Thoughts Before Seeking Yoga South Hills
Popular throughout the world, now one can find Yoga South Hills. People come to it seeking a variety of goals, from spiritual growth to physical fitness. There was always a great variety of styles of this ancient Indian art, but the needs of contemporary people have seen that variety mushroom.
When one thinks of Indian meditation, the usual association is with some sort of egoless state, and a rejection of craving after material ends. It is ironic, then, that a lot of the growth in yogic systems is driven by egotism and profit motive, even if innocently so. It isn't possible to trademark "yoga" but one can trademark the style of the art one invented by tweaking this technique or that. This has not been lost upon expert practitioners looking to make a living from their passion.
If one imagines Eastern meditation for a moment, the image is most likely going to be Hatha yoga. In this system the yogin moves, steadily and slowly, through one posture after another, and does so while engaged in specific breathing techniques. Anyone who suffers stress can easily imagine that just ten minutes of that would be relaxing.
The upper register of claims made for yogic meditation far exceed mere stress relief. A master yogin is expected to have achieved actual communion with the divine, affecting the destiny of his or her soul. That sort of lofty goal might not be desired by the overworked soccer mom, but it is always best to remember that this can be an authentic spiritual discipline, not simply a good stretch.
To modern eyes, the most modern styles of the art might look more like an aerobics class than a form of applied Indian mysticism. There will usually be some way to wring some manner of spiritual value out of even the most commercialized styles, if one seeks it out. The variable is whether this is, in fact, what one wants. There's nothing wrong with a little stress relief, after all.
Apparently small differences can be so important that they define entire styles of the discipline. Iyengar is distinct primarily in that it emphasizes movements that are maintained over long periods of time. Compared to other styles such as Hatha yoga, this means that the Iyengar yogin is more of a strength exercise than a flexibility exercise. Its mundane application is somewhat more often injury rehabilitation than stress relief.
Bikram is one of the trendier, modern forms. It emphasizes muscular development like Iyengar, but then takes that emphasis to a new level. Bikram's distinctive characteristic is the overheated studios in which the workouts are held, rooms set to between ninety-five and one hundred and five degrees. This extraordinary indoor climate is held to improve the body in all sorts of ways, including flexibility, respiration, and detoxification.
Take away the heat, bring the backdrop a bit closer to Indian culture, and one has the Ashtanga style. It is still explosively physical, and can serve as part of one's weight loss program as well as one's source of spiritual insight. The best advice would be to not limit oneself to "yoga" classes being held by gymnasiums, which might tend to be little more than aerobics. There are studios now, dedicated to the art, and these are where one can most profitably begin when seeking yoga South Hills.
When one thinks of Indian meditation, the usual association is with some sort of egoless state, and a rejection of craving after material ends. It is ironic, then, that a lot of the growth in yogic systems is driven by egotism and profit motive, even if innocently so. It isn't possible to trademark "yoga" but one can trademark the style of the art one invented by tweaking this technique or that. This has not been lost upon expert practitioners looking to make a living from their passion.
If one imagines Eastern meditation for a moment, the image is most likely going to be Hatha yoga. In this system the yogin moves, steadily and slowly, through one posture after another, and does so while engaged in specific breathing techniques. Anyone who suffers stress can easily imagine that just ten minutes of that would be relaxing.
The upper register of claims made for yogic meditation far exceed mere stress relief. A master yogin is expected to have achieved actual communion with the divine, affecting the destiny of his or her soul. That sort of lofty goal might not be desired by the overworked soccer mom, but it is always best to remember that this can be an authentic spiritual discipline, not simply a good stretch.
To modern eyes, the most modern styles of the art might look more like an aerobics class than a form of applied Indian mysticism. There will usually be some way to wring some manner of spiritual value out of even the most commercialized styles, if one seeks it out. The variable is whether this is, in fact, what one wants. There's nothing wrong with a little stress relief, after all.
Apparently small differences can be so important that they define entire styles of the discipline. Iyengar is distinct primarily in that it emphasizes movements that are maintained over long periods of time. Compared to other styles such as Hatha yoga, this means that the Iyengar yogin is more of a strength exercise than a flexibility exercise. Its mundane application is somewhat more often injury rehabilitation than stress relief.
Bikram is one of the trendier, modern forms. It emphasizes muscular development like Iyengar, but then takes that emphasis to a new level. Bikram's distinctive characteristic is the overheated studios in which the workouts are held, rooms set to between ninety-five and one hundred and five degrees. This extraordinary indoor climate is held to improve the body in all sorts of ways, including flexibility, respiration, and detoxification.
Take away the heat, bring the backdrop a bit closer to Indian culture, and one has the Ashtanga style. It is still explosively physical, and can serve as part of one's weight loss program as well as one's source of spiritual insight. The best advice would be to not limit oneself to "yoga" classes being held by gymnasiums, which might tend to be little more than aerobics. There are studios now, dedicated to the art, and these are where one can most profitably begin when seeking yoga South Hills.
Posts
0 comments:
Post a Comment