Yoga has become a popular form of exercise. Yoga classes are held in places you might not expect to find them - on Wall Street, in gyms training professional athletes, in spas frequented by Hollywood stars, as well as the local YMCA and YWCA centers. 

   Yoga is offered in health clubs and fitness centers. What is it, actually, and why is it so popular? Let?s look at what Yoga offers and the ways in which it benefits our bodies, minds and hearts.

   Yoga is a 5000-year old science of self-development that has its roots in the ancient Vedic culture of India. For thousands of years, the teachings of Yoga were passed from teacher to student in the oral tradition, until roughly about the time of Christ when a sage named Patanjali recorded and organized the teachings to preserve them.

   Patanjali's Yoga Sutra is a classic text of Yoga philosophy.

   Americans have been interested in Yoga since the mid-1800s, when Thoreau and Emerson enjoyed the Bhagavad Gita, a well-loved Indian text. Since then many teachers have dedicated their lives to inspiring us about the benefits of Yoga. To truly understand Yoga, we must perceive what is at its heart, what distinguishes it from other kinds of exercise, and why such an ancient practice is relevant today

   Most people associate Yoga with Yoga postures, or "asanas". These are the most popular aspect of Yoga studied in America. Let?s begin by looking at how Yoga postures benefit the physical body. The practice of asanas is based on the principle of contraction or tensing of a set or sets of muscles, and then releasing or relaxing those muscles. This simple process of contraction-release increases blood circulation to the tissues. 

   By careful sequencing of poses, this effect is directed to either specific areas of the body or to the whole body. Yoga asanas, when practiced with awareness under the guidance of a skillful teacher, strengthen the supporting tissues of the structure, balance areas of weakness and overuse, increase circulation and promote functioning of the body's intricate physiological processes.

   Here are some examples of the benefits of practicing Yoga. Pam, a Yoga practitioner in her 40s, had elevated blood pressure, even with medication. When she saw her doctor after practicing Yoga once a week for six months, her blood pressure levels were in the normal range with medication. She feels that Yoga classes have contributed to her good health. She feels "alive."

   Franny, a college writing teacher, was a former runner, 10ks ? marathons, who enjoyed aerobics and weightlifting.

   She enjoyed the physical benefits of exercise but felt that something was missing. Yoga has helped her stretch and loosen tightened running muscles. She feels like a fuller, calmer and healthier person.

   Yoga has shown to be effective in alleviating chronic aches and pains. Many people have found that a simple, regular Yoga practice strengthens their back, one of the most common complaints in our culture. In fact Yoga has been adapted to support many different needs including asthma, relieving joint pain, pregnancy and stress reduction. 

   Yoga therapy is becoming increasingly popular as a complimentary means of facilitating the body's capacity to restore balance and well being. For example, Julie, who has fibromyalgia found that Yoga was a useful compliment to other treatment: "I am learning how to exercise to avoid exasperating pain problems."

   But the journey of Yoga just begins with the physical body. As Gary Kraftsow notes in his newly released book, Yoga for Transformation, "Although people today turn to Yoga for different reasons, the underlying motivation for many is the hope that, through Yoga practice, they can  transform recurring, troubling emotions and find greater meaning in life, even lasting peace. This is the promise of the Yoga tradition, and by following it, the potential to realize these goals is actually quite high."

   Many approaches to Yoga practice have evolved over Yoga's long history. We are fortunate to live in a time where there is abundant opportunity to choose from a rich variety and discover what has meaning for us. These different approaches, as explained by Mirka Kraftsow, represent different perspectives as well as the interests and personalities of the teacher who began the tradition. 

   The teachers ideas communicate to us how the teacher himself likes to relate to the poses and how they incorporate the training of the mind that Patanjali refers to in his Yoga Sutra as key to Yoga practice. 

   These become the principles that are taught and practiced in classes.

   Yoga is really about developing concentration and a one-pointed focus of the mind. In the practice of Yoga asanas, the practitioner learns to cultivate attention to what is happening in the asana. 

   When the breath is developed as a tool, it links the focus of the mind to the experience of the body. This linking is considered to be one of the aims of Yoga, according to Desikachar. It is in the linking together of various parts of ourselves that an experience of union, of wholeness emerges from within.

   Patanjali, in his Yoga Sutras, teaches that Yoga is the ability to direct the mind exclusively toward an object and sustain that direction without any distractions. Let's call this a ?Yoga? state of mind ? being in the zone, focused.

   Tiger Woods recently gave another demonstration of the power of focused absorption as he recently won a major championship. He has practiced the heart of these teachings and in his golf game, is an example of a mind that is directed and not distracted. 

   He was one with the hole he was playing, one with the ball, one with the shot. This kind of focus makes for an interesting game to watch, and when it comes to living life, it makes an interesting game to play.

   When the mind is distracted and jumps all over the place, our experience of life is one of discontent and stress.

   Michael Merrimer, a local massage therapist and yoga practitioner, has found that the practice of pranayama, or breathing exercises, allows him to control his emotions.

   I've learned that there is a real fight/flight response, he said, and that the breath can control it. Now I take my mind off whatever caused the reaction, do the breathing, and whatever it was is totally gone. That's allowed me to really change. There's a method where I can change my ownenergy, my own sense of peace, of being centered and grounded which I can use anytime, anywhere. I can use it in public and nobody knows I?m doing it.

   In asana (posture) practice we develop the body's potential for movement and health, and maintain or support healthy functioning.

   In pranayama (breath) practice, we learn to master the breath. The breath is like the string of a kite and the mind is like the kite. Picture a kite that has no string. It is impossible to steady a kite without a string. 

   As the breath becomes established, the mind becomes calmer. We have discussed how the asanas help to bring the physical body to a quieter place; through pranayama we see how to utilize the breath to focus and steady the mind.

   As a result of this quieting, the relaxed yet focused attention of the mind can be directed into the heart.

   This linking together of the mind with the heart is the meaning of Spirituality, according to Gary Kraftsow, in his book Yoga for Transformation, Yoga is a science in that it is a systematic method that has been tried and tested for thousands of years, to produce a greater sense of well being. The aim of the practice of Yoga needs to be adapted to fit the needs of the person who is interested enough to practice it. At the heart of the teachings of Yoga, is the idea that, according to Stoller Miller, "true state of the human spirit is freedom."

   Is the mind becomes steady we can direct our attention to any aspect of life where we are seeking balance and learn to apply these principles. The beauty of treating Yoga as a science is that the door is wide open for each of us to be scientists ourselves and learn to apply these ancient teachings in ways that bring greater balance and focus to our daily lives.

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