Benefits of Yoga

Yoga has its origins in India and has been passed down through countless Yogis for thousands of years. Yoga practice was formally systemized by Patanjali in the Yoga Sutra, around 200 BC. Meanings of yoga vary greatly. Coming from the word, "to yoke", Yoga means "to come together," or "to unite." Another meaning is "to tie the strings of the mind together." Yoga practice not only consists of the postures, or asanas, that we in the West are most familiar with, but also includes guidelines for living, such as nonviolence, or ahimsa, as well as breathing exercises, meditation, and concentration, all leading to eventual enlightenment. Yoga practice provides a wide variety of benefits that range from improved physical fitness to enhanced emotional well-being and spiritual balance.

The benefits of Yoga extend over three areas of one’s life: Physical fitness, Emotional health, and Spiritual enlightenment.

Physical Benefits:
  • Develops strength, endurance, and flexibility in body, mind and spirit
  • Properly aligns and centers the entire body, mind and spirit
  • Proper postural alignment centers the entire body, mind and spirit allowing for better breathing, and improved bodily functions, such as digestion, circulation, and immunity, while decreasing fatigue
  • Stimulates the thyroid, which increases hormone regulation and boosts metabolism
  • Gives greater range of motion in all joints
  • Prevents injury, and helps old injuries heal
  • Prepares the body for sitting and meditation
Mental Benefits:
  • Elevates and balances the mood
  • Aligns the right and left sides of the brain, using each of them equally, and balancing the body
  • Calms and quiets the mind, which reduces stress, sadness, pain and illness
  • Teaches how to love and accept yourself and others, and how to live with a more positive outlook on life
  • Promotes a sense of well-being
  • Teaches how to direct your mind without distraction or interruption
  • Improves concentration and aids in mental clarity
Spiritual Benefits:
  • Align yourself with the Universal or Divine spirit that lives in us all, and all of creation
  • Become introduced to a loving and supportive yoga community
  • Manifest positive experiences into your daily life
  • Learn to live more in the present moment

In addition to the physical, spiritual and mental benefits you will enjoy from attending our classes, you will also learn meditation, pranayama breathing, and yoga philosophy so that you can integrate Yoga practice into your daily life. Our instructors will encourage and help you to develop your own, unique practice that you can do at home, work or anywhere.

Class Etiquette:
  • Turn off cell phones and pagers
  • Refrain from wearing perfumes or scented lotions, and keep body odor under control
  • Try to arrive early, and if you must be late, enter quietly after the starting meditation
  • If you must leave early, leave quietly and before Savasana
  • Arrive drug and alcohol free, with an open mind and a willingness to learn
  • Always let your teacher know if you have any physical limitations, like injuries or illness
  • Try to avoid coming to class sick. Practice restorative postures at home at this time and use this as a time to go deeply inward