This article talks about yoga and why we do it. It explains why a holiday or retreat can leap you months ahead of your practice! If you copy and use it – thank you – please just make sure you keep my links in place.mountainsphoto.ru
You know, there are many different reasons as to why people practice yoga. Some people like to feel energised, relaxed, opened, less stressed, more aware, calmer, stronger, more aligned, relieves constipation and improves digestion, sleep patterns improve, better memory, great workout, tones my body and on and on and on! And there is nothing wrong with whatever it is that draws you to practice yoga.
Each and every one of us will experience different feelings and effects from doing yoga. What is important though is that we, at some point, understand what it is that makes us feel different and I hope better at the end of a session!
In the west we misunderstand the need for relaxation within yoga and life. We see it more as the slow, lazy and boring part of the class that will often be skipped if possible. The bit that is thrown in at the end or rushed! The bit that if you leave and miss it, do not worry – after all it is only lying down!
How wrong we can be! Do we not realise that it is the most essential part of the class. This relaxation part, (we call it Savasana, the corpse pose), the lying down and doing nothing part, this is the part of the class that seals us, that puts us back into shape and allows us to repair, re-establish and replenish our bodies and minds.
The deep final stages of your yoga practice finalise and complete the more physically demanding parts of the class. Your body needs and has to be placed back to where it started and this savasana, deep relaxation, doing nothing part is exactly where it all happens.
The benefits from the physical parts of yoga are also endless and totally amazing but remember that no matter who you are or what you do you will accumulate tension! This is something that we cannot avoid during life – it is life!
And it is this accumulation of tension that causes upset and dis-ease within the mind and body and adds to problems both emotionally and spiritually.
In yoga we recognise tension and work towards ways to release tension. It does not always work 100% for everybody, but I can pretty much bet that a well programmed and well taught class, covering both physical postures, breathing exercises and relaxation will leave you feeling less tense that when you started!
You see in yoga we know the connection between mind and body. If your mind is tense then so is your body. If you are angry then that is having an effect on your body and organs.
Practising yoga, for whatever reason your first intention may have been, will reduce and help to relieve tension from your body and mind, and the main part of the yoga session that this happens in is during the relaxation!
Letting go is an amazingly difficult thing to do. To totally let go is not easy, BUT it is amazing and possible when in the right environment and with the right people. This is why retreats and yoga holidays are an amazing way to transform and experience feelings that you may not be able to reach on a day to day normal life basis.
You see on a yoga holiday or retreat you are accumulating relaxation daily and reducing more and more tension daily that is adding up to be a lot of released tension by the end of a week period. That may take you months back at home when you are surrounded by distractions and phone calls! The accumulative effect from daily deep relaxation and opening postures takes you to a deeper more letting go place that can sink you deep inside yourself to realise and see things that you may have never seen before or realised.
It is also the most amazing way to find peace of mind… literally, even if only for a second! We all need to retreat. We all need to take a risk and transport ourselves with an open mind into our bodies and souls to experience and feel total bliss!
The feeling of total relaxation and peace is priceless and once experienced, never forgotten! As one of my teachers said to me, ‘When you have been sparked, there is no looking back’.
So come and get sparked… visit my yoga holiday page for more details…
[…] The art of totally relaxing and letting go is something that can be felt through time and is something that can be gained during a yoga holiday or retreat. The practice of Yoga Nidra has an amazing affect and benefit to body and mind, and is often used a lot during week long retreats and holidays. […]