Yoga and the Mind Body Connection

Have you done yoga before? The benefits of yoga are said to be not only physical, but also mental, and spiritual. But what is yoga anyways?

According to Bikram Choudhury (Hatha) Yoga is a discipline that started over 4,000 years ago in India. Yoga, he says is for everyone and every body. The Yoga routine consists of a series of exercises known as poses.

There are quite a few different “types” of yoga, the most popular ones are:


Hatha Yoga, Bhakti yoga, and Raja yoga (there are more). Yoga exercises are great to improve your body’s flexibility, and balance, it can also be another way to tone your muscles and lose weight – be ready to sweat!

Among the mental benefits of yoga is the one that helps your mind relax as you really cannot think of anything other than the exercise (pose) you need to complete. Yoga is also charged with relieving stress and anxiety by employing the proper breathing techniques.

Yoga is one of those exercises you can either do at home or through a group class. Many gyms offer yoga lessons to their members which is an excellent way to get started since it does not cost extra (assuming you have a gym membership).

Bikram Choudhury in his book Bikram’s Beginning Yoga Class says that all that matters in Yoga is that you try (to do each posture) the right way.

If you have never tried doing yoga before it can be challenging the first time, especially if you have no idea of what the poses look like, or what the sequence is. It may be useful to glance over some books at the library, just so that you familiarize yourself with the movements.

I don’t do yoga all that often, but when I do, I leave wondering why I don’t do it more often. Yeah, it feels that good.