Yoga for Stress

Yoga has long been known to be a great antidote to stress. Yoga combines many popular stress-reducing techniques, including exercise and learning to control the breath, clear the mind, and relax the body. As yoga becomes increasingly popular, more and more people are discovering the benefits this ancient practice brings to their stressful lives.

Yoga in Pregnancy

When we think of yoga, our minds tend to envision someone dressed in black and sitting in a contorted position. Yoga is much more than this image.

Yoga has been used for centuries to help center a person and relive stress. In many countries yoga for pregnancy is considered the only option. Yoga can be a great way to stay flexible, relive stress and prepare for birth.

By using, stretching and cultivating the muscles for birth, you inherently make birth easier. The muscles are prepared by the yoga to do their job efficiently in labor. Not to mention the glorious relaxation skills that you can bring to your birth after the months of practicing.

Yoga can also alleviate the discomforts caused by pregnancy. There are poses for sciatic pain, round ligament pain, and yes, even morning sickness. Many women begin yoga for a life long activity during pregnancy, finding that returning to yoga is much simpler postpartum than many other fitness activities.

A yoga site for people and their doctors

Yoga is simultaneously: self-diagnosis, healing, prevention, and maintenance. Although it is not a replacement for your doctor, it has been developed and practiced safely and successfully by millions of people who never had doctors, for thousands of years. If you are under a doctor's care already, or are seriously out of shape, then by all means consult with your primary health care provider before beginning yoga practice! That way you can both monitor your progress. And your doctor will learn from you how beneficial yoga really is!

Think of "self-diagnosis" in this context: If you were perfectly healthy, you would be able to do most yoga postures and exercises easily with minimal effort! Therefore as you begin learning the basic stretches, you will immediately discover where your deficiencies are. Do not let yourself be discouraged by this. Your body has adapted itself as perfectly as possible to all of the things you have done (or not done) with it over the course of your entire life up until now. With a modest amount of care and pati
patience, yoga will trigger your body's natural adaptive and rejuvenating powers. If you don't use it you lose it. If you start using it again, you can get most of it back. Some people claim that yoga gave them more vitality than they ever had in their lives. Even those who began later in life. If you are still breathing, it is never too soon, or too late to start!

The Yoga of Alternative Therapy

I believe the best way to properly grasp the concept of alternative therapy is to compare it to modern medicine. Modern medicine shines in its ability to deal with the mechanical and structural aspects of our bodies. Repairing broken legs, stitching wounds, elevating low insulin levels and helping other demonstrable aspects of our physical system are effectively dealt with in hospitals and doctor offices today. Yet the medical fields underlying paradigm of life, is we are nothing but an interaction of chemicals that are orchestrated by our brains. This paradigm places medicine in a tightly closed box that refuses to acknowledge the role of the spirit and the mind as separate from the brain. So far has the pendulum swung today that unproven theories of chemical imbalances as the cause of everything from depression to Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) and caused a proliferation of the consumption of medications to “resolve” the unproven causes of these “physical” diseases. As the beginning of the Zoloft commercial reminds us about depression; “while the cause is unknown a chemical imbalance could be the reason.” Could? So could lots of other things!

Yoga: The Path to Enlightenment

Throughout the ages, one of the most compelling aspects of the human race has been its quest for enlightenment. Ever since recorded history the profound questions of, “Who am I?” “Where do I belong in the grand scheme of things?” and, “what is the meaning of life?” has brewed within the depths of our minds. Philosophies, theologies, myths, legends and scientific theories have been created each seeking to answer these inquiries. Complex beliefs and rituals have evolved to satisfy our insatiable hunger to know the Truth. However, despite its noble intention it is this same quest that has also spawned the greatest tragedies of hatred, murder and war. Nevertheless, the failure to find a universal theology to provide a workable solution that brought about enlightenment has not curtailed the undisputed desire to know God, to obtain knowledge of our Divine Beingness and to achieve spiritual freedom.
Despite the vast variety of paths to enlightenment, perhaps Krishnamurti said it best “There’s only one path – the path of the heart”. He commented how finding that path was like walking through a field with a fresh covering of snow. The path is wherever your feet left marks

Yoga and Thyroid Disease

Yoga is an excellent alternative form of healing that is very suited to the needs of thyroid patients. For beginners, yoga's gentle stretching and emphasis on breathing can be done by almost anyone, and reaps immediate rewards in terms of energy, reduction of stress levels, flexibility and reduction of muscle and joint stiffness, and much much more in terms of peace of mind and general harmony.
Yoga can also be of tremendous help as a healing therapy for people with thyroid cancer. I invite you to read yoga instructor and thyroid cancer survivor Teresa Campana's excellent article on Yoga and Cancer, for a wonderful look at yoga and its role in healing and wellness for cancer patients. Teresa will also be on hand to talk more about yoga at the upcoming second annual Thyroid Cancer Survivor's Association (ThyCa) Conference in October of 1999.
I've personally been a practitioner of yoga for several years, and have found that it is an excellent way to tone muscles, eliminate aches and pains, dramatically reduce stress, and help breathing. While I've also tried to do aerobic exercise, I've found that I look forward to yoga -- unlike aerobics! -- and very quickly have very rapid results from practicing even a few times a week. For me, and for many others, yoga is much more than exercise -- it is bringing of mind and body and spirit into balance!

Seated Spinal Rotation

The seated spinal rotation, which is a lot like the Pilates Saw, is a great way to stretch the hamstrings and the back while engaging the core muscles. The ball offers extra support by elevating the body. This takes the pressure off tight hamstrings, allowing you to go deeper into the stretch. The ball also increases instability and requires you to engage your core and stability muscles, making this a great overall exercise for balance and flexibility.

1. Sit on the ball and extend the legs in front of you feet flexed.
2. Sit tall and keep the back straight as you stretch the arms out, leaning forward from the hips and feeling a stretch in the hamstrings.
3. Rotate the torso to the right and reach the left arm out and over the right foot. Keep the back straight rather than rounding over the leg.
4. Rotate back to center and then to the left, reaching right arm out and over the left foot.
5. Continue rotating, concentrating on lengthening the spine as you rotate.
6. Repeat for 5 to 8 reps on each side.

Leg Lift to Low Lunge and High Lunge

The low lunge and high lunge in yoga is perfect for stretching the entire front of the body, from the chest to the hips. In the high lunge, you also build strength and endurance in the lower body. Adding a ball to the movement can provide support, allowing you to deepen the stretch and get more out of the exercise.

1. From a downward dog position, inhale and lift the right leg straight up until your body is in a straight line.
2. Keep the leg straight, foot flexed and the toes pointing to the floor.
3. Hold for one breath, lower the leg and swing it forward into a lunge, bringing the knee next to the ball.
4. Lean hips into the ball and sweep the arms overhead, holding for 3 breaths.
5. Lift the back knee off the floor into a high lunge, using the ball to support the hips. Hold for 3 to 5 breaths and repeat the series on the other leg.

