Health care or healthcare is the prevention, treatment, and management of illness and the preservation of mental and physical well-being through the services offered by the medical, nursing, and allied health professions. Yoga has a specific role as an alternative system in healthcare.
Yoga is a family of ancient spiritual practices that originated in India, where it remains a vibrant living tradition and is seen as a means to enlightenment. Karma Yoga, Bhakti Yoga, Jnana Yoga, and Raja Yoga are considered the four main yogas, but there are many other types. In other parts of the world where yoga is popular, notably the West, Yoga has become associated with the asanas (postures) of Hatha Yoga, which are popular as fitness exercises.
Yoga as a means to enlightenment is central to Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, Jainism and has influenced other religious and spiritual practices throughout the world. Important Hindu texts establishing the basis for yoga include the Upanishads, Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, the Bhagavad Gita, and the Hatha Yoga Pradipika.