More than two thousand years ago, a sage named Patajali lived in India. And he is known to all admirers of Indian philosophy for his work Yoga Sutra. This opus consists of 185 brief and expressive aphorisms in which the sage most fully introduced the yoga system. The word "yoga" itself came from the Sanskrit root "yug", which translates as "connection, connection, merger." And in Indian philosophy, it means harmony and unity of the physical and mental state of man.
Many have seen on TV how yogis lie on nails or run on broken glass. But this is only an advertisement that demonstrates the capabilities of this teaching. And this is not at all the goal of true yogis. They actually learn to fully control their mind, body and thoughts through self-knowledge and self-study. That is, yoga is the science of how to live, and it can be applied everywhere and always. Also, it is not related to any particular religion or to a particular nation. Anyone can master this science.
And yoga has many directions, one of which is karma yoga. The word karma here means action. Indeed, almost every person is forced to act. And this science can teach which particular actions will be beneficial for us, and which ones not so. And having comprehended this knowledge, a person will be able to change his own fate and direct it in the right direction.
Therefore, karma yoga teaches how to change the internal attitude to one's own action and to various things. After all, the same action can be performed in different ways. You can also experience the same event differently. And if a person learns to change his attitude to the events that happen to him, then this, according to karma yoga, over time will change the nature of the events that happen to this person.
Karma yoga also has its own “occult” side, which is the doctrine of the laws and forces that govern man. And comprehending this doctrine, a person begins to understand that it only seems to him that he is acting independently. This happens, of course, but only in very rare cases. But in fact, the force that passes through it acts, and it is one of the parts of this force.
And having realized these ideas, a person begins to feel like a tiny detail of a huge machine. He understands that all the successes and failures that occur with him depend little on his actions. A person ceases to be afraid of failures, because he understands that even the greatest failure can subsequently lead to great success in his internal struggle with himself. To do this, he only needs to find the right approach to any unsuccessful event.
Therefore, karma yoga specifically changes a person’s life. After all, if we take an ordinary layman, then he is trying in every possible way to avoid all the troubles, setbacks and difficulties. A supporter of karma yoga not only does not avoid them, but, on the contrary, even welcomes them. And if in life everything is going too smoothly, he tries to create artificial difficulties for himself. These troubles help the adherent of karma yoga to create favorable conditions for working on oneself and for one’s inner development. And then life itself becomes his main teacher.
Yoga teaching also pays a lot of attention to sleep. And to learn to manage this state will help nidra yoga. Indeed, many people, falling asleep, immediately go from one state to another. They do not even try to stretch the transitional stage, which is between wakefulness and sleep. And it's worth a try. After all, over time this will lead to the fact that a person can not lose consciousness even during sleep. And this will lead to harmony of all three levels - consciousness, subconsciousness and superconsciousness. And yoga nidra will help to achieve this.
And the method of expanding the mind in yoga is meditation, that is, concentrated thinking. Indeed, in ordinary thinking, the human mind wanders anywhere and anyhow and it is difficult for him to concentrate on one thought. And yoga meditation is a process when thinking is tied to one idea. This is achieved through concentration or a single center of thought. The mind here also wanders, but it constantly returns to one object. And if a person learns to do this, then he will be able to more clearly control his thoughts. And this will lead to the psychological and biological transformation of man. His nervous system and brain will begin to work more rationally, which will undoubtedly affect the general condition.