Yoga for beginners: we are at home ourselves

What is practice?

Everyone at least once in their lives heard the word “yoga”. But will everyone be able to explain what it is? Yoga is an amazing practice that has come to the world from mysterious India, which brings health to the body and soul of man.

Yoga will teach you how to breathe and relax properly, put blood pressure in order, and help you forget about insomnia.

One of the most popular poses is Vrikshasana (tree pose)

If we talk about yoga in the full meaning of this word, then this is a special way of life, helping to achieve enlightenment. This is the oldest philosophical teaching about the essence of human life.

Anyone who decides to seriously engage in yoga, should realize that life under the new canons will require a lot of time for this serious hobby, it will be necessary to give up some of the benefits of civilization.

Yoga will make you rethink your life principles and habits. It will require an immediate rejection of all the harmful, the bad. Man must instill control over his feelings, acquire mental and physical balance. Independence from one’s feelings, the ability to meditate and fully concentrate one’s attention leads to the achievement of the perfection of the human soul.

If you take yoga as a set of asanas (special poses), then it will become just gymnastics, nothing more. But the desired effect will not bring. In this case, yoga is a complex of various exercises for improving health, normalizing the work of individual organs, forming a perfect figure.

How did you come about?

The history of yoga is long and rich. Even on Indian seals, belonging to the II-III centuries BC. e., there are images of figures in the poses of yoga meditation. This concept is found even in the “Rig-Veda” – in the ancient Upanishad, which scientists attribute to the 10th century BC. e. The basic concept of yoga is set forth in the “middle” Upanishads of the 6th century BC. e. These are the Mahabharata, the Bhagavad-gita and another Yoga Sutra.

The earliest school was called Raja Yoga. It is also called “Yoga of mind management”. In the “Yoga Sutra” the definition of “Ashtanga Yoga” is given – eight stages of “Raja Yoga”.

These stages are divided into two main parts:

• the four lower stages are “Hatha Yoga”;
• the four highest levels are actually Raja Yoga.

The Benefits of Yoga

The useful influence of yoga on health can be fully felt by any person who regularly devotes her several hours each week. It is enough even two months to feel positive changes. Exercises help to forget about chronic pain in all sections of the spine. Most of the asanas are aimed specifically at maintaining its proper functioning.

Practice heals all body systems: cardiovascular, digestive, endocrine, etc. When performing asanas, all internal organs that are responsible for the normal functioning of the body are massaged. Regular yoga exercises make the body flexible and plastic. Correction of incorrect posture eliminates the causes of pain in the joints, makes the gait more graceful and smooth.

Meditation in asanas increases the ability of the immune system to resist disease, reduces the risk of heart disease. Yoga exercises fill the person with vital energy, help to gain self-confidence, make a person more calm and less stressed than usual.

Are there any contraindications?

Yoga can be done by everyone. But, like any gymnastics, yoga classes have their contra-indications. Without consulting a doctor, you can not begin to perform asanas when:

If you have not only these contraindications, but also a strong desire to try yoga, then first consult your doctor

• mental disorders, especially schizophrenia;
• presence of inguinal hernia;
• high arterial or intracranial pressure;
• heart disease, especially after a heart attack;
• any exacerbations of diseases of internal organs;
• in the first year after a stroke;
• joint diseases, spine traumas;
• oncology;
• immediately after any operations;
• colds or flu, as well as any increase in body temperature;
• for women, activities during critical days are not allowed, and when pregnancy is more than 3 months.

Yoga should be interrupted if the state of health worsens after a workout. In such cases, medical advice is needed. 

Rules for beginners

Before embarking on classes, you need to learn a few key points that will help you practice yoga with benefit to the body and mind:

1. Since yoga practice requires systematic.
2. You must immediately decide on the time of classes. It is believed that every morning you need to allocate a couple of hours for yoga. At this time, the body is more flexible, and asanas are easier to perform.
3. If the work day is too busy, it is better to allocate at least 15 minutes each day, than to try to catch up on one day.
4. Do it with an empty stomach or a few hours after eating.
5. Exercise on any non-slip mat or floor.
6. Classes are conducted barefoot.
7. Practice requires complete silence and concentration, so all external sound sources must be turned off.
8. Doing the exercise, you need to concentrate on the body, and, at the same time, completely relax. Asanas should be performed slowly and very smoothly, sensing each breath and each exhalation. Only the right breath can completely relax the body and calm the mind. This is the effectiveness of yoga.