Though no one knows the precise origin of yoga, meditation and self-hypnosis, one thing is sure, they're more than millenia old. Eminent scholars are of the opinion the origins and practice of yoga and meditation can be traced to the Indus Valley civilization. Despite the incontrovertible fact that these practices give the practitioner a feeling of well being and peace it was not in vogue until recently.

Though yoga and meditation are frequently joined together they also are different. Meditation is believed to have been practiced across the world for a very long time. Self-hypnosis is also thought to have existed in the world for a long time. These alternate methods of healing and self-healing have existed for masses of year's in spite of efforts to discourage them by varied vested interests for instance wierdos and dogmatists. Does it not make you question why some people would like to deter something as fantastic as self-hypnosis, meditation and yoga? Well the answer is simple. Most people who against these techniques were folk in control- control over other folks. And they were under no circumstances willing to relinquish the control they'd over the masses, because these methodologies thought one the best way to have command over one's well being (physical, psychological & non secular).

In several societies of the world these practices were prohibited. People in states under dictatorship, communism were prohibited to practice yoga meditation, and self-hypnosis. Why? Because communism didn't allow people to ask and receive answers about any thing aside from what they wanted the people to understand. They wanted people who were not in touch with their spirituality, whose consciousness wasn't awakened. They wanted their masses to be like bots and just obey commands. And everyone knows that yoga takes us to a higher plane and a raised level of consciousness. So people who practice yoga can't be manipulated in the opinion of the whims and fancies of certain folk. Because of this kind of oppression many people in the former USSR practiced Yoga in secret.

As a person who has lived in a free country all his life I find this tricky to comprehend, as will all of you who live in a free society. All we can conclude is if folk were happy to risk their lives for the well being offered by yoga there has to be something to it. Think about all the sages who realized self and more thru yoga.

In the present day of widgets, where we have some widget or other to do almost any thing we'd like, we still haven't any time for ourselves-no time to take really good care of our well being, our spirituality, of self awakening. Who is constraining you from yoga? No one But you yourself. Take 1 or 2 seconds to yourself, put your feet up and relax. Think of all of the benefits that you're going to gain by practicing yoga or meditation or self-hypnosis. Think about the well being that is the results of practicing these self-development strategies. Don't you want to feel OK about your self, be relaxed and calm and be in a position to cope with the vagaries of life confidently and quietly.