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v. 105:no.141
[tie Battalion
Aggielife
Page 3 • Thursday, July 1, 1999
Just
Ancient art finds modern following
BY SCOTT HARRIS
The Battalion
I n a world of 8-Minute Abs, dietary
and muscle gain supplements and
many other new get-fit-quick
schemes, it might just be the best
way to a fit body which is not new at
all. In fact, it is thousands of years
old. The way to a sound body and
mind is perhaps down the path of
yoga.
According to the Healthy, Happy,
Holy Website, yoga is a complete sci
ence which deals with the physical
body, the mind and the subtle ener
gies of the body such as prana (life
energy) and the chakras (energy cen
ters of the spine). The practice of
yoga incorporates mental focus,
breathing techniques, body positions
and relaxation to scientifically pro
vide a healthy way of life for each
participant.
Bobby Lane, a certified yoga in
structor and owner of The Yoga
Health and Fitness Center, said yoga
focuses largely on strength and con
ditioning.
“In the beginner classes, we focus
a lot on upper body strength so when
the students reach the more ad
vanced classes, they have the
strength and balance to support
themselves in some of the postures
we use,” Lane said. “We also do a lot
of abdominal work, to support the
lower back.”
Along with strength conditioning,
yoga concentrates on stretching and
breathing, that Lane said has medic
inal effects.
“ (Yoga) takes care of many physi
cal problems through the stretching
and breathing,” he said. “By stretch
ing the knees and ankles and other
joints we want to strengthen them.
We want the ligaments and tendons
to be strong. Holding a posture and
breathing correctly, you create oxy
genated blood and during the stretch
you restrict blood to a certain area.
When you release the stretch it is
bombarded with fresh blood. That is
a way to open up closed areas and
provide nutrients and remove toxici
ty-”
Blaire Tully, a senior community
health major, said she is getting in
volved in yoga for these same rea
sons.
“I had heard a lot about yoga, how
it helps you relax and clear your
head,” Tldly said. “I hope to become
more relaxed, have deeper breathing
and focus more. Also I had been in
ballet for twelve years and I wanted
to get back into stretching.”
Lane said although practicing
yoga is a way to stay in shape, it can
also aid other methods of exercise.
“It provides the body with fresh
blood and energy and allows the
body not to deteriorate,” Lane said.
“The more you can move your body
around in a mindful fashion, the
more beneficial it will be. This goes
for even aerobics and weight lifting.
If you concentrate on what you are
doing it will be more beneficial. Yoga
helps you to focus.”
Yoga is a broad discipline which
has eight different aspects, including
body postures, breathing techniques,
accepting positive thinking and re
straining from bad thoughts.
The breathing technique used in
yoga is called Pranayama. Lane said
Pranayama is a way to control
breathing. Yoga teaches people to
take full breaths and use all of the
lobes in their lungs. Lane said most
people take shallow breaths which is
one reason people suffer from fa
tigue.
Lane said although there are many
things to learn in yoga, the mental as
pect and proper mind set is the most
important thing.
“You learn to integrate muscles
and align your body by correctly us
ing spiral and looping techniques and
to stretch safely,” Lane said. “But it
comes down to attitude. Attitude is
the most important thing.”
Lane said there are too many peo
ple with a negative energy flowing
through their body, which can be
detrimental to their health. He said
many people are looking for a quick
fix to their health problems, but yoga
is a way to correctly achieve a health
ier body without health risks. In ad
dition to healthier bodies, yoga pro
vides a healthier mind by allowing
the practitioner to channel out nega
tive energies and bring in positive
energy.
Lane said yoga helps many people
get a new perspective on life.
“Yoga helps you come back to
your heart and learn to live,” he said.
“It helps you be playful and bal
anced, it teaches you to always come
back to a moment within you. It
gives you the childlike qualities of en
joying life.”
Recently Lane began teaching a
new form of therapeutic yoga at The
Yoga Health and Fitness Center.
Anusara, developed by Lane’s
teacher John Friend, is a more flow
ing yoga.
“Anusara is a flowing yoga,” Lane
said. “While doing postures and
breathing you always come back to
the moment, it is circular. You bal
ance the body and are mindful of
your emotions. It is the joy of just be
ing ‘here.’”
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