Yoga
The word Yoga comes from the Sanskrit word "Yuj" meaning to yoke, join or unite. This implies joining or integrating all aspects of the individual. Body unites with mind and mind with soul, to achieve a happy, balanced and useful life. Spiritually the individual is united with the supreme or the higher self, so that we become the best possible version of ourselves.
Yoga is not a religion. The Yoga practices of self-awareness, self-training, and self-discovery are non-sectarian, and are compatible with all religions. Yoga is a scientific system of physical and mental practices that originated in India more than three thousand years ago. Its purpose is to help each one of us achieve our highest potential and to experience enduring health and happiness. With Yoga, we can extend our healthy, productive years and improve the quality of our lives.
The branch of Yoga that I base my teaching on is called Hatha Yoga. This type of Yoga begins by working with the body on a structural level, aligning the vertebrae, increasing flexibility, and strengthening muscles and connective tissue. It tones the internal organs; the digestive, lymphatic, cardiovascular, and pulmonary systems are purified of waste matter; the nervous and endocrine systems are balanced and toned; and brain cells are nourished and stimulated. This results in increased mental clarity, emotional stability, and a greater sense of well-being.
The Benefits of Yoga
Firstly, yoga asana (posture) practice will have a dramatic effect on your flexibility. Most importantly, it is extremely beneficial for the health of the spine.
Secondly, yoga will have a beneficial effect on your nervous system, helping to reduce stress. A more efficient nervous system results in a calmer, happier person, at ease with themselves and others. With a decrease in stress, the efficiency of the lymphatic system is increased, which strengthens natural immunity and resistance to disease. Similarly, the digestive system is able to relax and this can be very beneficial for digestive disorders such as irritable bowel disease which have an emotional cause.
Thirdly, yoga asana practice will improve circulation and cardiovascular health. Asana practice helps to mobilise the circulatory system by stretching, opening, massaging and toning muscles, connective tissues, organs and the entire network of blood vessels. This enables blood to circulate more freely.
More dynamic postures and sequences like sun salutations help to increase the heart rate, which increases the efficiency of the cardiovascular system.
A relaxation session at the end of the asana practice allows the heart rate to settle and brings about balance of oxygen distribution and carbon dioxide elimination.
Overall, yoga will improve your mental, emotional and physical state, as the body and mind are integrated. It will enhance the body's natural processes of healing and rejuvenation and encourage a sustained sense of wellbeing with which to meet the challenges of daily life.
Foundations
Just as a building needs strong foundations if it is not to fall down with the first strong wind that strikes it, each asana (yoga posture) needs a strong foundation upon which to build its other components- stability, alignment and extension. In order to maintain the posture and extend out from it, there must be a strong base.
Whilst in some poses such as adho mukha svanasana (downward facing dog), the hands are part of the foundation, in many poses it is the feet which form the foundation.
If you build a firm and level foundation by focusing on your feet, from it a strong, spacious, and elegant pose will rise. To create a firm foundation, use the strength of the legs to send strong roots into the earth; make the foundation level by contacting the floor evenly with the feet. Building awareness in the feet in each pose is extremely important, as if the feet are subjected to incorrect alignment you will eventually end up with strains or more serious injuries.
The same applies to the hands where they form the foundation of the pose. The pull of gravity is what draws us towards the earth. Gravity is like a magnet attracting us to the earth, but this attraction is not limited to pulling us down. It also allows us to stretch in the opposite direction towards the sky. The pull of gravity under our feet makes it possible for us to extend the upper part of the spine, and this extension in turn allows us to release between the vertebrae. Thus the stability and extension of the pose, as well as the capacity correctly to align the pose are all dependent upon the foundation.
