Over recent years yoga has seen a massive rise in its popularity. In years gone past yoga was seen by many as an alternative to going to the gym or aerobics. It was considered a hobby and way to keep fit because it was not fully understood what yoga in its entirety truly is. Yoga has moved from a hobby to a way of life for so many people. So the question is why?
The first thing is to establish is what makes yoga different to activities such as aerobics. Aerobics and similar activities will get you fitter, improve your health both physically and mentally and is a much needed hobby for people with busy lives.
Yoga also does these things but with a focus on the fundamentals of physical development and wellbeing. Whereas a large number of physical activities can cause long term problems and injuries yoga focuses on balance, core strength and flexibility. These physical attributes help the body’s longevity, reduce the risk of injuries and assist with every physical movement. This assistance means the body works efficiently and effectively as opposed to many fitness regimes that make the body work against itself.
So outside of the physical benefits what else has made yoga so popular? Well yoga’s biggest benefits go way beyond the physical side of things. There is a spiritual side of yoga that creates blissful feelings when conducting the postures and sequences with the right mindset and breathing techniques. Yes it’s true that all typesphysical exercise releases chemicals from the brain that create happy emotions but the yoga experience goes way beyond that. Breathing techniques along with the correct postures and sequences create a blissful spiritual feeling that goes way beyond the happy emotions created by other forms of exercise.
Supporting these postures, sequences and breathing techniques is meditation. More and more meditation is being highlighted as playing a fundamental part in internalizing. This internalization allows one to focus on oneself and prevents outside influences from effecting emotions and mood. The ability to relax, focus on yourself and create harmony inside will have a massive impact on every part of your life as well as having a positive impact on your yoga experiences.
Ok so that all sounds great I hear you say, but why so popular these days. Well I guess part of it is down to the teachings of yoga becoming more wide spread in the western world. As well as that though I think we need to look at how our lives are changing. People work longer hours to keep up the increased expense of life, which is stressful and time consuming. We have less time to unwind, socialize and do things that would bring a better balance to our lives. This is where yoga plays such a big part in so many people’s lives and why its popularity is growing and growing.