Discovering What is Yoga

What is yoga? In Sanskrit, the language of ancient India where the word yoga originated, the word yoga means "union”. The union occurring between the body, spirit and mind is what it pints to. Yoga exercises refer to the practice of physical postures or poses. It is defined as the oldest practice of self development by creating balance in the body through developing both flexibility and strength. The methods of classical yoga include physical postures, ethical disciplines, breathing control and meditation and that what is yoga all about.

·         What is Yoga Practice?

Usually yoga teachers will often refer to yoga as "your practice”. It means the individual experience with yoga as it develops over time. One amazing about yoga is that as you practice it, it always evolves and changes so it never gets boring. Anybody who is interested can start yoga practice even if they don’t feel like they are very flexible or very strong. Over time these things will develop. It encourages the noncompetitive spirit of yoga.

Tantric Yoga Tip: While most forms of yoga seek to unite the mind, body and spirit in harmonious oneness, tantric yoga actually takes that process to a higher spiritual level. This type of yoga is tied to many Eastern religions and philosophies that all stem from the belief that the universe and the individual are intertwined. The process of tantric yoga involves concentrating one’s energy to achieve spiritual regeneration and awareness. This type of yoga cannot be taught in books – it is generally learned through devotion to a single yogi who passes the philosophies and discipline down to other students.

The practice of yoga involves forming different poses and stretching the body while keeping breathing slow and controlled. The body becomes energized and relaxed at the same time. There are various styles of yoga, some styles move through the poses more quickly, almost like an aerobic workout, and other styles encourage you to relax deeply into each pose. Others have a more spiritual angle, while others are used it as a form of exercise.

What is Yoga and How it is Done

Yoga can be done through the performance of postures and poses. Each of these has specific physical benefits. The poses can be done in succession quickly, it will create heat in the body through movement or more slowly to increase the stamina and perfect the alignment of the pose. The poses are a constant, but the approach to them will vary, it will depend on the tradition in which the teacher was trained. In yoga classes, practicing the poses may include instruction on call and response chanting, breathing, meditating and inspirational reading by the teacher. It will still depend on the individual teacher and the yoga tradition in which they have trained the variety and amount of this.

A yoga class at a gym will typically be more focused on the purely physical benefits of yoga, while when you are at a yoga center it may delve more into the spiritual side. There are some who find that the physical practice of yoga becomes a gateway into a spiritual exploration while others just enjoy what is yoga.