Back to Basics

Yoga is for everyone - no matter what your age, fitness level or understanding of the practice. From childhood on into ripe old age, anyone can build the flexibility needed to master yoga's various postures and poses. So what are you waiting for? Give it a try!.

In today's fitness-focused culture, an emphasis is placed upon the fact that staying active is the route to sustained health and happiness. Affordable, easily accessible and with many benefits in addition to those associated with fitness, yoga can be practiced at home, in the office or outdoors, with various other participants as part of a class or individually for quiet reflection. Scientists at the South Pole even perform short yoga routines outdoors (weather permitting!).
To understand yoga is to understand a little bit about its history. Around 10,000 years ago, mounted nomads and herders moved west out of Central Asia, crossing mountain ranges into what is today Afghanistan, and began to settle. Taking place over hundreds and hundreds of years, many moved on to what is now Pakistan and settled in the Indus River region. Others moved even further still, to northern India and the Ganges River plains. Collectively, they were known as the Aryans - a taller, lighter-skinned people than the indigenous inhabitants and quite war-like.

What kept the Aryans united was a common language, Sanskrit and their sacred literature, the Vedas. Although they believed in one supreme deity, they also worshipped many gods and goddesses through rituals and sacrifices. These ceremonies were conducted by holy men (Yogis), who knew the sacred texts and the required rituals.

Over time, some of these holy men desired closer contact with their supreme being. To achieve this goal they went into the wilderness to live a solitary existence - not unlike the early Christians who went into the desert. It is of course impossible to know at which point these Yogis developed the poses and breathing exercises that gave them the tranquility and mental control and clarity they sought. Others followed them, observing their practice, and slowly the art of yoga spread.

Yoga is a Sanskrit word meaning to "yoke or harness." A male practitioner of yoga is a Yogi. A female practitioner is a Yogini. Yoga will yoke or harness body and mind. It is a firm yogic belief that body and mind must be in harmony for a person to find inner peace and happiness.
Yoga's ability to heal is far-reaching, for both the mind and body. If a part of your body aches, your mind will instantly focus on that particular area. Or if you have a lot on your mind or feel particularly run down, your body will react. The two are intrinsically linked, which is why yoga can heal from the outside in.

The traditional concept and secrets of Yoga continue to be taught by individual gurus (teachers) - knowledge has been passed on orally through the generations. Between 200-500 BC, a teacher named Pantanjali established the the "Eight Limbs of Yoga" by writing down the various asanas (poses) and pranayama exercises (breath control). This formed the basis of the most practiced form of yoga in the western world today - Hatha yoga.