If you are looking for health benefits or are new to Yoga, Yoga can play a role in Wellness but Yoga may not be the most effective or efficient option for positive health changes. With that in mind, here are a few things you need to know.
Original Yoga and Modern Yoga
Original Yoga is very old and was different in its goals from today’s Modern Yoga. Original Yoga or “O”Yoga was practiced for spiritual development to train the body and mind to self-awareness and become aware of their own nature in which achieving the state of Yoga was the goal. Now Modern Yoga or “M”Yoga is any of a wide variety of physical fitness or exercise routines and not necessarily a replica of “O”Yoga. This is a reasonable generalization, but today with “M”Yoga, the goal for most people is the work out and the resulting health benefits and perhaps for a few, quiet time as well.
Hatha and Bikram
Hatha yoga is the most widely practiced form of yoga in America. It concentrates on physical and mental health. Hatha yoga uses bodily postures (asanas), breathing techniques (pranayama), and meditation (dyana) with the goal of a sound, healthy body and a clear, peaceful mind. There are about 200 hatha yoga postures that are used to try to make the spine flexible and promote circulation. Hatha yoga postures can also stretch and align the body, promoting balance and flexibility. With the phenomenal and ever increasing popularity of Bikram yoga or hot yoga in the past few years, (which was originally created for pain reduction), there is a surprising lack of research on this particular discipline. Though the scientific literature has nothing to say about Bikram yoga specifically, the scientific research generally supports the view that yoga can be helpful in reducing chronic pain, but its efficacy in eliminating all pain is unclear.
Are you looking for Wellness or Change?
You may be seeking help in today’s world with diet, injuries, exercise, mental health and even interpersonal relationships. This may include physical fitness classes, food or cooking seminars, or many forms of personality work, including support groups, psychotherapy, or confiding with friends. So if you are seeking some or all of these things, however beneficial the parts of these physical and emotional activity may be for wellness, they may be so diluted in actual change benefits as to be nearly non-existent. Also without a knowledgeable approach to your needs, some may actually be harmful if you have preexisting physical deficits. Many people go for years to their favorite “M”Yoga class because it helps with their wellness. This may make them feel better, but physically, little usually changes.
What can get me what I need?
“O”Yoga religiously practiced, increased awareness with the byproduct of decreasing disease. It entered into the American mainstream by presenting itself as a tool with many benefits, including reduced stress, increased relaxation and greater flexibility, all of which taken together or separately can contribute to wellness. It has continued to grow through American gyms and studio’s as something that cultivates aerobic capacity and builds strength. In gym settings, “M”Yoga emphasizes physical exercise and is really just another exercise program because it has been striped of the element of self-awareness and individualization inherent in “O”Yoga. So don’t go to a “M”Yoga class for health benefits when there is a better program designed for todays world that includes all of the benefits of “M”Yoga and “O”Yoga in less time with activities that are individualized and tailored to your physical needs.
A better option for change;
Our goal at Well Effect is to be your guide and get the change you are looking for with our comprehensive approach to Resolve Injuries, Transform Body, Align Posture, and Food Intake. We have spent a lot of time researching the most effective and sustainable methods to create “Change”. We carefully evaluate the current popular paradigms and explain their pros and cons. We teach you what activities to do in the right mix for what your body needs and guide you towards optimal health based upon the principles of Soma Science℠. Weight gain, declining physical ability, nagging injury or pain is not inevitable. Our clients’ successes are pretty incredible. We see them evolve and change as they start to look better, live better, and feel better. As they do, they develop a feeling of wellness and empowerment that gives us our name. They experience a Well Effect™.
We have had fantastic success helping guide our clients to align their posture, addressing any deficits at the source of the problem in a once and for all solve it for good approach. Our ability to balance your body and give it the strength and awareness of proper form is a great way to start a yoga program and be successful.
Learn more about our “Yoga Class Prep” program and take advantage of our current promotion!
Be Well,
John Jamesapollos