A Wellness Blog Article

Yoga is a combination of physical, mental and spiritual practices that involve mindful movements, conscious breathwork and meditation to connect the body and mind.

Its health benefits include peace and wellbeing, improved blood circulation, weight loss, reduced back pain, good posture and so much more.

Originally from India, this is an ancient practice that combines mindful movements, controlled breathing and inner awareness/meditation to create a balance between the mind and the body.

The word Yoga comes from a sanskrit word ‘yuj’ meaning “union or to yoke”

Practicing regularly promotes strength, calmness, wellbeing and flexibility. It is a popular form of exercise around the world as one in seven adults in the United States practice it to reduce stress.

Asanas is a word used to refer to yoga postures . A session tends to start with easy asanas and drastically improve to more vigorous ones.

There are 84 types of asanas which mainly involve sitting postures, lying postures, standing postures and inverted postures. Learn more about asanas on this article.

Karma : It is a way of self service, also known as yoga of action. People that practice this aim to achieve spiritual liberation by serving others.

Jnana : This is the most difficult path, as it seeks spiritual enlightenment through meditation, contemplation and self study, also known as yoga of knowledge.

Bhakti : Involves practices like praying, chanting and singing. This practice is centered around devotion for a personal god.

Raja : It mainly focuses on controlling the mind through meditation hence also known as yoga of Meditation.

Hatha : This is the most common, the movements are slow and mainly focus on relaxation, flexibility, strength and mindfulness. Usually perfect for beginners.

Vinyasa : It consists of a series of poses that smoothly flow into one another, each movement synchronizing with your breathing hence being a great form of meditation. It is perfect for people that are working on their minds and bodies or those that have trouble sitting down.

Bikram : It is performed in a hot room mainly to detoxify the body through sweating.

Ashtanga : It is a demanding and athletic form of practice that follows a specific sequence of moves. Helps to improve flexibility and endurance. Recommended for people who are trying to achieve weight loss.

Yin : Is slow paced and focuses on the body’s connective tissues. The postures are held for five minutes or even longer. A good recommendation to people that want to stretch and relax their muscles.

Prenatal: Yoga during pregnancy is recommended compared to high intensity workouts. It focuses on stretching, relieving stress and easing pain. Be sure to contact your doctor prior to practicing it.

Kundalini : This is practiced to awaken your kundalini energy, a combination of postures, breathing exercises and chanting of mantras.

I used to confuse these two to be the same practice, but no they are not. Yoga is a holistic practice that focuses on the mind, body and breathing while pilates is an exercise that focuses on a good body alignment, muscular balance and core strength.

If you want to practise the two then go ahead as it will have major benefits. Pilates will tone up your body while the other will give you a good posture and healthy mental wellbeing. That is a win, I mean who wouldn’t want that?

Know more about the yoga poses and the ones recommended for beginners on the article POSES FOR BEGINNERS.

To find out about the physical, mental and emotional benefits that it has, refer to the article BENEFITS OF YOGA.