Top Highlights

• In general, muscles are designed to move the body and bones are designed to support the body. When bones are stacked up correctly—like building blocks—they are in balance with gravity, or aligned. The spine is in alignment when it has four long, gentle curves; the neck and lower back have concave curves, the tailbone area and rib cage area have con...
• Hatha Yoga uses physical poses (asanas) to explore the inner structures of the body, the mind, and the spirit. It is a path, a guide, a step-by-step method that can lead you to greater self-knowledge. Each pose is a means to feel inwardly, to discover where you are strong, tight, weak, or dull. Thus, Hatha Yoga provides a framework for the experien...
• The Iyengar method of yoga is based on a central principle of balance. Physiologically balance means several things: • Each individual muscle is capable of contracting, lengthening, and relaxing. • Corresponding muscle groups (for example, hamstrings and quadriceps) are equally strengthened and stretched. • The joints, when surrounded by balanced m...
• Dynamic stretching is jerky and forced; yoga stretching is slow and controlled. Dynamic stretching aims for a certain degree of flexibility; yoga stretching aims for physical, mental, and spiritual balance.
• Dynamic stretching means that a person bounces or jerks into a certain position. The completed stretch is seldom held for more than a few seconds. The intention is to achieve a predetermined degree of flexibility. This method of stretching is an attempt by the mind to force the body into an idealized form. The brain tries to dictate to the body. Th...