Let's Get Physical

Greetings everyone,
My first yoga instructor in Australia, Murray, had a fantastic physique. I asked him what he did outside of yoga...was he lifting weight, doing cardio? "No", he said, "just yoga". I didn't believe him. I thought, how can you look like that and just be doing yoga?

It took many years to open my mind to the idea that the practice of yoga could be that good. Now, I believe his words...it works. I often write about how yoga is more than simply a physical practice. When the sage Patanjali penned the yoga sutras some 2,000 plus years ago and coined the term "Ashtaa-angha" yoga (eight-limbed path), only breath work (pranayama) and poses (asana) are physical in nature, the other six have to do with behavior and finding stillness and higher connection through a meditative path.

However, undertaking the physical path of yoga is the most familiar route in our culture and DOES have so many incredible benefits. When I recently flew to Nashville the next morning my brother and I attended a local Vinyasa class. I hadn't slept well the night before and my body was reflecting the plane seat posture. I was stiff and uncertain as to what the unfamiliar class had in store for me. But, alas, I was not disappointed. The class was great, I was able to connect as a student into the practice rather than as a teacher and my body felt revived. As a result, so did my spirit.

If you have no desire to learn about the philosophical aspect of yoga-so be it. You can still benefit from the extraordinary physical benefits the practice has to offer. It is a practice that offers so much that we have the option of choosing how deep we wish to dive. Here is a link to yoga as building our strength. Can Yoga Replace Strength Training? - Gaiam Life.

Peace and Namaste',
Jayne