The first time I ever took part in a yoga class was when I was a freshman at SCSU. A friend of mine had only good things to say about yoga and I was curious to try it out for myself.
Little did I know I would fall in love with the relaxing workout.
?Relaxing? and ?workout? usually don?t go hand in hand, but for me yoga has proven to provide exercise for the mind, body and spirit.
Origins
According to the American Yoga Association?s website classic yoga techniques are believed to date back more than 5,000 years based on carvings depicting people in yoga positions.
No one knows where the practice began, but some believe it is rooted in Hinduism. The AYA?s website states that this is a common misconception because yoga existed before Hinduism. However, Hinduism incorporates some practices of yoga as do other religions around the world.
Yoga is based on three main practices: exercise, breathing, and meditation. It was created from the desire to have more self-understanding and better health.
Yoga means ?to join or yoke together,? referring to the bringing together of mind and body.
Variations
There are hundreds of variations of yoga, but some forms are more common than others.
Hatha yoga is the type of yoga most people associate with the exercise. It is focused on physical movements and poses partnered with breathing techniques.
Other variations include Raja yoga, which adds study to the mix, and Bhakti yoga which includes the practice of meditating on one?s concept of god.
Many fitness classes today offer yoga in combination with other forms of exercise. At SCSU, Group Fitness has held a Yogalates class that combines the practice of yoga with palates.
Benefits
Suffer from insomnia, back pain, or stress? Yoga has shown to improve such conditions along with others, according to Health.com.
Yoga can teach people to relax on command, which is why some health professionals recommend it for those of us who have trouble catching those z?s at night.
Stress relief was the main reason I fell in love with yoga. College life often goes hand in hand with high stress, so taking a few hours every week to focus on relaxing can really go a long way.
From migraines to body aches, yoga is often touted as a natural way to ease pain. The stretching combined with the focus on breathing helps the body get more oxygen to muscles.
Holistic health
Most exercise programs aren?t able to improve the holistic health of mind, body and spirit at the same time.
While yoga may seem like an ?easy? workout, it touches on many levels of health that the benefits can exceed that of 30 minutes spent on the treadmill.
Listen to what your body needs when it comes to exercise. If you are feeling stressed from life or sore from your last workout try taking a yoga class.
If you want to try it on your own search for some helpful videos or articles online to get started.
Burn calories while also burning away the stress of your day ? give yoga a chance and you won?t be disappointed.
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