Strike a pose: The history and benefits of practicing Yoga

I

could spend hours describing to you what a pomegranate tastes like but if you've never had one, no amount of explanation will give you the experience of tasting it. Someone could also try and tell you what yoga is, but you have to discover it for yourself.

Here are a few common misconceptions about yoga: it is a religion (it's not), you can't do yoga if you smoke or drink or eat meat (not true, come to yoga exactly as you are) and yoga is only for people who are flexible (you have to start somewhere).

Bikram yoga says, "Never too old, never too sick, never too bad, never too late to start from scratch and begin again."

History

Yoga is the scientific and psychological approach to being happy. You do not have to believe everything yoga says - if yoga does not work for you, disregard it. There are no prerequisites, no consequences. It teaches that you don't ever have to do anything, because you already are everything. Nothing in you can be created, it can only be uncovered. Yoga is just one way to realize that you are not your thoughts, your house, your car, your job or your reflection in the mirror.

The word "yoga" comes from the Sanskrit word "yuji" and means "to yoke; to unite or join together." Yoga originated in India as far back as 5,000 B.C. and is an ancient path to spiritual growth.

Many of the teachings were passed down orally and kept in secret. Yoga came to the west in the early 1900's and the physical postures (asanas) have become increasingly popular.

There are many different branches of yoga, such as Karma Yoga (selfless service) and Japa Yoga (mantra meditation), but the most familiar branch in the West is Hatha Yoga, which includes physical postures, breathing techniques and meditation. Hatha Yoga is practiced on a mat without socks or shoes.

"Yoga teaches us to be equanimous. A challenging asana class gives us the opportunity to stay focused and balanced while turning upside down, bending forward and backward, twisting. It's a controlled environment to deal with the stress that's introduced in the postures. We become aware of muscles, breath, blood, emotions, fears, the hairs on our head, the pinky toe on the left foot," said Andrea Boyd and Jeffrey Cohen, co-owners of Jivamukti Yoga Charleston

Benefits

The main benefit of yoga is an increased awareness of your thoughts and actions. This can lead to weight loss, stress reduction and may even help you quit that job you've never liked or leave a relationship that is not working. Other benefits include increased mental focus, reduced anxiety and better overall physical and mental health.

LesLee Aimes, a local certified advanced yoga teacher and yoga therapist said, "We all know on some deeper level that we have to find a different way to live. Yoga works for everyone at every age and fitness level. Health and happiness is our true nature."

School is in session

If you go to a yoga class, arrive 10-15 minutes early and wear whatever makes you feel comfortable, such as stretch pants or running shorts with a shirt or tank top. Some classes begin with the sound of Om. Om is just the sound energy makes when it moves. In a typical yoga class, you will do a series of postures that include standing poses, balancing poses, backward bends, forward bends, inversions and each class ends with a final deep relaxation (shavasana).

Get in position

For many people, holding one static pose for an extended period of time is difficult. We fidget waiting in line at the store; we slump in our chairs and bite our nails. By putting your body into a specific pose and holding it for a period of time, you are training the mind to focus. You get the opportunity to stand still and watch your thoughts.

The process of practicing asanas uses your body as a tool to understand the way your mind works and the thought patterns you've created. It ultimately gives you the opportunity to change the person you've always thought you've been. Yoga asks the question: do you control your thoughts or do your thoughts control you? Practicing the physical postures of yoga prepares the body to sit in meditation, contemplate such questions, and listen for the answer.

Trace Sahaja Bonner, the owner and director of Holy Cow Yoga Center said, "Yoga is about meditation, always has been, always will be. The practice on the mat is very minute in the big scheme of things. You are doing the practice of yoga whenever you are in a conscious state of remembrance of who you are."

So who are you? Yoga says that you are divine; you just haven't realized it yet.