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Question:

Why do you practice yoga?

Not in a “why do people practice yoga” way, but rather in a personal examination: Why do YOU practice yoga?

Out of all the many activities you can do in your free time, why choose yoga?

What drew you to try yoga originally? Does that same reason still apply?

What do you hope to get out of the practice, if anything?

If you’ve been practicing yoga for a while, has your intent changed from when you first stepped foot on the mat?

What is it about your practice that keeps you coming back?

We invite you to use these questions to clarify your intention(s) and goals of yoga for you, at this moment in time. Of course, each day may bring different answers. But through regular examination, you can adjust and accommodate your practice to bring the most benefit to your life, physically and mentally (and beyond). Maybe you are ready to mix it up in a new class or with a different teacher? Perhaps you are needing to add more meditation – or more movement – to your practice.

You may also consider applying these same questions to other activities you do regularly, to clarify why you are spending your time, energy, money, and attention on those pursuits.

Explore more about wellness, the physiology of yoga, the science behind the practice, and the peaceful power that yoga cultivates in our classes, Y4A’s unique workshops, and on our Facebook page.

In this time of uncertainty, anxiety, seclusion, and fear, we all need to find ways to improve our mental health. For centuries, yoga has given practitioners the tools live in a healthy way. Now is the perfect time to find a yoga class or deepen your yogic journey!

Effective yoga teachers seek to significantly improve students’ health and well-being. Traditional yoga practices (including movement, mindfulness, and breath work) can help everyone balance their nervous systems and stay healthy, mentally and physically. The methods taught in well-planned yoga classes build lifelong skills from the inside-out, teaching practitioners to recognize their present state, label the sensations in their bodies, and build a tool chest of coping skills to choose behaviors and responses that bring them back to balance in a healthy, sustainable way.

Yoga postures:

Breath work:

Mindfulness:

Explore more about wellness, the physiology of yoga, the science behind the practice, and the peaceful power that yoga cultivates in our classes, Y4A’s unique workshops, and on our Facebook page.

Yes, our studio is named Yoga4All – and we mean that! Yoga is for everybody and every body. Did you know that Yoga4All also offers several massage and manual healing therapies, plus acupuncture? We are truly your oasis of healing, right here in Seminole!

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Massage can help specifically address a number of health issues. Bodywork can:

Yoga4All therapists are expert practitioners with many years experience. In our studio you can find several types of massage therapy, from CranioSacral to Reiki, visceral manipulation and Swedish massage, pre-natal and deep tissue.

Learn more about how a holistic healing system can bring you relief from pain, regain your sense of balance and harmony, and simply live your best life! Call and discuss treatment options at 727-392-9642 or contact our therapists directly through our website. MM38401

Explore more about wellness, the physiology of yoga, the science behind the practice, and the peaceful power that yoga cultivates in our classes, Y4A’s unique workshops, and on our Facebook page.

Let’s get back to the basics, to the very beginning.

What IS yoga?

Is it the postures? Is it flowing from pose to pose? Is it the movement or is it the stillness? Is yoga meditation or is it breathing? What is this practice we call yoga?

Yoga means union, the union of the body with the mind and the mind with the soul. According to Iyengar, “The science of yoga helps us to keep the body as a temple so that it becomes as clean as the soul. The body is lazy, the mind is vibrant and the soul is luminous. Yogic practices develop the body to the level of the vibrant mind so that the body and the mind, having both become vibrant, are drawn towards the light of the soul.”

Yogic philosophers tell us that there are many paths to that union, to that mind-body-soul connection. The science of the mind is called Raja Yoga, the science of intelligence is Jnana Yoga, the science of duty is known as Karma Yoga and Hatha Yoga (the one we in the West are most familiar with, the practice of the postures) is the science of the will. ‘Ha’ means sun (the sun of your body being the soul) and ‘tha’ means moon (your consciousness). The energy of the sun never fades, but the moon’s energy changes each day, monthly rising and fading. The sun in all of us, our souls, never fade even during the fluctuations and modulations of the moon energy (our awareness). The practice of Hatha Yoga is a celebration, an honoring, of those moments when the the consciousness of the body and energy of the soul come into union with one another. This is freedom.

Yoga is “the path which cultures the body and senses, refines the mind, civilizes the intelligence, and takes rest in that which is the core of our being…It is cellular, mental, intellectual and spiritual – it involves man in his entire being.” (BKS Iyengar)

So the next time you roll out your mat, take a moment to honor the task you are undertaking. Hatha Yoga is the science of WILL (not strength, not flexibility…will). You are purposefully and mindfully volunteering to move your body in ways that may be challenging and difficult but that, through patience, through breath, and through awareness, might just change your life. Celebrate that union between body, mind, and soul. It is a privilege not everyone is afforded.