Side Angle on the Ball

The Side Angle pose is great for stretching the side body as well as the inner thigh. What makes this move difficult is that you need the flexibility to keep the chest open and the back rotated while keeping everything in alignment. The ball offers support for this move, helping you get more out of it.

1. Begin in Warrior II on the Ball, with the right knee bent, the left leg straight and arms out to the sides.
2. Rotate the torso and reach the right arm down to the floor as you sweep the left arm up to the ceiling.
3. Think of opening up the chest and pushing the hips forward just a bit on the ball.
4. Hold for 3 to 5 breaths and switch sides.

Warrior II on the Ball

Warrior II is a deceptive yoga pose. It looks easy but requires strength, balance and flexibility to get into proper position. A ball can add support to this move, allowing you to go deeper into the stretch and focus on your alignment.

1. Sit a bit forward on the ball and take the right leg out to the side, foot pointed forward and flat on the floor. Your knee should be straight.
2. Bend the left knee so that it is pointed to the side with the hips square to the front of the room.
3. Sweep the arms up on an inhale, taking them straight out to the sides and parallel to the floor.
4. Hold the pose as you stretch the front fingers and back fingers away from each other.
5. Hold for 3 to 5 breaths and repeat on the other side.

High Lunge on the Ball

The high lunge is an excellent move for stretching the chest and hips while strengthening the legs. An exercise ball can add support, allowing you to focus on good form while deepening the stretch. It helps to have a smaller exercise ball for this exercise.

1. Get into a lunge position on the ball, right leg forward, the left leg straight out behind you.
2. Position yourself so that you're supported on the ball with the hips square to the front of the room.
3. Sweep the arms up overhead as you inhale and reach back to stretch the chest and abs.
4. Hold for 3 to 4 breaths and repeat on the other side.

Upward Dog on the Ball

Upward dog is a great way to stretch the front of the body, but it can difficult if you have any flexibility issues in the abs, chest or shoulders. Doing this move on a ball may give you the support you need to get the most out of this stretch. Because you're balancing as well, the body stays active throughout the exercise.

1. To get into position, kneel in front of the ball and roll forward until the ball is under the belly, legs straight and toes on the floor.
2. Place both hands on the ball, engage the abs and press up, lifting the chest up and tilting the head toward the ceiling.
3. Keep the shoulders down and the legs active as you stretch through the front of the body.
4. Hold for 3 to 5 breaths.

Downward Dog on the Ball

If you have any flexibility issues with your hamstrings, calves or shoulders, a traditional downward dog may present problems with getting into the right position. An exercise ball can provide support for the chest and thighs, which can take pressure off the wrists and may allow you to get more out of the pose.
1.To get into position, kneel in front of the ball and roll forward onto it until the ball is under the belly, hands on the floor and shoulder-width apart.
2.Take the toes down to the floor, legs straight and push up to an inverted v position.
3.Reposition the ball if you need to, allowing it to support the chest and the thighs.
4.Press the heels toward the floor as you tilt the hips up (bending the knees if you need to) and gently press the chest toward the ball.
5.Hold for 3 to 5 breaths.

Who invented the power yoga?

Two American yoga teachers are most often credited with the near simultaneous invention of power yoga: Beryl Bender Birch, based in New York, and Bryan Kest, based in Los Angeles. Not coincidentally, both these teachers had studied with Ashtanga master Sri K. Pattabhi Jois. Using the term power yoga differentiated the intense, flowing style of yoga they were teaching from the gentle stretching and meditation that many Americans associated with yoga. Another name often associated with power yoga is Baron Baptiste. Baptiste has his own method, which is only taught by teachers he certifies.

Personal Yoga Sessions

Personal classes can be one-to-one or with a small group of your friends. Make it a part of your weekly exercise routine or a special “Spa Night Out”!
Yoga allows you to relax the mind and strengthen & stretch the body. It is a fusion of breath work, full body stretching, strength poses, and meditation to refresh and invigorate the mind, body and spirit. Experience yoga with a session designed especially for you and your desired focus – energizing, relaxation, flexibility, strength, or a combination.

hatha yoga

What most people refer to as simply "yoga" is actually Hatha Yoga. Hatha Yoga is a system of yoga introduced by Yogi Swatmarama, a yogic sage in the 15th century in India. This particular system of yoga is the most popular one, and it is from which several other Styles of Yoga originated including Power Yoga, Bikram Yoga, Ashtanga Yoga, and Kundalini Yoga. The word "hatha" comes from the Sanskrit terms "ha" meaning "sun" and "tha" meaning "moon". Thus, Hatha Yoga is known as the branch of Yoga that unites pairs of opposites referring to the positive (sun) and negative (moon) currents in the system. It concentrates on the third (Asana) and fourth (Pranayama) steps in the Eight Limbs of Yoga.

*mind, as well as attempts to free the more subtle spiritual elements of the mind through physical poses or Asanas, Breathing Techniques or Pranayama, and Meditation.

Mantra Yoga
Mantra Yoga is actually a form of meditation. People who practice mantra yoga have to chant a certain mantra until they transcend their mind and discover their consciousness. Mantra yoga has been proven to have unique healing potentials. There are three ways of chanting the mantra: ‘baikhari’ (chanting the mantra loudly to remove unwanted thoughts),’upanshu’ (chanting the mantra in low voice which can only be heard by the chanter), and ‘manasik’ (this involves the repetition of the mantra in the chanter’s mind).
Raja Yoga
Raja Yoga “royal yoga”, “royal union”, also known as Classical Yoga, is concerned principally with the cultivation of the mind using meditation (dhyana) to further one’s acquaintance with reality and finally achieve liberation. Raja Yoga is sometimes referred to as Astanga (eight-limbed) yoga because there are eight aspects to the path to which one must attend. Patanjali himself called his system of yoga ‘Kriya Yoga’.

Bhakti Yoga
Bhakti Yoga is known as one of the most appealing practices of yoga because it also involves spiritual practice with an emphasis on love and devotion to the Almighty. People who perform this type of Yoga tend to have a more positive attitude toward life. They will also learn how to love others and achieve a peaceful mind.
*Hatha Yoga
Hatha Yoga is known as the origin of the many styles of yoga, including Power Yoga, Bikram Yoga, Kundalini Yoga and Ashtanga Yoga. The goal of practicing Hatha Yoga is to achieve balance between the body, mind and spirit by practicing Asanas, Shatkriyas, Mudras, Pranayams and meditation. Hatha Yoga helps us feel more relaxed, even in stressful conditions, and prevent both physical and mental ailments.
*Jnana Yoga
This type of yoga is usually known as the Yoga of True knowledge. People who are practitioners of Jnana Yoga aim for tranquility, perfect concentration, mental endurance, faith, and total control of their mind.

