Please welcome Rani, my next featured blogger for the guest series, Fitness, Health and Happiness!
Namaste and welcome to my first writing in a series of my yoga journey. Many thanks to Jill for asking me to be part of her health and wellness series. I’m excited to be participating in several health challenges and share with you my start into practicing yoga. Join me every Wednesday as I explore the Yoga Journey!
When I Googled Yoga, a huge amount of information came out. At first I thought, great, lots of resources…but quickly became overwhelmed. So I took a few breaths and actually found some wonderful sites to learn, not only poses, but rich history…..my history in East Indian culture.
My first lesson didn’t even involve getting on the mat. Instead, it was reading about the foundations of yoga, the benefits of yoga, and the variety of yoga styles. So hear is a bit of what I learned. Be sure to check the end of this post for some great links to sites I found most helpful during my research.
Yoga is ancient. It has been around for over 5000 years, and some even speculate for over 10,000 years! There are many paths in yoga, meaning you can take the physical path (Hatha), meditative (Raja), knowledge and wisdom (Jnana), and devotional (Bhakti). Ultimately, the goal of yoga is to attain unification and enlightenment through practice.
Benefits of Yoga are varied and amazing. From everyone I ever talked to about yoga and to what I have read, yoga has helped them with their personal needs. Everything from anxiety, depression and insomnia, to asthma, menopause and arthritis. Yoga can help your mind, body and soul connect and heal and create a general sense of wellness and great health. Now who wouldn’t want that!?
Anyone and everyone can do yoga...and you don't have to be able to bend like a pretzel...you basically just need to be breathing and you're half way there! (image courtesy of Google Images)
Here are some great links that I enjoy and will be frequenting in my journey. Thanks for reading and I hope you gleamed some new insight into yoga from a very new beginner! I will be back on my blog next Wednesday to discuss a new pose and more insights from my mind, body and soul. Namaste!
Y is for Yogini- http://www.yisforyogini.com/-I love her insight and humor she brings to yoga.
Yoga Basics- http://www.yogabasics.com/-Great overall information about all that is yoga.
Babsbabble- http://www.babsbabble.com/-Yoga Babble-Sharing her journey of teaching and practicing yoga.
Spoiled Yogi- http://spoiledyogi.blogspot.com/-Wonderful insights into her yoga world.
Playful Planet- http://www.playfulplanet.com/blog.html-Great site with wonderful insights into practicing yoga with kids.
And just for fun since I love to digital scrapbook, here is a little something I whipped up! I was inspired by babsbabble and her Keep Calm and Carry On poster! Feel free to download and share! DOWNLOAD LINK
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Thank you Rani. You can read more about Rani and her Yoga journey on her personal blog, Scrap Yoga.
I'm guessing that many of us already know the benefits of practicing Yoga regularly are many. What I didn't know was, more specifically, the benefits for runners. A little more info: Yoga for Runners and Yoga Journal
Do you incorporate yoga into your workout routine?
In the last year, I tried yoga for the first time and really enjoyed it. I have even gotten my husband to join me in taking some classes too.
Posted by: JMC | July 14, 2011 at 08:36 PM
Nice posting. Do you know about these yoga books?
http://www.yogavidya.com/freepdfs.html
Posted by: sfauthor | July 16, 2011 at 10:22 PM