People often ask what is Yoga?  Yoga is the Science of body, mind, and breath.  Yoga is the only form of exercise that is completely balanced physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.  The Science of Yoga is thousands of years old and originated to keep individuals healthy through proper breathing, proper exercise, proper relaxation, proper diet, positive thinking and meditation.  The main purpose of Yoga is Happiness.  At Indra’s Grace we teach the most updated form of Hatha Yoga.

Breathing

In Yoga we start by opening up the Respiratory System.  We learn to use the entire abdomen to breathe properly including the diaphragm.   Today most people breathe shallow.  Shallow breathing results in less energy and poor performance. We teach breathing techniques that strengthen and stretch the lung capacity allowing more oxygen into the lungs with each inhale.  On a cellular level for healing to begin, cells need more oxygen, so the idea is to increase oxygen intake with each inhale and release more toxin with each exhale.  There are four essential parts to breathing.  We need the power to exhale.  We then need the power to inhale.  We also need holding power and relaxation power.  If one of these four main parts of breath is missing “dis-ease” occurs.  “Not at ease” is the classic definition of disease.  When we don’t take breath properly many symptoms occur.  Symptoms may include stress, anxiety, irritation, lack of energy, lack of focusing power, and may even effect our sleeping pattern.  Taking a deeper breath allows our body to relax and regeneration to start on a cellular level. Fore more information on breathing click here.

Asana

The classic translation of asana means “to sit”.  In Yoga we teach various movements from the head to the toes that strengthen and stretch the entire Neuromuscular Skeletal System.  We begin with simple movements to first fix the whole body in entirety before going into more difficult postures.  This helps avoid injuries during Yoga practice and allows students to first fix all the different muscles and tissues individually before challenging them in more advanced postures(asanas).  As students practice Yoga daily they notice a gradual change in their physical appearance, flexibility, and strength.  As we fix the physical body we also fix the internal body including all the internal muscles, tissues, organs, glands and hormones.   As we balance both the right and left sides of the body students also begin noticing a subtle shift in their thinking patterns.  Stress reduction occurs, happiness increases, and a peaceful state of mind is noticed. When our hormones are balanced, naturally our state of mind becomes more calm and we are able to handle stressful events with more grace and poise because own mind is balanced, receptive, and ready to act not react!

Meditation

Meditation means “focusing on.”  Many people have misconceptions about meditation.  The power to focus on something is meditation.  In Yoga, as we fix our physical body and balance our hormones we naturally have more ability to focus.  As we increase our focusing power this leads to concentration. Concentration leads to meditation which  in turn leads to enlightenment.  Yoga and meditation go hand in hand and meditation is  the second to last step on the path of Yoga.  When we have the ability to focus we become successful in anything we do because our full attention is used and our full creative potential is tapped into.  Meditation is a state of awareness without thought.

Yoga Philosophy

There is no Yoga without Yoga Philosophy. Understanding the reality of nature is important otherwise we get too wrapped up in our “stories” and forget the bigger picture which is to enjoy this beautiful planet!  Yoga teaches us to come inside the present moment and stop focusing so much on the past and future.  When we focus more energy on today our tomorrow will naturally become brighter because of todays work.  When we step out of the past and don’t worry constantly about the future we are well on our way to becoming happier and healthier individuals.

Without Yoga, many people miss a wonderful opportunity to enjoy life and this beautiful planet.  

For more information email us at sandra@indrasgrace.com or call 682-241-5020