How to Choose the Perfect Yoga Mat
It doesn’t matter if you are a Yoga beginner who is just starting out, or an experienced practitioner, sooner or later you will feel the need to buy a Yoga mat to add to your collection of Yoga equipment. A lot of people believe they should purchase the first mat that catches their eye. It’s just not true. It’s sad that there are a few manufacturers out there who produce yoga mats on a massive scale and still show no care or concern towards the life of the product. They instead compromise on the quality to make sure you become a repeat customer and buy from them over and over again. This often leads to a bigger expense on your part. Spend a bit of extra time & money to look for a high quality Yoga mat. As a result, you’ll have to do your own homework before going for that one purchase, which will last you for a long time. Doing a bit of preparation beforehand will not only save you time in the future, but will make certain you have a high quality experience.
*Even if you make a decision to buy a chemical laced mat for your Yoga exercise, there isn’t any real proof to show that it will lead to any kind of health problems. However, it’s advisable that you don’t keep them in the heat for long, as someone who is allergic and prone to frequent headaches will face problems because of it.

Yoga is a way of life, an art of righteous living or an integrated system for the benefit of the body, mind and inner spirit. This art originated, was perfected and practiced in India thousands of years ago. The references to yoga are available in 'Upanishads' and 'Puranas' composed by Indian Aryans in the later Vedic and post- Vedic period. The main credit for systematizing yoga goes to Patanjali who wrote 'Yoga Sutra', two thousand Years ago. He described the principles of the full eight fold yogic discipline. He composed the treatise in brief code words known as 'Sutras'. 'Yoga Sutra' is the most important basic text on Yoga. It is through this basic treatise that the essential message of yoga spread throughout the world.
Aim of Yoga is the attainment of the physical, mental and spiritual health. Patanjali has recommended eight stages of Yoga discipline. They are Yamas- Yamas (abstentions or restrains)
Niyamas- Niyamas (observances)-austerities, purity, contentment, study, surrender of the ego
Asanas- Physical postures or exercises
Pranayama- Control of vital energy (Breathing control)
Partyahara- Withdrawal of the senses
Dharana- Concentration of the mind (Contemplation)
Dhyana- Meditation
Samadhi- Attainment of The super conscious state

Living yoga master Bikram Choudhury is a Hot Yoga innova
set series of 26 yoga poses, including two pranayama exercises, each of which is performed twice in a single 90 minute class. Choudhury, who was born in Calcutta, India in 1946, founded the Yoga College of India in Beverly Hills in 1974. He and his wife Rajashree were both yoga champions in India. Recently, Choudhury was involved in a lawsuit over his attempt to copyright his series of 26 poses done in a hot room. At the heart of the controversy is Choudhury's desire to prevent anyone teaching yoga in a heated room from calling their class "
Bikram Yoga." He would like to reserve this title only for those teachers who are certified by his Yoga College of India and who stick to his prescribed method exactly (including not only the temperature of the room and order of poses, but also the carpet and mirrors in the room, and his approved text). The lawsuit was resolved with an out-of-court settlement in which Choudhury agreed not to sue the members of a San Francisco-based collective of Hot Yoga teachers and they agreed not to use the Bikram name. Bikram remains a very controversial figure in the yoga world.

Question: Will doing yoga help me lose weight?
Doing yoga regularly offers many benefits, including making you feel better about your body as you become stronger and more flexible, toning your muscles, reducing stress, and improving your mental and physical well-being. But will it help you lose weight?
Answer: Practicing any type of yoga will build strength, but some types may not raise your heart rate enough to make them the only form of exercise you need to include in your weight loss regime. It depends on the type of yoga you select and how frequently you practice it.
In order to lose weight, you must eat healthily and burn calories by doing exercise that raises your heart rate on a regular basis. Some types of yoga, such as Iyengar, in which yoga poses are held for several minutes with a resting period between each pose, will build muscles and improve your posture, but will not give you the cardiovascular workout you need to lose weight.

If you plan to make yoga your primary form of exercise, you must do a vigorous 90-minute yoga class at least three times a week. Many people also choose to combine yoga with running, walki also choose to combine yoga with running, walking or other aerobic exercise in order to reach their weight loss goals.

Your child's first exposure can come as early as infancy, if you bring them to a mom and baby yoga class. While this may not make much of an impression on a young child, by the age of three they will probably be ready to do simple poses. Many yoga studios now offer age-appropriate classes for toddlers and school-aged kids, which may include singing, movement, and lots of talking. Kids have a lot of questions, after all, so the mood will be much lighter than an adult class. Make sure that your child’s teacher is certified to teach yoga to kids (when in doubt, ask the studio or the teacher herself). If you are considering a drop-off class (one in which parents do not participate), ask to sit in and observe before your child begins or during his first class.

The Four Types of Yoga
Theologically speaking, there are four divisions of Yoga, that form one of the cornerstones of Hinduism. In Sanskrit, they are called Raja-Yoga, Karma-Yoga, Bhakti-Yoga and Jnana-Yoga. And the person who seeks this kind of a union is called a 'Yogi':

1. Karma-Yoga: The worker is called the Karma-Yogi.

2. Raja-Yoga: One who seeks this union through mysticism is called a Raja-Yogi.

3. Bhakti-Yoga: One who searches this union in love is a Bhakti-Yogi.

4. Jnana-Yoga: One who seeks this Yoga through philosophy is called the Jnana-Yogi.

Sahaja Yoga is a unique method of meditation based on an experience called Self Realization (Kundalini awakening) that can occur within each human being.
Through this process an inner transformation takes place by which one becomes moral, united, integrated and balanced.

One can actually feel the all pervading divine power as a cool breeze, as described in all religions and spiritual traditions of the world.

This is the actualization of such transformation, which is taking place now, worldwide, and has been proved and experienced by hundreds of thousands in over 90 countries.

It is entirely free of charge, as one cannot pay for the experience of Divine Love.

Yoga science does not offer any new religion; it offers a methodology. Through Yoga science you can understand yourself better on all levels, including your physical well-being, your actions, thought process, emotions, and desires. You will also understand how you are related to the world, and how to lead a successful life in the world. Yoga science creates a bridge between the internal and external conditions of life. Yoga is a way of improving yourself, a way of understanding your internal states. Whosoever you are, you have all the potentials within you. Are you aware of this? If you are aware of this, do you know how to use them? Patanjali encourages us to be aware of the potentials that we have and to learn how to use them. This practical science says to explore more and more.
The word Yoga means “unification, to unite with.” You have to unite yourself with the whole. At present you are an individual and you are experiencing miseries. The cause of misery, according to Patanjali, is ignorance. Ignorance is self-created. You can be free from that misery because it has been created by you. It’s as if you constantly slap your face and then say, God help me. It’s as though you blindfold yourself and then say, O Lord of light, of life, and love, give me light. This prayer is in vain.

