Does yoga really help heal your body and mind?

Does yoga really help heal your body and mind?

June 21 is International Yoga Day. A day when the world celebrates a fitness form that has captured the imagination of people. Yoga, which originated in India, now has numerous variations and styles with large followings. Women clad in bright leotards and men in sports gear sweat out in fitness studios forking out large amounts in fees. Yoga, they say, helps them keep in shape. Some say the postures help them shed weight. Some say it has helped them achieve mental peace. What's clear from all these is that yoga has taken the world by storm. Yoga practised today is a far cry from the Patanjali Yoga Sutra, which dates back to 250 BCE and is one of the six orthodox philosophies of Hinduism ( , , , and or are the others). Tirumalai Krishnamacharya (one of the earliest proponents of yoga) travelled around India to popularise yoga, his disciple B.K.S. Iyenger was instrumental in bringing it to the West. Paramahansa Yogananda, Bikram Chowdhury and other yoga gurus too endeared to Americans as yoga travelled the world as a fitness form. Celebrities, who grappled with fame and fortune, found yoga as a route to relieve stress. K Pattabhi Jois' Ashtanga