Yoga

Yoga is an ancient system of breathing practices, physical exercises, postures, the movement between postures, meditation and relaxation techniques. The main goal of Yoga is to integrate the individuals body, mind, and soul.  It is associated with a healthy and lively lifestyle with a balanced approach to life.

A scholar named Patanjali in the second century B.C. was the first person to write the basic prinicples of Yoga several thousand years ago in India. There are also artifacts detailing yoga postures found in India from 3000 B.C.   The word Yoga comes from a Sanskrit word, yukti , and means "union", “join” or "yoke."  In the western world, Yoga is regarded as a beneficial form of physical exercise rather than philosophical or ‘total way of life’. A recent research study suggests that there is approximately 460,000 people in the UK who weekly attend one or more yoga classes per week which is an indicator of the popularity and benefits of this form of exercise.

At Vitality our Qualified Yoga teachers will take you step by step through a more westernised approach to Yoga.   The class is suitable for people of all fitness, strength and flexibility levels.  Your instructor will provide you with postures of varying degrees of difficulty so you can jointly find your own comfort level and progress from there.  Your Yoga teacher, although participating within the class will also be able to give you independent advice throughout the class and will progress you when you are ready.  This is vitally important as progressing without the correct advice can result in minor injuries being sustained.

Yoga is designed to improve the physical and non physical.  It can tone, strengthen, realign to a correct posture, improve flexibility, make the spine supple, promote blood flow to all the organs, glands and tissues, keeping all the bodily systems healthy. Yoga programs have shown to reduce the risk of heart disease by lowering blood pressure and anxiety levels. On the non physical level, Yoga uses breathing techniques, meditation and concentration to clarify and discipline the mind.

You will notice changes immediately from your first Yoga session.  Albeit the more non-physical benefits of Yoga.  The more physical changes can be noticeable after approximately 4 weeks (which differs for each individual) and you will continually keep feeling the ongoing benefits.  Research has proven that although Yoga’s positive effects take longer than other forms of exercise to become noticeable, the effects are more long term and sustainable.