Benefits and Levels of Yoga Practice

Overview of Yoga Yoga for Physical Fitness and Health Yoga For Stress Reduction and Mental Clarity Yoga for Spiritual and Personal Growth

Overview of Yoga

The word "Yoga" is the term used to describe the process of spiritual evolution in Sanskrit texts. It literally means "Union" and refers to two primary levels of unification which occur during Yogic Practice: the unification of Body and Mind, and the Unification of the individual soul (Jiva) and the Universal Soul (Atma).

Practices in most Yoga styles address body, mind and spirit in an effort to create a healthy body, a calm and steady mind, and a deeper awareness of our divine Self. Because of this dynamic and inclusive approach, the benefits of Yoga and yogic practice are vast.

At a physical level, there is detoxification of the body, strengthening of the muscles and organs, increased flexibility and health, increased overall body function and vitality, as well as decreased physical stress and tension in the body.

Mentally, Yoga helps reduce stress and calm the mind, bringing about an increased peace and greater focus in daily life. It directs our awareness into the present moment of experience, helping us live without reference to old painful patterns and worries about the future.

The benefits of body and mind just described are the primary reasons that Yoga is becoming so popular and well known in the West. It is commonly thought about in terms of these benefits as a way of improving the overall quality of health and quality of life for individuals. And regular yoga practice most definitely provides these benefits!

A deeper level of Yoga Practice is intentional connection with and deepened awareness of our spiritual Self. Some people are drawn to yoga initially for the Spiritual aspects. Others begin with the physical and mental goals and find that the practice magnetically draws them deeper into themselves without any pre-existing desire for spirituality.

At the spiritual level, the previous benefits of healthy body and calm mind begin to turn the awareness back upon itself. With greater health and increased peace, the awareness of our Being naturally becomes curious about its own nature and begins a deep self examining process. This initiates a deeper level of spiritual search and the final discovery, the True Nature of the Self, is the technical goal of Traditional Indian Yoga.

Because Yoga was developed as a scientific approach, it is not dependant upon religious beliefs of dogma to be effective. In fact, regular yoga practice, even without any belief in God what so ever will ultimately prove beneficial, and can even take one to the True Nature of the Self. Various aspects of Yoga which may initially look like religion can easily be explained from a more scientific approach bypassing the need for a defined God. The way in which you choose to approach your Yogic Practice will be fully respected and supported.

Yoga for Physical Fitness and Health

One can increase the body's flexibility, strength and overall vitality by focusing primarily on the Yoga Asanas (Yogic Postures). This type of physical Yoga can be taken as an independent practice, or integrated into a full fitness program.

The different postures help teach you to systematically relax the body, increasing flexibility and reducing stress and tension in the body. They further provide a form of self massage for different areas including muscles, glands, internal organs, and joints. In addition to improving tone, this helps to remove poorly circulating areas of blood and replace them with the fresh nutrients and highly oxygenated blood, thus improving overall health and function of the organs and tissues.

Basic Yogic Breathing exercises (Pranayama) help improve the effects of oxygen exchange in the body and add to the internal organ and gland massaging effects.

A combination of different Yogic Postures and Breathing exercises will be chosen to help you reach your individual goals.

Yoga For Stress Reduction and Mental Clarity

Practicing Yoga for peace of mind allows the practitioner to expand his or her practice with increased focus to meditation, and pranayama, and possibly chanting. For most people, this will also include the Asanas (Yogic Postures), although meditation practice can be taken up independently.

When working with Yoga for Stress reduction, the Asanas become a tool for awareness and integration of body and mind through the breath. Pranayama further enhances the awareness of breath and the Body/Mind connection. Chanting helps calm and center the awareness, and Meditation provides a vehicle to experience and deepen the changes happening in the mind.

Regular Yoga Nidra practice also enhances these practice.

Remember that the physical benefits of the Asana and Pranayama practices will also occur, and will further enhance the steadiness of mind.

A combination of different techniques will be chosen to help you reach your individual goals.

Yoga for Spiritual and Personal Growth

Yoga as a spiritual path starts with the physical and mental benefits and expands the intention of practice to be about purification of body and mind with the aid and support of Spirit. By purifying every level of the being, the awareness of the practitioner is naturally drawn more fully into the present moment, becomes more deeply connected and identified with Consciousness itself, and spontaneous experiences of deep meditation begin to manifest.

These levels and experiences of Yoga can be approached through any religion or even by an Atheist. In either case, it becomes a search for the Truth of Reality within the individual practitioner: The Nature of the Self or the Mind.

Different tools and practices will be offered to help you direct your awareness inward towards your Self, including Asanas (Yogic Postures), Pranayama (Yogic Breathing), Meditation, Mantra Chanting, Yoga Nidra, various other Tantric Practices, as well as information on the Advaita Vedanta and Tantric Yoga philosophies of Non-Duality. Additionally, general coaching on Yogic diet and lifestyle are available, offering various choices which you may choose to slowly integrate into your life and Yoga Practice.