I have been practicing yoga on and off for the past 4–5 years, which may have been hindered by my intermittent periods of laziness. However, I will keep active by lifting weights, running (okay that is a lie), walking, swimming, playing basketball. I try to exercise at least 3–4x a week. One of the things I love to do, which I need to do consistently do, on a daily basis is, yoga. I use to go to yoga classes approximately 3–4 times a week.
One of the things that I love is that its origin is from the Indian culture. I remember approximately 5 years ago, during a charity event, I saw this 80 year old Indian gentleman complete a headstand for approximately 1 and half hours, which was unbelievable. I think he had been practicing yoga for over 60 years, which was reflected in his youthfulness and inner calmness. I think the guy in the picture, who is not that guy, must be 85–90 years old. I was just amazed at how strong he was but I think that yoga is much more than strength. It is much more about synchrony of your body and mind.
The foundation of yoga stems from deep breath, which helps to invigorate your life energy “prana”. Yoga is a practice that helps to align your body, by using your breath as a vehicle to help you achieve relaxation of your mind and body. I remember when I would consistently go to classes, I noticed that my body was stronger, yet the soreness radiated throughout my body, not in a painful achy way. But rather, an invigorating soreness, where I put my muscles were lengthened.
After just completing my last yoga session today, I noticed that my spine and posture felt more erect. I think that its pretty amazing how we can use our own body, without an equipment, except possibly a mat and water, to help to become stronger, flexible, and better balanced. I try to challenge myself with various harder poses, because it forces me to work on my increasing my awareness to help me achieve internal balance. I am going to attempt to do yoga everyday for at least 45 minutes, which is definitely possible, because the following day you don’t feel excessively sore. I think the reason why there is never excessive soreness may be that, though you are strengthening your muscles, you are also stretching and lengthen them. I think that increase oxygen, through deep breathing, may help minimize anaerobic activity of the muscles.
I think the best type of yoga is slow. We live in a very fast paced world, why not help slow our mind down and unwind with relax, while helping to improve the health of your body. The benefit of the internet is that you can do yoga at home. If you are interested in trying yoga as a beginner, I will recommend:
I think her videos are very informative and she demonstrates the postures very well at a slower pace. I have been in classes with many instructors over the course of 4–5 years, but I prefer the slower pace, unless you want high intensity cardio, when doing yoga, which is an option. I think her style is pretty great, if interested, check out her YouTube channel, which is free.
Source"Medium" Dr. Vilash Reddy