How can someone living in the world practice Yoga science? If you understand the fundamental principles of Yoga science and why Yoga science should be practiced, it will become easy for you to practice. First you have to decide to search. You have to feel the necessity of finding yourself. Yes, I want to know myself. Something is missing, something I could not receive from my church, from my religion. Millions of people, both in the East and in the West, are searching for Truth and Self-realization—or as the religionists put it, God. You may go to church or temple or synagogues, but the questioning mind is still there. Sometimes orthodox religions do not satisfy your needs, so you question life. When your mind questions, it means you are not fully satisfied. Life is a question in front of you. You want to know something more, but you are using this little mind, which is like a yardstick, to measure the vast universe and its mysteries. You do not understand your religion because you do not understand yourself.

What does Yoga science mean to you? When people talk about Yoga they often think it has something to do with the physical being only. Yoga is a science that deals with body, breath, mind, soul, and ultimately, the universe itself. It is both practical and theoretical.

Patanjali* is not trying to teach any particular religion to you. Yoga is not a new religion, nor does it condemn any religion. Yoga does not teach that if you are Jewish, you should become Catholic, or if you are Catholic, you should become Hindu, or if you are Hindu, you should become Buddhist. All the great religions have come from one source. Religions tell people what to do and what not to do, and provide a set of rules or commandments that are not fully satisfying.

Stabilizing and clearing the clouded mind, first by meditation on attitudes of lovingness, compassion, supportiveness, and acceptance.
Cultivating the qualities such as non-harming, truthfulness, non-stealing, purity, contentment, self-study and surrender.

Meditation to reduce the colorings (kleshas) of ignorance, ego, attachment, aversions and fear.

Cultivating razor-sharp discrimination to systematically move inward in a process of concentration, meditation and deep absorption.

Seeking to know Purusha, pure consciousness as separate from Prakriti, the subtlest material and all of its evolutes, which include the levels of mind and matter.

INTERNATIONAL TEACHING SEMINARS
They became part of the International seminars in 1982 to meet the needs of the yoga teachers. Topics from methodology of teaching yoga and various groups of techniques were elaborated, about "The Significance Of Karma Yoga", "The Role Of The Teacher In The Process Of Learning", "The Philosophic Concepts In Teaching", etc. Some of these seminars included public exams for teaching titles.

The international seminars were usually attended by guests and friends from yoga centres outside Macedonia. In 1982/83, the yoga instructors from former Yugoslavia (Pula, Zagreb, Belgrade, Subotica, Novi Sad, Vrsac etc.) gathered for the first time in these seminars, when the teacher raised the initiative of forming a Yoga Federation of Yugoslavia.

Sivananda Yoga

Sivananda Yoga, after teachings of Swami Sivananda, is a non-proprietary form of hatha yoga in which the training focuses on preserving the health and wellness of the practitioner. Sivananda Yoga teachers are all graduates of the Sivananda Yoga Teacher Training Course, and students widely range in age and degrees of ability. Unlike Ashtanga Vinyasa yoga's more athletic program involving Bandhas, Sivananda training revolves around frequent relaxation, and emphasizes full, yogic breathing.

Yoga and Mind

The purpose of yoga is to work both the mind and body. Yoga postures, for example, simultaneously calm and stimulate the brain. These postures activate and stimulate vital organs by supplying fresh blood to the brain, making it alert but relaxed.

Yoga possesses the unique ability to calm the nerves. The nerves function as the medium between the physiological body and the psychological body. Practicing yoga has the holistic impact of relaxing the body and calming the mind

Yogic exercises cater to the needs of each individual according to his or her specific needs and physical condition. They involve vertical, horizontal, and cyclical movements, which provide energy to the system by directing the blood supply to the areas of the body which need it most. In yoga, each cell is observed, attended to, and provided with a fresh supply of blood, allowing it to function smoothly. The mind is naturally active and dynamic, while the inner self is luminous.

However, unhealthy bodies tend to have inert, dull, and sluggish minds. It is the practice of yoga which removes this sluggishness from the body and brings it to the level of the active mind. Ultimately, both the body and mind rise to the level of the illuminated self.

The practice of yoga stimulates and changes emotional attitudes, converting apprehensiveness into courage, indecision and poor judgment into positive decision making skills, and emotional instability into confidence and mental equilibrium.

The skills that can be aquired and used to further your yoga practice can also be used for all other areas of life in general.

Mind and Body

How you feel physically determines how you feel mentally
How you feel mentally determines how you feel physically
It is a never-ending circle of influence!

The body and the mind are in a state of constant interaction. The science of yoga does not dictate where the body ends and the mind begins, but approaches both as a single, integrated entity. The key is to integrate the two together, to union, thus the term yoga.



Yoga Postures, while appearing to deal with the physical body alone, actually influence the chemical balance of the brain, which in turn improves one's mental state of being.

Staying on Track

Your schedule's already packed — so how are you supposed to fit in time for yoga? Here are a few tips:

•Break it down. If you can't do a half hour of yoga in one sitting, try doing it in chunks. How about 15 minutes after you get up and 15 minutes before bed? Or try three 10-minute workouts to break up a long study session.
•Do what works for you. Some people have more success working out in the morning before the day's activities sidetrack them; others find that an after-school workout is the perfect way to unwind. Experiment with working out at different times of the day and find the time that fits your schedule and energy level best.
•Find a workout buddy. Doing your yoga routines with a friend is a great way to stay motivated. You'll be less likely to miss your workout if you have an appointment with a friend. You and your buddy can compare tips on healthy eating and exercise habits, evaluate each other's poses for form, and keep each other on track.
•Consistency is key. If you want to reap the benefits that yoga provides, you'll have to do it consistently. A once-a-month yoga workout may relieve some stress, but for benefits like increased flexibility and stamina, you should aim to practice yoga three or four times a week. It generally takes about 4 to 6 weeks of regular exercise at least 3 days a week for your body to begin to release the endorphins that make exercise such an uplifting experience.
•Set some goals. The same routine every week may become monotonous, so set some goals to help you stay focused. Perhaps you'd like to incorporate power yoga into your routine so you get a better cardiovascular workout. Maybe you've always gone to yoga class and your goal is to start practicing on your own at home. Whatever you choose as your goal, make sure you reward yourself when you accomplish it!
The great thing about yoga is it can be as vigorous or as gentle as you want it to be. That makes it a good choice for anybody

What Is Yoga?

It seems like a hot new trend, but yoga actually began more than 3,000 years ago in India. The word yoga is Sanskrit (one of the ancient languages of the East). It means to "yoke," or unite, the mind, body, and spirit.

Although yoga includes physical exercise, it is also a lifestyle practice for which exercise is just one component. Training your mind, body, and breath, as well as connecting with your spirituality, are the main goals of the yoga lifestyle.

