Yoga For Your Health

What is Yoga? It may seem like a silly question, but many Westerners want to know the answer to the question, “is yoga a religion?” I maintain that it is not a religion because there is no central figure who receives worship or emulation and there is not obligatory philosophy attached to yoga. While some of the term and concepts may be unfamiliar to Westerners, and practitioners come from all walks of life and all backgrounds, yoga is not a religion.

I think the answer to the other questions is: Yoga is to each of us what we need at some particular point in our lives. You see; there are many aspects of Yoga - some that we maybe ready for right away, such as the physical poses or workout and some that may come later as we become more aware of our bodies and minds.

Dating back almost 8,000 years, yoga is “scientific exercise”. the poses (”asanas”) have been developed and tested over the millenia and the provide a very specific benefit to a very specific muscle set. Originally, yoga was practiced before a time of prayer and meditation to calm the mind and fatigue the muscles so attention could be paid to transcending the “inner conversation”. That muscle strength occurs is a pleasant byproduct of the practice.

Yoga has been touted by Hollywood celebrities for years. Most yoga students start their practice because they want to be more flexible for sports or to delay the aging process. Those who are committed enough to work past the initial discomfort of stretch and bending often report that they also notice that an increased sense of clarity, patience, and kindness permeates their life, too. Because their families are the benefactors of this enhanced sense of happiness, the practice of yoga has a sort of “ripple effect” that can affect many people. Yoga students are not “evangelists”. Their witness is shown in a subtle, quite way.

This is when our Yoga practice has taken us off the mat and into the world. Perhaps we chose to study the philosophy of Yoga. We might chose to adopt the social and personal ethics guidelines for conscious living that this philosophy offers, our Yamas and Niyamas.

The practice of yoga doesn’t stop when we step leave the classroom. It is implicit in the practice of yoga that in order to be emotionally and physically flexible and vibrantly alive, our joy and peace must be shared with others. If we hold back and suppress our joy, we inhibit what God has put inside of each of us. Therefore , our life “off the mat” is even more important that our life “on the mat”.

Webster’s New Dictionary defines Philosophy as: the study of the principles underlying conduct, thought, and the nature of the universe. It defines a Philosopher as: a lover of wisdom; one who acts calmly and rationally in the affairs and changes of life.

In yoga, we study our actions, words , and thoughts with the intent of being a demonstration of peace and unity. In our practice, we enjoy the mental and emotional space to distinguish between the chatter of our worldly minds so we can listen more openly to the promptings of the Spirit. By embracing that Spirit we discover that our real design is to be good and DO good.

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