WHAT IS YOGA?

The classical techniques of Yoga date back more than 5,000 years. In ancient times, the desire for greater personal freedom, health and long life, and heightened self-understanding gave birth to this system of physical and mental exercise, which has since spread throughout the world. The word Yoga means "union, to join or yoke together," and it brings the body, mind and breath together into one harmonious experience.

The whole system of Yoga is built on: exercise (asana), breathing (pranayama), relaxation, positive thinking and meditation. The asanas are designed to ease tense muscles, to tone up the internal organs and to improve the flexibility of the body's joints and ligaments. The asanas are designed to put pressure on the glandular systems of the body, thereby increasing its efficiency and total health. The body is looked upon as the primary instrument that enables us to work and evolve in the world, and so a Yoga student treats it with great care and respect. Breathing techniques are based on the concept that breath is the source of life in the body. The Yoga student gently increases breath control to improve the health and function of both body and mind. These two systems of exercise and breathing then prepare the body and mind for meditation, and the student finds an easy approach to a quiet mind that allows silence and healing from everyday stress. Practised regularly it will gradually bring good health, produce a clear, bright mind, a strong, capable body and above all, give you pleasure and peace.

WHAT YOGA CAN DO FOR YOU?

Yoga can be any or all of the following, depending on WHY you want to take it and HOW you incorporate Yoga into your life:

• A GREAT PHYSICAL FITNESS PROGRAM, involving stretching, strengthening, and elongating the spine for proper alignment of the vertebrae.
• BREATHING TECHNIQUES & RELAXATION, lowering blood pressure, increasing cardio-vascular health, increasing lung capacity, releasing tension and stress, and learning to relax and enjoy life.
• MEDITATION - to calm the mind, bring emotional balance, mental clarity, focus and concentration.
• THE LEARNING OF A PHILOSOPHY, by experiencing emotional tension release from your own body, increasing awareness of what is happening in your own body and mind. Yoga is 'experimental learning' - you don't accept dogma as it is told to you - you question everything, until you feel beliefs yourself and understand what is right for you.

TAKE WHAT YOU NEED FROM YOGA - For some people, it is simply a class to take where they get a good stretch and a nice balanced work out. For others, it is a way of life - we talk about being on the Yogic Path, our own hearts leading us where we need to go. Yoga is about Union - the unity of YOURSELF with the LIVING WORLD around you. It is about releasing tension in the body and the mind, relaxing, and bringing the mind to stillness so you can listen to your heart, so you can learn and grow.

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN ASANAS & PHYSICAL EXERCISES

Though it depends very much on the type of physical exercise, the differences, in a general sense, are as follows:

• In the practice of asanas, oxygen consumption is reduced whereas in physical exercise it is increased.
• In asanas the respiration rate falls, whereas in exercise it increases. Generally, physical exercises are done very quickly and with a lot of heavy breathing; therefore the respiratory system is forced to work much harder.
• In asanas the metabolic rate drops whereas with exercise it increases.
• In asanas the muscles receive minimum nutrition/ oxygen and the organs receive more, whereas in physical exercise, it is the muscles that receive the most nutrition/ oxygen at the expense of the other organs. Large muscles are developed by most types of physical exercise: these bigger muscles require greater nutrition and supply of blood.
• In asanas, the blood pressure and heart rate decrease, whereas in exercise they increase with the result that the heart works harder.
• In broad terms, Yoga practitioners need less food than people practising physical exercise.
• Asanas help to harmonise the endocrinal secretions, balancing the emotions and giving a positive attitude to life.
• Asanas stimulate the parasympathetic nervous system, whilst exercises stimulate the sympathetic nervous system.
• Physical exercise tends to overwork the joints and can often engender rheumatism and stiffness later in life. The opposite is the case with asanas.
• Asanas encourage flexibility and the capacity to adapt to the environment and to change; if done correctly, they also develop stamina.
• Unlike most exercises, asanas are done slowly, with relaxation and awareness which also encourages co-ordination between the body systems and the mind.
• Physical exercise tends to build up toxins in the body, whereas asanas eliminate them.
• Asanas develop inner awareness; exercises not necessarily.