Guest Author - Karen Huber
It comes as no news that exercise is excellent for mental health. It provides structure, gets the endorphins going, and helps with flexibility and weight loss. Yoga has become popular in recent years and reduces anxiety and stress. The meditation and relaxation help relax the body and moderate stress responses. Yoga has also been responsible for lowering perceived pain in people with chronic pain. Yoga can enhance quality of life and reduce mental distress with its flowing movement and focused postures. Yoga breathing techniques have been known to help reduce depressive symptoms.
There are several types of yoga; all of them use movement and some of them utilize chanting and meditation. A few of the more popular yogas in the US are Ashtanga, Bikram, Hatha, Iyengar, Kundalini, and Power yoga.
Ashtanga, or Vinyasa Ashtanga, aligns movement and breathing. K. Pattabhi Jois established an institute in the late 1940s to teach this form of yoga. Ashtanga is Sanskrit for eight-limbed and vinyasa means alignment of movement with breathing. The eight aspects or limbs of this yogic school of thought are Yama, Niyama, Asana, Pranayama, Pratyahara, Dharana, Dhyana, and Samadhi in Sanskrit; in English, moral codes, self-purification and study, posture, breath control, sense control, intention, meditation, and contemplation. In the western hemisphere, the order of poses, or asanas, is predefined. Higher levels of Ashtanga involve bandhas, locking a pose within a movement; drishtis, focusing the gaze, as a means of developing concentration; and mantras, the chanting of verses.
Bikram Choudhury developed a yoga from traditional yoga that uses 26 asanas, or postures, and 2 breathing exercises for general health and well being. Choudhury's Bikram classes run 90 minutes in a hot room and humid room, 105 degrees F, meant to improve oxygen absorption and circulation in the body.
Hatha yoga, or hatha vidya, was introduced by Yogi Swatmarama in the 15th century to prepare the body for deep meditation. Hatha yoga practiced in the western hemisphere consists of mostly asanas, or postures that also reduce stress. It has of six limbs, asana, pranayama, pratyahara, dharana, dhyana and samādhi, focused on attaining samādhi, or a deep concentration. Pranayama, or breath control, is practiced to develop mental, physical and spiritual strength.
B. K. S. Iyengar created Iyengar yoga, which uses props to help attain the asanas, or postures. Iyengar yoga is based on eight limbs of yoga, yama, niyama, asana, pranayama, pratyahara, dharana, dhyana, and samadhi, slightly differing from Ashtanga and Bikram. Iyengar's focus is to bring body, mind and spirit together for overall well-being and to relieve stress. Props can be cushions, benches, blocks, straps, and sand bags that help perfect the postures. Iyengar was also used to relieve diseases and disorders, with the asanas adjusted based on a person's stage of recovery.
Kundalini yoga is practiced for to develop awareness and intuition, and unleash creative potential of the human consciousness. Asanas and meditation aim to build the nervous system, glands, and the mind. Kundalini has also been used to alleviate disease, mental and physical disorders, and is based on awakening 7 chakras, or energy forces in the body.
Power yoga developed in the 1990s from Ashtanga-style yoga and emphasizes variable and more vigorous movement. Instructors can mix the poses for each class to add variety and interest. There is a minimal amount of chanting and meditation, and the focus is strength and flexibility. Beryl Bender Birch and Baron Baptiste are credited for developing power yoga in the United States. This is a western-style yoga and is very popular with celebrities and athletes.
