The Traveler

Issue date: 3/30/09 Section: Lifestyles

Media Credit: Maggie Carroll Participants stretch and meditate during a yoga class yesterday afternoon at the HPER, where six classes are offered Monday through Sunday.

Though many people might doubt the strength and flexibility a yoga workout requires, the ancient religious discipline can be an intense workout for its devoted practitioners.

Both women and men practice yoga because of the benefits it provides in strength, flexibility and poise. The balance and stretching required to perform yoga challenge the muscles and increase heart rate. A yoga workout consists of stretching and toning muscles and tightening the abdomen to promote strength, balance and mind-body unification.

Yoga has been a discipline among Hindus for thousands of years. It has been debated that yoga even existed before the Stone Age.

Over time, yoga developed through four periods: the Vedic Period, the Pre-Classical Period, the Classical Period and the Post-Classical Period, according to Abc-of-yoga.com.

The discipline is believed to have begun during the Vedic Period, where it derived from rituals and ceremonies celebrating the mind. At first, there were eight limbs of yoga, but over time the number was reduced to five: seasonal, or relaxation; Asana, or exercise; Ramayana, or breathing and proper diet; and Dyane, or positive thinking, according to the Web site.

Yoga focused on meditation for many years until the theory that "the body is a temple" was incorporated and the focus then evolved to include physical exercise and proper breathing techniques.

Today, yoga is a physical exercise that helps one clear the mind and focus on breathing, which yoga instructors emphasize during class sessions. The ideal practice promotes mind and body unification to relieve the body from the stress of everyday life.

"Yoga makes me feel calm and centered," UA senior Rachel Davis said. "There's a lot of concentration on breathing that makes you more aware of your entire body."

Mastering yoga takes time, and instructors encourage students to move through the practice at a comfortable pace.

"I've been doing yoga for five years on and off," sophomore Amanda Huey said. "If you do it steadily, it will make you feel strong and relaxed. It works out and stretches your body like nothing else, and it teaches discipline."

Many types of yoga focus on "the power house," or the core, because balance is controlled by the abdomen.

"I would say it works your whole core," Huey said.

Instructors work to make classes fun and interesting by using a variety of balance, flow and stretching movements. Many instructors participate in yoga seminars around the world to learn different ways to connect and teach yoga movements. They also learn new movements and use the opportunity to discuss theory and chanting practices with other instructors, said Lydia Michaels, a substitute yoga instructor at a HPER session.

Yoga chanting encourages practitioners to be one with a deity. Chanting requires repeating three words in the mind, which helps one clear the mind to focus on breathing and perform balanced movements.

The HPER offers six classes Monday through Sunday. The classes are Yoga Appreciation, Yoga Flow, Core Yoga, Yoga All-Levels and Intermediate Yoga. A schedule is available at the HPER, next to the Intramural Office. The schedule is also online at Imrs.uark.edu/2926.htm.

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