People tend to be initially skeptical when they attend their first class in yoga. They may think that the required positions which they have to bend their bodies into are quite impossible. They may also wonder how all the twisting and turning will give them a better sense of well-being.
If you intend to get into an exercise program which improves your mental and physical states, this is a welcome development. If you also feel the need to relieve the stress and tension that is part of daily life, that’s a welcome development as well. The world of yoga can help you achieve this and it is one of the fastest even though it is not the newest form of fitness that you have today.
One of the best things about yoga is the fact that a lot of equipment isn’t required. No machines or devices are important. All you really need for this fitness program is your body.
When it comes to yoga, everybody pauses to listen, and always needs to know more about it. Yoga gives us a state of relaxation on just mentioning it, as if it is a magical word. Me, myself when I listen to the word “Yoga”, I take a deep breath and relax.
While this is a nearly complete guide which can be taken as a guide for your daily yoga practice, you might find it a bit difficult to follow, when you try to actually get down to it. Like all sadhanas, you have to be sincere and honest in your approach and have the will to go ahead with your plans to do yoga every day, no matter what barriers or obstacles come in your way. According to Swami Sivananda, concentrated approach to pursue your goal, or Sadhana, is a three-pronged approach, like the Trisula or Trident:
The respiratory system, which consists primarily of breathing in and breathing out is something which we always take for granted. Yet this life-maintenance system works relentlessly through our lives taking in oxygen from the air to feed our body cells and blood and emits carbon dioxide back in to the air, after extracting all the toxins from our bodies. This process is gaseous exchange and takes place in the lungs. The other body parts which play important roles in this process are: nasal passages, the pharynx, larynx, trachea, bronchi, lungs and muscles; diaphragm, external and internal intercostals, transverse abdominal, scaleni and sternomastoids.
There is nothing quite like yoga if you want to relax – both mentally and physically. Yet, yoga is more than just relaxation. In fact, it is only the first step to achieving much more, for the good of the mind and body.
