What benefits can I get from doing yoga?
Yoga offers you rejuvenation and improved health, more energy and joy in life. Greater flexibility, sound sleep, improved digestion, peace of mind, clearer concentration, better balance and more smiles.
These are just a few of the gifts that await you. A regular practice of Yoga will influence all aspects of your being; it is far more than physical fitness. It is a profoundly integrated experience of health and renewal.
Feel your body heat up; muscles starting to release their grip on your bones. Shoulders and neck begin to relax, you become one with the rhythm of your breath and the day melts away. For the first time, you are comfortable in your skin and suddenly you find yourself smiling.
We hold a safe place for you to be yourself. We help you find a peaceful and supportive community in a stressful world and instill in you a quiet inner calm, allowing you to return to your daily activities with more energy, enthusiasm and passion for living.
Can I do Yoga if I am not flexible? Yoga is not intended to be a practice to get you ready for a Cirque Du Soleil try-out. Yoga is about accepting your limits and respecting the boundaries of your own body Since we all have different body types and some people have been doing yoga for decades it can take a long time to do the full- expression of the pose. Yoga is ultimately about awareness of our selves and restraint. We can honor the limits of our bodies when we do not push ourselves past our edge. When we reach our physical or mental limit, can can simply be aware of that. Yoga is about open-ness and feeling connected on a deeper level to our own bodies, whether that is touching our toes or never touching our toes.
Ultimately, Yoga is about acceptance and detachment to results. The poses will not be accessible to all body types due to fitness level, bone structure, past injuries, height, age and weight. Being aware and present in our bodies is the ultimate gift we can give our bodies.
Is Yoga just an exercise practice? Yoga is a set of mental and physical practices that lead to self-realization. In the West, Yoga has been associated mostly with physical postures that can lead to a more supple and toned body as well as stretches that are relaxing. Yoga includes follow many mental and physical restraints such as non-greed, non-stealing, and detachment to material possessions, status and results.
It does require a high level of discipline, commitment, awareness and self-restraint in order to be in compliance with the many limbs of Yogic Philosophy. Meditation was one of the the original practices that helped to cleanse the mind of ego-based wants such as these in order to gain self-mastery and awareness. Poses were later added in order to help with the breath work so that one could sit more comfortably for a long time in the meditative poses. Yoga encourages leading a clean lifestyle with an emphasis on eating foods that are clean, nourishing and leave us feeling full of vitality. Evolution and enlightenment is a possible result of a life of contemplation, compassion, awareness and purity.
Is yoga a type of religion? Yoga is not a form of religion. Yoga is a more internal path and it is not necessary to do certain lifestyle practices in a group or even at certain times of year in a ritualized fashion. One is frequently encouraged to question and to do a deep process of self-inquiry. Yoga also holds that our consciousness is closely related to our subconscious in such a way that by exerting superior control on the conscious states, we can control our subconscious one in which are contained deeply ingrained values, beliefs and behaviors that may not be healthy or positive or beneficial for humanity. Since we often think and act in ways that we know are not positive or healthy, we often feel powerless to change. Various yogic practices help to gain the necessary awareness that gives us access to our subconscious.
Is yoga just a set of poses and stretches? Yoga is not just a set of physical poses. Yoga does not refer just to the poses as is commonly thought in the West. Yoga is a series of lifestyle practices that include diet, hygiene, yoga philosophy, breath-control techniques, meditation techniques relaxation techniques, awareness techniques, self-mastery techniques and physical poses that lead to self-realization, compassion and evolution. Yoga philosophy emphasizes non-judgement, acceptance and compassion at its core.
Is Partner Yoga a kind of sexual practice? Partner Yoga is not sexual in nature. It is a physical practice that can be done by couples, friends or families. Partner Yoga is not Tantra Yoga or any form of tantric practice. Tantra is a way for lovers to become united on more than just a physical level. Partner Yoga is not just for lovers. Partner Yoga is done fully clothed and there is no sexual touching that is involved. Participants are encouraged to come with their own partner since this is not a forum that encourages the exchange of partners. Partner Yoga honors and respects the commitments that couples have made to each other. Partner Yoga is open to couples of all orientations, gay, straight, bisexual or lesbian. If one does not have a romantic partner, one can still come with a good friend of either gender and feel comfortable and safe while engaging in the hands-on aspects of the practice.
What is the connection between Yoga and weight loss? According to Leslie McNabb of HealthyWomen.org, Yoga is rated as a "moderate" physical activity, according to guidelines set by the American College of Sports Medicine and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That means you will burn calories by doing yoga, but probably not burn enough calories to promote weight loss. To achieve that goal, you need vigorous activity (jogging, running) to give your body a heart-pumping cardiovascular workout. Other factors, including nutrition, also factor in to successfully losing pounds and maintaining a healthy weight. The more vigorous types of Yoga such as Power Yoga, Vinyasa (flow) Hot Yoga or Bikram’s Yoga are physically demanding and if practiced on a regular basis combined with a clean and moderate diet, can result in weight loss.
You perform yoga exercises while focusing on your breathing and internal sensations to help clear your mind. The physical movement and body awareness of yoga practice help reduce stress and can bring about positive changes in your overall physical and mental health. By lowering your stress, yoga also may help with weight control—reducing the triggers of emotional eating and helping you recognize your body's internal hunger and fullness signals, as well as enabling you to make better food choices.
