Postures

_"I was amazed at the gentleness of yoga and the way you were led into it. I was amazed at some of the things I could do that I couldn’t do before."
Participant
Yoga postures, or hatha yoga asanas, place your body in various positions which stretch your muscles and encourage the replacement of stagnant blood with freshly oxygenated blood as the muscle returns to its natural shape. Yoga movements also have specific effects on the endocrine and lymphatic systems, internal organs and nervous system. They maintain flexibility and mobility throughout your body by carefully moving joints within your natural capacity. The integral effects of the yoga movement, breath and relaxation awareness can help your body to maintain in optimum condition. If you have a health problem the practices can be adapted so that you can obtain benefit whilst taking into consideration any limitations you may have.
From the yoga perspective of seeing the body and mind as a continuum relaxation; concentration; meditation and breath awareness are recognised as essential to improve overall well-being in addition to physical movement. Yoga awareness helps you to better understand the needs of your own body; mind and emotions to optimise your overall well-being. For example, as a newcomer to yoga, you may become aware of emotional tensions having the effect of tightening the lungs and diaphragm. As a result you may go on to notice that the respiration has becomes shallow. Through yoga awareness you will know how to choose simple movements to open and relax the chest, calming your breathing process and ultimately introducing a more relaxed and positive mood state. A balanced set of yoga movements integrated with breath awareness and relaxation work together on underlying physical, mental and emotional tensions. When you release tensions you free up energy which benefits the body's functions overall.
Yoga asana ranges from simple movements to more advanced postures. However, the systematic use of simple movements are viewed in no way inferior to the more advanced practices. The choice of movement depends entirely on the individual's need and capacity.
Participant
Yoga postures, or hatha yoga asanas, place your body in various positions which stretch your muscles and encourage the replacement of stagnant blood with freshly oxygenated blood as the muscle returns to its natural shape. Yoga movements also have specific effects on the endocrine and lymphatic systems, internal organs and nervous system. They maintain flexibility and mobility throughout your body by carefully moving joints within your natural capacity. The integral effects of the yoga movement, breath and relaxation awareness can help your body to maintain in optimum condition. If you have a health problem the practices can be adapted so that you can obtain benefit whilst taking into consideration any limitations you may have.
From the yoga perspective of seeing the body and mind as a continuum relaxation; concentration; meditation and breath awareness are recognised as essential to improve overall well-being in addition to physical movement. Yoga awareness helps you to better understand the needs of your own body; mind and emotions to optimise your overall well-being. For example, as a newcomer to yoga, you may become aware of emotional tensions having the effect of tightening the lungs and diaphragm. As a result you may go on to notice that the respiration has becomes shallow. Through yoga awareness you will know how to choose simple movements to open and relax the chest, calming your breathing process and ultimately introducing a more relaxed and positive mood state. A balanced set of yoga movements integrated with breath awareness and relaxation work together on underlying physical, mental and emotional tensions. When you release tensions you free up energy which benefits the body's functions overall.
Yoga asana ranges from simple movements to more advanced postures. However, the systematic use of simple movements are viewed in no way inferior to the more advanced practices. The choice of movement depends entirely on the individual's need and capacity.