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About Yoga
What is yoga?
What isn't yoga? What is alignment-based Hatha yoga? Why do yoga? Who should do yoga? What are the different types of yoga? What do I look for in a yoga studio? "What I Learned About Parenting from My Yoga Class" What is yoga?Yoga is an ancient Indian philosophy that enhances personal growth and well being. Although a systemic philosophical approach, yoga is not a religion, but complementary with most spiritual paths. The physical aspect of Yoga (Hatha Yoga) use poses and focused breathing, requiring concentration and discipline. The result is a greater union of mind, body and spirit. Anyone, regardless or body type, age, experience, or physical abilities, can practice yoga.What isn't yoga?
return to top of page What is alignment-based Hatha yoga?Hatha Yoga is the practice of physical postures and breathing exercises helping to bring balance into the body and mind. Alignment-based Hatha Yoga, as practiced and taught at Yoga Centers, places emphasis on alignment of the body to safely achieve maximum benefit from the postures. Benefits can include physical improvements such as becoming more flexible, stronger and healthier, and preventing or recovering from injury. Yoga can also provide emotional benefits such as calming, focusing the mind and lifting the spirit.Alignment-based Hatha Yoga is not a fad. It originates in a tradition that is over 5,000 years old, and is becoming accepted by an ever-increasing number of health-oriented medical practitioners and therapists. return to top of page Why do yoga?The benefits of Purna Yoga™:
You weight train to gain strength, jog or do aerobics for a cardiovascular workout, practice tai-chi to develop a sense of balance and harmony, stretch to gain flexibility, and meditate to develop peace of mind and relaxation. Perhaps you are wondering if a form of exercise exists which gives you everything: strength, endurance, balance, flexibility, and relaxation? There is! Purna Yoga™ is the only complete form of bodywork that does it all. Indeed, yoga is more than stretching and relaxation: it is the ultimate mind-body challenge. Yoga is a tool for gaining body-mind awareness to enhance whatever spiritual/religious beliefs you have. A typical class will leave you felling energized and relaxed. You will work your muscles and will properly align your bones; you will breath deeply, oxygenating the lungs and blood; you will experience true deep relaxation. By bringing awareness to the body, and working the muscles, you are able to more deeply relax them then from any other form of exercise. This is why you feel so good after a yoga class, rather than an aerobics class, because you are deepening your awareness of and appreciation for your bodies.
Who should do yoga?People who have done no physical exercise at all, as well as Olympic athletes, find enormous benefits from Purna Yoga™. The foundation of Purna Yoga™ is careful alignment of your body as you hold the poses. This precision, and the awareness that comes with it, leads to tremendous growth, physically, mentally, and emotionally.As in all great arts and sciences, to become proficient in yoga requires effort, determination, and practice. But then, the fruit we reap is always in proportion to the seeds we sow and nurture. Thus, if you are looking for a quick fix, an instant cure, a quelling of surface symptoms while the true ailment remains unhealed, you will not find satisfaction in yoga. On the other hand, if you want to keep or regain your health, vitality and vigor; if you want to feel younger and stronger; and if you are looking for a perfectly balanced and complete form of exercise that can be started by anyone over seven years of age, in any condition, and which becomes more challenging as you get more advanced, Purna Yoga™ at Yoga Centers is your best choice! return to top of page What are the Different Types of Yoga?Yoga is an ancient practice. As it has developed over the years, different yoga practitioners have created their own styles. Today, it is important to know which styles will match what you want from your yoga practice—and which style will keep you safe from injury. For example, which styles will make sure your alignment is correct or that you are practicing according to your fitness level; or which styles are purely for physical exercise, versus connecting the physical with the spiritual.Ashtanga Classes are based on a set series of poses, often practiced at a vigorous pace, that emphasize continuity of movement and purification. Bikram Class consist of the same 26 poses practiced in a room heated to 105 degrees with humidity level around 60 percent. Iyengar Classes focus on the precision and correct alignment of each pose. Props are used to help alignment. Iyengar yoga is one of the most popular forms of yoga in the U.S. and many different styles of yoga include Iyengar principles. Kripalu Classes are extremely gentle, focusing on mind-body awareness. Kripalu practitioners emphasize the meditative aspect of the asanas. Kundalini Classes emphasize rapid breathing techniques, chanting, and mantra meditation. The objective is to open and awaken the kundalini energy stored at the base of the spine. Power Yoga Classes feature a Westernized version of ashtanga yoga. Instead of a set series of postures, however classes vary from day to day and from studio to studio. Purna Yoga™ Purna Yoga™ is a specific brand of yoga in which classes feature Iyengar precision and alignment while bringing gentle physical, mental, emotional and spiritual awareness to the student facilitating personal growth. This approach to yoga