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- Power yoga – Energize - a sequence of asanas designed to strengthen the back, increase flexibility, regain internal balance, and energize you completely
- Slow deep stretch - Calm - Yin yoga is comprised of long deep stretches. It opens the hips, grounds and centers you, releases undue stress, and massages your nervous system as a whole. Atma yoga increases the benefits of this style with the use of exclusive pranic technologies and sound vibrations
- Kundalini/Sakti – Balance - The science of prana or energy is the heart of this yoga. These classes mechanically rebuild the energy field of your body; rewiring you for increased strength, confidence, and serenity
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The benefits of yoga
Yoga brings balance and harmony to the physical body, particularly the muscular skeletal system that is the support of the body. It increases vitality and balances elements in the body.
Yoga as the ideal form of exercise
We all know that the body needs exercise in order to be healthy. What we don’t know is that modern exercise is usually over strenuous and stressful to the body and often only provides one sided development.
The objective of Yoga exercise is not to simply build strength or provide an aerobic workout. Rather its objective is to release the stress and tension at a deep level that build up in the tissues, organs and joints. These tensions often build up in the spine and cause us to have bad posture. By keeping the spine supple it creates an optimal flow of energy through the nerves that enervate the organs and glandular system.
The untold effects of bad posture
In our modern lifestyle we often neglect our posture and do little to develop flexibility. Often we are forced to work behind a desk all day, peering into a computer screen or strapped behind the steering wheel. We later relax on our sofas which further distort our posture, or engage in exercise which is usually strained and stressful. This all leads to bad posture.
Physical posture affects our health, vitality and awareness. Wrong posture creates stresses and contraction that impair the flow of energy and nutrients while allowing toxins and waste materials to accumulate. Such blockages cause discomfort and reduce functioning, resulting in pain and disease.
Bad posture affect us on 3 levels:
1. It causes blockages in the digestive tract which results in weaken digestion, leading to a build up toxin resulting in all kinds of ailments.
2. It impairs lung functioning leading to shallow breaths, low oxygen, a build up of mucus and stagnant air resulting in congestion, infection, allergies and low immunity to air born pathogens.
3. The skeletal system is intimately connected with the nervous system and therefore tension and stiffness in the bones and joints is transferred to the nerves leading to insomnia, anxiety and emotional instability.
Tension and Tightness |
Effects |
Neck |
Reduces blood to head which leads to low mental energy, headaches and sinus allergies. |
Upper Back |
Weakens appetite. See above.Impairs lung function. See above. |
Middle Back |
Weakens small intestine resulting in malabsorbtion. |
Lower Back |
Weakens colon resulting in gas, distention, constipation and diarrhea. |
The effects of stress, fear and anxiety
We find ourselves in an unnaturally competitive environment, exposing us to all kinds of stresses which have unseen effects on our body. Fear and stress causes the body to tighten up. Such emotions get held in the bones and prevent our energy from moving freely. This tightness in the joints and bones are transferred to the nerves creating all sorts of nervous system disorders. Loosening the joints through yoga releases accumulated toxins which improves health, awareness on all levels.
The importance of the attitude of the practitioner
Since the objective of yoga practise is to relieve stress and tension in the body, it is important to perform out yoga practise with an attitude that does not lead to further stress and tension. Often we perform yoga in an egoistic manner focused on the goal rather than the process. In order to try to ‘excel’ in yoga we often are too forceful in our yoga practise which can lead to further tension and injury. Patience is an important quality to cultivate while we perform yoga. We should simply focus on each breath in that moment and try to relax. We should try to perform yoga with a mood of detachment to our bodies and the anxiety that comes with that. In the practise of yoga our mental state and attitude is more important than how flexible we are or how well we hold the positions.
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