By Angela Liburd

“Yoga is for everyone but not everyone is for Yoga…….”BKS Iyengar

It is just a matter of getting started – you do not have to be any level of flexibility, nor do you have to have any particular physique. Yoga requires commitment and consistency for benefits to be gained as with anything in life – the more you put into it the more you get out of it. As with any process that you go through the more you practice the better you get.

When I first started my practice back in 1995 I started by doing one or two poses quite enthusiastically, as you do when you first start something you know you’re going to enjoy doing. You eventually build up to twenty to thirty minutes, then before I knew it I was doing yoga everyday getting early up before going to work, during college and thinking yoga whilst washing up, sitting in front of the television anytime really. It is about mindfulness and being in the moment! This was in conjunction with going to frequent classes; whilst preparing to perform in front of ‘Guruji’, as Mr Iyengar is also known, a team of us were practising 5-6 times a week for several hours each day.

When you are mindfully engrossed in an activity the time goes by without you noticing it. That’s how it is when you become absorbed with yoga. By the time you finish paying attention to the instructions given by the yoga teacher, have felt the benefit from an adjustment whilst being in the posture you want to try and re-create that feeling you had, the lightness that you managed to achieve in class.

Achieving the sense of peace that you get when the pose feels light and the feeling of well-being that comes with it can be the motivator that inspires you to practice the poses. Once you become familiar with how you can make the pose feel light and hold the postures for longer with ease your benefits increase as you are on way to conquer your mind, senses, thoughts and reason as stated in Light on Yoga (BKS Iyengar, 2000).

Doing yoga to get benefits does not mean that you have to go to lots of classes before you can start feeling the effects; simple techniques can help to focus your mind and relieve lethargy. Give yourself at least five minutes in a quiet area seated with both feet flat on the floor in a level position, with an erect spine and palms facing down on the tops of the thighs, the back of the head should be aligned with the spine and when the upper body is lifted up and the shoulders move downwards the chest automatically rises. This movement allows for lung expansion thereby encouraging deeper rhythmical breathing and also gives space in the abdomen allowing the internal organs to be revitalized; as a result their ability to function is greatly improved and you feel more energized as the level of oxygen in the blood is improved and tiredness is relieved as the brain receives the surge of blood.

Regularity of practice is a component of achieving success, the body & mind are governed by cycles as is with nature and anything in life; performing an activity mindfully on a regular basis enhances your ability to become excellent at it if you are willing to put in the time and effort. Hence the meaning of the word yoga ‘to yoke, union’; the mind & body are working in union and the benefits of yoga are a healthy mind and body working together for the benefit of the individual and in the scope of the bigger picture for the benefit of mankind.

There are more advantages to maintaining a healthy mind and body than reasons not to; everyone as Jay-Z sings wants to be ‘Forever Young’ and you make less visits to a doctor saving money in the long run; you become the master of your own fate as when you go deeper within Self you get closer to God.

From the words delivered by Yehudi Menuhin in 1964 (foreword in Light on Yoga 2000) who was convinced that through the practice of yoga he realised that most of our fundamental attitudes to life have their physical counterparts in the body; for example by stretching the body from the toes to the top of the head in defiance of gravity assists with strength of will, tenacity is gained by stretching in various Yoga postures for minutes at a time and calmness can be achieved with quiet, consistent breathing and the expansion of the lungs. When you have a technique that is ideally suited to prevent physical and mental illness, generally protects the body and helps you with the universal laws regarding respect for life, truth and patience it must be agreed that all can benefit as it is available for all.

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