What is Yoga? A Complete Guide to Everything About Yoga
Your mental and physical health are important. Fortunately, there are methods out there that can help you improve these significantly. From exercise to meditation and even therapy, there is no shortage of approaches out there that can help you improve on your body and your mind.
But what if you want to improve both at the same time? Is there a way to do so? The answer, fortunately, is a Yes and your best option here is Yoga. What is it exactly? What do you have to do in order to pull this wellness practice off successfully?
To answer those questions, it would be best if we get ourselves acquainted to this rather ancient Asian practice.
The History of Yoga
Before anything else, we must first understand what Yoga is. It is defined as an ancient practice that involves posturing, breathing techniques, meditation, and the calming of the mind.
The word itself is an adaptation of the Sanskrit word “Yuj” which means “joint” or “union” in English. No one really knows for sure how this practice began but the earliest references of the word Yuj was at a collection of ancient Indian texts known as the Rig Veda.
That means that people were referring to something similar to what we know as Yoga as early as 1500 to 1000 BCE. However, there are some experts who would even argue that the practice itself can be traced back to 5000 years of Indian history.
Regardless of the accuracy, it is safe to say that Yoga itself is already an ancient practice in India way before the rest of the world was introduced to it.
As for how it became popular in the West, it was said that Indian scholars introduced the practice to foreigners when India started trading with the rest of the world as early as the 1890s. However, it was only in the 1970s, right at the height of appreciation for Indian culture, when interest for Yoga skyrocketed.
50 years later and Yoga remains a highly popular philosophical practice and exercise for the health-conscious. There are close to 300 million people who practice yoga around the world right now and the industry itself is worth $80 billion. In other words, practicing yoga is a fairly popular option for the health-conscious. And for those with the desire to teach it, Yoga might turn out to be a rather lucrative venture.
The Yoga Philosophies
As was stated, Yoga is about the union of the mind, body, and spirit. This makes Yoga a rather broad practice to apply in real life. However, those who practice it can choose to focus on several philosophies which are as follows:
Hatha – this is the most basic philosophy of Yoga as it aims to prepare the mind, body, and spirit for union. Hatha itself is described as the physical and mental discipline of Yoga.
Raja – This philosophy focuses on calming the mind through meditation. It also focuses on following strictly a set of disciplines known as the Eight Limbs of Yoga.
Karma – A more introspective philosophy, Karma focuses more on one’s internal balance and the energy the person releases to the outside world. The goal here is to free oneself of all forms of negativity and exude a more selfless persona.
Bhakti – This philosophy is all about positivity as it aims to make you more tolerable and accepting of things beyond your control. It also focuses on letting you channel your emotions in a healthy, creative manner.
Jnana – This one is called the path of the scholar and focuses more on acquiring Wisdom. It aims to sharpen the mind and help one tap into their intellects more.
Tantra – The path of rituals, this philosophy focuses more on the ritualistic and intimate aspects of life.
Depending on who teaches you, you will be able to learn all of these philosophies the more you practice Yoga.
Understanding Chakra
A common element in Yoga is the concept of Chakra. Literally meaning “spinning wheel”, chakra are pools in our body from which energy, thoughts, and feelings emanate from. Teachers of Yoga would tell you that the kind of chakra you produce dictates how you perceive and live in reality. This includes your reactions to things, your desires, your fears, your worries, and even your body’s coping mechanisms.
Keeping your chakra balanced is crucial in maintaining a healthy mind and body. When your chakra points are blocked, you could suffer from physical manifestations such as intense stress and anxiety, poor digestion, and even lethargy.
So, what does chakra have to do with Yoga? The answer is rather simple: Yoga helps you open up your chakra so that there is balance in your body. The way it does this is through the poses or “asana” meant to stimulate the chakra pools in the body to free up all that energy.
Every asana is meant to target seven major forms of chakra flowing through the body. They are the following:
Sahasrara – Called the Crown, this chakra is located at the very crown or temples of the head. This chakra evokes feelings of deep spiritual connection and understanding of a higher level of existence.
