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Going Gaga Over Yoga
Pop icon Madonna is probably one of the most popular bi-products of commercialized yoga. Since she started to come out with that toned and buffed figure, women all over the world wanted to know what kind of diet she has been doing. When she revealed...
Pulling The Roots Of Disease
"Anybody who tells you that disease has only one cause, and that drugs and surgery are the solution, is DEAD WRONG." Dr. Ward Coleman, N.D.
Unhealthy aging and diseases of the body systems (such as cancer, heart disease, diabetes, immune...
Taking The Sress Out Of Vacations With Yoga
Even during vacations we are still attacked by outside stressful factors which can ruin a very promising vacation. Vacation stress is a rather antagonistic expression but it is real and it can cause serious upset. There are countless reasons to...
Will Yoga Help You Lose More Weight?
I suppose it was only a matter of time before the mass marketing about diet and fitness and weight loss caught up with Yoga. After all, Yoga is certainly going through a period of resurgance - not the first, as these things typically move in...
Yoga Therapy for Eating Disorders
Over 10 million women and a million men are affected by different forms of eating disorders in the United States alone. Most of them are teens and the common illnesses are represented by anorexia and bulimia. The physical factors related to these...
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Why Has Yoga Become So Popular?
Did you know that over fifteen million people practiced yoga in 2003, according to a landmark study by Yoga Journal Magazine. And the numbers are expected to increase dramatically in subsequent years. Your own experiences probably confirm this study maybe you practice yoga, know someone who does, or just take a walk along any busy main street - your bound to see someone carrying a yoga mat. In fact you can't even open a magazine or newspaper without finding an article about yoga. So, how does a 5000-year-old spiritual practice become today's hottest mind/body trend?
Perhaps the best way to understand yoga's popularity is to go right to the people who practice it. If you ask them why, some of the more common replies you might hear are "flexibility, increased energy, improved focus, reduction of the symptoms associated with stress, and an overall good feeling." The fact is that yoga can have a rejuvenating effect on all systems of the body including the circulatory, glandular system, digestive, nervous, skeletal/muscular, reproductive system and respiratory system.
On a physical level according to the U.S. Dept. on Aging there four components to good physical health: Strength, flexibility, balance, aerobic capacity. It is interesting to note that yoga can accomplish all these things and no fancy piece of equipment is needed other than your own body and a yoga mat.
Over the last 100 years our lives have become very fast paced: cell phones, computers, internet, television. This along with a strong work ethic often results in people out of balance people experiencing a lot of stress. Consequently, there is a strong need to de-stress - to quiet our minds and rejuvenate our bodies. And yoga helps achieve this helping us return to a state of balance and health.
Yoga brings us into the moment it is very difficult to practice and be thinking about what happened at work today or the party tomorrow night. Becoming present
in itself is a great release from stress. At its best, yoga meets the student where they are so it is adjusted to the student's level and capacity. That doesn't mean it is particularly easy or particularly challenging it can be either or both on any given day.
Then there is the therapeutic component. Yoga can be used successfully with conditions such as insomnia, back problems, digestion
problems, asthma, improving circulation, anxiety, weight loss, just to name a few.
Basically yoga is non competitive; it is not about winning or losing you can go at your own rate. Of course people still compete with themselves though and compare their posture to others in class.
In addition many of us are yearning for something more. Many of us have shied away from organized religion yet seek a spiritual practice that connects us to ourselves as well as something larger a spiritual practice that is non-dogmatic, without many rules. While most of the yoga practiced in health clubs is primarily the physical aspects of yoga the philosophical side seeps in. And for those that want to learn more about the philosophy of yoga information and classes are readily available to them. At its simplest level yoga quiets the mind and opens the body setting the stage for withdrawing deeper inside oneself to a place of peace, a place of balance, a place of health. It is here where the divine within us can be more easily discovered.
There are many different styles of yoga and it never needs to be boring - it can be slow and gentle, it can challenge your strength, it can be aerobic or vigorous or it can be very introspective. There is as style to match most personalities. There is yoga for seniors, pre-natal yoga, postnatal yoga, power yoga, gentle yoga, etc. There are classes that focus on back care, yoga done in groups and one-on-one, privately with an instructor. The yogic scriptures say there are some 84,000 postures and variations. The field of yoga is huge and there is always, always something new to learn.
The media has also helped spread the message of yoga and the fact the celebrities like Madonna and Sting practice yoga doesn't hurt either!
About The Author:
Howard VanEs, M.A. has been studying and practicing yoga for over thirteen years and is a certified yoga teacher teaching in the East Bay area of San Francisco. He is author of "Beginning Yoga: A Practice Manual", co-creator of the audio CD "Shavasana / Deep Relaxation". He is also a former psychotherapist. http://www.letsdoyoga.com email: info@letsdoyoga.com 510-587-3399
Copyright Howard VanEs - http://www.letsdoyoga.com
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