It's OK to do Yoga just as an Exercise.
Acually, that's how most of us get to do yoga!
The New York magazine published this week an article by yoga teacher Tory Truscheit that reflects what we believe people should find in a Yoga Studio, and how yoga classes should be handeled.
The author begins talking about how she started yoga in order to de-stress from her work. She found herself on a friendly enveironement, where older coleagues were practicing poses and trying to improve their own performances, in order to achieve a more balanced, flexible and healthy body. That simple!
Her first studio didn't make yoga look or sound like a spiritual practice, eclusive for enlightened people.
Does that means that Yoga practice is not related to spiritual development or enrichment?
Not at all. It just means that practicing the yoga poses and breathing is what naturaly brings physical and emotional balance to the pratictioners, helping them to connect their body, mind ans spirit.
As you practice yoga, you get to feel and understand the energy flow in your body, the same way that you learn to feel and perceive your muscles and breathing.
There are spiritual studies related to yoga, bu they are one of the venues you can persue for your own development once you start to connect deeper with your spirituality. They are not necesserly conected to yoga as an exercise and physical practice. You don't need to change your faith to benefit from Yoga.
Another point aproached by the author is the need to belong to a sepcial group, have special clothes or super fancy Yoga Gyms that the market creates. At Stress Management Center, we believe that your yoga clothes need to be comfortable and allow you to make your movements, and the place were you practice needs to help you to concentrate on your practice. The rest is up to you, and to a knowlageble and qualified yoga teacher, who will guide you throught the yoga poses, teaching the best forms and techniques.
And should you teacher be revered beacuse of his/her yoga abilities? Yes, as mucha as any other professional that is knowlageble, deidcated and experienced on their field. As an experienced Yoge, your yoga teacher my have acquired a balance of mind, body and spirit that makes him/her a wise person, whose ideas are worth listening and thinking about. But that doesn't make him/her your new Guru.
So, we cannot stress enough our simple and practical aproach to Yoga:
1- Yoga is a great exercise and mostly everybody can practice it.
2- You will improve and grow on yoga due to persistance and constant practice, whith the guidence of a knowlageble yoga teacher
3- As you practicce yoga poses and breathing, you will start to de-stress and connect your body, mind and spirit. This doesn't mean that you have to adopt yoga as a religion. It just means that you are becomig a more inegrated being, and achieving "Mindfulness".
Yes, Mindfulness, and this is the subject for our next post!
To read the full original article by Tory Truscheit, please go to http://nymag.com/thecut/2016/10/its-okay-to-do-yoga-purely-for-the-workout.html
