What is Yoga ?
This is like Yoga 101 for beginners and those just starting out in the practice of yoga wanting to know just – what is yoga and why practice it?
Before explaining to you exactly why we should practice yoga let me simply define the art itself. Simply stated, yoga is a set of poses (asanas) and together with certain breathing techniques help the body to be stronger and more flexible while helping to balance our mind and thought processes. There are many different types of yoga.
Unlike other physical forms of exercises like aerobics, by practicing yoga, we not only gain better physical health, but also mental and spiritual well-being.
Why practice Yoga ?
Each of us needs to develop our link with our true self to bring 
together our body, mind, and spirit. Yoga is one of the best methods I know of to do this. It is all about healing the self through self-awareness and self-acceptance.
It’s a practice that transforms and adds strength to our inner life force. We learn to overcome both the inner and outer obstructions that are a part of our daily life.
Yoga is part of the bountiful source that supports all our body’s processes. These processes help us find our balance. Living a healthy lifestyle is not always about avoidance & deniability. Purposely choosing to engage in correct choices, and being grateful for all the benefits from these choices significantly help to bring about a life of joyful health. Yoga is one of these choices because the Yoga philosophy is a great source of inspiration.
Some powerful lessons Yoga can teach us:
1.Let Go!
In each Yoga posture that we practice, a limit to what we can control exists. We cannot control everything around us. Yoga teaches us to let go and that it’s of no use forcing ourselves beyond our abilities.
2.Listen to our Body!
It’s critical in today’s world where we sometimes attempt to push ourselves/our lives too hard. This also rings true in Yoga (ex. stretching in practice). As a result, we may feel the pain later on. Forcing our bodies into a position we are not ready for can be detrimental causing muscle aches, rips, and/ or injuries that keep us from continuing for a long while. This is why Yoga teaches us to listen to our body and respect its’ limits.
3.Be Kind to ourselves!
In Yoga we learn to treat ourselves kindly. We learn to leave any 
negative, self-critical remarks out of our yoga session and bring an open mind and self-love with us, which then equates to a feeling of positiveness and knowing when to stop and when to continue.
4.Negativity is Pointless!
Concentrating on our failures will not help our present or future outcomes. We learn this in Yoga. Even if you may struggle with a pose, it doesn’t indicate you had a “bad” session. Each session illuminates a different part of you, and it is important to see this side of you emerging. Focus on this and see what lesson is to be learned.
5.Recognize and Appreciate your Strengths!
We tend to ignore and even fail to notice our own body’s power and strength. We need to give ourselves proper credit. When practicing Yoga you do challenging poses daily. You eventually see, realize and become impressed with how flexible your body really is and that you are enjoying this. So appreciate all this.
Who can and should practice Yoga?
Yoga is universal, it is not restricted by caste, creed, belief, origin, color or size. Everyone and anyone is eligible to practice Yoga. For the number of people with any cellulite (no matter how great or small) on their posterior Yoga can be for you.
Yoga Tips for Success :
1.Don’t be fearful!
Your size (no matter how large) doesn’t prevent you from practicing Yoga. Even if there are scars on your body that may be revealed as a pose may show as your tea shirt rises up – Don’t panic or be concerned of what people will look at or say. Get over it! Who cares? Even if you think your too fat or too thin, have scars, or any embarrassing spots – everyone has an issue or two. But you still may think your unique. Perceived or real weight issues are the most common barrier cited by people participating in Yoga. The thought that you need be thin, nubile, or very flexible to participate in yoga is still of a concern today. No matter how flexible, what your age or gender, how much you weigh, anyone can do this.
It offers a variety of health benefits (stress reduction, weight loss, becoming more flexible, increasing strength, building up confidence, and more).
Being as healthy as you can also helps. There is no such thing as a “Yoga Body” So you need not worry about your age or your flexibility level or how much or how little you weigh. Yoga is an overall approach to fitness, happiness and a good health. Everyone can do some level of Yoga. Yoga is an ongoing learning experience.
Those who participate in yoga, are usually reaching for higher enlightenment. It is far more than perfecting a series of poses. Yoga is meant to evolve as time goes on. You will continue to learn different poses and accept the challenge presented by new exercises. There is no one size way to practice yoga. Yoga has various modifications (bolsters, straps, and blocks) to make it attainable for everybody no matter your gender, age, physical condition, past injury, or weight.
2.Everyone Needs Rest and Recovery.
When yoga is a something new for your body it may (and most probably will) cause some muscle pain because of all the stretching and time you stay in a pose. Feeling discomfort in your limbs and other parts of your body the following day is common. This pain means that your body is adjusting to the changes and improvements going on inside. You’ve worked your muscles during your yoga session so you need to respect this and let the muscles heal (muscles build during rest) so you don’t have an injury or burn out from over doing it.
3.Yoga Concentrates on Feeling Well.
Practicing Yoga is about you, not about the person to your left who just lost the pose, nor the person to your right. Yoga is personal for each one of us. We all get on the mat for a variety of reasons. All our bodies are unique, and so are our ways of doing Yoga postures, and exercises. Don’t try to copy the person next to you or anyone else while doing Yoga. Just focus on you, after all it’s about you not anyone else!
4.Chose your Style of Yoga.
There are various styles so find one that meets your goals and unique abilities. You can modify and customize any pose, exercise or Yoga form to accommodate your physical form and body design as no one knows you better than you. Here is a list of 11 different styles / types of yoga.
10 Benefits of practicing Yoga.
1. Scientific research shows that only 8 weeks of yoga can improve concentration and motivation.
2. Improves blood circulation to the brain improving focus and memory skills.
3. Greatly reduces stress and anxiety and helps alleviate depression.
4. Regular practice helps control the secretion of hormones in the body that helps to balance and improve overall physical and emotional health.
5. Yoga poses support the building of a strong lymphatic system that boosts immunity and eliminates toxins from the body.
6. Reduces risk for heart disease.
7. Diminishes symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome, allergies, arthritis, asthma, cancer, migraines and multiple sclerosis, offers cardio, flexibility, strength training, muscle toning, bone strengthening, balance training and improved posture.
8. Dominates the sub cortex part of the brain that is associated with well-being.
9. The controlled breathing provides practitioners with more energy following workouts and less fatigue than other forms of exercise.
10. Promotes Healthy Blood Circulation And Boosts Blood Flow That Results In Healthier Organs, Brain And Skin.
Fear can be a strong reason not to begin or begin again to practice Yoga. It could be a feeling of being rejected because of your weight or any number of various other reasons. But Yoga will not prevent you from gaining your wanted state of peace and overall
well-being that you are striving for. Here are some resources for gentle Yoga for anyone even seniors: Gentle Chair Yoga for Neck and Shoulders Yoga for seniors. The following shows how to do Kundalini also known as Yoga for Beginners
For a list of 11 types of yoga click here
dormant at the base of the spine until it is activated (as by the practice of yoga) and channeled upward through the 
refers to a system of physical techniques. In the 20th century haṭha yoga began focusing particularly on asanas ( body postures). Hatha originally was and still is a general term for a sitting meditation pose. It was later extended to hatha yoga and modern yoga as exercise, to any type of pose or position – reclining, standing, inverted, twisting, and balancing ). It became popular throughout the world as a form of physical exercise. This modern form of yoga is now widely known simply as “yoga“.
not well, or who are injured. Yin and restorative yoga use different sets of postures.
