Yoga

A lot of people have this notion that flexibility and strength are prerequisites of yoga. The truth is, anybody can start doing yoga. Strength and flexibility can be developed at any age. Physical built and age doesn’t matter as well.

Yoga is breath, body and mind, or body, soul and spirit. First, let me explain to you what yoga is in simple layman’s terms.

Physical/Body

The physical part of yoga pertains to the asanas or the different poses. Through these poses, we develop strength, balance and flexibility. Poses are classified into seven groups: Standing poses, Sitting Poses, Forward Bendings, Twisting Poses, Back Bendings, Hand Balancings and Inverted Postures. By doing these poses, we also develop a more heightened sense of body awareness resulting in better movement, space awareness and control. The physical part of yoga also deals with balancing the different areas of the body, balancing the right and left hemispheres, front and back part of the body and the upper and lower parts.

Breath/Soul

Breathing is an integral part of yoga. It is a way of releasing pent-up energy or stress that we’ve put into our bodies. Breathing in yoga is deep and diaphragmatic. This type of breathing together with the different yoga poses, achieves internal organ massage as the diaphragm expands and contracts. It is somewhat like a cleansing routine or you could also liken it to taking an internal organ shower, rendering the organs tuned-up to their true functions.

Mind/Spirit

Yoga poses are done statically. That means, the poses are done in stillness. In stillness there is focus. In focus, there is silence. Yoga quiets the mind. It brings the mind into a calm, clear and focused state. Depending on the focus of the individual practitioner, sometimes it brings the mind into a really good meditative state. Being focused doesn’t mean that the yoga practitioner has to stress to concentrate. It is not required at all. To achieve focus in yoga, all one has to do is to let go of thoughts, worries and concerns, and just focus on his or her breathing and the asanas or poses. It’s just being at the moment.

Yoga is the integration of the body, mind and spirit. It is being aware of the self as a total being. It is uniting the body with the mind and the mind with the spirit. We do not live by the physical aspect alone. The body has to follow the mind, the mind has to obey the soul and the soul must surrender to the spirit.

If you’re a beginner in yoga or just starting to contemplate on doing yoga, please don’t get intimidated by the different poses that you see on print or on television. As a yoga teacher, I always tell my students to do only as much as they can for the moment and I always remind them that strength and flexibility or the perfect pose can be achieved in time. The different poses can even be modified to suit each individual and it will have the same effect on them as the ones who are doing the more advanced pose. Yoga is not a competition, it is inner work.

Another note on breathing, people tend to hold their breath when they are faced with difficult or stressful tasks (sometimes even as simple as playing computer games). Yoga can help individuals become more aware of their breathing and the type of breathing that they do whether it is deep, heavy, labored, shallow or relaxed.
Total wellness and healing can be achieved through yoga. Try it and see for yourself.