what is yoga?

Question

i want to start yoga but i dont really kno how or anything...is there different types? i want a kind that will help me gain muscle and flexibility....and i need to be able to do it at home

Answer 1

Any style of yoga will help you gain flexibility-- often in areas that you never realized were tight! For strength building I prefer a slower, more classical practice where you hold each pose for a period of time. The faster paced, flowing vinyasa practices offer a better aerobic work out, but I don't feel I build strength as effectively that way. I would not recommend practicing only at home as you begin. I don't think you'll get the results you want without a teacher to help you learn to do the poses correctly. Even a once a week class will provide you with plenty of information to practice at home on other days. After a while, I'm sure you could practice at home exclusively and quit going to a studio or teacher. There are a lot of videos and books on the market to help you with your home practice, but I found that I benefited the most from those things after I had a couple of months of instruction from a good teacher.

Answer 2

Yoga can be any or all of the following, depending on WHY you want to take it and HOW you incorporate Yoga into your life:



1) a great physical fitness program, involving stretching, strengthening, and elongating the spine for proper alignment of the vertebrae



2) breathing techniques and relaxation, lowering blood pressure, increasing cardio-vascular health, increasing lung capacity, releasing tension and stress, and learning to relax and enjoy life



3) Meditation - to calm the mind, bring emotional balance, mental clarity, focus and concentration



4) the learning of a philosophy, by experiencing emotional tension release from your own body, increasing awareness of what is happening in your own body and mind (many yogis and yoginis notice and feel their heartbeat, circulation flowing through their body, can increase of decrease blood pressure at will, a heightened awareness of what is going on in your body, then you have a heightened awareness of what is going on with your mind). So yoga is EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING - you don't accept dogma as it is told to you - you question everything, until you feel beliefs yourself and understand what is right for you.



5) a philosophy of life - following several basic principles (non-harming, truthfulness, discipline - see my web site under Yoga Information/Yoga Philosophy/Yamas and Niyamas). It is to awaken the "witness consciousness" - the part of you that can step back and observe what your brain is doing, what is happening for you - dispassionately, so you can better understand yourself.



6) A Spiritual Practice - Spiritual fulfillment - as you learn to awaken the witness consciousness, meditate, and increase your awareness, at some point, you realize that you are MORE than this Body, this Mind, this shell - that you are a drop of beautiful energy in a spiritual ocean (to use the cliché, you are one with everything - Spirit/Life Energy/God/Power of the Universe is in you) and this is a truly fulfilling experience when you realize this for yourself. Someone can TELL you about this all they want, but you really need to feel it and experience it for yourself - awakening the divine energy in you.



Take what you need from Yoga. For some people, it is simply a class to take where they get a good stretch and a nice balanced work out. For others, it is a way of life - we talk about being on the Yogic Path, our own hearts leading us where we need to go. Yoga is about Union - the unity of YOURSELF with the LIVING WORLD around you - you are part of the divine dance. It is about releasing tension in the body and the mind, relaxing, and bringing the mind to stillness so you can listen to your heart, so you can learn and grow.



If you are feeling empty right now, you need to think about whether it is a spiritual emptiness you feel. Yoga is NOT a religion, but it does encourage you to connect with your inner spirit and follow its guidance. It is a spiritual practice IF you want it to be. It may help you.

Answer 3

The easiest way to know yoga is to do it.

The easiest way to do yoga is to watch the Wai Lana Yoga TV series aired on your PBS station.



If Wai Lana Yoga doesn't air on your local PBS station, you can purchase her Beginner's Yoga DVD/Video here & follow along http://www.wailana.com/yogastore/product.php?pid=285



Wishing you good health!!

Answer 4

Modern yoga practice often includes traditional elements inherited from eastern religion, such as moral and ethical principles, postures designed to keep the body fit, spiritual philosophy, instruction by a guru, chanting of mantras (sacred syllables),pranayama (breathing exercises), and stilling the mind through meditation. These elements are sometimes adapted to meet the needs of non-Hindu practitioners, who may be attracted to yoga by its utility as a relaxation technique or as a way to keep fit.



Proponents of yoga see daily practice as beneficial in itself, leading to improved health, emotional well-being, mental clarity, and joy in living. Yoga advocates progress toward the experience of samadhi, an advanced state of meditation where there is absorption in inner ecstasy.



The goals of yoga are expressed differently in different traditions. In theistic Hinduism, yoga may be seen as a set of practices intended to bring people closer to God - to help them achieve union with God. In Buddhism, which does not postulate a creator-type god, yoga may help people deepen their wisdom, compassion, and insight. In Western nations, where there is a strong emphasis on individualism, yoga practice may be an extension of the search for meaning in self, and integration of the different aspects of being. The terms Self-Realization and god-Realization are used interchangeably in Hindu yoga, with the underlying belief that the true nature of self, revealed through the practice of yoga, is of the same nature as God.



The ultimate goal of yoga is the attainment of liberation (Moksha) from worldly suffering and the cycle of birth and death (Samsara). Yoga entails mastery over the body, mind, and emotional self, and transcendence of desire. It is said to lead gradually to knowledge of the true nature of reality. The Yogi reaches an enlightened state where there is a cessation of thought and an experience of blissful union. This union may be of the individual soul (Atman) with the supreme Reality (Brahman), as in Vedanta philosophy; or with a specific god or goddess, as in theistic forms of Hinduism and some forms of Buddhism. Enlightenment may also be described as extinction of the limited ego, and direct and lasting perception of the non-dual nature of the universe.



For the average person still far from enlightenment, yoga can be a way of increasing one's spiritual awareness, or cultivating compassion and insight. While the history of yoga strongly connects it with Hinduism, proponents claim that yoga is not a religion itself, but contains practical steps which can benefit people of all religions, as well as those who do not consider themselves religious.

Answer 5

What is yoga and its Benefits?



http://www.askaquery.com/Answers/qn1621.html

Answer 6

an exercise