The physical part of the yoga lifestyle is called hatha yoga. Hatha yoga focuses on asanas, or poses. A person who practices yoga goes through a series of specific poses while controlling his or her breathing. Some types of yoga also involve meditation and chanting.

There are many different types of hatha yoga, including:

•Ashtanga yoga: Ashtanga yoga is a vigorous, fast-paced form of yoga that helps to build flexibility, strength, concentration, and stamina. When doing Ashtanga yoga, a person moves quickly through a set of predetermined poses while remaining focused on deep breathing.
•Bikram yoga: Bikram yoga is also known as "hot yoga." It is practiced in rooms that may be heated to more than 100° Fahrenheit (37.8° Celsius) and focuses on stamina and purification.
•Gentle yoga: Gentle yoga focuses on slow stretches, flexibility, and deep breathing.
•Kundalini yoga: Kundalini yoga uses different poses, breathing techniques, chanting, and meditation to awaken life energy.
•Iyengar yoga: This type of yoga focuses on precise alignment of the poses. Participants use "props" like blankets, straps, mats, blocks, and chairs.
•Restorative yoga: This practice allows the body to fully relax by holding simple postures passively for extended periods of time.
•Vinyasa/power yoga: Similar to Ashtanga yoga, these are also very active forms of yoga that improve strength, flexibility, and stamina. This type of yoga is popular in the United States.
Yoga has tons of benefits. It can improve flexibility, strength, balance, and stamina. In addition, many people who practice yoga say that it reduces anxiety and stress, improves mental clarity, and even helps them sleep better

David Duchovny practices Kundalini yoga; Julia Louis-Dreyfuss prefers Ashtanga. Sabrina the Teenage Witch stars Melissa Joan Hart and Soleil Moon Frye throw yoga parties. Jane Fonda cut out aerobics for it; Angelina Jolie buffed up for Tomb Raider with it. The newly clean Charlie Sheen used yoga and dieting to shed 30 lbs. Add at least two Sex in the City vamps, Sarah Jessica Parker and Kristin Davis. All three Dixie Chicks. Sports stars from basketball legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to Yankee pitcher Orlando (El Duque) Hernandez are devotees. And speaking of athletes, who showed up the other day at Turlington's lower Manhattan haunt, the Jivamukti Yoga Center? Monica Lewinsky.

Where there's a yoga blitz, there must be yoga biz. To dress for a class, you need only some old, loose-fitting clothes — and since you perform barefoot, no fancy footwear. Yet Nike and J.Crew have developed exercise apparel, as has Turlington. For those who prefer stay-at-home yoga, the video-store racks groan with hot, moving tapes. The Living Yoga series of instructional videos taught by Yee and Patricia Walden occupies five of the top eight slots on Amazon's vhs best-seller list. "Vogue and Self are putting out the message of yoginis as buff and perfect," says Walden. "If you start doing yoga for those reasons, fine. Most people get beyond that and see that it's much, much more." By embodying the grace and strength of their system, Yee and Walden are its most charismatic proselytizers — new luminaries in the yoga firmament.

"Madonna found it first, and I'm following in the footsteps of the stars," groans Minneapolis attorney Patricia Bloodgood. "But I don't think you should reject something just because it's trendy." Bloodgood had the bright idea to commandeer part of the lobby in the office building where she works for a Monday-evening yoga class. Yoginis can spend a weekend at (or devote their lives to) such retreats as Kripalu, where each year 20,000 visitors take part in programs ranging from "The Science of Pranayama and Bandha" to African-drum workshops and singles weekends. In L.A. they can mingle with the glamourati at Maha Yoga (where students bend to the strains of the Beatles' Baby You're a Rich Man) or Golden Bridge (where celebrity moms take prenatal yoga classes).

Yoga is where you find it and how you want it, from Big Time to small town. In the Texas town of Odessa, Therese Archer's Body & Soul Center for Well-Being has 15 dedicated students, including an 18-wheeler diesel mechanic who drives 50 miles from Andrews, Texas, to attend classes. "He is very West Texas," Archer says, "and I thought he would flip when he saw what we did." Yet in eight months the mechanic has sweated his way up from beginning to advanced work. At the 8 Count exercise studio in Monticello, Ga., Suzanne McGinnis runs a "yoga cardio class" that mixes postures with push-ups, all to the disco beat of tunes like Leo Sayer's You Make Me Feel Like Dancin'. As yoga classes go, this is not an arduous one, but the students don't know that. They grunt and groan exultantly with each stretch, and are happy to relax when McGinnis stops to check her teaching aids: torn-out magazine pages and The Complete Idiot's Guide to Yoga.

So yoga can be fun or be made fun of; it can help you look marvelous or feel marvelous. These aspects are not insignificant. They demonstrate the roots yoga has dug into America's cultural soil — deep enough for open-minded researchers to consider how it might bloom into a therapy to treat or prevent disease.

The sensible practice of yoga does more than slap a Happy Face on your cerebrum. It can also massage the lymph system, says Dr. Mehmet Oz, a cardiac surgeon at New York Presbyterian Hospital in Manhattan. Lymph is the body's dirty dishwater; a network of lymphatic vessels and storage sacs crisscross over the entire body, in parallel with the blood supply, carrying a fluid composed of infection-fighting white blood cells and the waste products of cellular activity. Exercise in general activates the flow of lymph through the body, speeding up the filtering process; but yoga in particular promotes the draining of the lymph. Certain yoga poses stretch muscles that from animal studies are known to stimulate the lymph system. Researchers have documented the increased lymph flow when dogs' paws are stretched in a position similar to the yoga "downward-facing dog."

Yoga relaxes you and, by relaxing, heals. At least that's the theory. "The autonomic nervous system," explains Kripalu's Faulds, "is divided into the sympathetic system, which is often identified with the fight-or-flight response, and the parasympathetic, which is identified with what's been called the Relaxation Response. When you do yoga — the deep breathing, the stretching, the movements that release muscle tension, the relaxed focus on being present in your body — you initiate a process that turns the fight-or-flight system off and the Relaxation Response on. That has a dramatic effect on the body. The heartbeat slows, respiration decreases, blood pressure decreases. The body seizes this chance to turn on the healing mechanisms."

But the process isn't automatic. Especially in their first sessions, yoga students may have trouble suppressing those competitive beta waves. We want to better ourselves, but also to do better than others; we force ourselves into the gym-rat race. "Genuine Hatha yoga is a balance of trying and relaxing," says Dr. Timothy McCall, an internist and the author of Examining Your Doctor: A Patient's Guide to Avoiding Harmful Medical Care. "But a lot of gym yoga is about who can do this really difficult contortion to display to everyone else in the class." The workout warriors have to realize that yoga is more an Athenian endeavor than a Spartan one. You don't win by punishing your body. You convince it, seduce it, talk it down from the ledge of ambition and anxiety. Yoga is not a struggle but a surrender.

