Why Yoga?

Yoga is truly for everyone, regardless of shape, size, age, or level of fitness. Everyone can participate in yoga at a level that is appropriate for them, and everyone can benefit.

If you're reading this and are considering taking a yoga class, you have probably already heard something about the health benefits of yoga.  There are many - physical, mental and spiritual.

What most people notice when they leave a yoga class is that they simply feel healthy.  They feel better in their bodies and they feel better about who they are. Yoga invites you to evolve by breaking unconscious patterns of poor posture and poor alignment in your body. These new ways of moving allow energy currents to start flowing again, and you leave class feeling refreshed.

Improved Physical Health

Because a yoga practice consists of a sequence of "asanas" (a Sanskrit word meaning "poses") in which the muscles are engaged and lengthened, your body over time becomes more flexible.  But this is only the tip of the iceberg! Learning to identify and use different muscles also increases the range of motion of your joints and enables you to do all varieties of movements and sports more safely.  Many people report a drastic increase in overall coordination.  Yoga may be the single-most effective way to improve balance.  And as anyone who has been to a class will tell you, yoga requires and builds strength.  As you hold poses and move through sequences, the muscles are working in ways that build usable strength without significantly increasing muscle mass.  If you stick with your yoga practice, you may find that your body changes - for the better.  Not only do many practitioners lose weight, nearly all students report that their weight shifts around their body - fat becomes muscle, and overall body tone increases.

Deeper, Fuller Breathing

Yoga poses are always linked with the breath, and through a regular yoga practice your awareness of the breath and your ability to direct the breath to different parts of the body increases markedly.  Deeper, fuller breathing in turn brings with it a host of benefits, including lowered blood pressure, decreased risk of heart and lung conditions, and less soreness in the muscles during and after activity.  Better connection to the breath makes the body more efficient at rest and at play, and with even one hour of regular practice per week, students report better, deeper sleep. 

Relaxation

You may have heard that "yoga is relaxing"....this is both very true and very misleading.  The practice itself is not always relaxing - you are working hard to engage your muscles, breathe deeply through challenging poses, and open your body in new ways.  However, at the conclusion of the practice, you feel an incredible sense of relaxation.  This feeling continues through the day - or with regular practice - through the week.  Relaxation comes from the exercise of the practice, the connection and awareness of the breath, and the mental restfulness acquired through the focus and reflectiveness demanded by the practice.

Mental and Spiritual Clarity

For many, it is these mental and spiritual benefits of yoga that are the most powerful, and it is these benefits that "get them hooked."  The spiritual practice of yoga invites you to embrace the best parts of yourselves by cultivating an attitude that reflects your highest values.  Ultimately, the goal of yoga is connection - connection to yourself and to something larger than yourself.  Whether this larger force is a universal consciousness, a more traditional idea of God, or just the breath that every person experiences, yoga's purpose is to remind that you are a part of something bigger.  Because of this regular reminder, many yoga practitioners find more clarity in their lives, and they feel and experience daily events with more potency.

The Community of Yoga

The common experience of yoga tends to draw "yogis" (people who practice yoga) together.  We are proud of our "kula" (a Sanskrit word for community) at YogaTejas - a strong, vibrant, caring and fun group of people who are always open to sharing their enthusiasm for yoga and life with others.  It can be intimidating to come to your first yoga class, but we know that you'll find support in your classmates and teachers.  If you are open to the experience of yoga, you'll find rewards wherever you are on the path.
 

About Anusara Yoga

(partially excerpted from the Anusara website - www.anusara.com)

YogaTejas is an Anusara yoga studio, meaning that our teachers have all made a commitment to express their individual styles within the context of the Anusara system. 

Anusara (a-nu-sar-a), means "flowing with Grace," "going with the flow," "following your heart."

Founded by John Friend in 1997, Anusara Yoga is a powerful hatha yoga system that unifies a Tantric philosophy of intrinsic Goodness with Universal Principles of Alignment(TM). Currently, Anusara Yoga is one of the most popular and fastest growing yoga styles in the world with over 1200 affiliated teachers and 100,000 students world-wide.

Anusara Yoga's remarkable popularity is due in large part to its uplifting philosophy, epitomized by a "celebration of the heart," that looks for the good in all people and all things. Consequently, students of all levels of ability and yoga experience are honored for their unique differences, limitations, and talents. This life-affirming vision sets the basis for a yoga system in which the harmony and joy of a tightly knit community is exulted. Not only is Anusara Yoga an elegant system of alignment principles and non-dual philosophy, but it is also a wonderful community of highly trained teachers and fun-loving students.

In an Anusara class, you can expect there to be a "heart-oriented theme" - meaning that the teacher opens the class by offering thoughts about the practice that are meant to stimulate reflection and inspiration.  This theme is woven throughout the pose sequence, and the teacher chooses poses that illustrate or epitomize the theme.  Additionally, you can expect a lot of alignment instruction in an Anusara class.  The Universal Principles of Alignment are taught and reinforced both to optimize the flow of energy and breath in the body and to ensure that the student stays safe.  Teachers give a lot of individual attention to students, and you can expect feedback that will both help you to prevent injury and to deepen your practice.