Yoga and Plain Exercise-What Is the Difference
So what is Yoga? That is a tough question to answer as yoga can accomplish different goals for each individual. A basic definintion of yoga might be, a system of developing the mind and body using natural methods. Using these natural methods Yoga helps to improve the person's confidence, discipline, and fitness, which will leave them as a more contented individual. There are literaly thousands of different asanas, (positons or techniques) and the proper ones for each person must be determined on an individual basis with the help of a trained instructor. You will find there are yoga positions for beginners, to more advanced techniques for the masters of yoga. Retreats dedicated soley to yoga can be found just about anywhere in the world. As you do your research into yoga you will find information about clothes for yoga, yoga books, yoga mats, yoga videos, and the list goes on.
Yoga and Plain Exercise-What Is the Difference?When you are doing an exercise routine, you are doing just that. You are doing a routine by rote, many times thinking of other things as you are doing the repetitive motions. Day to day problems may be clouding your mind, what will I have for dinner, what can I do to help Billy or Suzy bring up their grades, or when in the world will I have time to go grocery shopping? This is plain exercise. Practicing Yoga not only helps your body become more flexible and fit, it also is designed to calm your spirit and give you a new sense of awareness. What is awareness? That is something that is hard to describe. You might have had flashes of awareness in your life, it’s like a light bulb turns on and you have an “ah-ha” moment. Yoga is designed to make this happen more frequently and gives you the capacity to be more alert to your surroundings or what your body is saying. Awareness is living in the present moment. It’s even more; it’s realizing your place in the now. If you are experiencing the moment and enjoying that moment for what it is, you are experiencing awareness. Awareness allows you to focus on your surroundings, feel the muscles in your body responding to either the tension of the moment or the total relaxation you feel. There isn’t any place for daydreams or fantasies in the state of awareness. If you are truly aware of your present surroundings, living in the moment, you won’t need to daydream. You’ll be too busy to enjoying the moment you’re in. If you lose your center, and allow your emotions to run rampant, you are likely to go somewhere that has nothing to do with reality. Events around you make sense when you have a heightened sense of awareness, even if they aren’t pleasant. Awareness goes hand in hand with serenity. Your Yoga routine quality is directly affected by your awareness. When you are practicing your pose, concentrating on your breathing, and finding that inner calm we all have, we are aware and the limitations on your mind falls away and you find your inner calm. You might be surprised at what new insights you will find when you allow full awareness to take over. You can take that sense of awareness that you are learning in Yoga to help you in your everyday life. Being at one with your surroundings gives you a peace and serenity. You can look around you and notice the beauty in ordinary items. You can enjoy the simple pleasures of everyday sounds. Can you hear how beautiful the wind chimes in your yard as it whispers its melody? The birds singing in the tree next door, or maybe the sound of a child laughing while playing in a nearby yard are all sounds that we can experience in a deeper sense by allowing ourselves to live in the moment. Awareness is part of the ultimate goal of Yoga. Yoga is not without it's Christian criticsMany in the Christian circles are dead set against the practice of yoga, citing the Hindu background of yoga and claiming that the practices of yoga are designed to have the practioner become one with other gods. It is considered to be another facet of the new age movement by many Christians. Christians hold to one God in three "persons" (The Trinity) Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and to give recognition to another so called god is considered to be blasphemy. There have been attempts to create what is being called "Christian Yoga" but even this is being opposed in many circles. Better Your Health will be doing further research into this matter, and by signing up for our newsletter, you will be notified as soon as the material is availiable.
We at Better Your Health hope you have found this article to be very helpful in your research into Yoga. Please feel free to check out the many other articles we have on this site about Yoga. Click here to add this page to your favorites. Be sure to check out Better Your Health for more Health Related Topics. |
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