Benefits of Yoga
- Improves the health of the body and alleviates aches and pains
- Develop a strong, toned and flexible body
- Helps to relieve the stress and emotional tensions of daily life
- Gives mental clarity, and a sense of inner contentment
Iyengar Yoga
Iyengar Yoga is based on Patanjali's Yoga Sutras.
The eight limbs of yoga laid out in these sutras are known as Ashta (eight) Anga (limbs).
The eight limbs of yoga are
1.Yama
Moral principles, like non- violence, and truth
2. Niyama
Self- purification, like cleanliness, and purifying the senses of perception
3. Asana
Body postures that harmonise the body’s functions, sense perception and the skeleto-muscular systems of the body
4. Pranayama
Awareness of the breath and specific techniques for working with the prana, or energy that is in the breath
5. Pratyahara
Withdrawal of the mind and senses from objects that attract it
6. Dharana
Concentration or attention
7. Dhyana
Meditation, a quietening of the many thoughts which disturb the mind
8. Samadhi
Transcendent consciousness, the state of total absorption