The power of yoga truly is phenomenal. It’s a pastime that has improved the lives of millions of people for hundreds and thousands of years and to this day is still a practice that is prescribed by both doctors and the average person in the street as part of a healthy and well-balanced lifestyle.
It’s a practice that is utilised by so many people, to set people up for the day, for casual stress relief and even to treat the likes of addiction, with many rehab centres integrating it into the routines of those looking to get their life back on track.
Drug and alcohol treatment centres have spoken out about just how effective yoga can be for those in rehab, but the truth is absolutely anyone can do it and improve their lives. But why?
Well, if you’re looking to get into yoga, here are four things you should certainly know about it…
Anyone can do it
First and foremost, anyone can do it. While you may see lots of different and rather unique poses on the television and think you can’t get into that position, ultimately if you can sit down comfortably, you can do yoga.
All you’re really required to do is sit on the floor cross legged and you can do the most simple of poses that can evoke a feeling of groundedness and vitality.
You need to bring mindfulness onto your yoga mat
It’s likely you’ll have heard that yoga can be a powerful tool for improving your mindfulness, but that’s only the case if you’re open to letting that happen. It’s all about bringing an open mind onto the yoga mat and letting your mind take you where it wants to go. It’s this that will aid you in yoga. If you go onto the mat closed minded and a ball of stress, you aren’t going to get out of it perhaps what you want to achieve.
It doesn’t matter how large you are, backbends work
Backbend poses are a big part of yoga and there is often a fear that if you are overweight or slightly larger than others you won’t be able to do them. However, it’s all about the patience to learn the foundation actions and from there you can build your strength. You’ll certainly feel the benefit.
The triangle pose is the true essence of yoga
The revolved triangle pose can be a tricky pose but if you can hit it, then you’ve really got yoga nailed down.
Beryl Bender Birch, a yoga expert once said of it:
“The pose is a classic representation of what Patanjali, in the Yoga Sutra, describes as the union of sthira and sukha—effort and ease, hard and soft, expanding and contracting, ascending and descending, and solar and lunar.”
It’s what we all strive for from yoga, and you should certainly look to get there. Remember, start small and build yourself up. If you don’t know where to start, check your local leisure centre for classes. Or if you’re on a budget there are lots of great yoga videos on YouTube. Most importantly of all enjoy. Not just the yoga but the feeling it leaves with you for the rest of the day.
