About Yoga

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What is yoga?

Yoga is an ancient Indian body of knowledge that dates back more than 5000 years ago. The word "Yoga" came from the Sanskrit word "yuj" which means "to unite or integrate." Yoga then is about the union of a person's own consciousness and the universal consciousness.

Ancient Yogis had a belief that in order for man to be in harmony with himself and his environment, he has to integrate the body, the mind, and the spirit. For these three to be integrated, emotion, action, and intelligence must be in balance. The Yogis formulated a way to achieve and maintain this balance and it is done through exercise, breathing, and Meditation - the three main Yoga structures.

In Yoga, the body is treated with care and respect for it is the primary instrument in man's work and growth. Yoga Exercises improve circulation, stimulate the abdominal organs, and put pressure on the glandular system of the body, which can generally result to better health.

Breathing techniques were developed based on the concept that breath is the source of life. In Yoga, students gain breathing control as they slowly increase their breathing. By focusing on their breathing, they prepare their minds for the next step - Meditation.

There is a general misconception that in Meditation, your mind has to go blank. It doesn't have to be so. In Meditation, students bring the activities of the mind into focus resulting in a 'quiet' mind. By designing physical poses and Breathing Techniques that develop awareness of our body, Yoga helps us focus and relieves us from our everyday stress.

Yoga at Pilates Powerhouse & yoga Center

In an intimate setting, students are encouraged to develop a new relationship with their physical abilities and previous limitations through the practice of Yoga.  But Yoga is more than a system of asanas. Yoga is first and foremost focused on first and last breath, focus, state of mind, and vitality.

At Pilates Powerhouse & Yoga Center, we teach Hatha Yoga, with a strong Iyengar base, paying close attention to alignment, form and body engagement within each pose. Hatha Yoga is perhaps the path of Yoga you are most familiar with since this is the most popular branch of Yoga in the West. This branch of Yoga uses physical poses (or Asana), Breathing Techniques (or Pranayama), and Meditation to achieve better health, as well as spirituality. There are many styles within this path - Iyengar, Integral, Astanga, Kripalu, and Jiva Mukti to name a few.

Our classes are small, so that we can give the most detailed instruction and maximum personal attention  Each class is taught in the most supportive, unhurried atmosphere, free from the stress-filled pace of daily life.