Abstract:Yoga is a spiritual practice with its roots in ancient Indian philosophy. The modern practice of Yoga comprises mostly of
asanas (postural exercises),
Pranayama (breathing exercises) and
dhyana (meditation) (Boehm
et al., 2012; Cramer
et al., 2013) Yoga is a scientific process through which an individual can develop all aspects of his physical, mental, emotional and spritual wellbeing and tackle the disturbances generated by the modern day lifestyle. The aim of Yoga is to join the mind and body as well as the individual and collective selves.
As per philosophy of Hatha Yoga everything is universe is composed of two energies i.e. prana shakti, the vital force and manas shakti, the mental energy. Therefore, Hatha Yoga works as harmonizing mechanism between these two shaktis Ida and Pingala. Hatha Yoga practices along with asana and Pranayama are more than enough for most of the individuals. Hatha Yoga is both a scientific method for spiritual awakening as well as science of health promotion. Therefore, Hatha Yoga therapy strives for balancing these energies and by doing so it has been successful in managing diseases like stress, anxiety, depression diabetes, asthma, blood pressure, epilepsy, hysteria, arthritis, insomnia, rheumatism and several other chronic diseases.
The word "mental health" is often misunderstood and interpreted to mean "mental illness." This can be perplexing, particularly because our mental health systems have traditionally focused on treating mental illness rather than mental health in general (Barry, 2007).
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