Yoga Primer 101

                                                                                         

Recently, I joined the gym (make that re-joined the gym!).
Part of the sign up procedure (a.k.a. marketing funnel) is
to offer a free session with a personal trainer. Always
eager to improve my knowledge of resistance training, I
signed up for a session. I was surprised to learn that my
daily yoga practice will shorten my recovery time when
training. In fact, my trainer mentioned that he himself (a
champion Extreme Fighter) would be adding yoga to his
training routine.

Yoga supports a holistic approach to medicine, and thereby
fitness. Yoga is one of the few practices that looks at the
big picture of your overall health and allows you to take
care of your entire mental and physical wellbeing. Yoga
practioners not only experience improvement in flexibility,
strength and in some cases, cardio vascular conditioning,
but also relieves stress and gain improvements in their
mental health and emotional well-being.

Yoga is a whole body exercise and can be practiced as such.
There are 8 branches of Yoga:

1. Yamas: This is basically your attitude to life and those
around you. There are 5 Yamas:
a. Ahimsa or non-violence:
b. Satya being truthful
c. Asteya or non-stealing
d. Bramacharya or moderation
e. Aparigraha, meaning not taking advantage of others
2. Niyamas: This is all about self examination and how you
treat yourself
3. Asana or physical poses
4. Pranayama or breathing exercises
5. Prathayara or withdrawal of the senses-this is part of
meditation
6. Dharana or Concentration
7. Dhyana or Meditation
8. Samadhi or Enlightenment-the final peak of your
disciplines

As you can see, practice of each branch of Yoga encompasses
facets of your entire health and even your way of life. This
makes it an ideal naturalistic and holistic way to improve
and maintain your health. The most commonly known and
practiced branch of yoga is Asana, or the flow of positions.
There are many positions that can be practiced by beginners
right up to advanced levels.

There are many websites with instructional materials, and
supplies for yoga. As well as the traditional Yoga
discipline there are now some modern day variations that are
interesting to try. So go ahead and enjoy learning about
this ancient discipline and improving your health the fun
way.

About the author:
Deborah Carraro is an avid nutrition, health & fitness enthusiast. As partner in a successful online Natural Health business she has worked with the best fitness professionals & health experts.Visit her at www.YogaForOptimalHealth.com

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