Yoga 101

A Beginner’s Initiation

Yoga is one of the best forms of exercise for all around health and stress relief. But the lingo can be intimidating for some. So if you don’t know your Ashtanga from your kundalini, this article is for you!

Many would-be yoga followers believe that yoga is all about stretching and contorting your body into impossible positions. While this may be true of parts of yoga, in reality, yoga is an easily practiced form of exercise, whose benefits far surpass a simple physical fitness routine.

The art of yoga originally came from India over 5,000 years ago and was first put into writing only about 2,500 years ago. This makes it the oldest recorded form of exercise that addresses both the mental and physical well-being of its practitioner. It’s a form of art that needs to be practiced in order to be learned.
The word yoga in itself comes from the Sanskrit word yuj, which means to unite. Yoga is therefore the union of a person’s consciousness and universal consciousness. A person must then be in harmony with both himself and the universe around him, and this is what yoga helps to achieve.

Yoga is especially relevant in today’s day and age, where stress and anxiety hold key positions in our lives. Add poor nutrition, a frantic pace of life, financial pressures, and it’s no wonder that more and more people are turning to yoga to find a way to bring some relief to their daily routine and poor lifestyle habits!

Recent scientific studies prove that regular practice of yoga can actually help decrease blood pressure, stabilize cholesterol levels, alleviate breathing and digestions problems, and reduce stress and tension levels. In addition, yoga does help tone up the body, firm up the internal organs, and aid in weight reduction. To take a simple example; following the law of gravity, our stomach muscles lose their elasticity over the years as do the muscles in our chest and between our ribs. Enter yoga and with a simple inverted position such as the candle pose, your body is back to where it should be. As no part of the body is independent of the other, your entire body benefits with each individual exercise performed.

Who can do yoga?

Convinced but scared that the many years as a couch potato have rendered you an invalid candidate? Forget your own personal fitness level and that of your neighbors. The meaning of yoga lies in personal advancement that cannot be compared with anyone else. Striving to achieve a slightly better posture than the day before is what makes yoga so achievable for anyone, of any age or fitness level. You start at the beginning and work at your own pace. By holding and remaining in a position for a few seconds, you achieve a stronger intensity in your exercise, than by repeating the exercise quickly and for more times.

What yoga is best for you?

In order to start with yoga, you need to first select a practice that best suits you. While there are many forms of yoga, the more popular ones in the west include Ashtanga yoga, Bikram yoga, Hatha yoga, Iyengar yoga, Kundalini yoga, and Vinyasa yoga.

Ashtanga yoga: The word itself is derived from Sanskrit, meaning 8 limbs, and the yoga is fast-paced and intense, and not usually suitable for beginners. A series of poses are performed in a repetitive manner. Ashtanga yoga is the basis of what has more recently become known as power yoga. A derivative of Ashtanga yoga is Vinyasa yoga, which is also an intense form of yoga with numerous repetitions, but not necessarily in the same order that Ashtanga yoga demands.

Bikram yoga: This style has been named after its creator, Bikram Choudhury, and usually consists of a series of 26 postures arranged in sequence and practiced in a (90°F-100°F)room, to loosen up tight muscles and induce sweating. (Not for the faint of heart!)

Hatha yoga: Hatha yoga is probably the most well known of all forms. Derived from two words—Ha meaning Sun and Tha, the moon, Hatha yoga emphasizes balancing the opposing forces in the body, such as the masculine energy (sun) and feminine energy (moon). Thus, for example, a forward bend is followed by a backward one, contractions by expansions, etc. The Hatha style of yoga is a great way to get introduced to basic yoga poses.

Iyengar yoga: Based on the teachings of B.K.S. Iyengar, this form of yoga encourages the use of props such as blankets, blocks, and straps to bring the body into alignment.

Kundalini yoga: This form of yoga concerns itself with the effect that regulated core breathing has on the body. In Kundalini yoga, prana, or life energy is a key component of the practice, and maintaining regular breathing and proper posture is necessary.