Guide to Yoga in Bangalore Yoga is derived from a Sanskrit word ‘Yuj,’ which means to join or bind. The purpose of this ancient eight-fold fitness mantra is to unite and balance the human body and mind. There are several branches of Yoga. Jnana Yoga is the Yoga of wisdom; Bhakti Yoga is the Yoga of devotion; Karma Yoga is the path of selfless service; Raja Yoga is the royal Yoga, one branch of which is the Hatha Yoga, the most commonly practiced form of Yoga.
If you’ve always wanted to try Yoga but didn’t know when or how to start, here’s a simple guide to the basics from MetroMela. We spoke to Yogacharya Venkat Rao from the Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centre, in Bangalore part of the International Sivananda Yoga Organization, which focuses on the five points of Yoga. “Proper posture, proper relaxation, proper breathing, proper vegetarian diet, positive thinking and meditation,” says Rao. Here are some basics for beginners.
• Most beginners’ courses in Yoga start with simple eye, neck and shoulder exercises and slowly graduate to rotational exercises like leg lifting and suryanamashkar, which is a warm up exercise. They do about 8-10 rounds of the same.
• Other simple asanas or postures they start learning are setu bandhasana, dhanurasana etc.
• If done under proper guidance, it takes beginners about three months to perfect 14 to 15 asanas.
• There are enough DVDs and books on Yoga flooding the market. However, we advice people to do Yoga under proper guidance at least for the first three months.
• Yoga has several branches. Nowadays, people have started combining aerobics and Yoga and you have Power Yoga, Dynamic Yoga etc. The basic principles are same, as you can’t change these thousands-of-year-old postures. Just the way of teaching is different.
• It’s a misconception that Yoga can’t help you lose weight. People need to follow certain techniques for this, for instance do 30 rounds of Suryanamshkar instead of 10. You may not lose weight quickly, but whatever you lose, you will lose from the root. To see the real benefit, you will need to practice Yoga and follow a good diet for at least two to three months.
• Early morning is the best time to practice Yoga. However, that is not practical in today’s world, so you can practice Yoga even in early evening. Keep a gap of at least two to three hours between Yoga and your meal.
• One to two hours of practice is good to maintain your body and spirits.
Apart from Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centre, in Bangalore, you could also learn Yoga at Atmadarshan Yoga Ashram, which offers an integrated Yoga course for beginners, though advanced options are also available for those who are already proficient in it. A very popular form of Yoga across India is Bharat Thakur’s Artistic Yoga. He claims to adapt ancient Yoga techniques and postures for today’s lifestyle. They won’t start you off with postures but teach you stretching and only when your body gets used to it, you will move on to the complex asanas. You can also learn Artistic Yoga at Shankara Yoga Pranayama and Meditation Center run by Yoga guru BS Sripathi in Bangalore. They have a three-month course for coordinated artistic Yoga. Learners could also try the Pathanjala Yoga Kendra in JP Nagar, which has been there for the last 30 years. Acharya Ram’s Yoga Kendra at Kammanahalli teaches Raja Yoga. Several gyms in Bangalore, like Chisel, also have Yoga classes. If you would rather practice Yoga on a one-on-one basis than in a group, those are available as well. At Sivananda, instructors can give you individual lessons at the center or at your doorstep. Before selecting your teacher and class, you could ask to attend a trial session. Also read up and listen to your teacher when they explain the background of the asanas. Put your mind to it and soon you will be on the path to fitness.
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Yoga is derived from a Sanskrit word ‘Yuj,’ which means to join or bind. The purpose of this ancient eight-fold fitness mantra is to unite and balance the human body and mind. There are several branches of Yoga. Jnana Yoga is the Yoga of wisdom; Bhakti Yoga is the Yoga of devotion; Karma Yoga is the path of selfless service; Raja Yoga is the royal Yoga, one branch of which is the Hatha Yoga, the most commonly practiced form of Yoga.
If you’ve always wanted to try Yoga but didn’t know when or how to start, here’s a simple guide to the basics from MetroMela. We spoke to Yogacharya Venkat Rao from the Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centre, in Bangalore part of the International Sivananda Yoga Organization, which focuses on the five points of Yoga. “Proper posture, proper relaxation, proper breathing, proper vegetarian diet, positive thinking and meditation,” says Rao. Here are some basics for beginners.
• Most beginners’ courses in Yoga start with simple eye, neck and shoulder exercises and slowly graduate to rotational exercises like leg lifting and suryanamashkar, which is a warm up exercise. They do about 8-10 rounds of the same.
• Other simple asanas or postures they start learning are setu bandhasana, dhanurasana etc.
• If done under proper guidance, it takes beginners about three months to perfect 14 to 15 asanas.
• There are enough DVDs and books on Yoga flooding the market. However, we advice people to do Yoga under proper guidance at least for the first three months.
• Yoga has several branches. Nowadays, people have started combining aerobics and Yoga and you have Power Yoga, Dynamic Yoga etc. The basic principles are same, as you can’t change these thousands-of-year-old postures. Just the way of teaching is different.
• It’s a misconception that Yoga can’t help you lose weight. People need to follow certain techniques for this, for instance do 30 rounds of Suryanamshkar instead of 10. You may not lose weight quickly, but whatever you lose, you will lose from the root. To see the real benefit, you will need to practice Yoga and follow a good diet for at least two to three months.
• Early morning is the best time to practice Yoga. However, that is not practical in today’s world, so you can practice Yoga even in early evening. Keep a gap of at least two to three hours between Yoga and your meal.
• One to two hours of practice is good to maintain your body and spirits.
Apart from Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centre, in Bangalore, you could also learn Yoga at Atmadarshan Yoga Ashram, which offers an integrated Yoga course for beginners, though advanced options are also available for those who are already proficient in it. A very popular form of Yoga across India is Bharat Thakur’s Artistic Yoga. He claims to adapt ancient Yoga techniques and postures for today’s lifestyle. They won’t start you off with postures but teach you stretching and only when your body gets used to it, you will move on to the complex asanas. You can also learn Artistic Yoga at Shankara Yoga Pranayama and Meditation Center run by Yoga guru BS Sripathi in Bangalore. They have a three-month course for coordinated artistic Yoga. Learners could also try the Pathanjala Yoga Kendra in JP Nagar, which has been there for the last 30 years. Acharya Ram’s Yoga Kendra at Kammanahalli teaches Raja Yoga. Several gyms in Bangalore, like Chisel, also have Yoga classes. If you would rather practice Yoga on a one-on-one basis than in a group, those are available as well. At Sivananda, instructors can give you individual lessons at the center or at your doorstep. Before selecting your teacher and class, you could ask to attend a trial session. Also read up and listen to your teacher when they explain the background of the asanas. Put your mind to it and soon you will be on the path to fitness. |
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