It may take a while for the enlightenment bulb to switch on — for you to get the truth of the yoga maxim that what you can do is what you should do. But when it happens, it's an epiphany, like suddenly knowing, in your bones and your dreams, the foreign language you've been studying for months. In yoga, this is your mind-body language.

In daily life, that gym-rat pressure is even more intense: our jobs, our marriages, our lives are at stake. Says McCall: "We know that a high percentage of the maladies that people suffer from have at least some component of stress in them, if they're not overtly caused by stress. Stress causes a rise of blood pressure, the release of catecholamines (neurotransmitters and hormones that regulate many of the body's metabolic processes). We know that when catecholamine levels are high, there tends to be more platelet aggregation, which makes a heart attack more likely." So instead of a drug, say devotees, prescribe yoga. "All the drugs we give people have side effects," McCall says. "Well, yoga has side effects too: better strength, better balance, peace of mind, stronger bones, cardiovascular conditioning, lots of stuff. Here is a natural health system that, once you learn the basics, you can do at home for free with very little equipment and that could help you avoid expensive, invasive surgical and pharmacological interventions. I think this is going to be a big thing."

McCall, it should be said, is a true believer who teaches at the B.K.S. Iyengar Yoga Center in Boston. But more mainstream physicians seem ready to agree. At New York Presbyterian, all heart patients undergoing cardiac procedures are offered massages and yoga during recovery. At Cedars Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, cardiac doctors suggest that their patients enroll in the hospital's Preventive and Rehabilitative Cardiac Center, which offers yoga, among other therapies. "While we haven't tested yoga as a stand-alone therapy," says Dr. Noel Bairey Merz, the center's director, patients opting for yoga do show "tremendous benefits." These include lower cholesterol levels and blood pressure, increased cardiovascular circulation and, as the Ornish study showed, reversal of artery blockage in some cases.

Yoga may help post-menopausal women. Practitioners at Boston's Mind-Body Institute have incorporated forward-bending poses that massage the organs in the neuroendocrine axis (the line of glands that include the pituitary, hypothalamus, thyroid and adrenals) to bring into balance whatever hormones are askew, thus alleviating the insomnia and mood swings that often accompany menopause. The program is not recommended as a substitute for hormone-replacement therapy, only as an adjunct.

Some physicians wonder why it would be tried at all. "Theoretically, if you pressed hard enough on the thyroid, you possibly could affect secretion," says Dr. Yank Coble, an endocrinologist at the University of Florida. "But it's pretty rare. And the adrenal glands are carefully protected above the kidneys deep inside the body. To my knowledge, there is no evidence that you can manipulate the adrenals with body positions. That'd be a new one."

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Stars do it. Sports do it. Judges in the highest courts do it. Let's do it: that yoga thing. A path to enlightenment that winds back 5,000 years in its native India, yoga has suddenly become so hot, so cool, so very this minute. It's the exercise cum meditation for the new millennium, one that doesn't so much pump you up as bliss you out. Yoga now straddles the continent — from Hollywood, where $20 million-a-picture actors queue for a session with their guru du jour, to Washington, where, in the gym of the Supreme Court, Justice Sandra Day O'Connor and 15 others faithfully take their class each Tuesday morning.

Everywhere else, Americans rush from their high-pressure jobs and tune in to the authoritatively mellow voice of an instructor, gently urging them to solder a union (the literal translation of the Sanskrit word yoga) between mind and body. These Type A strivers want to become Type B seekers, to lose their blues in an asana (pose), to graduate from distress to de-stress. Fifteen million Americans include some form of yoga in their fitness regimen — twice as many as did five years ago; 75% of all U.S. health clubs offer yoga classes. Many in those classes are looking not inward but behind. As supermodel Christy Turlington, a serious practitioner, says, "Some of my friends simply want to have a yoga butt." But others come to the discipline in hopes of restoring their troubled bodies. Yoga makes me feel better, they say. Maybe it can cure what ails me.

Oprah Winfrey, arbiter of moral and literary betterment for millions of American women, devoted a whole show to the benefits of yoga earlier this month, with guest appearances by Turlington and stud-muffin guru Rodney Yee. Testimonials from everyday yogis and yoginis clogged the hour: I lost weight; I quit smoking; I conquered my fear of flying; I can sleep again; it saved my marriage; it improved my daughter's grades and attitude. "We are more centered as a team," declared the El Monte Firefighters of Los Altos Hills, Calif.

Sounds great. Namaste, as your instructor says at the end of a session: the divine in me bows to the divine in you. But let's up the ante a bit. Is yoga more than the power of positive breathing? Can it, say, cure cancer? Fend off heart attacks? Rejuvenate post-menopausal women? Just as important for yoga's application by mainstream doctors, can its presumed benefits be measured by conventional medical standards? Is yoga, in other words, a science?

By even asking the question, we provoke a clash of two powerful cultures, two very different ways of looking at the world. The Indian tradition develops metaphors and ways of describing the body (life forces, energy centers) as it is experienced, from the inside out. The Western tradition looks at the body from the outside in, peeling it back one layer at a time, believing only what it can see, measure and prove in randomized, double-blind tests. The East treats the person; the West treats the disease. "Our system of medicine is very fragmented," says Dr. Carrie Demers, who runs the Center for Health and Healing at the Himalayan International Institute of Yoga Science and Philosophy of the USA in Honesdale, Pa. "We send you to different specialists to look at different parts of you. Yoga is more holistic; it's interested in the integration of body, breath and mind."

The few controlled studies that have been done offer cause for hope. A 1990 study of patients who had coronary heart disease indicated that a regimen of aerobic exercise and stress reduction, including yoga, combined with a low-fat vegetarian diet, stabilized and in some cases reversed arterial blockage. The author Dr. Dean Ornish is in the midst of a study involving men with prostate cancer. Can diet, yoga and meditation affect the progress of this disease? So far, Ornish will say only that the data are encouraging.

To the skeptic, all evidence is anecdotal. But some anecdotes are more than encouraging; they are inspiring. Consider Sue Cohen, 54, an accountant, breast-cancer survivor and five-year yoga student at the Unity Woods studio in Bethesda, Md. "After my cancer surgery," Cohen says, "I thought I might never lift my arm again. Then here I am one day, standing on my head, leaning most of my 125-lb. body weight on that arm I thought I'd never be able to use again. Chemotherapy, surgery and some medications can rob you of mental acuity, but yoga helps compensate for the loss. It impels you to do things you never thought you were capable of doing."

A series of exercises as old as the Sphinx could prove to be the medical miracle of tomorrow — or just wishful thinking from the millions who have embraced yoga in a bit more than a generation.

