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Yoga – yoking of the body, mind and spiritFeatured in I Love Creston Magazine - Jul, 2012 Gary Smith
Yoga was first confided by Patanjali about 2,000 years ago and these writings are called the yoga sutras. Yoga is the Sanskrit word that means the union or yoking of the body, mind and spirit.
In the yoga tradition there are five main branches: karma yoga – the path of selfless service; raja yoga – the path of mediation; bhakti yoga – the path of devotion; jnana yoga – the path of wisdom; and, hatha yoga – focuses on the physical postures
or asanas.
Yoga is based on experience and is a process of self-discovery aimed at re-establishing our links with our higher, healthier selves. Hatha yoga has turned into many different styles, just with different principles or intentions.
For example there is ashtanaga yoga. This method involves synchronizing the breath with a progressive series of postures, a process producing intense internal heat and a profuse, purifying sweat that detoxifies muscles and organs.
Ansuara yoga involves postural alignments in each pose that are checked in reference to the universal principles of alignment. The teacher then gives the students verbal and physical adjustments in order to enhance their poses, deepening their alignment with the supreme to step deeper into the flow of grace.
Hot yoga/bikram yoga takes place in a very hot room, moving rapidly through poses that encourage the sweating of toxins, while kundalini yoga aims to awaken dormant energy potential.
People with neck or back injuries in addition to head trauma probably want to begin with a teacher trained in iyengar yoga, which uses props to support proper alignment without strain.
Kripalu-trained teachers also tend to offer calmer, restorative classes. A vinyasa sequence links breath and movement, emphasizing step-by-step progression in a set order. Learning and remembering such movements through repetition becomes a form of cognitive therapy.
Overall, yoga is supposed to support and nurture growth, not exhaust the body and nervous system.
Practising hatha yoga helps the body by stretching and increasing the flexibility of muscles and joints.
Pranayama breathing exercises oxygenate the blood and increase blood flow to the muscles, organs and glands, which cleanses and rejuvenates them. The flexing and contracting of the muscles improves strength and tone of the body, giving better core strength and alignment (posture).
Balancing postures help to improve the sense of stability both physically and mentally and we become more involved in how we relate to others, the present and ourselves.
The breath is the best vehicle for helping us focus the mind on the moment while increasing our relationship with our bodies. The breath moves into the body and we become more aware of our feelings, thus we can learn to use the body’s knowledge.
The body can help us learn what to eat, do and think to stay healthy. Doing pranayama improves digestion, and increased oxygen combines with our food to give us more energy.
Also, the breath can be used to balance and calm our nervous system and prepare us for meditation.
For more information call Creston Vally Yoga Studio at 250-428-8848 or
visit crestonvalleyyogostudio.com.
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