Explore more about wellness, the physiology of yoga, the science behind the practice, and the peaceful power that yoga cultivates in our classes, Y4A’s unique workshops, and on our Facebook page.

Here’s a question: What’s your meditation style? Are you someone who concentrates best by repeating a mantra? Singing or chanting? Mindfully listening to music, following the vibrations and melodies? Maybe you gaze at a photo or inspirational image? As you try different meditative practices, you’ll find what settles your mind and body best.

If you are just beginning your exploration of meditation, you may find that your mind wanders after just a few minutes of trying to remain still. For most of us, our minds are like an untrained puppy, following an interesting scent or sound and wandering off into trouble.

It is normal to be physically uncomfortable and mentally scattered when you first begin meditating. Your internal dialogue may be something like this, “OK. I’m going to sit still and meditate…is my stomach grumbling? What will I make for dinner? Oops! That’s a thought. OK, let’s try again…My nose itches. Dang! Another thought…” If this sounds familiar, don’t worry or become frustrated. Each time you notice a break in flow of concentration, just guide your attention back to the music you are focusing on, the mantra, your breath, etc.

Here’s a basic meditation exercise of visualization, based on one by Doug Swenson, master yoga teacher. Just follow the instructions below to help release stress and enhance your mental well-being:

Explore more about wellness, the physiology of yoga, the science behind the practice, and the peaceful power that yoga cultivates in our studio classes, Y4A’s unique workshops, and on our Facebook page.

If you’ve attended a yoga class, chances are the class concluded with your hands in a prayer gesture at your heart while saying, “Namaste”. While closing a yoga class with “Namaste” and a bow doesn’t come from ancient tradition, It’s a fairly common way to close a yoga practice here – and for good reason!

In a very basic way, namaste simply means “I bow to you” (namah or names means bow and te means you in Sanskrit). Likewise, using Anjali Mudra, or prayer position, symbolizes basically the same thing. The right hand represents the physical activities. The left hand represents mental activities including both intellectual and emotional. The heart center represents the self. Bowing our head down toward our hands and heart then can represent bringing all of our faculties together indicating “I am full and I recognize the fullness in you”. It is not uncommon for people in India to greet each other, family and strangers, with their hands together and their head bowed, and a spoken “Namaste” out of respect.

The most common, more spiritual translation of namaste is “The divine light in me bows to the divine light in you”. Other translations of namaste include:

In a very real sense, the utterance of namaste to another person represents the idea that we are all one. It is a true expression that you see yourself in others. According to Deepak Chopra:

“As a human being, it is in your nature to forget this truth—that every person, thought, feeling, and experience is a perfect expression of the one Divine awareness. When a being does forget (by feeling separate, less than, better than, or identifying with any external, impermanent aspect of being more so than its true nature), it suffers. What would life be like if you saw others as perfectly whole? What if you saw yourself this way? A namasté between two yogis is a pact made to honor the highest, truest, most authentic parts of themselves, and let their limitations fall away. “

You might not greet your neighbors with a friendly bow and, “Namaste” at the grocery store, but maybe you can see people as equal, as whole, as an extension of yourself. Wouldn’t that be a beautiful way for us all to live and work together in the world?

Explore more about wellness, the physiology of yoga, the science behind the practice, and the peaceful power that yoga cultivates in our studio classes, Y4A’s unique workshops, and on our Facebook page.

While a physical yoga practice might get more attention on Instagram or YouTube, it is the inner-work of yoga that truly gives us a path to growth, inner-peace, and connection. Beyond postures, the practice of yoga provides a path for your life’s journey through the Yamas and Niyams as described in the Yoga Sutras. The Yamas focus on interactions with other people and the Niyamas discuss our relationship with our self.

YAMAS

Ahimsa means non-harm. Ahimsa means always behaving in a way to reduce injustice, violence, and cruelty.

Satya means to speak the truth. It means to be authentic and open.

Asteya translates to non-stealing and to not taking more than you need. Asteya goes beyond material possessions – it also includes stealing/wasting time, stealing someone’s voice or position, and being aware of our own consumer choices.

Aparigraha invites us to believe in abundance. It means non-possessiveness and letting go of attachment.

Brahmacharya asks us to manage our energy and cravings. It is the movement towards the most essential truth.

NIYAMAS

Saucha means cleanliness in body, mind, and emotions. Practicing saucha is the ultimate self-care.

Santosha is contentment and the practice of acceptance. We cultivate this through mindfulness practices.

Tapas translates to fiery discipline. This can refer to the work of your physical yoga practice, following your passions even through difficulties, or being persistent in your own beliefs.

