Yoga is a powerful practice that helps people on many levels. It helps strengthen, tone and create more mobility and flexibility. Yoga also helps people with stress and busy minds calm and rejuvenate. It also helps the health of the mind and body with the breathing coupled with the physical poses bringing more fresh oxygen and blood to those areas that really need it. In connecting with and focusing on the breath there is a greater sense of peace and well-being.
If the yoga student overall feels better after the class from when they walked in the practice is working and the teacher is doing their job. In connecting with and focusing on the breath the body has a chance to calm from all the activities of the mind. In day-to-day life and the normal stresses that we all experience, the body is constantly having to serve the mind when it reacts and responds to all the outer stimulus and activities that take place. The practice of yoga is chance to take a step back from your day and turn inside where there is an abundance of peace and love waiting for you.
If you have never tried yoga before because you are scared you will embarrass yourself or you are shy around new people, there is nothing to worry about! Everybody has been where you are! Also, you’ll likely find people who have been doing yoga for a while as kindred spirits, and will greet you with a wide open heart. Yoga has helped changed many people’s lives, and if you never try you will never know how it could enhance yours. Many people originally go to yoga to get a good stretch and they soon realize that it does so much more for them. It is not only a good stretch and workout, it is a philosophy, attitude and mindset to take off the mat and live by. Yoga helps to overall lift your spirits and give you a sense of ease. The more you practice the greater this feeling can get and last.
Yoga originated in India as spiritual practice with various stages to be followed to eventually reach enlightenment. Although yoga’s roots run deep in ancient Indian philosophy, yoga has become modernized in the west to suit the needs of our western life style. Overall, it is a practice that helps to calm, cleanse and heal the mind and body from our everyday stresses and responsibilities, creating a deep sense of freedom and peace.
The modern day practice of yoga is available to anyone who wants to participate, as opposed to its’ ancient context where only certain castes and genders were allowed to study this practice. You do not have to be “spiritual” to practice yoga or know its deeper philosophies to be on the path of the yogi. If practicing yoga is making you feel better, happier and more pain free then it is doing its job.
Remember to wear comfortable clothes that you can move, stretch and bend in. In class everyone is bare foot so you can more easily balance and stick to your yoga mat. The more regular students should be warm and welcoming to the newer students to help them feel comfortable and relaxed. If you have never made it to yoga class it is worth a try, you never know how good you might feel after!
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