Essay on Yoga Class
It is known that yoga is one of the best methods to achieve synchronization of the human body and mind which can lead to internal sense of serenity. Yoga class helps to deepen personal experience and practice in yoga. Yoga instructor is a person who is ready to share his healing potential of the yoga practice with others in the group. Yoga classes are always very stimulating and, at the same time, they are very relaxing. Moreover, yoga helps to recognize oneself better (Desikachar 5). It is found that the word yoga has many different interpretations, such as “to unite”, “to come together”, “to tie the strands of the mind together”, or “to attain what is previously unattainable” (Desikachar 5).
One of the factors which should be taken into consideration by any yoga instructor is to provide the appropriate conditions for the yoga class. The class setting should be quite in order to let the group members to concentrate their attention on the process of yoga, including breathing and body movements during asana practice. According to Iyengar, the outstanding master of yoga, “the yogic journey guides us from our periphery, the body, to the center of our being, the soul” (Iyengar 3). That is why it is very important to keep silence during the yoga class. Moreover, it is a rather difficult task for a yoga instructor to keep an eye on each student in the group. That is why some additional noise will hinder the yoga class. The yoga instructor should be ready to correct mistakes of his students during the yoga class, because these mistakes can cause serious injuries and discomfort.
Moreover, group yoga can influence each member in the class in different ways because the yoga students have different level of yoga practicing. It is necessary to have several months of practicing yoga in order to perfect the poses, or asanas and to avoid mistakes that can lead to injuries. That is why some students in the group are ready to learn new poses, while others need some time to improve the current poses. In many cases, weak students feel discomfort and may have some emotional stress.
As any yoga exercise program is focused on warming the human body before some vigorous physical activity, it is very important to provide appropriate temperature in the yoga room. In many cases, the temperature of yoga room should be similar to the temperature of the human body. It means that the temperature of the yoga room is very important for effective yoga practices (Chaoul & Cohen 145).
Besides, voice tone of the yoga instructor affects the effectiveness of yoga class. It is known that many yoga instructors use their voice tone in order to teach yoga, for example during the breathing exercises or pranayama. They change their voice tone to instruct students and to correct their mistakes (Sparrowe & Martinez 42).
Yoga as a spiritual, physical and mental practice was originated in ancient India. As public awareness of the benefits of yoga has been increased in the Western countries, today Western culture is more open for yoga practices. Moreover, it is known that Western culture has adapted yoga to cure different health disorders, including autism, psychological problems, back injuries, asthma, diabetes, heart diseases, high blood pressure, overweight, and other ones (Chaoul & Cohen 144). More and more people began to practice yoga and get positive results. Yoga helps millions of people to increase flexibility, lose extra weight and tone the muscles of the body. Today Western culture defines many benefits of yoga practices. First of all, even simple assanas increase the individual’s determination and confidence. Secondly, regular yoga practices help to improve concentration and focus as most poses require focusing attention on some particular parts of the body as well as the breath. Thirdly, yoga is effective in reducing anxiety of the mind and slowing down the breath. It means that yoga practices can improve the lives of millions of people of different ages (Sparrowe & Martinez 12).
To sum up, yoga classes can help to change the individual’s relation to life, think more clearly and feel much better. As yoga does not require a particular system of beliefs, it can be practiced by any human being on our planet. According to the yogic point of view, everything in this life is real and there is no illusion that is why it is necessary to act freely in any situation. Yoga increases the individual’s confidence and determination what can help in any situation, including workplace conflicts, family relations and so on.
