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Before we get into the practical how-to of various yogic poses, we should consider what it is we're actually talking about and what it's for. Yoga has been practiced in India for thousands of years. The word yoga comes from Sanskrit and is related to the English word yoke. Just as a yoke joins an ox to a cart or a plow, yoga joins mind and body together in a well-integrated union. On a spiritual level, yoga unites the individual's personal experience to an experience of the absolute reality.
Yoga refers to a broad variety of ancient Indian spiritual practices. These practices are designed to liberate the individual from their ordinary, bound, unfree experience of the self and the world, into an expansive, unlimited state of complete freedom.
So right away we can do away with the idea that, in order to do yoga, you need to sign up with a religious group and give up your own beliefs, adopting a new set of doctrines and strange behaviors. If you're not into the metaphysical ideas behind yoga as spiritual transformation, that's no problem. Yoga is, first and foremost, personal, practical, and experiential. What you get out of it depends on what you bring into it; your goals and purposes for doing yoga will determine what kind of positive effect it has on your life.
In particular, the popular perception associates yoga with a system of bendy, twisty physical movements and positions. Some may even think yoga is just glorified stretching. But yoga is about more than just stretching. It's about creating balance in body and mind, and joining the two together and bringing them into close communication.
Recent scientific research into the effects of yoga on the body and mind have shown that these physical practices have enormous benefits for physical and psychological health. They can help you lose weight, tone muscles, treat a number of medical problems, improve your flexibility and posture, keep your muscles relaxed and supple, regulate your appetite, etc. They also decrease the all-too-common psychological sufferings of stress, anxiety, and depression, improve concentration and mindfulness, and boost your mood and brainpower overall.
Yoga offers a profound sense of physical and psychological wellbeing. Through the practice of yoga, your body and mind will become more and more closely integrated. That's the central lesson of yoga: by connecting with our bodies more deeply, we go further into our experience as embodied beings in the world. That, in turn, will enrich our lives, as we bring the mindful awareness of yoga into our everyday world.
Finally, a word of warning needs to be said about the practices that follow. Some yoga poses can be dangerous if you're not careful. You can get injured trying to get into some positions. So proceed with caution. Always pay attention to what your body is telling you, and don't do anything if it starts to feel uncomfortable or painful. Sometimes your body will whisper, “Um, maybe not.” Sometimes it will scream, “NO WAY, STOP NOW!” Be careful and sensitive to these messages.
While this book is intended to give you an introduction to the physical poses and the meditative side of yoga, it's strongly advised that you learn yoga under the guidance of a qualified and experienced instructor. A good yoga teacher can help you avoid mistakes and injury, correct your posture, and guide you into more advanced stages of practice as you get deeper and deeper into yoga.