takes the wisdom of the past and updates it for the future giving students real tools for healthy living. Viniyoga Classes feature a gentle, holistic approach to yoga. Some flow is involved, but the pace is much slower than other classes. return to top of page What do I look for in a yoga studio?If you are new to yoga, or new to the area and looking for a new studio to call your home, there are a few things you need to watch for when choosing a yoga studio. With the increase in the popularity of yoga, there has been a remarkable increase in the number of yoga studios as well as exercise facilities who have begun to offer yoga instruction. Since yoga is an unregulated field at this time, it is important to know how to navigate through the sea of yoga teachers—ensuring your safety, comfort, and success. Everyone can do yoga, but there can be associated health hazards. With the same care that you would put into selecting a health professional, you should put into selecting a yoga professional.How to Get StartedWhen you begin to look for a yoga studio, you’ll want to clarify what your intention is for doing yoga. Most studios will report that students start yoga because they desire greater physical conditioning. Others come because they seek a deeper integration between their body and their spirit, looking to work on the inner aspects of the physical practices. Others come because they are healing from another sports injury and recognize that yoga can be safe and potentially therapeutic. Take a moment to answer the question, “Why do I do yoga? What do I want out of my yoga practice?”What to AskSo, you have clarified your intentions for practicing yoga, and you have identified the style of yoga that most resonates with your intentions. Now is the time to pick up the phone and talk to some studios. Here are some questions that all studios should be able to answer. If you can’t get an answer to these questions, know that you may not be dealing with a professionally-oriented studio.What to Ask About the Studio:
What to Ask About the Teachers:
Putting it All TogetherYoga is both an art and a science. As an art, it is as refined and intricate as classical music. As a science, it is as complex and precise as physics. Joy lies in its infinite exploration. Equipped with a greater awareness of what makes a successful yoga studio and teacher, your choices should support you in moving forward into greater joy. Go explore the many joys, and challenges, that come from the profound art and intricate science that is yoga.return to top of page What I Learned About Parenting from My Yoga ClassBy Kirsten ElfendahlMy four-year old son is going through another growth spurt. Not the physical kind, but a change that must be related to his personal development. He has been much more clinging and less comfortable separating from me in particular. I found solutions in the oddest place—my yoga class. The many benefits of yoga are widely publicized, but I had never thought to apply them to parenting, until I had to look beyond the usual resources. I knew that when I took my yoga classes, I had more energy, was more relaxed, peaceful, and balanced. “All of those are excellent traits to bring into parenting,” says Mana Iluna, MSW, a teacher at Yoga Centers in Bellevue and a faculty member of the College of Purna Yoga, a Bellevue-based licensed vocational school for training yoga teachers. The physical benefits of yoga easily translate into parenting: being energized and relaxed, you become more present to your children, and have more attention and energy to give. “You get a chance to nurture yourself too,” adds Gina Hagger, a yoga teacher and student at the College of Purna Yoga. “As parents we need to nurture ourselves first, get rid of stress, before we can nurture our children.” But the benefits yoga offers to parenting go beyond physical. “Yoga teaches awareness. You start by becoming more aware of your body,” says Iluna. “Awareness expands and you become more aware of your self on the mental, the emotional, and the spiritual levels. Awareness is the key to parenting, because you must first be able to see and hear how you are being with your children. You learn how to watch yourself, instead of just coming from an automatic response.” Awareness leads to a second key to parenting that yoga teaches: detachment. In yoga, you always aspire towards perfection, and what shows up must be accepted without upset. “Because of the yoga practice, of focusing on breath and doing more active work you’re able to be calm during the inevitable ups and downs of parenting,” says Gina Hagger. Recently, when her ten-year old daughter broke her arm, Hagger was able to be calm and present and not rattled by her daughter’s pain. “Since I was not upset, I was able to be a much greater help to her.” This reminded me about how I had been reacting to my son’s recent challenges. When I was not aware, I got very emotional about his upset. Rattled, I tried to talk him out of it. But when I remember what I learned from yoga class, I could be present and stay grounded. I could be clearer about what part of this challenge was my responsibility and what part was due to his natural development. When I was able to separate my own feelings from my son’s, I was able to parent better. “With the tools from yoga, you remember that when your children don’t like you, or when they get mad at you for protecting them or telling them what they need to know, that their anger is about what they themselves need to figure out,” says Iluna “Through yoga and meditation, you learn to separate and become clear about who you each are.” return to top of Yoga Articles page |