Yoga for Beginners

Planning on learning yoga? Whether you are considering taking classes of yoga for beginners, or simply doing it on your own, at home, or through CD's and books, there are some basic things of yoga that you should know about to fully understand and appreciate the benefits you are going to get, both physically and emotionally, as well as the knowledge that you'll advantageously be gaining.

Yoga for beginners start with the most basic knowledge of what yoga really is. So what is yoga? Although often linked with Hinduism, yoga is in fact older and is the most ancient physical

discipline that exists. Its exact origins are not known, but it is deemed to be at least half a decade old. The primary purpose of the breathing exercises and the postures was to get relaxation and stability for practitioners, in preparation for the severity of meditation.
Yoga for beginners also tackles the stages of yoga, which is essential 'insight' information of what practitioners would be achieving at the utmost of their yoga learning. There are eight stages of yoga, which are the basic guidelines on how one can live a purposeful and meaningful life; they are ethical and moral conduct prescription, which directs attention to one's physical health, as well as helping to acknowledge the nature of one's spiritual aspects.

The first four steps of these stages focus on refining one's personality, developing energetic awareness of oneself, and gaining mastery over the body; all of these prepare the practitioner for the second half of the stages that deals with the mind, senses, and achieving a higher level of consciousness. The first four steps include Yama (moral discipline), Niyama (self-discipline), Asana (postures), and Pranayama (breath control); while the second half of the stages include Pratyahara (sensory withdrawal), Dharana (concentration), Dhyana (meditation), and Samadhi (transcendence).

Yoga for beginners or yoga in general, has both therapeutic and preventive benefits, as well as mental and physical benefits of the mind and body. Its physical benefits include: improving muscle joint mobility and flexibility; strengthening, toning, and building muscles; correcting posture; easing back pain; strengthening the spine; improving muscular-skeletal condition; increasing stamina; creating grace and balance; stimulating the endocrine system's glands; and more. While the mental benefits include: relieving chronic stress; increasing body awareness; relaxing the body and mind; sharpening concentrations; refreshes the body through muscle strain relief, and more.

Yoga for beginners is just the first step to the deeper levels of yoga, and even those who have been learning yoga for a number of years still consider themselves beginners because of its complex and profound aspects.