:: About Yoga
What is Yoga?
Yoga is an ancient philosophy, thought to pre-date 3000BC and believed to have
originated around the Indus Valley in Northern India. The word "Yoga"
literally means union or joining - the joining of the self with pure consciousness
however one may perceive it. Yoga is a science of life aiming to bring balance
between the physical body, the mind and the spirit: between action, intelligence
and the higher self, bringing physical health and peace of mind through movement,
breath awareness, relaxation and meditation techniques
Benefits:
- A greater zest for life
- Increased strength and flexibility
- Aids digestion and circulation
- Improved concentration and increased awareness
- Increased ability to manage stress through relaxation
- Improved breathing and good health
- Brings balance to the mind, the body and the spirit.
The Yoga postures (Asanas) and breathing (Pranayama) exercise every part of
the body (muscles, joints, spine, organs, glands and nerves). They release tension
and liberate energy, revitalise and bring clarity, The Yoga postures (Asanas)
and breathing (Pranayama) exercise every part of the body (muscles, joints, spine,
organs, glands and nerves). They release tension and liberate energy, revitalise
and bring clarity, calmness and improved concentration of the mind.
Effect of Yoga on:
Muscles and ligaments - Gives a slow, non-violent stretch, stimulates
circulation, prevents a build-up of lactic acid and corrects poor posture.
Skeleton - Frees joints, corrects alignment, strengthens spine and releases
pressure from inter-vertebral discs.
Circulation - Massages and strengthens the heart and stimulates "stagnant"
areas.
Nerves - Believed to remove toxins, increase neuro-transmission, stabilise
responses of nervous system to stress and reduce involuntary symptoms (sweating,
anxiety, racing heart and muscular tension).
Glands - Regulates hormonal production and aids cleansing of the glands,
improving their function
Mind - Gives increased clarity, concentration and insight.
Emotions - Brings a calmness, inner strength and an ability to manage
difficult situations more skillfully.
Immune System - Balances and strengthens, increases effectiveness of
immune cells and ability to fight chronic infection. Stimulates the glands and
lymph nodes
Yoga and Good health - Yoga and Osteoporosis - Yoga is strengthening
and weight bearing. It helps to balance the endocrine system, which in turn aid
in retaining calcium in the bones. Yoga improves posture and helps keep the spine
supple and strong.
Yoga and Pregnancy - Yoga tones the uterus, helps strengthen the body
for labor, improves circulation, strengthens abdominal muscles. Pranayama and
relaxation practices are good tools to use during labour.
Yoga and Menopause - helps to bring balance to hormonal levels, great
for strengthening bones, for retaining muscle tone and energy levels.
Yoga and your Back - helps to correct poor posture, to strengthen muscles,
to support the spine and correct any misalignment and tone the pelvis and abdominal
muscles.
Yoga and Aging - helps retain strength in muscle and bones, loosens
joints, tones internal organs and improves digestion and balance.
Yoga and Stress Management - Yoga is excellent for stretching out tight
muscles; pranayama, relaxation and meditation help to release stress and emotions.
Yoga and Anxiety - Pranayama to help with hyperventilation, relaxation
practices to manage and release stress. Asanas help to use up excess energy and
bring about a sense of steadiness and stability.
Yoga and Asthma - Deepens the breath, improves posture, helps open the
chest and helps remove congestion from the lungs.
Yoga and Arthritis - helps to loosen the joints and keep them mobile,
strengthens the muscles to help keep the joints aligned. Yoga helps to balance
the immune system and to release the stress of rheumatism.
Breath
Slowing and deepening the breath has been shown to have a profound effect on
the heartbeat, and therefore mental attitudes and relaxation. It improves the
elasticity of the lungs and maintains optimal oxygen/carbon dioxide balance in
the body.
Pranayama ("prana"- life force/"yama"- regulation) utilises
and directs the energy of the breath to aid healing, to revitalise and calm and
gain mastery over the mind. This involves slowing the breath, breath retention
and in it's more advanced forms the bandhas to direct the prana in the body.
Types of Pranayama include:
Nadi Sodhana - alternate nostril breathing
Bhramari - humming breath
Sitali - cooling breath
Sitkari - the hissing breath
Ujjayi breath - the psychic breath
Surya Bheda breath - Sun breath & Chandra Bheda - Moon breath
Bhastrika - bellows breath
Life is Breath, Breath is Life.
What's the difference between a yogi, a guru and a swami?
A yogi is someone who practices Yoga. A yogin is a male Yoga student, a yogini
a female student. A guru is a teacher. "Swami" is a title of respect
for a spiritual master.
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What is Om?
Om, also spelled "Aum," is a sacred Hindu sound symbolizing the Absolute.
