Some useful facts about beginner’s yoga

Many beginners either have very simplistic or very complicated views regarding yoga. So before embarking upon a journey into the wonderful and highly rewarding world of physical and spiritual harmony, you must separate your prejudices from yourself and accept yoga for what it really is: an ancient Indian philosophy that combines ethical living, physical exercise, and meditation to achieve harmony of the body, mind and surroundings. But beginner’s yoga primarily focuses on the physical exercises.

Yoga has many different branches and only the Hatha Yoga, which is the one that has gained widespread acceptance in the Western world, is directly concerned with physical exercise. The other branches deal with spiritual goals such as moral living, devotion to God, and the quest for knowledge. For beginners, the easiest to understand and put into practice is the Hatha Yoga, which integrates asanas (postures), pranayama (breathing control), and dhyana (meditation).

Asanas, pranayama, and dhyana are not as you might think. They require some practice to master, but once you get the hang of them, they become both enjoyable and rewarding. There are nearly 200 different types of postures and several different types of breath control techniques. While the beginner’s yoga can be learned and done at home, the advanced ones are challenging and need the guidance of a guru, as doing physically challenging postures improperly can be harmful.

The postures and breath control techniques are designed to involve, stimulate, and soothe all parts of the body so as to achieve the peak of physical and mental health. The simplest postures include standing straight, spreading the weight of the body evenly on both feet, and the simplest breath control involves inhaling and exhaling deeply. The more difficult ones involve bending and twisting the body in various postures.

Dhyana, or meditation, is another important part of beginners yoga. But it must be done after doing postures and breath control. Meditation basically involves sitting or standing in a very comfortable position and concentrating on something so that no other thoughts disturb the mind. Although it may sound easy, this is the most difficult part of yoga and requires many days of practice. Once you start getting it right, you will feel your body and mind in perfect harmony and at ease with nature.