Article by Carmela M Turner
You have a hectic work schedule and a busy lifestyle? You have opted for yoga that helps you relax and are doing well with it or you are a yoga instructor and enjoy teaching this exercise to a group of students. You love spending hours at the meditation retreat or yoga retreat and relax your mind? Well if this is what interests you, read about this concept of yoga named as Gentle yoga. Yoga is a sort of challenge to the ‘YOGAITES’. Challenge and yoga, two contradictory terms? Right? But yes Gentle yoga is a sort of challenge. Let me tell you what it is and why is it challenging.
Gentle Yoga is a modified version of Hatha Yoga. Yoga aims at bringing back love in to one’s mind and body. It brings about and overall awareness in oneself. The movements or poses in Gentle Yoga are such that it relaxes the mind and body and focuses on breath.
Did not get what is the challenge in it? Wait and read more. It sounds boring to many. Yes, this is the challenge. Many people also feel that it a sheer waste of time. The most sports loving and athletic person would also find Gentle yoga as a challenge to mind and body.
Mental challenge of Gentle Yoga:
Usually there is a myth about this form of yoga. The myth says that this yoga is for the weaker people. Those who cannot take up tough physical exercise or poses practice gentle yoga. The oversized people as well who find it difficult to practice any moves will opt for this yoga. This myth is a mental challenge to the people. They think gentle yoga is not for them and cannot accept this form of exercise.
Many feel that this form of exercise, will help the physically weak persons to gain mental and physical strength. It is believed that if you do not indulge in a poses that make you sweat hard like ‘surya namaskars’ you aren’t doing yoga, you are just meditating.
Lanita Varshell, a pioneer of Gentle Yoga has put forth her thought to help clear these myths. It helps you add some moderate moves and restorative exercise to your yoga schedule. You also need to conserve and generate energy within yourself, yoga helps your to do so. After all yoga does not mean just losing weight, it also means relaxing and restoring your lost energies. Lying on the floor and breathing is also yoga.
Indulging into rigorous poses will help you now but if you slow down a little with yoga you can work out even after your 50’s. It helps you find happiness and peace within your inner self. It blends the meditation and movements and gives a slightly modified version of hatha practices. It helps you connect to your inner self and this is what yoga actually aims at.
This is the major challenge of yoga. It does not have any physically tough moves but accepting the fact that this form of yoga is for all and not for older, oversized or weaker people is the main challenge.
Think about incorporating this style as well in your daily yoga sessions.
About the Author
carmelamturner is a expart of Yoga Retreats. She provide information about Seva and Seva