Yoga Benefits

Prevents you from having joint and cartilage breakdown 

Engaging in Yoga puts your joints in their full range of motion. This does not permit degenerative arthritis and disability due to soaking and squeezing of those cartilages that are often idle. The cartilage in joints can be likened to sponge, it is nourished only when fluid is squeezed out and fresh one is soaked up. When not properly sustained, cartilages can become worn-out when neglected, leaving the underlying bones to suffer wear as well. 

Yoga Offers protection to your spine

Spinal disks serve as the shock absorbers existing between vertebrae that compress and herniate nerves, aiding movement. That’s how they get nourished, and you can keep your disks supple with a well-coordinated asana practice including lots of forward bends, backbends, as well as twists.

Yoga keeps your bones healthy

Enough literature have been used to state the benefit of weight-bearing exercises in bone strengthening. It has also been stated that they prevent osteoporosis. You will be lifting your own weight many times in many Yoga postures you take. Some postures such as the Upward and Downward Facing Dog will also help strengthen your arm. 

A work was conducted in California State University, Los Angelis, but not published, showing that bone density becomes increased with Yoga practice. Sufficient calcium can also be sustained in the bones if you are able to lower stress hormone cortisol in the body.

Yoga Increases your blood flow

Everything gets better with Yoga, including the circulation of blood in your body. Some basic relaxation exercises in Yoga will naturally make blood circulate in your feet and hands. Your cells are also nourished with more oxygen to perform better. Twisting poses in Yoga are said to remove venous blood found in internal organs, allowing fresh oxygenated blood to come in at the release of the twisted body part. Venous blood from the pelvis and legs are allowed to flow back to the heart when inverted poses are taken. 

Leg swelling that result from kidney or heart problem can be relieved in the process. The red blood cells carrying oxygen, as well as hemoglobin can receive a boost through Yoga practice. It does not end there, Yoga also thins the blood, causing platelets to be less sticky and reducing the level of proteins that cause the presence of clots in the blood. This can be a life enhancer, reducing the risk of strokes and heart attacks caused by presence of clots in the blood.

Ashtanga Yoga

One of the more advanced styles of yoga offered at the retreat is Ashtanga yoga. This style originates from Mysore, India where it was developed by TirumalaiKrishnamacharya and Krishna PattabhiJois. The practice of this style is intense, both physically and mentally. Poses are not held but instead the practitioner is constantly moving. There is also a specific order of poses that should be followed in order to rediscover your full capacity for physical, mental, and spiritual growth. You will learn how to combine correct breathing, postures, gazing point, and bandas (energetic locks), to acquire control over your own senses and consciousness. Those we practice Ashtangawith devotion will gain balance of mind and body.

Ashtanga Mysore Style

For those who prefer to move at their own pace, Mysore style might be right for you. Each practitioner is allowed to have their own practice, with the teacher only moving you to the next posture when you are ready. You will have responsibility for your own practice and speed of learning. Your personal sequence of pose will become a part of you, as you practice them daily, committing them to memory until they become instinctual.

Your teacher will also fully learn your practice and those of your fellow students. This connection between you and your teacher and your fellow practitioners helps to create a sense of community. You will soon learn the names of the community members and be inspired as you see others accomplishing amazing things in their own practices. Knowing that you have all started from the beginning, putting in extraordinary effort and work to reach your personal goals is truly life affirming.

The path of Mysore is not an easy one. You must challenge yourself to meet your own goals. You cannot leave the learning process up to your teacher; it is on your shoulders to improve yourself. You will arise early in the morning, when the world is still,to devote yourself to your practice.