What is Yoga?

“Your body is the child of the soul. You must nourish and train your child.” – B.K.S. Iyengar

“When the gardener plants an apple seed, does he expect the apples to appear at once?” – B.K.S. Iyengar

Yoga asanas or postures, when practised with care and attention, exercise all the muscles, lubricate the joints, strengthen the bones and massage the organs and tissues of the body. No other exercise routine is so comprehensive and therefore so beneficial to our overall well-being.

Everyone can do Yoga. Small children quite naturally adopt the postures, but we lose the ability to move freely as we grow up and spend long periods of time sitting behind desks, in cars and on sofas. Our ancestors worked with their bodies, we work with our minds, using computers and machinery, which means that the intellectual centre becomes overactive while the physical body can be quite neglected. Sound familiar? Bad posture and/or slumping over work can cause pressure on the inner organs, causing sluggishness, congestion and malfunctioning. Fast food and lack of exercise also contribute to a state of disease -- literally dis-ease.

When mind and body move out of balance, we start to suffer from stress. An over-active (racing) mind is one of the main causes of fatigue and illness. So many of us lack energy; Yoga can restore vital energy and leave one feeling calm, yet at the same time strong. One can take up Yoga at any age. Anyone from cool teenagers to active seniors benefit. Yoga is non-competitive -- all that is necessary is to work wholeheartedly to the best of one's ability.

Yoga is Eastern in origin and the postures or asana have been practised for thousands of years. This form of exercise has become fashionable in the West in recent decades and many celebrities are advocates. There is a vast range of postures or asanas, from seemingly simple and easy stretches to quite complicated routines -- something to suit every ability; from the superfit to the physically challenged.

If you are bored with joining gyms and seeing no results; if you have started many fitness campaigns and have been able to stick to none -- try Yoga. The seemingly simple benefits that accrue from the regular practice of yoga can change your life! Do not underestimate the value of being balanced, centred, and coordinated, of being strong and feeling light, of being more flexible, moving without pain and experiencing the subsequent sense of focus, vigour and inner stillness.

If you did Yoga years ago, don't hesitate, restart your Yoga practise today - join a class or get a DVD - your body will soon remember! For those who are seasoned Yogis, you are especially welcome, as your quiet centre brings stillness and strength to teh group. We offer special classes and weekends for teachers and enthusiasts.

Talk to us; learn about your body, your fitness and wellbeing. We have the solution.