IS YOGA FOR ME? If you can breathe, you can "do yoga".

WHAT IS YOGA?

The word yoga, from the Sanskrit word yuj, means to yoke or bind, and is often interpreted as "union" or a method of discipline.

The Indian sage Patanjali is believed to have collated the practice of yoga into the Yoga Sutra an estimated 2,000 years ago. The Sutra is a collection of 195 statements that serves as a philosophical guidebook for most of the yoga that is practiced today. It also outlines eight limbs of yoga: the yamas (restraints), niyamas (observances), asana (postures), pranayama (breathing), pratyahara (withdrawal of senses), dharana (concentration), dhyani (meditation), and samadhi (absorption). As we explore these eight limbs, we begin by refining our behavior in the outer world, and then we focus inwardly until we reach samadhi (liberation, enlightenment).

Today, most people practicing "yoga" are engaged in the third limb, asana, which is a program of physical postures traditionally designed to purify the body and provide the physical strength and stamina required for long periods of meditation. In the West yoga postures are often practiced as exercise - this has its merits but to engage in a traditional yoga practice its really when it can change your life!

I'M NOT FLEXIBLE—CAN I DO YOGA?

Yes! You are a perfect candidate for yoga. Many people think that they need to be flexible to begin yoga, but that's a little bit like thinking that you need to be able to play tennis in order to take tennis lessons. Come as you are and you will find that yoga practice will help you become more flexible. But also, yoga asana (postures) is just one limb of yoga. Again, if you can breathe, you can practice yoga and reap its rewards: increased strength, coordination, and enhanced cardiovascular health, as well as a sense of physical confidence and overall well-being.

 YOGA MAKES US FEEL BETTER, BUT HOW?

A paper published in December 2019 provides solid evidence yoga changes our brain in wonderful ways. These include flooding the brain with calming GABA (reducing anxiety and depression) and bulking up gray matter in areas of the brain that make us able to tolerate pain.

BREATH OF LIFE & THE VAGUS NERVE.

The breathing practice we engage with during our traditional yoga practice can stimulate the Vagus nerve. What is the Vagus Nerve? The vagus nerve is involved in nearly every physiological action in the human body and harnessing its power can have an immediate and dramatic impact on your well-being. Your breathing, digestion and heart rate are all directly connected to the vagus nerve. This neural pathway facilitates your ability to find calm. How does it work? It activates the “relaxation response” of the parasympathetic nervous system, which, in turn, decreases anxiety, stress, and inflammation.

HOW DO I GET STARTED?

Roll out your mat, and breathe.