Yoga as exercise, as opposed to a spiritual system, seems to have cropped up everywhere. You may have heard about yoga through a friend or coworker who recently started practicing the ancient art, or perhaps your health club started offering classes. Yoga seems to be one of those things that once you start thinking about it, everyone else has an opinion or has tried it as well – and for good reason!
In the past several decades, yoga studios have opened up all over the world. The well-known magazine Yoga Journal recently undertook a survey to determine just how many people actually use yoga as exercise, and surprisingly more than six million Americans do so regularly, with almost triple that amount stating they were interested in taking a class or learning more. Knowing that you aren’t alone in your interest, as well as the knowledge you’ll have the opportunity to learn more in a wide variety of ways is great.
For every tidbit in the news related to yoga and all of the pictures and ideologies related to it – such as bending your body into pretzel-like shapes, swamis decked out in flowing multicolored robes or petite models wearing next-to-nothing – yoga is actually quite straightforward.
Yoga can be performed by anyone, anytime, and anywhere. There is no need to already be “in shape”, have the perfect outfit, or wait for enough time to get started. All you need is some mobility (even those who are handicapped can do yoga), a little bit of space and the want to improve yourself. Sure, there are other implements that help, but none of them are necessary to your exercise success.
Let’s first discuss what yoga is not. It is not a religious belief system, although some people do find in certain limbs of yoga spiritual practices (something we’ll get into more, later). It is not a sport, like basketball or swimming, but your body will reap many of the same benefits, such as strength and endurance. Yoga can be challenging, but the focus with these articles is gentle, straightforward exercises that oftentimes provide incredibly relaxing and toning results.
In a nutshell, yoga is a form of exercise that work both the physical and mental aspects of the body, trying to unite spirit, mind and body into one. In fact, the word yoga comes from the Sanskrit word yoke, directly translated as “union” or “joining together”.
If you’ve ever watched yoga on TV or saw a class in progress, you might have thought to yourself, “That just looks like stretching to me,” and wonder why yoga is different from the stretches one does before a jog, for instance. The differences lie in what is intended.
To explain, plain stretching is meant merely to tone the body for exercise, but is not considered exercise in and of itself as a whole. It is goal-oriented, as the work done is meant to get a faster time, be more flexible, get a firmer body, and so forth. In each circumstance however the work is done and you move on.
Yoga, in contrast, is process-oriented. Instead of thinking about what is coming next, yoga asks the user to focus instead on the here and now, taking breath, movement and thoughts and trying to make them all one. By doing so, it offers a whole-body level of coordination and awareness not available in other exercise methods and allows the participant to enjoy all the benefits of regular exercise with a meditative quality to it.
There is, however, some form of goal-oriented practice with yoga, as moving through different poses and learning new skills is strongly encouraged. However, this is far from the main focus of yoga; rather, it allows the practitioner to progress at a natural pace, since being aware of the body and its limitations at all times allows for appropriate practice.
People are drawn to yoga for a wide variety of reasons. Some find it great to unwind with after a long day, and others find its regenerative benefits highly motivational and healing. Since yoga is dependable (again, can be done anytime and anywhere) and those who practice regularly realize they will feel refreshed afterwards, it is excellent for those who need maintain a balanced emotional state. Additionally, yoga can be seen as a form of community, as users can practice together in groups (either at a gym, yoga studio or at home) essentially exploring together. Many beginners find in-person classes invaluable at first for this reason alone.