Ajna – Also known as the “Third Eye”, this chakra point is located right above and in between the eyebrows. It symbolizes wisdom and intuition. For some, it would also symbolize awareness of one’s spiritual energy.
Vishudda – Located at the throat, this chakra is the one that affects verbal communication. It also affects one’s immunity to disease and stress.
Anahata – Known as the “Heart”, this chakra point is located in the center of the chest. Spiritually, it governs one’s personal and professional relationships. Health-wise, it governs our ability to manage our oxygen levels, hormones, tissues, and other organs.
Svadhisthana – This chakra is located at the lower region beneath the belly. It is the body’s direct connection to pleasures, physical well-being, and longevity.
Muladhara – Known as the “Root”, this final chakra point is located at the base of the spine and is a symbol of the connection of the mind and the body. It also symbolizes the connection between the person and his world which keeps them anchored at reality at all times.
As was stated, the key to achieving balance through Yoga is by opening all of these chakra points in the body. The more positive energy flows through these points, the healthier the person will be physically and mentally.
Yoga Practices
The modern version of Yoga still follows the principles established ever since ancient times. What that means is that it still focuses on improving your flexibility, breathing, mental fortitude, and posture through a series of exercises.
That being said, there is more than one way to practice Yoga. There are versions of it that allow you to achieve specific goals depending on what you need. Here are some of the more popular variants today.
Ashtanga – this is perhaps the practice that sticks closely to the ancient yoga teachings. It was the one that made Yoga big in the 1970s and is still a popular discipline today. In other words, if one things of Yoga, they are most likely thinking about the Ashtanga discipline.
This variation focuses more on posing and sequences that encourage you to time breathing properly. The goal here is to link movement with breathing while remaining as calm as possible.
Bikram – Known alternatively as the Hot Yoga, this modern version consists of 26 poses and 2 breathing techniques. As the other name would imply, a major feature in this discipline is heat and humidity.
Most likely, bikram is being taught to students at artificially heated places. Some discomfort is to be expected but the end result is that you get to relax while also sweating your body out.
Hatha – Like Ashtanga, Hatha has a rather generic approach to the practice. As such, it serves as a nice introduction to Yoga for absolute beginners. It focuses more on the physical poses to ease you in to Yoga.
Iyengar – This practice is also jokingly referred to as the “Props Yoga” as each pose here can be done with the assistance of chairs, blocks, blankets, straps, and other furniture. This serves a purpose as this Yoga discipline is all about finding the right alignment for your body so that energy could circulate more smoothly through it.
Kripalu – A more meditative practice, Kripalu is all about learning what goes on inside your body and accepting it. Every Kripalu class begins with a series of breathing exercises and stretches. This is then followed by the usual poses before ending in relaxation. An important element here is to always meditate and look inward in order to get the most out of this practice.
Kundalini – Like Kripalu, Kundalini is also meditative but it can also be cathartic. The goal here is to release all the pent-up, negative energy from the body in a non-destructive way. Kundalini classes begin with meditation and chanting while ending in singing. It will also feature asana and pranayama elements so as to help relax the body after releasing all that negative energy.
Power Yoga – This is a variant of Ashtanga and is slightly influenced by the more active exercise programs of the 1980s. Since this variant leans more towards exercise, you can expect to encounter athletic versions of yoga exercises here.
Sivananda – This practice is also meditative as it focuses on a five-point philosophy. Essentially, this type of yoga will focus on 5 elements which are exercise, breathing, diet, relaxation, and positive thinking in order to have a holistic effect on the body. Sivinanda classes will use 12 basic asanas followed by Savasana and what is called as a Sun Salutation.
Viniyoga – Sequencing and repetition are two crucial elements in this discipline. Basically, classes here will require you to repeat certain poses and breathing techniques in the proper sequence and pacing. The more you time your movements right, the easier it will be for you to go through each session without stress.
Yin Yoga – In this practice, you are required to hold a particular poses for as long as possible. What this practice targets is strengthening the joints and ligaments as well as the bones by forcing the body to hold on to a particular pose for a period of time.
