The Benefits of Yoga

Yoga is truly global.  Classes are held at Scott Base in the Antarctic.  Last year, I attended a training programme in Iceland.  In Nairobi, Kenya, the Shine Centre offers free classes, and runs training programmes.  Wherever you go in the world, yoga is there.  The roots of yoga date back millenia.  It has stood the test of time, evolving and developing to meet the needs of each generation.  To be so ubiquitous, to have endured for so long, there must be real benefits to the practice.  And there are!  Here, let us examine some of the benefits of yoga.

Panchamaya Kosha System:

In yoga, we speak of the panchamaya kosha system.  This references five layers of one’s being: the physical, the energetic, the mind, the discerning wisdom and intellect, and the essence of bliss at one’s heart.  The benefits of yoga can be experienced at all five levels.

The Physical:

I first walked into a yoga studio as a 40-year old seeking to stretch away tightness injuries that I had developed from running.  My approach to yoga was at the first layer of my being.  The physical.  I certainly got a good stretch in classes.  Most people, when they think of yoga, think of the physical and, more specifically, think of stretching.

Yoga goes much further than that.  My style of yoga is very physical and does not just mobilise through stretching but powerfully strengthens students’ bodies.  We develop enhanced balanced, proprioception and coordination.  We improve posture.

Many people have, by their lifestyles developed disproportions in their bodies.  Yoga works to restore physical balance.  Areas that are both tight and weak become lengthened and strengthened.  Areas that are neglected are brought into use.  Yoga brings your body into an enhanced state of harmony, with functional strength and mobility.

The Energetic:

The second layer of being is the energetic.  Yoga stimulates energy throughout your whole being and balances your energy.  Many people have areas in their body that have become lifeless and stagnant through disuse, neglect or injury.  Many have parts of their body where the energy is extremely dense and unyielding through stress or over-use.

Yoga works to move energy through your whole body, bringing to life the inert areas, relaxing the tense areas and creating a sense of connected wholeness in one’s entire being.

The Mind:

In the context of yoga poses and through the practice of meditation we become more aware of our minds and more disciplined in the use of our minds.

A lot of people experience themselves as their thoughts and their thoughts are running the show through a constant barrage, negative thoughts, worries about what will be, notions of not feeling enough….  Yoga educates its students to ask who they are?  Are they their thoughts or are they a being that witnesses their thoughts and is distinct from the thoughts?

This awareness gives yogis the ability to decide where they put their conscious awareness in the gigantic field of their mind.  The mind becomes a tool rather than a tyrannical master.

Rather than needing constant entertainment or distraction so as to be free from one's mind, or needing to numb out through the use of alcohol or other drugs, the student of yoga develops the ability to be with themselves and be at peace.

The Discerning Wisdom:

The fourth layer of being is discerning intellect or wisdom.  Yoga teaches us how to make enlightened responses to our circumstances.  It enables us to step back and have critical distance so that we do not take things personally, we are not brought down by disappointment or loss and we can see past our instinctive reactions to make conscious choices in what we say and do.

Bliss Being:

Yoga teaches that inner peace and contentment are possible for us all.  If we practice yoga and apply ourselves to its methods, we will come deeper into an appreciation of ourselves, a reconciliation with our surroundings and a calm, contented way of being.

Social:

In addition, practising yoga gives you access to a wonderful community of people.  There are wonderful synergies to be experienced when breathing and moving together through a sequence of yoga.  The environment in the yoga room is non-competitive, very supportive and the shared experience of the practice brings people together in a truly rewarding way. 

I walked into a yoga studio to work on stretching.  I became committed to yoga because it revealed to me, by degrees, the benefits of yoga in so many layers that it offers.  I teach yoga, and it is my life’s passion, because of the holistic benefits it offers.  If you have not yet, take up yoga.  Be regular and committed to the process of your practice.  By degrees, the many and sophisticated layers of yogic benefits will come to you.