Yoga was little known in the U.S. — perhaps only as an enthusiasm of Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac and other icons of the Beat Generation — when the Beatles and Mia Farrow journeyed to India to sit at the feet of the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in 1968. Since then, yoga has endured more evolutions of popular consciousness than a morphing movie monster. First it signaled spiritual cleansing and rebirth, a nontoxic way to get high. Then it was seen as a kind of preventive medicine that helped manage and reduce stress. "The third wave was the fitness wave," says Richard Faulds, president of the Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health in Lenox, Mass. "And that's about strength and flexibility and endurance."

At each stage, the most persuasive advocates were movie idols and rock stars — salesmen, by example, of countless beguiling or corrosive fashions. If they could make cocaine and tattoos fashionable, perhaps they could goad the masses toward physical and spiritual enlightenment. Today yoga is practiced by so many stars with whom audiences are on a first-name basis — Madonna, Julia, Meg, Ricky, Michelle, Gwyneth, Sting — that it would be shorter work to list the actors who don't assume the asana. (James Gandolfini? We're just guessing.)

Yoga for Chronic Pain

Anyone who has lived with chronic pain knows how physically, mentally and emotionally debilitating it can be. We can become unable to understand how one part of our body could "do this to us." We can feel frustrated, angry, and ultimately hopeless.

Yoga includes a range of practices that can help. Rather than seeing the body as a number of different parts, with some that are comfortable and strong while others are weak and painful, yoga considers the body to be an organic, connected entity whose parts are constantly in moving relationship to each other. Yoga teaches awareness of proper body alignment and posture, an important aspect of a well-functioning body. At the same time, the mindfulness training of yoga provides tools for engaging with our pain in a way in which we can listen to it, come to understand it, and abide it while healing is in process. Stress reduction, a well-known benefit of yoga, can further facilitate the release of negative and damaging emotions to help you move towards healing.

This sequence of yoga asanas (poses) is designed to both stretch and strengthen your body. While you practice the sequence, remember that you are not responsible for your pain, but you must be responsible to it. Decide which poses help you to feel better. Offer mental comfort to your painful areas and listen closely to them: You may be surprised by a sense of delight and accomplishment as you help your body become more vital, healthy, and happy.

Make Today "Take Your Yoga to Work Day"

Have you always wanted to try yoga, can't find the time in today's busy and competitive world? Have you heard yoga's a great stress buster, but think you can't stop running long enough to take a deep breath? Then this sequence of yoga poses is for you! No matter how highly scheduled your day is, you can practice these simple yoga movements.

In between meetings and conference calls, day care and doctor's appointments, each of these poses will draw your senses away from the outside world and help you look within to find peace and renewed energy from the moment you wake up until the end of the day.

Begin the workday yoga sequence.

Liz Owen (author) is a certified Iyengar yoga instructor and has taught yoga for over 17 years. Liz teaches in the Boston area and throughout New England. Mai Chen (model) is a yoga teacher in Boston and Cambridge, MA.

Brand Name Yoga

If you think of yoga as a generic one-size-fits-all practice, think again.

Choosing a hatha yoga class is far from easy. Names like Iyengar, Ashtanga, and Anusara can baffle even the brightest and most savvy of health-oriented consumers. And if you assume that yoga is all about meditation and relaxation, you're in for a big surprise. Chances are good you'll quickly work up a sweat in many yoga classes offered nationwide.

	Know Your Yoga Still confused? Check out this chart of hatha yoga styles.

The confusion begins with the use of the word "hatha," the most popular type of yoga in America. Simply put, hatha is the umbrella term for physical yoga. Styles such as Iyengar, Ashtanga, and Anusara fall under that umbrella, with each school incorporating several basics: breathing, holding a posture, stretching, and meditating.

"Some teachers emphasize the spirituality aspect of yoga; others may not bring it into play," says John Schumacher, the founder of the Bethesda, Md.-based Unity Woods Yoga Center, the country's largest Iyengar school.

What differentiates a yoga style is not necessarily that new positions have been created but how the mostly traditional postures are taught or sequenced, says David Ingalls, founder of Washington, D.C.'s Ashtanga Yoga Center. "One style may use postures slowly, another one quickly. One style might emphasize alignment; another the way you move from posture to posture," he says.

According to Larry Payne, author of "Yoga for Dummies" (IDG Books Worldwide Inc., 1999), "Some styles are safer for beginners, particularly older beginners. Ashtanga is the physical top of the line and is definitely for those under 35--max 40--unless they are professional athletes or dancers." Be careful to find the correct yoga style for your physical level, because choosing the wrong type can lead to injuries, he says.

To find a style that fits you, try a class and interview the teacher. Be candid about your physical problems, such as back pain or chronic injuries. Also verify a teacher's training. The Yoga Alliance in West Reading, Penn., sponsors a website with a state-by-state breakdown of its members, all of whom are required to have at least 200 hours of practice. In general, yoga classes run 90 minutes at studios, an hour at health clubs. Studios are the better bets to find teachers trained in a particular technique.

Here is a description of some popular yoga styles taught around the country:

Iyengar Iyengar is, so to speak, Jesuit yoga: precise and disciplined. Iyengar utilizes props such as straps and blocks to help practitioners hold a pose. A strap helps you slowly and safely stretch your leg if you lack flexibility. Say you can't sit comfortably cross-legged on the floor: A block placed under one or both thighs can help prop you up.

Precision rules in this yoga style. "Iyengar appeals to Type A people," says Schumacher. "Teachers provide detailed instructions so that people are clear about what to do as they move into a pose."

Anusara means “flowing with Grace,” “going with the flow,” or “following your heart" in Sanskrit. John Friend created this hatha yoga technique in the mid-1990s by unifying a Tantric philosophy of intrinsic goodness and a method of physical alignment he calls "Universal Principles of Alignment." The highest intention of Anusara is to align with the Divine and step into the flow of grace. On the mat, students are encouraged to be playful and light and to offer prayers for more beauty, love, and goodness in the world.

Going With the Flow
Anusara yoga combines a Tantric philosophy of intrinsic goodness and a method of physical alignment called "Universal Principles of Alignment." Students are encouraged to step into the flow of grace, be playful, and offer prayers for more beauty, love, and goodness in the world.




Going Home
Both of these yoga styles emphasize chanting the universal Eastern mantra that is said to evoke within the practitioner Brahman, or God.




Customized Yoga
A gentle, balanced yoga, the main thrust of which is tailoring a practice--using postures, breath, meditation, ritual, and prayer--to the needs of individual practitioners.

A Kinder, Gentler Yoga
K. Pattabhi Jois developed Ashtanga yoga, which has been described as "a workout that can change your life if you can survive it." For that reason, some yoga teachers, trained by Jois, created this racheted-down style, giving the boot to the boot-camp drills of the original.



Devotion in Motion
The hallmark of this school, developed by Amrit Desai, is a spontaneous transitional flow between postural alignment, breathing, and meditation. This style also spawned Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy, a holistic body-centered method that combines supported yoga postures with therapeutic dialogue techniques.

