Veggie Blog

What is yoga?

Yoga, a Sanskrit word often translated as union or discipline, is an ancient practice from India. The sage Patanjali compiled the Yoga Sutras, one of its key texts, many centuries ago (scholars date it somewhere between about 200 BC and AD 400). The aim of yoga is to stretch the muscles, exercise the body and improve concentration. It can also help you relax, if you have trouble doing that.

No wonder this ancient practice has become popular among entertainers and athletes. Depending on who practices it, yoga can be simply a set of exercises or a whole way of life.

Discipline and breathing

Some who study yoga, called yogis, try to use it to reach a higher level of consciousness. They respect certain abstentions (things not to do), such as not lying, stealing, being greedy or harming other people. They also practice certain observances (things to do), such as being clean, content, self-controlled, studious and devoted.

Physical control is also important in yoga. Yogis train themselves to take full, deep breaths. They regard breathing as a life force, counting a lifespan not in years but in the number of breaths taken.

Yoga poses

Unlike exercises that focus only on strength, yoga also helps the body become flexible. Some yoga exercises (called asanas) look rather odd, and you may think you need to be a human pretzel to do them. Not so. You just have to relax.

In yoga, you do gentle stretches, never forcing yourself. The “no pain, no gain” rule does not apply. You do only the best you can at the moment, and at some later moment you will do more.

All yoga poses involve balance. And since you can’t balance if you’re thinking about last night’s TV show, yoga also demands concentration. Learn to concentrate in yoga, and you will be better able to concentrate in baseball, tennis or even school.

Yoga exercises borrow from nature. Many yoga poses can be traced to the shapes of animals, such as the cobra, cat, dog, tortoise, crab and eagle.

In the cobra pose, for example, you ask yourself, what would it feel like to be a cobra? You lie on your stomach with your forehead on the floor. As you inhale, you slowly lift your head and chest, supporting yourself with your hands. You hold that pose, then come down slowly, trying to move as a snake would move.

All yoga exercises develop skill and calmness. The effect of each move on a muscle or joint is carefully worked out.

You can choose exercises to ease typical aches, such as the stiffness from back-packing or the leg strain from jogging. Yoga can also help prepare you for skiing, and it may help you manage stress and feelings of fear or low mood, although it is no replacement for treatment if those feelings are strong.

Any good book on yoga will describe different asanas and explain how each works. You may already have done some yoga exercises without knowing it. Ever done a handstand, or the wheel? Many exercise programs borrow from yoga.