- Why did you start practicing yoga?
- What were the effects of yoga classes?
- Is it true that women are more likely to enter the path of yoga?
- Yoga - concentration on the breath
- Why is it that men are less eager to practice yoga?
- Do the benefits of yoga mean that it gives something that no sport can do?
- Hatha-yoga state of balance
- Why is yoga so popular in the West?
- But according to Iyengar, yoga is not practiced solely to improve fitness.
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Yoga deals with human development as a whole, from a he althy body to self-realization. We are talking about yoga with Wiktor Morgulc, a certified yoga teacher according to the method of Bellur Krishnamachar Sundararaj Iyengar - one of the greatest modern authorities in hatha-yoga, author of asana and pranayam textbooks.
Why did you start practicing yoga?
Wiktor Morgulec:At one point, an important need for me has become to organize my lifestyle. It was necessary for my further development. During this time, I was reading a lot about yoga and came to the conclusion that yoga can become a tool for shaping willpower. My search for self-discipline prompted me to try. In fact, after a few classes, I knew this was it, and I got involved very intensely.
What were the effects of yoga classes?
W.M.:It soon turned out that I was gaining more energy and strength. For me, entering the mat was a real struggle with my own weaknesses, the more so when I saw next to me practicing more efficiently and much better than me, physically weaker women. Overcoming my own limitations gave me great satisfaction.
Is it true that women are more likely to enter the path of yoga?
W.M.:This is what the research shows. Educated, well-off, mostly from larger cities, but not only. This can also be seen in the room, where there are definitely fewer men.
This will be useful to youYoga - concentration on the breath
The basis of yogic practice is developing yam - universal moral principles, and niyam - assumptions of self-discipline, the first two steps of the classical path. In class, under the supervision of a teacher, he learns the yogic technique sensu stricto - asanas and pranayama. During precise body positioning in initially uncomfortable positions, the practitioner's attention is turned inward, focused on full, measured breathing. Joints and muscles are relaxed and unblocked. At the physiological level, the positions taken improve the flow of body fluids, affect the skin, tendons and all internal organs. These exercises remove the obstacles to the flow of energy, or prana. During the next stage, we experience more subtle work on disciplining the breath and its numeroustechniques practiced after mastering the asanas. This completes the cleansing process of the body and regulates the flow of prana. Concentration in the positions taken develops concentration and puts the mind under control.
Why is it that men are less eager to practice yoga?
W.M.:I think mainly out of ignorance of what exercise is. People associate yoga with indefinite thought. Those who try yoga poses are surprised. It turns out that they are specific and require a truly comprehensive effort and great efficiency. Men who are eager to compete may feel distressed when they compare themselves to seemingly weaker but better asanas. Muscular, yet "swell" and get out of breath when you have to stand on your hands. On the mat, I think, only strong units remain, which compete only with themselves.
Do the benefits of yoga mean that it gives something that no sport can do?
W.M.:Yoga is a system that is several thousand years behind. It is constantly being improved, modified and alive. I do not want to disavow other systems of working with the body, but based on my own experiences and cases of people I met who, through proper exercise, healed their ailments, I find that this type of activity definitely helps.
This will be useful to youHatha-yoga state of balance
The most popular in the West is hatha yoga, practiced according to the B.K.S. Iyengar. Ha means solar energy, active, masculine. Tha lunar, passive, female. Hatha is a state of equilibrium between them. The basic tools of hatha yoga are asana, yoga postures, and pranayama, breath control, and its purpose is to unite and balance body, mind, and spirit.
Why is yoga so popular in the West?
W.M.:I think because of its he alth benefits. The way of life prevailing in the West causes a person to withdraw into himself more and more and become ill. Methods are needed to counteract this, and yoga is one of the most effective. The Iyengar method is the result of many years of practice, experience and vast anatomical knowledge. It helps to keep the body in good shape.
But according to Iyengar, yoga is not practiced solely to improve fitness.
W.M.:If you practice properly, good he alth will be an inevitable "side effect". According to Iyengar, by not fully devoting yourself to the practice, one can successfully develop the first four steps of the yoga path. The practice of asanas alone is effectiveside effects in the form of improved he alth. However, those who would like to gain further stages of development must adopt other yoga principles in their lifestyle as well. Those who don't want it get the physical fitness as well as some kind of stamina to practice meditation. The accompanying calmness allows us to gradually prepare us for breathing exercises that require even greater, more subtle concentration of attention.
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