FIRST 6 STEPS TO UNDERSTAND YOGA
The most common variety of yoga is hatha yoga, which comprises 8 steps, and one of these is the postures or asanas.
- Asanas have several objectives: to free the body from energy and articulation blocks and clean it using the heat generated. To improve breathing, concentration, balance, strength and flexibility
- There are several different postures when performing hatha yoga:
- Standing - creating mental stability, strengthening the limbs and the trunk
- Twisting - liberating the spine
- Forward push-ups - opening the posterior chain of the body and relaxing
- Extensions or backwards push-ups - stretching the frontal chain of the body
- Lying postures – relieving the body organs of pressure and relaxing them and the inverted postures
- Hatha Yoga generates an immediate state of wellbeing because it helps the body relax. However, the class doesn’t need to be relaxing, depending on the style of yoga (there are several styles within the hatha yoga; some more dynamic and others that are milder) the class can be intense. Your health improves with practice: you sleep better, feel more energetic, and have more concentration, as the postures also encourage better breathing and better oxygenation of the body.
- The yoga styles you can encounter span from mild, for anyone, to more dynamic and therapeutic styles:
a. Vinyasa and Ashtanga: aim for more strength and vigour
b. Iyengar: appropriate for everyone, working on alignment and using material to make it accessible for all physical conditions, even for rehabilitation from any pathology.
c. Kundalini: working more on the emotional part
d. Bikram yoga, Power, Sauna: small variations of hatha yoga, but very limited, as yoga cannot be reduced just to postures
- Spirituality is always present in yoga, but it also depends on the variant practised. Asanas, together with breathing and concentration, enable the person to find more long-lasting spaces from meditation in the long term and these, with practice, will enable an interior transformation.
- Anyone who wants to improve their physical and mental state should try Yoga because it improves perception, attention and mental stability.
It is commonly accepted that body and mind are two inseparable parts; working on the body will have a positive impact on the mind and your overall health will benefit as long as it is done with a clear and conscious aim. And this, in short, is what yoga has been doing for thousands of years.
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Jose Llopis Arroyo
Yoga and Pilates Instructor
Holmes Place Urquinaona