YOGA is an ancient physical, mental and spiritual practice that originated in India. I’d say that over the past few years, yoga has become increasingly popular and more widely practised as a mechanism to improve healthy lifestyles.

The word ‘yoga’ is derived from Sanskrit (the ancient language of India) and means “to join or to unite”, symbolising the union of body and consciousness. And yoga, since time immemorial, has been revered as the sacred art and science geared at uniting the body and mind to attain self-realisation.

Yoga is also divided into eight “limbs”, which represent different levels of engagement in the practice. The eight limbs, as explained by the Seattle Yoga group are: Yama, which involves the attitudes toward the environment; Niyama, the attitudes toward oneself; Asana, the physical postures and stretches done; Pranayama, the restraint or expansion of the breath practised; Pratyahara, the withdrawal of the senses; Dharana, the concentration required; Dhyana, meditation; and finally, Samadhi, a spiritual connection which involves a meditative consciousness. It sounds a bit complicated, or even intense, but I can say it isn’t so.

Last Sunday, for the third year in a row, I visited a yoga session organised by the Indian High Commission as part of its fifth annual International Day of Yoga at the Everest Cricket Club, Georgetown.

This event, which usually attracted about a hundred persons or so, featured presentations on yoga- including different postures, stretches and of course, breathing techniques. And this time around, I decided to give the art form a try (sort of).

Now for additional context, maybe a few weeks ago, when I thought about yoga, I thought of it as just another way of exercising. For me, it was perhaps a less strenuous form of exercising (which is more appealing than working out in, let’s say, the gym) that could still be effective. But when you give yoga a chance, it’s actually a lot more than that.

Yoga Instructor from the Indian High Commission, Angela Patil led a full session. This session focused primarily on the Asana, Pranayama, Dharana and Dhyana limbs (the others do require a bit more time, effort and concentration). And for about 20 minutes we were led through yoga elements beginning with simple breathing exercises to prepare the body, and gradually increasing to various postures and stretches.

Patil explained that the aim of the gentle exercises was to allow persons to allow their mind, body, and spirit to become aligned in a more peaceful state. This is in an attempt to allow for focus to be given to promoting physical health, but also to relieve some tension and stress from the body. And I could, quite literally, feel some sense of calmness wash over me as I followed Patil’s instructions.

In fact, studies from the Harvard Medical School show that yoga has been studied and proven to have many benefits for physical and mental health.

“The scientific study of yoga demonstrates that mental and physical health are not just closely allied, but are essentially equivalent,” a 2018 article in the school’s medical journal stated. “The evidence is growing that yoga practice is a relatively low-risk, high-yield approach to improving overall health.”

With this in mind, and from my sole experience, I really believe that yoga is just one of those that can be quite beneficial if you give it a chance. And I also believe that many persons, not just in Guyana but across the world, are cognisant of this; maybe that’s a reason why the United Nations even declared an annual observance for it.

Another session in observance of the International Day of Yoga will be held at the Indian Arrival Monument, Palmyra, Berbice, today. This event will begin at 10:00hrs. Aside from that, there are classes offered a few days of the week at the Swami Vivekananda Cultural Centre (SVCC).

Even further afield, in 2019, you already know that there no shortage of Youtube gurus with a litany of videos geared at guiding you through the artform– but as usual, you just gotta find that’s the most practical.