What is yoga, and why has it become so popular?
Yoga is a combination of stretches, exercises, and poses that you do with breathing techniques. It offers many powerful physical and mental benefits of exercising. Because yoga is gentle, almost anyone can do it, regardless of age or your fitness level.
Yoga is a 5000-year-old science from India. It was developed to unite the mind and body. There are many styles of yoga that have evolved over the years. All styles are designed to help keep your mind, body and spirit all in balance. Some yoga styles are more physically intense, others are slower and more meditative. All yoga styles are a great way to help you gain flexibility and strength in your body, focus your mind, and relax your spirit.
Benefits of yoga
Yoga is a great way to stay more limber and stronger. You’ll also feel more energetically, focused and alert. When we improve these qualities in our life, yoga? can help you feel more at peace so you can function better in your daily life.
Yoga can help to:
⁃ Improve circulation
⁃ Alleviate stress/tension
⁃ Lower blood pressure
⁃ Arthritis
⁃ Osteoporosis
⁃ Limited mobility
⁃ Improve lower back pain
⁃ Breathe better
⁃ Alleviate Headaches
A big reason why yoga has become so popular is because it incorporates gentle movement in the practice. It is very good for people who have not been active for a while. It is a great way for people who have certain health conditions like osteoporosis or arthritis. The exercises or poses can be changed to fit the person’s needs. But yoga can also be a great way for somebody very fit to also want a challenging work out. When you become stronger and more flexible with your yoga practice, it’s easier to also do
many other things in your life that you may enjoy like hiking dancing or swimming.
Other side effects of yoga are:
– Reduce stress. Yoga quickly helps you to lower stress levels. Lowering stress in the mind and the body giving you a sense of well-being.
– Increase focus and concentration. A big part of yoga are the breathing techniques. This helps you develop your focus and concentration skills.
– Reduce risk of injury. As your body becomes more flexible, your risk of injury is reduced greatly.
– Improve posture. Yoga helps to re-align the shoulders, hips and spine. This is important especially in today’s modern world where we are in a sedentary position a lot of the time.
– Improve balance and stability. Yoga postures help you to develop stabilizing muscles. These muscles along with the core when strengthened help you improve your overall stability.
How to get started
It is easy to find yoga classes in your community. It has become so popular over the last 10 years. If you do not have a yoga centre in your community or city, just check nearby gyms and health clubs. It is important to find the right style for you and a teacher that you like. This will help to keep you motivated in your practice.
Give yoga a try
Yoga was a complete game changer for me. I spent money many years suffering with chronic back pain and the stress that comes with it, anxiety and depression. I found after studying and practicing yoga daily at an ashram (yoga camp), my back pain, depression and anxiety quickly began to fade. Since then, I have practiced and have been teaching yoga since for the past 17 years. The real game changer in yoga is not just the physical, but the quieting of the mind. Bottom line is that it is teaching you how to pay attention. It fine-tunes your attention and focus, beginning with the body, and then moves to your mind. As you begin to practice and go deeper, you start to see more the mental and spiritual benefits.
Much love,
Dan de Luis