It often is used as a mantra during meditation. Although often pronounced as if
it rhymed with "home," it is also pronounced "ah-oo-mm."
How many times a week should I do Yoga and for how long?
Most schools teach a practice session that lasts 60-90 minutes. If you can
do that everyday -- great. If not, try and do that much a few days a week, including
a class or two, and fill in with shorter sessions on days when you don't have
as much time. Any Yoga is better than no Yoga, and 20 to 30 minutes a day is better
than 90 minutes once a week.
What is QI (CHI)?
Qi, is also known as Ki in Japan or Chi, in China, is very difficult to explain
in Westren terms. It has been translated as Energy, Material, Force, Matter, Ether,
Life Force, Vital Moving Substance, ad the Electromagnetic Power of the body.
It has been likened to the spirit of the soul moving through a living person and
the 'prime-mover' that animates an inanimate object into life.
Most modern physicists might agree that Qi could be termed energy since Qi
aptly expresses the continuum of matter and energy as it is now understood by
particle physics, that Qi, like an electron has the probability of being able
to occupy immeasurable designated spaces simultaneously.
Qi is simply put, the continual coming together and separation of various degrees
of materialization.
What is Chi Kung?
Chi Kung = THE SKILL OF ATTRACTING VITAL ENERGY. Chi Kung comes from two Chinese
words: Qi (chi) means energy and gong (kung) means a skill or a practice. Qigong
therefore means a skill or practice of cultivating energy. There are various kinds
of qigong -- broadly categorized as internal and external. Internal qigong is
much like meditation, with visualizations in order to guide the energy. External
qigong includes movement accompanying the meditation. Qigong is famous in China
for curing chronic disease and promoting health.
It provides all the benefits of meditation/energy work (chi kung), and yoga
strengthening and stretching exercises (Hatha) It is a powerful, transformational
practice that integrates all parts of who you are.
It is a clearing process, a way of encountering and releasing physical, mental
and emotional blocks that may be keeping you from living life to your fullest
potential.
Class by class, as you fully engage in your yoga practice, bringing focus and
attention to every breath and movement, the body relaxes, the mind is calmed and
inner strength emerges. The enhancement of the mind/body connection increases
your awareness of where your body needs work - where your body needs changes related
to diet, exercise, sleep, lifestyle, etc.
Meditation
Meditation is the state achieved from intense concentration on a single object
until all other thoughts vanish and all that is left is an intense awareness of
the object.
For some traditions, that's all there is to it. In yoga, however, the ultimate
goal is a bit more ambitious. Meditation is one of the Eight Limbs of yoga outlined
in Patanjali's Yoga Sutras. Called dhyana, meditation is considered the highest
practice and is the final step before bliss. James Hewitt, in The Complete Book
of Yoga defines the goal of yoga meditation like this: "…meditation
means sense withdrawl (pratyahara) and concentration (dharana), sustained into
contemplation (dhyana), with the aim of triggering a super-conscious state (samadhi),
which is one of intuitive realization of the identity of the individual soul or
spirit and the cosmic soul or spirit."
Of course, samadhi may be a long time coming. Frankly, it doesn't matter because
there are lots of other benefits to be had along the way. For example, meditation
helps reduce stress and anxiety, lower blood pressure, and improve concentration,
clarity and creativity. Or, to paraphrase Patanjali's classic comment about yoga,
yogaschittavrittinirodhah -- meditation calms the fluctuations of the mind.
However, meditation is not always easy. The "fluctuations of the mind"
do not like to be calmed. It's amazing how many thoughts, how many stories, how
many little movies can run through your head in the space between two breaths
-- especially when you're trying to meditate. Anne Cushman, a writer for Yoga
Journal, once described meditation as being locked in a closet with a lunatic
with a megaphone. Fortunately, it's usually not that bad. Usually.
Whether your goal is enlightenment, revelation, relaxation, simple clarity
or low blood pressure, the process of mediation puts you in touch with something
good and quietly profound.
A simple meditation
- Sit in a comfortable position, either in a chair or on the floor, with your
back and head straight.
- You can "warm up" with a couple of deep breaths, ujjayi pranayama.
- Close your eyes. Breathe through your nose. Focus on your breath -- cool air
in, warm air out. If the mind wanders, gently bring it back to the breath. That's
it.
- Start with a 5-10 minute meditation and work your way up to 15, 20, 30 minutes
or more.
- A variation that may make things a little easier at the beginning is to count
your breaths. Count up to four and then repeat, over and over. You can add an
"and" between counts to fill up the space between breaths. It goes like
this: inhale (1) - exhale (and) - inhale (2) - exhale (and)…and so on up
to four.
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