Did you know that over fifteen million people practiced yoga in
2003, according to a landmark study by Yoga Journal Magazine.
And the numbers are expected to increase dramatically in
subsequent years. Your own experiences probably confirm this
study – maybe you practice yoga, know someone who does, or just
take a walk along any busy main street - your bound to see
someone carrying a yoga mat. In fact you can’t even open a
magazine or newspaper without finding an article about yoga. So,
how does a 5000-year-old spiritual practice become today’s
hottest mind/body trend?
Perhaps the best way to understand yoga’s popularity is to go
right to the people who practice it. If you ask them why, some
of the more common replies you might hear are “flexibility,
increased energy, improved focus, reduction of the symptoms
associated with stress, and an overall good feeling.” The fact
is that yoga can have a rejuvenating effect on all systems of
the body including the circulatory, glandular system, digestive,
nervous, skeletal/muscular, reproductive system and respiratory
system.
On a physical level – according to the U.S. Dept. on Aging there
four components to good physical health: Strength, flexibility,
balance, aerobic capacity. It is interesting to note that yoga
can accomplish all these things and no fancy piece of equipment
is needed – other than your own body and a yoga mat.
Over the last 100 years our lives have become very fast paced:
cell phones, computers, internet, television. This along with a
strong work ethic often results in people out of balance –
people experiencing a lot of stress. Consequently, there is a
strong need to de-stress - to quiet our minds and rejuvenate our
bodies. And yoga helps achieve this – helping us return to a
state of balance and health.
Yoga brings us into the moment – it is very difficult to
practice and be thinking about what happened at work today or
the party tomorrow night. Becoming present in itself is a great
release from stress. At its best, yoga meets the student where
they are – so it is adjusted to the student’s level and
capacity. That doesn’t mean it is particularly easy or
particularly challenging – it can be either or both on any given
day.
Then there is the therapeutic component. Yoga can be used
successfully with conditions such as insomnia, back problems,
digestion problems, asthma, improving circulation, anxiety,
weight loss, just to name a few.
Basically yoga is non –competitive; it is not about winning or
losing – you can go at your own rate. Of course people still
compete with themselves though and compare their posture to
others in class.
In addition many of us are yearning for something more. Many of
us have shied away from organized religion yet seek a spiritual
practice that connects us to ourselves as well as something
larger – a spiritual practice that is non-dogmatic, without many
rules. While most of the yoga practiced in health clubs is
primarily the physical aspects of yoga – the philosophical side
seeps in. And for those that want to learn more about the
philosophy of yoga information and classes are readily available
to them. At its simplest level yoga quiets the mind and opens
the body – setting the stage for withdrawing deeper inside
oneself – to a place of peace, a place of balance, a place of
health. It is here where the divine within us can be more easily
discovered.
There are many different styles of yoga and it never needs to be
boring - it can be slow and gentle, it can challenge your
strength, it can be aerobic or vigorous or it can be very
introspective. There is as style to match most personalities.
There is yoga for seniors, pre-natal yoga, postnatal yoga, power
yoga, gentle yoga, etc. There are classes that focus on back
care, yoga done in groups and one-on-one, privately with an
instructor. The yogic scriptures say there are some 84,000
postures and variations. The field of yoga is huge and there is
always, always something new to learn.
The media has also helped spread the message of yoga and the
fact the celebrities like Madonna and Sting practice yoga
doesn’t hurt either!
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