Yoga - Exercise from the East

Yoga is not only the world’s most ancient exercise-based health regimen, it is also the first non-Western alternative therapy to gain popularity in the United States. Yoga master Swami Vivekananda first demonstrated his amazing flexibility at the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair. Since then, yoga has become as American as the YMCA, which sponsors hundreds of yoga classes around the country.

The word yoga comes from the Sanskrit yuga, meaning “to join.” It refers to the joining of body, mind, and spirit in a disciplined union. To appreciate what yoga is, you should know what yoga is not. It’s not a religion, though it developed from Hinduism. It’s not calisthenics, though it works up a sweat and tones and strengthens the muscles and joints as well as-or better than-most other forms of exercise. And it’s not meditation, though its slow pace, deep breathing, and focus on the moment open a door to meditative relaxation.

So just what is yoga? “It’s an exercise path to physical and emotional well-being,” says Nashville pathologist Mary Pullig Schatz, M.D., author of Back Care Basics. “Not to mention that it cured my bad back.”

There are several styles of yoga. The one most commonly practiced in the United States is hatha yoga, a collection of stretches and postures that Indian yoga masters call asanas. Hatha means “forceful” -an ironic choice of words, considering that hatha yoga is known for its gentleness. The most popular school of hatha yoga was developed by B. K. S. Iyengar, who modified the classic hatha asanas for the comfort of Western students.

Beyond the Yoga Biomedical Trust survey, many carefully controlled scientific studies have demonstrated yoga’s health benefits. Most of the research comes from India, where yoga is practiced in conjunction with both Western medicine and Ayurveda, India’s traditional medicine. But American and European researchers have also put yoga under the microscope, publishing their findings in leading Western scientific journals. Their studies show that yoga can help with heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, asthma, and back pain.