By Melissa Reyes
Long, long ago, in about the year 300, in a galaxy far, far away, an Indian Hindu named Patanjali developed a practice meant to stretch human muscles, strengthen human bodies, and increase human concentration. He called this practice "Yoga," which means "discipline," in his language.
Practitioners soon discovered that, in addition to improving physical health and developing discipline, yoga also helped them to relax. Sometimes it helped people relax who had been having considerable trouble relaxing in other ways.
One of the most interesting (and for some, most confusing) aspects of yoga is that it can be simply a set of exercises, or it can be a total way of life. The choice is yours, as it is that of any practitioner. Yoga can be whatever you want it to be. Given what it can do for you, it's no wonder that this ancient discipline has become so popular with modern entertainers and athletes, as well as with average people like you and me, who just need a little practice to center our bodies and our minds. These days, relief from our stressful lives is the golden gem we're all pursuing. This discipline tells us that relief can be found in our own stretched bodies and quieted minds.
Advanced practitioners are known as "Yogis." Yogis use the discipline to go beyond mere relaxation; they're attempting to reach higher levels of consciousness. Part of their practice involves abstaining from certain negative activities, like cheating, stealing, lying, hurting people, or being greedy. Another part of their practice involves purposefully performing certain positive activities, like being studious, self-controlled, content, devoted, and clean. As with most self-improvement practices, the idea is not to be immediately perfect with all these goals, but to practice regularly and slowly improve in each area.
In addition to the pursuit of clean living, yogis also pursue physical control over every aspect of their bodies. Yogis regulate their own slow, deep breathing. They believe that everyone's life is measured not in years, but in the number of breaths taken. Thus, they believe that they extend their lives by make each breath count, long and slow.
Yoga brings flexibility to your body, Unlike exercises that work on strength alone. To achieve this flexibility, you just have to relax. You may think that you need to be a human pretzel to achieve some of the strange-looking poses and postures, but the longer you practice, the more you'll find that both the big and small muscles of your body slowly stretch and relax, as do your tendons and ligaments. Physically, mentally, and emotionally, you relax.
It's important to remember that achieving this relaxation is supposed to take time. Don't approach relaxation in a forced, pushy manner. Do you see the irony in that? The relaxation must be approached in a relaxed manner. It can help to think that you're teaching these principles to a small child, even though that child is you. If you were teaching something to a child, you'd expect it to take some time for them to learn. You'd be patient with their frustrations, but you'd explain to them that they shouldn't push, that there's no point in trying to rush through one's childhood. Relax, enjoy the stage of life (or of yoga) that you're in. Let things come naturally; fast or slow, it doesn't matter. Enjoy the current stage, and let the future stages take care of themselves. Do the best you can at any given moment, and at some later moment, if you can do more, then you will.
The ability to balance is a central element to nearly all yoga poses. Because of this, concentration, focusing your mind on exactly where your body is and what it's doing is also required. It's so much harder to balance if you''re thinking about last night's TV shows, problems you're having at work, or issues among your friends and family. When you're practicing yoga, concentrate on yoga. Learning to do this will help you concentrate on work when it's time for work, on family when it's time for family, and even on television when it's time for television.
The poses tend to mimic postures from wildlife, which is why you'll find that they're named after creatures such as the cobra, eagle, cat, crab, dog, or tortoise. Try to mimic these postures in mind, as well as body. For example, when you're in the cobra pose, lying on your stomach with your forehead to the floor, ask yourself What a cobra might feel like, as you inhale and, slowly rolling your head back, support yourself on your hands. Think cobra, feel cobra, pose cobra. Try to move as the snake would move, while you slowly come back down to the floor.
There is no aspect of any move, no effect on a muscle, gland, or nerve that hasn't been carefully thought out. The power of this practice is ancient. As you slowly move and focus your mind, you can draw on the thousands of years of human yoga practice as a source to help you promote your own calmness and strength. For every physical, mental, or emotional goal you'd like to achieve, there is a practice of yoga designed to take you there. Choose a series of exercises to rid yourself of back pain from heavy lifting or leg pain from jogging. Choose a series to condition you for skiing or to enable you to control your depression or your fear.
Yoga is both ancient and modern. Yoga is, at its core, deeply, deeply human, so that even though it was founded so long ago, in a galaxy so far away, it can bring relief and joy and bodily harmony to anyone on Earth in the 21st century, who has breath to draw, a body to move, a mind to clear and focus, and a spirit to touch.
Did you find these tips on yoga useful? You can learn a lot more about yoga by visiting www.Ever-Yoga.com. Melissa Reyes researches and writes in-depth articles on yoga, its asanas (poses), equipment, options, FAQs, benefits, and more for the popular Web site. Ever-Yoga.com provides discounts on yoga mats, clothes, books, and other supplies, as well as articles on all the Yoga you need to know.
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posted by Cheryl Levesque @ 1:41 PM
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