Benefits are both physical and spiritual
YOGA CAN improve your flexibility, strength, balance and cardiovascular system, and perhaps even cleanse your soul.
This ancient health discipline comes in a myriad of forms, from gentle to downright acrobatic. Because poses can be modified to accommodate fitness and health limitations, you can begin a yoga program if you are overweight, out-of-shape, stiff, older, pregnant or recovering from a recent surgery or injury.
I have been fascinated by the physical and esoteric aspects of yoga since I was introduced to it through the PBS television show "Lilias Yoga and You." I thought it was cool then and I still do.
I've tried various forms of yoga, such as hatha, Bikram hot yoga and, my personal favorite, the more athletic form known as ashtanga. I must admit, gaining some mastery of yoga is on my list of 100 things I want to accomplish before I leave the planet.
Luckily for us, Philadelphia is becoming a premier yoga town, with studios cropping up all over offering a variety of styles. How to sort it all out? Here's a Yoga 101 primer.
What is yoga?
Yoga is considered by many to be the oldest form of physical exercise. The practice is thought to be at least 5,000 years old and to have originated in India.
Most people think yoga is just about stretching, but it is much more than that. In its orthodox forms, yoga offers a complete system for well-being that includes exercise, meditation, spirituality, relaxation, diet and hygiene.
According to Louis Belmar, a Philly-based yoga instructor who's been practicing for 32 years, "Yoga means to integrate, to yoke, or to join. It is thought that yoga works the 10 major systems of the body - such as the locomotive, nervous, respiratory, cardiovascular, digestive, etc. - as well as spirituality.
"In fact, yoga began as a spiritual practice, though much of its spiritual principles have been stripped out in the West. In short, it is a practice that unites the mind, body, soul and emotions."
Added Jennifer Schelter, of Yoga Schelter at Sherman Mills in East Falls, "Yoga points the practitioner inward, toward the inner beauty. Yoga aids in creating confidence, releasing judgments that come from cultural norms and conditioning... . Yoga steers people back into [their] own body and mind and says, 'You are beautiful: slow down, know yourself, and everything else will fall into place.' "
What can yoga do for you?
Along with improved flexibility, balance and strength, and its influence on mental and emotional well-being, I think yoga is a great way to cultivate patience.
"It requires more strength and concentration than you think," said Stephanie Churchill, a local yoga practitioner and owner of www.totallyzen.com.
"Yoga is deceptively hard," said Schelter. "It looks easy, but it is an enormous challenge." It uses what Schelter described as "a quiet, ebb-and-flow type strength" rather than the "aggressive charge" of many fitness activities.
"I highly recommend that people who work out, run, lift [weights], or bike take at least one yoga class a week that is rejuvenating and lengthening and relaxing," she said. "Otherwise, people turn into these tight balls of muscles and have no flow or grace."
Yoga history and myth
Yoga's practical philosophy was systemized by a sage named Patanjali in a text known as the Yoga Sutra, and it is consistent with the conduct in yoga practice today, according to Schelter.
Modern teachers have influenced the discipline, too. The Indian yogi B.K.S. Iyengar has developed a system that uses various props, such as straps or wooden blocks, to help practitioners correctly hold a yoga posture.
Iyengar has been a major influencer on Delmar's practice. To learn more about yoga, he recommends Iyengar's latest book, "Light on Life - the Yoga Journey to Wholeness, Inner Peace, and Ultimate Freedom" ($24.95, Rodale Press).
"I'm all about dispelling the myths about yoga," he said.
Delmar's biggest complaint is that the media spotlight too often highlights practitioners who are naturally flexible and thus can do extreme positions.
"In my professional opinion these people were born like that. They did not earn it" through regular yoga practice, Delmar said. "When the average person sees that, they think, 'I can't do that.' This prevents people from exploring."
Yoga and weight loss
Yoga does promote weight loss, in part because it makes you realize how precious this body is, and you don't want to junk it up.
Doing yoga also releases a natural hormone called oxytocin into the bloodstream - the same hormone released when we fall in love. Body awareness and self-nurturing love contribute to a natural weight-loss program.
Yoga also can be very relaxing, eliminating the nervous habit to overeat mindlessly, said Schelter.
How about that inner self?
Stress often arises from our feelings of inadequacy - that we can't do what we need to do to get what we want. "This is future-, fear-based thinking and has nothing to do with reality, or the process of living a fulfilled life," said Schelter. "Yoga, with its vast variety of tools and practices, gives us access to our spirit, the eternal, and powerhouse of creativity. Each person has amazing gifts. It's up to them to access what God had given. Yoga is a tool to open up the channel."
Hot weekend ahead for Philly fitness
Several events are on the fitness calendar this weekend:
Sisters in Shape Presents 5th Annual Health Symposium Fitness Explosion, with health screenings, panels, massage, luncheon, fashion show and more, 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, York House, 5325 Old York Road. $65, $60 SIS members. Info and registration, www.sistersinshape.com.
4th Annual Yoga Unites for Living Beyond Breast Cancer, large-scale outdoor yoga class/fund-raiser led by Jennifer Schelter, with guest speakers and Healthy Living Expo, 8 a.m. to noon Sunday, East Entrance steps, Philadelphia Museum of Art, 26th and Benjamin Franklin Parkway. $25, $10 ages 6 to 16; on-site, $35 and $20. Call 610-645-4567 or go to www.lbbc.org.
Philly Fit Bash, with Tae Bo creator Billy Blanks, 150 vendors, live music, workout demos, Family Fitness Challenges and more, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, 422 Business Center, Oaks, Pa. Info, www.phillyfitmagazine.com. *