The Jesuit Yoga
If you like precision and discipline, then this is your yoga home. Founded by BKS Iyengar, the method has received criticism for being too "gymnastic" and focused on technique. Others say Iyengar is simply more of a purist, traditional style of practice.







Serpent Power
The main goal of Kundalini yoga is to raise the energy at the base of the spine, sometimes referred to as the serpent power, to the crown chakra through breathing, sound, and hand positions. The energy is powerful and without proper guidance can cause physical and emotional problems.

Let's Get Physical
This yoga style, which features fast bursts of movement, provides an intense workout. It's definitely not for beginners. In fact, it's generally recommended for those under 35--maybe 40 if you're a serious athlete or professional dancer.

The "Hottest" Yoga Around
If you want to play it cool, then try another yoga school. This one is rigorous, with sessions moving through 26 poses twice, in studios where the temperature hovers around 110 degrees.

YOGA FOR CHILDREN

Methodology of teaching yoga is adapted for children aged 6 to 13 years. Practicing yoga techniques contributes to proper physical and mental development. Yoga techniques help to correct the posture of the body and prevent or improve conditions such as scoliosis. They also help increase concentration, learning skills, self-confidence and determination. Yoga harmonizes aggressiveness and the child develops a positive attitude for life, for itself and for its surrounding.

Our experiences from working with children were presented in the research study "Yoga for school-aged children" conducted in Stip Yoga Society, with collaboration from the Yoga Science Center in Skopje. Authors: P.K. Hassanagas; I. Edrovska; V. Aleksovska; E. Stoimenova, K. Edrovska.
The study was presented at the 5. Congress for Yoga and Holistic Medicine, 1994 in Annesy, France and on the First Yoga Scientific Meeting (with international participation) 'Science and spirituality at the end of 20 Century', June 1997, Ohrid, Macedonia. The Study was also published in 'Yoga - Health and Harmony' Magazine, issue 82/83, 1994.

Yoga Classes

In addition to practicing the poses, yoga classes may also include instruction on breathing, call and response chanting, meditation, or an inspirational reading by the teacher. The variety and amount of this will depend on the individual teacher and the yoga tradition in which he or she has trained. Typically, a yoga class at a gym will be more focused on the purely physical benefits of yoga, while one at a yoga center may delve more into the spiritual side. Some people find that the physical practice of yoga becomes a gateway into a spiritual exploration, while others just enjoy a wonderful low-impact workout that makes them feel great. Whatever your tendency, you will be able to find a yoga class that suits your style.

Yoga Practice

Yoga teachers will often refer to "your practice," which means your individual experience with yoga as it develops over time. The amazing thing about yoga is that your practice is always evolving and changing, so it never gets boring. Although the poses themselves do not change, your relationship to them will. Anyone can start a yoga practice, even if you don't feel like you are very flexible or very strong. These things will develop over time. Another great thing about thinking about "your practice" is that it encourages the noncompetitive spirit of yoga. One of the most difficult, but ultimately most liberating things about yoga is letting go of the ego and accepting that no one is better than anyone else. Everyone is just doing their best on any given day.

Viniyoga

Viniyoga is not so much a style as it is a methodology for developing practices for individual conditions and purposes. This is the approach developed by Sri. T. Krishnamacharya, teacher of well-known contemporary masters B.K.S. Iyengar, K. Pattabhi Jois and Indra Devi, and continued by his son, T.K.V. Desikachar. Key characteristic of the asana practice are the careful integration of the flow of breath with movement of the spine, with sequencing, adaptations and intensity dependent upon the overall context and goals. Function is stressed over form. Practices may also include pranayama, meditation, reflection, study and other classic elements. Personal practices are taught privately. Given the scope of practice, the inherent therapeutic applications and the heritage of the lineage, the training requirements for teacher certification are extensive.

Anada

Ananda Yoga is a classical style of hatha yoga that uses asana and pranayama to awaken, experience, and begin to control the subtle energies within oneself, especially the energies of the chakras. Its object is to use those energies to harmonize body, mind, and emotions, and above all to attune oneself with higher levels of awareness. One unique feature of this system is the use of silent affirmations while in the asanas as a means of working more directly and consciously with the subtle energies to achieve this attunement. Ananda Yoga is a relatively gentle, inward experience, not an athletic or aerobic practice. It was developed by Swami Kriyananda, a direct disciple of Paramhansa Yogananda, author of the spiritual classic, Autobiography of a Yogi.

Yoga Styles Guide

Although there are many styles of yoga, the differences are usually about emphasis, such as focusing on strict alignment of the body, coordination of breath and movement, holding the postures, or the flow from one posture to another. All of the styles share a common lineage. In fact, the founders of three major styles -- Astanga, Iyengar and Viniyoga -- were all students of Krishnamacharya, a famous teacher at the Yoga Institute at the Mysore Palace in India. Two other styles, Integral and Sivananda, were created by disciples of the famous guru Sivananda. No style is better than another; it's simply a matter of personal preference. More important than any style is the student-teacher relationship.

History of yoga

The Vedic Samhitas contain references to ascetics, while ascetic practices (tapas) are referenced in the Brāhmaṇas (900 to 500 BCE), early commentaries on the Vedas.[17] Several seals discovered at Indus Valley Civilization (c. 3300–1700 B.C.E.) sites in Pakistan depict figures in positions resembling a common yoga or meditation pose, showing "a form of ritual discipline, suggesting a precursor of yoga", according to archaeologist Gregory Possehl.[18] Some type of connection between the Indus Valley seals and later yoga and meditation practices is speculated upon by many scholars, though there is no conclusive evidence.[19]

Techniques for experiencing higher states of consciousness in meditation were developed by the shramanic traditions and in the Upanishadic tradition.[20]

While there is no clear evidence for meditation in pre-Buddhist early Brahminic texts, Wynne argues that formless meditation originated in the Brahminic tradition, based on strong parallels between Upanishadic cosmological statements and the meditative goals of the two teachers of the Buddha as recorded in the early Buddhist texts.[21] He mentions less likely possibilities as well.[22] Having argued that the cosmological statements in the Upanishads also reflect a contemplative tradition, he argues that the Nasadiya Sukta contains evidence for a contemplative tradition, even as early as the late Rg Vedic period.[23]

The Buddhist texts are probably the earliest texts describing meditation techniques.[24] They describe meditative practices and states which had existed before the Buddha as well as those which were first developed within Buddhism.[25] In Hindu literature, the term "yoga" first occurs in the Katha Upanishad, where it refers to control of the senses and the cessation of mental activity leading to a supreme state.[26] Important textual sources for the evolving concept of Yoga are the middle Upanishads, (ca. 400 BCE), the Mahabharata including the Bhagavad Gita (ca. 200 BCE), and the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali (150 BCE).