Yoga
Yoga originates from India and is part of the traditional medicine of India, the Ayurveda. It is a mixture of relaxation and physical exercises which aim at maintaining health and creating balance in the body. Correct breathing plays an important role in these exercises. The exercises consist of special poses, breathing exercises, and deep relaxation. They are easy to learn and can be practiced by anyone, from the very young to the very old.
Yoga is a Sanskrit word which can be translated into „union“ or „joining“. The goal of yoga is to achieve a state of inner balance by creating a union between mind, body, and spirit. The ultimate goal is to attain liberation from worldly suffering and the cycle of birth and death.
Origins of Yoga
All forms of modern yoga can be traced back to the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, a book of 196 aphorisms compiled by the sage Patanjali sometime between 100 B.C. and 300 B.C. Patanjali’s yoga seeks meditation as the path towards union with God.
There are many different yoga disciplines but there is not one right or true style of yoga and none of these styles is seen as any better than another. It is acknowledged that every yoga path has the same goal and that they are all linked philosophically.
Hatha yoga is the yoga most commonly practiced in the West. It comes from the Raja school of Patanjali and focuses on the purification of the phsycial leading to the purification of the mind.
Yoga Practice
Yoga exercises emphasize relaxation quite as much as they do tension. Their purpose is not to strengthen muscles, and unlike most physical exercise, they do not excite, they rather eliminate excitement from the system. As a yoga practitioner you should never strain. Relax, never force yourself into the prescribed poses. Try not to go beyond the point of comfort.
The yoga practitioner should act from a center of mental and physical relaxation, of poise and calmness. The yoga exercises, therefore, are not only a series of physical poses, they are rather exercises in mental awareness. As a yoga practitioner you should be deliberate in every movement and feel every muscle within your body. Above all, you should try to become conscious of the energy directing the muscular movements. You should develop an awareness of your body as consisting primarily of energy.
If possible, yoga exercises should be practiced out of doors or by an open window. They should not be practiced on a full stomach and the body should be warm when performing them. Yoga should not be practiced when the body is unwell. People with high blood pressure should avoid all but the most gentle exercises.
Yoga Poses
Each of the yoga poses has specific physical benefits. The duration of each pose should be increased gradually. The poses can be done quickly in succession and thus creating heat in the body through movement, or they can be done more slowly to increase stamina and perfect the alignment of a pose.
You will find your own, individual experience with yoga as it develops over time. Your practice will be constantly evolving and changing. Although the poses themselves do not change, your relationship to them will.
There are warm-up poses, standing poses, seated poses, twist poses, supine poses, inverted postures and balance poses, backbends, and finally finishing poses and each of these poses helps you to increase strength and flexibility, at the same time making you become more aware of your posture, invigorating your whole body.
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