Every year there appears a new workout routine and others are forgotten, but no exercise program is as enduring as yoga, which has been practiced for over 5000 years. Yoga ensures not only that you burn calories and improve your muscle strength, it also helps you to relax and concentrate, and you obviously will become a lot more flexible.The literal translation of the word yoga is union, the goal of all the different forms of yoga is dispelling the illusion that you are only your body, and experiencing the unity of all of existence. There are many different forms of yoga, but they all reinforce the connection between the body and the mind. Hatha yoga is the most common form of yoga, it mainly consists of the adoption of different postures (asanas) and breathing exercises. The word hatha describes all forms yoga in which certain postures are adopted. Many of the modern different forms of yoga can be described as hatha yoga.
The adoption of asanas is only one part of yoga, other things included in yoga are cleansing rituals (shatkrya), hand positions (mudras), breathing exercises (pranayama) and meditation. Hatha yoga prepares the body for the achievement of yoga, union.The goal of yoga is not the physical exercises in itself, but it’s more about understanding how the body works, and using the postures (asanas) to direct your energy in a specific direction. The physical exercises of hatha yoga will make you more muscular and your immune system will improve.
Practicing yoga asanas ensures that you will obtain your natural good health by removing the toxins that have accumulated in your body, dissolving the tension in your muscles and making your back more supple. When you adopt the different asanas your back will mainly be stretched and relaxed. The spine is the place in your body where all your nerves run that connect the organ systems to your brain. When the spine is stiff and strained, the nerve impulses cannot flow smoothly through the spine making your organ systems prone to disease. If you keep your spine supple, your nerves remain strong and will keep you healthy.
I started with yoga in 2013, when I took classes together with my wife Debby in Varkala, South India. Our teacher there was Vasudev and he taught at Vasudevs Yoga Shala. Since then we have had a few more lessons from various teachers, but the most important thing is to keep practicing it for yourself.Yoga is a good activity to pratice if you want to improve your health, it’s best when you can combine it with some light aerobic activity such as walking, cycling or swimming.
In the menu you can find several articles in which I give you more information on yoga and meditation, and some exercises that you can try at home.