Prenatal Yoga – This practice caters specifically to those who are pregnant. It features a set of poses and breathing techniques that aim to help the body get adjusted to the presence of another body inside while also getting back in shape after delivery.
Restorative Yoga – Considered to be one of the most relaxing forms of Yoga, this variant is quite a hit in the stress relief and rehabilitation markets. It features only 4 to 5 poses and will use simple props like blankets. The goal here is to get the mind into a deeply relaxed state as the body effortlessly holds on to particular poses.
What are the Benefits of Yoga?
What exactly are you getting yourself into with Yoga? As with any exercise/meditation regime, there are quite a few advantages to enjoy with this practice. Here are some of the more notable examples.
- Improving the Body
Although it is not exactly the most physically demanding practice out there, Yoga will still help you improve on your body in a number of aspects. The slow and deliberate movements combined with the steady breathing can help improve the flow of blood throughout the body.
Holding on to poses for long periods can also help the body improve on its joint and muscle strength. As odd as this might sound, your body will actually exert a lot of effort when holding on to certain poses for longer than a millisecond. It also helps that some muscle groups can be targeted depending on the position.
Lastly, there is the matter of flexibility. Some poses encourage you to stretch your limbs to their maximum possible level of articulation. You might find out that you are actually nimbler than you think.
- Pain Relief
Most of the body pain that adults suffer from can come from two sources: poor joint movement and poor posture. In Yoga, you are essentially re-aligning your body and stretch your muscles/joints out.
In effect, you allow your body to fix itself by addressing whatever has been misaligned due to your bad habits. If used in tandem with proper posture and exercise, Yoga can help reduce your joint paints to a considerable degree,
- Better Cardio
Yoga’s poses and breathing techniques allows your heart and lungs to pump out more oxygen through the body. The direct effect here is that more and more nutrients circulate through your body while the unhealthy toxins get discharged.
In some intense forms of Yoga like Power Yoga, your body can get the workout it needs which causes your cardiovascular system to pump out more oxygen to keep up. It could even induce your body to burn through its stored fat for energy. Thus, depending on what kind of Yoga you practice, you can let your body sweat itself out to a better shape without having to put yourself in considerable risk.
- Reduced Fatigue
An improved flow of oxygen-rich blood in your body means that more and more oxygen gets to the parts of your body that need it that most. This way, you become more energized after several sessions. One of the practices that allow such easily is Bikram because of the high heat and humidity as well as its Inversion poses.
Essentially, your body in Bikram is put in a position where it has to circulate more blood to keep up with the heat while the positions put your heart at a level above your head. The result is that more energy is being used which can fight off fatigue in your body.
- Balance
With time and enough practice, you can hold on to Yoga poses without losing your balance. Some poses like the Warrior III, Eagle, and Crow do challenge you by halving your base support either by standing on one leg or having to do a handstand at an awkward position.
To hold on to your position, you will have to rely on some muscle groups to stay still and stabilize your body. There is no doubt that you will make mistakes in pulling these positions off in the first few attempts. However, with conscious effort, your body will get used to pulling these poses of.
With better balance, you reduce the chances of your body suffering from injuries while moving around. This is because your body know has better awareness of its surroundings and knows which muscles to activate to quickly recover from events like a fall or a slip.
- Better Exercise Performance
One of the better qualities of Yoga is that it makes for a good complement to whatever exercise routine you already have. You might find out sooner that immediately engaging in (or returning to) vigorous exercise might be good but does a number on your body. That sudden spike in intense physical activity can be quite a shock to your body.
However, you can ease yourself into exercise by doing some joint warm-ups and cardio. And this is where Yoga sessions come into play. Two or three sessions a week should be enough to make your body more receptive of intense physical work which will help you perform better in your exercise programs and other tasks that require intense physical effort.
