Yoga is for everyone. The only prerequisite is being able to breathe. Even difficult looking postures have very simple variations that anyone can do. You don't have to be flexible or strong to do yoga. Yoga teaches you how to enjoy living in the present moment. A natural by-product of doing yoga over a period of time is that one becomes flexible, strong, fit and healthy.
Yoga gives you energy and vitality. It corrects your posture, cures disease, clears the mind, reduces stress, can be done anywhere, does not require any expensive equipment and it makes you feel good by bringing you in touch with yourself
Yoga has a recorded history of at least five thousand years. Hatha yoga involves the physical aspect of this ancient Indian science.
Some of the by-products of practicing Hatha yoga that are condusive to good health include:
- aerobic conditioning
- isometric and isotonic muscle strengthening
- stretching exercises and postures (asanas)
- relaxation
- breath control
- concentration
- meditation
Yoga is literally a holistic system. The word 'yoga' means union, joining, or to link together an one whole. Feuerstein, (1996) describes the yoga approach as simplifying one's consciousness and energy to the point where we no longer experience any inner conflict and are able to live in harmony with the world. Hatha yoga is a physical method which uses the breath to link the various parts of the body and the mind and to allow them to behave as one functional unit. In practice, some, or all, of the elements of Hatha yoga listed above, may be performed concurrently, bringing the practitioner into the present moment and a meditative state.
