I was thinking about yoga during my class yesterday. Although you are not supposed to do much thinking in class, just focus on the moment and the experience. Sink into the posture and flow with your breath. Find the essence of the pose and let its effect flow over your body.
Anyway, I digress. Yoga means “yoke”. It is about the union of man with the divine. When you are fully into the lifestyle, it is about living each day in a way that brings you closer to God, closer to your full development, towards the highest state you can reach as a human.
But it does not start out that way. You can begin yoga with zero philosophical or spiritual tendencies. The initial aim is on the physical side. It makes a great deal of sense for your body, for you to do yoga. Stretching is an integral part of the wellbeing of your body. If you look around, you will notice that humans are the only animals that don’t stretch. Somehow, this got lost somewhere along the line as we became civilized. This and other basic human functions, like proper eating and breathing. When you see the crooked shapes of the old people around you, know that it is not from growing old. Old animals still have their correct form, they are just weaker. The crooked shapes are a result of decades of neglect of the human body, with no attention paid to posture or tone.
Apart from the benefits of longevity, the gradual way that yoga exercise develops, is exactly the kind of stimulation that your body responds well to. Wise men spent thousands of years studying yoga and developing a science that is the perfect way to take care of your body. Don’t be put off my all the new age mumbo jumbo. These traditions are truly the riches that the ancients have passed down to us.
Daily practice of yoga will inevitably lead you to notice the changes in your body. These start after a few weeks and will continue indefinitely. The biggest change is in flexibility. Your range of motion is increased. Muscle tone tightens and posture improves. Digestion and circulation is improved, and the complexion clears. These are not incidental side effects. When you have an understanding of yoga, you see how the exercises are designed to specifically benefit a certain organ or joint.
Remember too, that when your muscles are relaxed, you are relaxed. When you are tense, your muscles are tense. So a daily practice of relaxing the muscles, relaxes the mind. It is that simple. At least, the start of it is.
Perhaps the greatest thing about yoga, is that it makes you more in tune with your body. You feel better, and more aware. The result of this is that when you treat your body poorly, you notice the results right away. And then differences in your actual and preferred lifestyle, become irreconcilable, and force change. When you are being swept away by this current of self-improvement, you realize how stupid it is too still eat too many pies or chocolate, or drink too much, or smoke. When you realize that these actions move you away from your aims, make you worse off as a human, it becomes easier to resist them.
The rest I will discuss in further posts, or this will become too long. The other aspects are the breathing, eating, and most importantly, the philosophy