Svadhyaya is about self-reflection and seeing yourself clearly and connecting with your own divinity (and thereby able to connect with others’ divine spark).

Ishvara Pranidhana means offering your actions to something bigger than yourself (God, nature, community service, etc).

Regardless of your religious or spiritual background, Yoga’s Yamas and Niyamas offer a simple but powerful guide for your life’s journey and moves us beyond our individual minds, bodies, and spirits.

Explore more about wellness, the physiology of yoga, the science behind the practice, and the peaceful power that yoga cultivates in our studio classes, Y4A’s unique workshops, and on our Facebook page.

Have any of these ever happened to you?

If any of these situations feel familiar, then you are well aware of the chaos in your “monkey mind”. Your mind has been described as a drunk monkey getting stung by scorpions, leaping from branch to branch. In yoga, we call this mind chatter chitta vritti (chit-ta-ver-itty) and we use yoga and meditation to cease the constant thought parade. Chitta means “conscious” or “mind stuff” and vritti means “whirl” or “fluctuations”. In Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras, he wrote Yoga chitta vritti nirodha which translates to “yoga is the cessation of the fluctuations of the mind”. In other words, yoga’s purpose isn’t to touch your toes or do a handstand. The big goal of yoga is to quiet your brain fluctuations, which cause us so much stress and pain. Yoga, meditation, and breathing practices were developed to stop the chatter so you can get in touch with your inner self with patient, peaceful awareness.

We specifically practice observing our vrittis while in meditation. Watching our minds as they drift to worries, to-do lists, music lyrics, and judgements, we practice bringing our attention back to the moment, whether that’s by following our breath, repeating a mantra, or noticing the floor underneath us. In this way, our monkey mind gets trained to pause before leaping to the next branch (thought). Eventually, the pauses grow longer and we are able to actually succeed in ceasing the fluctuations of the mind (even if only for a moment).

Explore more about wellness, the physiology of yoga, the science behind the practice, and the peaceful power that yoga cultivates in our studio classes, Y4A’s unique workshops, and on our Facebook page.

Ask anyone to name a yoga pose and chances are they’ve heard of “Down Dog”. It’s a very common pose in many yoga traditions. And for good reason! Downward-facing dog posture (Adhomukha Svanasana) is a pose that mimics the shape of a dog stretching (although our pups are MUCH better at this pose than we will ever be). Adhomukha means to have your “face down”, svana means “dog”, and asana means “pose”.

Often taken to rest between flows, downward dog is a powerhouse of a pose:

Ready to try downward facing dog? Start on your hands and knees. Spread your fingers wide and put a bit more weight on your index fingers and thumbs to protect your wrists. Tuck toes under, inhale and lift your hips toward the ceiling making an inverted V shape. Push the floor away with your hands and “walk your dog” by bending and straightening your knees. Wag your tail slowly and let your neck soften. There’s a long, straight line from your wrists, through your shoulders, to your hips. Shoulders draw away from the ears. The pose should be 70% legs and only 30% arms. Breathe. If you’d like more thorough instructions, join us in a class or click here.

Play with the shape of your dog by moving your legs a bit wider (to relieve a tight low back) or your arms wider (for shoulder comfort). Keep your knees bent, if that keeps your spine long. If your wrists are uncomfortable, try placing something under the heels of the hands, like a foam wedge or a rolled blanket or towel.

Most importantly, FEEL the stretch. Feel long. Feel strong and centered. Just feel. Keep in mind that an asana (yoga posture) “is not a posture which you assume mechanically. It involves thought, at the end of which a balance is achieved between movement and resistance.” (BKS Iyengar)

Explore more about wellness, the physiology of yoga, the science behind the practice, and the peaceful power that yoga cultivates in our studio classes, Y4A’s unique workshops, and on our Facebook page.

When was the last time you had a vocabulary lesson? Well get ready, because the language of Yoga is part of its power.

Sanskrit has been called the mother of all modern languages and has even been deemed the most “perfect” language by historians. It is the original source of 36 world languages, not including 21 in India alone! The German language can be traced directly to Sanskrit (famous German airlines “Lufthansa” can be broken down into ‘luft’ meaning lost and ‘hansa’ meaning swan and the word literally means the ‘lost swan’) and rules of French language can be traced back to Sanskrit, too.

Even in today’s world, Sanskrit is relevant.

So let’s learn some Sanskrit terms that we use regularly in Yoga classes!

Explore more about wellness, the physiology of yoga, the science behind the practice, and the peaceful power that yoga cultivates in our studio classes, Y4A’s unique workshops, and on our Facebook page.