed and inconclusive.
The Bhagavad Gita ('Song of the Lord'),
also uses the term ’yoga’ extensively in a
variety of ways. In addition to an entire
chapter dedicated to traditional yoga
practice, including meditation, The Gita
consists of 18 chapters and
700 shlokas (verses), with each chapter
named as a different yoga, thus delineat-
ing eighteen different yogas.
The Art Of Living Foundation (AOL) is a
one such initiative founded by
ART OF
LIVING -YOGA
Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, as an edu-
cational and humanitarian movement en-
gaging in stress-management and service
initiatives. The organization which has its
international headquarters in Bangalore
operates in 155 countries has touched the
lives of more than 370 million people.
It is accredited as a United Nations non-
governmental organization in 1996, works
in special consultative status with the
UN's Economic and Social Council, partic-
ipating in a variety of committees and ac-
tivities relating to health, education, sus-
tainable development, conflict resolution
and disaster relief. The Art of Living is a
DPI (Department of Public Information)
NGO, which means it plays an active role
in communicating and contributing to
various United Nations goals (such as the
UN Millennium Goals and the Stand Up
initiative.
The majority of the officers of the organi-
zation, along with most of its teachers and
staff are volunteers. Many humanitarian
programs, disaster relief efforts and train-
ing programs are conducted through, or
in conjunction with partner organization,