Yoga

Yoga

Introduction

The introductory paragraph highlights the topic of the speech. Yoga is a spiritual discipline that developed in India more than 5,000 years ago. It has influenced, and been influenced by, the religious traditions of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism, but is not a religion itself. Indeed it is practiced by millions of people throughout the world of various religious faiths and backgrounds, and in the United States and other Western countries, it is often regarded, despite its antiquity, as a form of “new age” spiritual expression.

Main Body

In this section, the ideas presented in the introductory paragraph should be elaborated. There are more than 100 forms of yoga, but almost all derive from one of several main branches, each of which is characterized by distinct philosophical underpinnings and techniques. All forms of yoga, however, share the same ultimate goal: the integration of mind and body, self-transcendence, and enlightenment. The word “yoga,” in fact, derives from the Sanskrit for “unity,” suggesting the convergence of various facets of the self (Feuerstein, 2007).

Of the principal branches of yoga, the most familiar to Westerners is Hatha yoga, which seeks to create a sense of well-being and transcendence through physical routines that include body poses, or asanas, and particular breathing techniques. Other branches include Guru yoga, Bhakti yoga, Jnana yoga, and Raja, or Classical, yoga. Practitioners of Raja yoga dedicate themselves to following the well-known “eightfold path,” which lays out discrete steps (such as restraint from negative acts, withdrawal of the mind from the senses, and mental concentration) meant to lead to enlightenment. Other branches of yoga stress chanting, dedication to a guru, and acts of devotion to one's own conception of a supreme being (McAfee, 2006).

Yoga is an ancient discipline that predates the cultural traditions with which it is usually associated. Archaeologists working in the Indus ...