Yoga is an ancient system to develop our physical, mental and spiritual potential and achieve health and wellness. Yoga ensures that we are all connected, we are one with everything that exists and that we have the qualities of the universe i.e. love, wisdom, wholeness. The physical yoga is best known. It works the body to be healthy and strong and seeks to go further as through a healthy body we seek a clear mind. It is a tradition that seeks harmony because there we find ourselves. A healthy body and a calm mind reconnect us with that part of us that is wise and infinite. Yoga is a wonderful way of awakening our inner growth.
Why is yoga practiced?
Perhaps, it is the first of frequently asked questions about yoga. We do yoga for different reasons. For more vitality, to reduce stress or anxiety and to feel good about our bodies. We do it to increase our mental faculties, to treat health problems, to maintain good health, to sleep better, to relieve back pain and sometimes out of curiosity. It helps us to keep a cool head in times of transformation, depression and overcome fears. It increase the passion for life and let us have more self-esteem, giving more meaning to our lives, grow internally, be more ethical, freest and bravest and to feel great.
What does yoga do?
Yoga maintains radiant health and wholeness which are our birthright. In that sense, yoga is a release from the mental conditioning that have distanced us from our true nature. Yoga is actually a road with many dimensions to return to what we already are. It simply allows us fully and let go and liberate ourselves from everything that does not serve us. It helps us explore the wonderful potential of our body and mind to transcend. It allows us to be fully, beyond the limited notion of “I” and allows us to experience the brightness of the union with the universe. Although there is talk of a discipline, the ultimate goal is not to do anything or accomplish anything because everything we seek is within us. According to this philosophy, integration is our essence.
Is yoga a religion?
Yoga seeks unity among human beings. It is tolerant and universal, so it goes beyond cultural, social or religious differences. It has a transcendent sense, because it is spiritual, but this is not a religion because it is not dogmatic. Yoga realizes fundamental questions as the nature of the world, the essence of the human being or the meaning of life if you want to delve deeper into the tradition, but it can be approached simply from a scientific and rational perspective as a series of techniques for physical, mental health and inner growth. It can be practiced by all human beings, regardless of their religious tradition or way of life. Why not tell us what to believe and how to live. Everyone takes what seems best to him/her and, if you want to go further, you can turn yoga into a lifestyle.
Please, see more FAQs about yoga practice here.
The Most Frequently Asked Question about Yoga – Part 2
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Why is there so much interest in yoga while it seems so boring?
With every position we show to our body the new possibilities and amazes us how to relax our minds and expand our body can change our look. The work reflected physically and mentally. The postures of meditation give us peace, opening the mental flexibility, the strong inner stability, harmony, balance and clarity. I wonder how yoga extends to our life. What happens is that it is an integrated mind and body, a conscious exercise that does not force or exhausts us, where people do not try to compete and judge, which is nice instead of tortuous, loving rather than aggressive entering a whole fascinating world that changes our lives. It is a work in ourselves that never ends. In yoga, we stop head, keep the balance, we bend and stretch us. We make posture such as cow, the peacock, crow, cat, dog, tree, triangle and the moon. Yoga is very entertaining and is also a constant learning process.
Is yoga a fad?
Some people believe that yoga is a sudden fashion but the truth is that it is a tradition of more than 5000 years. In modern life, we are generally stressed, devoid of meaning and guidelines for a healthy, ethical and fulfilling life. Yoga works the body to reach the mind and our higher self or ‘spirit’. So it is a tradition of comprehensive development which includes other forms of yoga such as meditation, breathing exercises, relaxation, positive thinking, attention to the present moment, self-awareness and ethical life. Postures are only a part of yoga; some of these positions, in fact, are stretching which are fundamental for good health. This makes us stretch the body making more flexible, more expansive and happier, because everything is connected. Yoga postures are also strength, balance, consciousness and energy that result symbolically in our lives.
Am I a good candidate for yoga?
One of the things that yoga teaches us is that anyone can do it because it is a practical and universal practice seeking something equally universal i.e. health and wellness. Yoga has different practices and different interpretations, which makes for a great variety and that suits everyone. For example, within the main practices of yoga, meditation, breathing exercises, relaxation, songs and mantras or volunteer work are included. If we talk specifically about physical yoga, there is there is an endless array of yoga postures for different types of bodies, physical states or personalities. In fact, the physical yoga is hatha yoga, which is a form of soft and slow yoga, in which each person does what you’re his/her body allows. A yoga class for beginners is suitable for most people who have never practiced yoga, and if you have any condition, there are custom yoga-therapy where it fits securely and yoga is used as part of treatment sessions.
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