- Improves Sleep
Yoga helps your body reach a more relaxed state while still awake. And since you will be calmer throughout the day, you should have no problems sleeping better at night. Some experts believe that this is caused by Yoga allowing you to exert more energy without doing much. With that, you should no longer have to deal with excess energy that keeps your mind active late at night.
That being said, Yoga is best practiced during mornings and late afternoons. Some of the more vigorous Yoga disciplines should not be practiced at night as they are designed to make you more active in anticipation of a hectic day ahead.
- Strength Building
Although not as effective as weight lifting, Yoga can still promote better muscle strength for your body. Most of the poses in Yoga do target the same muscle groups that lifting exercises do. For example, the Chair pose is similar to squatting and can target the abdominal muscles and the thighs.
What many do not know is that Yoga is considered an Isometric exercise. That’s a fancier way of saying that the exercises here do not focus much on doing the same thing over and over but doing one thing and holding that position for as long as possible. This way, specific muscles can contract without disturbing the other areas.
For this reason, Yoga is highly recommended for people recovering from injuries or suffering from joint issues. Just keep in mind that isometric exercises were never meant for improving muscle size and dimension. However, you might feel that your muscles are stronger the more you practice.
- Mood Improvement
Do keep in mind that there is no exercise or training regimen out there that can cure anxiety and depression. There’s just nothing to support the claim that working out or exercising will improve your overall outlook in life.
Having said that, the generally gentle nature of Yoga can help you work through your stress. It also helps that there are some Yoga disciplines out there that are cathartic by design. By taking part of these classes, you are able to work through your stress and negative emotions in a purely non-destructive manner.
Six weeks of yoga should be enough to help you handle your stress at work or at home and become less anxious with life. Again, there is no scientific data to back all this up but the overall nature of the practice does tend to help you become a calmer person.
- Better Focus
Although it might look easy, posing in Yoga will require a tremendous amount of effort and concentration on anyone’s part. The poses themselves are not that complicated. However, having to maintain that position for as long as possible without falling is where the challenge lies.
Getting all the poses right will require proper focus and breathing. But if you them properly, you might notice that you are able to maintain your focus for far longer now. That means you can zone in on your tasks without getting distracted too easily. This will come in handy when you have to handle stressful situations on a daily basis.
- Resilience
The poses in Yoga can be uncomfortable at first. In fact, you will never get used to them no matter how long you will practice Yoga. That being said, you can train your body to embrace the discomfort until you reach the end. After all, no matter how long you have to hold that pose, you are bound to shift to another sooner or later.
Experts say that Yoga practically emulates life. The sequence of poses you must complete is full of discomfort, pain, and awkwardness without complaining. There is nothing else to do here but to embrace the sensations until you reach the end and feel relief. After all, everything will pass.
Which Yoga Style Suits You Best?
How do you pick a yoga style, then? The easiest way to do it is to pick the one that fits your goals the most. You should have a reason why you want to learn Yoga. As such, you should be mindful of your reasons so you pick the best style for you.
If you want a better and nimbler body, you are better off with Ashtanga and Power Yoga. The dynamic pace of these styles along with their focus on breathing should give your cardio the boost it needs which energizes your body.
For betterbalance and mobility, you should try Iyengar. The focus on alignment and precision here during your poses should make you more aware of what your body can do while extending the range of your limbs. And if you are someone with a specific physical limitation due to injuries or an existing condition, the practices here should improve the articulation of your limbs.
If you want to sweat things out before you start your day, Bikram is the best solution for you. The 26 postures that need to be done under sweltering heat should open your pores and bring oxygen-rich blood all throughout your body. As an added bonus, you can learn to maintain focus even under a lot of discomfort.
If you want a more introspective experience, the styles of Kundalini and Kripalu might be best for you. Their focus on meditation and self-assessment while also letting you deal with your negative energies are ideal for stress relief. You’ll find yourself calmer and more positive through each session in these styles.
All in all, it is truly up to you as to which Yoga style you should focus on. There are quite a lot of Yoga centers out there in the real world and in the Internet that you can enroll in. It’s up to you to find out where they are and see what they have to offer.
