The Yoga

To achieve comprehensive development what we do is practicing yoga exercises on a regular basis, one or two or more times a week, guided by a teacher or teacher, who knows well the exercises of the practice for having done it countless times, and can transmit it in hot, that is, lived intensely by him or her and not by having read it in a book, heard it in a conference, having learned it in a workshop ... And that warm transmission makes the practitioner learn much faster and with more interest. For this reason, when choosing a practice center, the teacher or teacher is much more important than the branch of yoga to which they belong; It is important to avoid at all costs the fads that do so much damage to the spirit of yoga.

I suppose you are wondering what kind of exercises make up this regular practice that yoga consists of. This depends a lot on the type of yoga that is practiced, although it is true that the majority in our country (hatha yoga, ashtanga, iyengar ...) are methods that give great importance to the physical part of the practice through the work of the postures.

Asanas or postures

They are the most visible work of yoga, the most aesthetic, the most striking at first. They consist of placing the body in a certain position to promote blood circulation, lymph, massage of internal organs, oxygenation of the lungs and blood, the muscle stretch, the opening of the joints, the production of hormones.

Luckily there are many types and levels of asanas, so every practitioner can find not only their work group but also the exact point to which they can do a posture; Yoga, then, adapts to everyone with the help of the teacher or teacher and our prudence and attention.

But yoga is much more than that, and the range it offers us is very wide and, fortunately, we can embrace what interests us the most. Thus we can prioritize the work and learning of breathing, another of the fundamental pillars of yoga. The breathing It is very worked in hatha yoga, but apart from the asanas, in what is known as pranayama or energetic breathing. Meanwhile, in the ashtanga, it is more synchronized with the postures and in the Kundalini it is used vehemently, with the ultimate intention of awakening the energy.

The mental part

It is perhaps less used or, let's say, less popular, but we could never say that it is less typical of yoga. There is always some mental work, for example, when we perform the postures, because we have a very important concentration. But it is not as strong and transformative a mental work as meditation could be, a practice that is gaining followers but that is far from being as popular as the physical part of yoga, although it will surely grow. It is not so popular because of its difficulty, since it costs most to do nothing than to do a lot of things. Thus, contrary to what it might seem, meditation is more difficult than physical work.

But the part of yoga that our society needs most are, surely, the tools that help us relax. Who is not already aware that our society lives in an accelerated way, that our mind does not have rest, that our body tenses but does not relax? But who does something to avoid it? Fortunately, more and more people. Yoga is the ideal tool to achieve. Like everything, we need a learning time, especially if our situation is already stressful or accused. But, let me insist, both from the postural and respiratory aspects, as well as from the mental, yoga has a spectacular impact on the levels of stress, agitation, nervousness, insomnia ... It only asks us for a little regularity.

Applications

From everything we have seen so far, it follows that yoga is very useful to prevent and collaborate in the recovery from multiple pathologies and diseases, as it favors the vitality of the organism at all its levels: muscular, organic, hormonal, circulatory, cranial. With these effects it is easy to understand because it helps in many of the pathologies that we suffer, from back pain to asthma and headaches. However, it is true that there are certain contraindications, the most notable of all, due to its greater presence, is that of a feverish state: if there is a fever it is better not to practice until the normal temperature is restored.

Although all the facets of yoga are suitable for the prevention and collaboration in the treatment of the pathologies in question, we can advise a little more in the choice. If we have tense muscles, joint pain, difficult digestion for no apparent reason, general weakness, poor posture, or lack of body awareness, the asanas will suit us wonderfully. If we need to relax, suffer from stress, anxiety, nervousness, or lack of vitality, breathing and visualization will be our choices. If we want to transform, then we will choose meditation. And if we don't like to choose and we have the time and desire, we will choose all three.

But when you start to practice yoga, or if you are already regular practitioners, you will know that more and more it is practiced simply because we feel like it, because of the feeling of well-being it brings, and all the advantages that we have seen so far seem like a great addition.

• Yoga treats the human being in all its dimensions, both physical and mental.
• The postures favor blood and lymphatic circulation, oxygenation of the lungs and blood, muscle stretching, etc.
• Help in cases of back pain, varicose veins, asthma, headache ...

Sebastià Llorach

Yoga teacher and Master in Nutrition