What is the main goal of yoga? It is useful to understand the benefits of yoga before embarking on your yogic journey.
Tradition
The traditional purpose of yoga is to bring about a profound transformation in a person through the transcendence of the ego.
In Hindi the word yoga means spiritual discipline. Fast track to the present day and perhaps one of the most common translations of this is mastering postures.
Body, Mind and Spirit
Yoga is helpful in creating a union of body, mind and spirit:
- Physically – it can lead to an increase in flexibility and strength, as well as a more toned body (something that’s highly coveted these days). At BodyHoliday, our guests have reported physical benefits including improved respiration, increased energy and vitality. In some cases, guests have experienced relief of pain.
- Mentally, people feel much more relaxed during and after a yoga session. It has very calming qualities. It is an ideal activity to address a stressful life and assists in calming the mind. Yoga encourages positive thinking and self-acceptance.
- Spiritually – it serves to achieving oneness – a balance and interdependence between mind, body and spirit. Yoga encourages awareness of the body, your feelings and those of others and your environment.
It’s not hard to let yoga become part of your daily life. Breathing is life and remembering the breathing exercises you learn in yoga can help immensely. When you focus on breathing is it completely calming. You can use your breathing exercises in stressful situations at work, at home or anywhere else. When you’re feeling overwhelmed or just want to calm down, it works far better than counting to ten!
There is no age limit or fitness requirement for yoga. You can start at your own pace and develop through patience and discipline.
When you visit BodyHoliday, if you haven’t already, take advantage of the extensive yoga classes and yoga masters on hand to help and encourage you.
Keep Moving
Practicing Yoga or starting any activity for the first time is challenging and you may feel aches and pains during or after the session. We often hear students complain about wrist pain, stiffness in the neck and sometimes low back pain after a Yoga session. We need to remember that when we start a new form of exercise we are asking our body to change, with this change comes discomfort. When we feel this, it’s important to keep moving.
The key is to keep practicing and showing up on the mat to move the body so that you can work through any discomfort in the body.
After 15 years of practicing Yoga my aches and pains disappeared with practice, so keep moving and practicing to get your blood flowing so that you can heal!