The benefits I’ve found in yoga

IFIRST became interested in yoga when I was 16 and bought the book Teach Yourself Yoga. This was part of the Teach Yourself series of books with distinctive yellow and black covers and very well-known at the time.

There are several different books with the same name today, but my original one is out of print. I managed to get myself into every posture or asana in the book, including the lotus position, although it is well beyond me now. I marvelled at the ingenuity of the postures and the Sanskrit names.

Many asanas are named after animals, such as downward dog, eagle, locust, cat, cobra, butterfly and crow.

I also became interested in the philosophy behind yoga.

When I went to university, I received proper yoga teaching at classes held there, based on the work of the Indian yogi or guru, B K S Iyengar.

Iyengar yoga is named after his teaching. He died in 2014, aged 95. I always felt so relaxed and rejuvenated after each class.

Yoga is perhaps the greatest export from India and is an ancient system of physical, mental, and spiritual practices aimed at quietening the mind and improving the body.

Its origins date back over 3,000 years. There are many schools of yoga, some associated with Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism.

The philosophy of yoga is about connecting the mind, body, and spirit. Indian monks spread their knowledge of yoga outside the country from about 1900 onwards.

About three to four times as many women as men practise yoga in the UK, as can be seen at most classes, and I admire their greater flexibility.

About one in seven Americans practise yoga compared with about one in 20 in the UK. According to the International Yoga Federation, about 300 million people practise yoga worldwide. Cancer Research UK has launched a challenge to complete 30 days of yoga this month, which a friend of mine has taken up, to raise money for its research funding.

Pilates, Europe’s answer to yoga, does not have so long a pedigree. It was devised by a German gym instructor, Joseph Pilates, from Mönchengladbach.

In the 1920s he and his wife Clara opened the Body Conditioning Gym in New York. Pilates has become as popular as yoga in the UK and an estimated 12 million take classes worldwide. Many yoga and Pilates classes are now held virtually due to the Covid epidemic.

Both yoga and Pilates improve strength, balance and flexibility. I find that Pilates complements yoga very well, so do both on a regular basis, usually six times a week. My local health club offers 10 Pilates and six yoga lessons a week, given by eight different instructors who have contrasting and complementary approaches.

A recent survey by Health and Fitness Education, a leading UK training provider, found some 70% of “fitness enthusiasts” would rather participate in Pilates than yoga. The most common response was that Pilates “is more dynamic”, which would coincide with my younger daughter’s views!

As I get older, the yoga postures become harder and my flexibility declines. My enthusiasm for the corpse posture, Savasana, the relaxation pose practised at the end of a typical yoga lesson, has increased correspondingly.

After each class I still have that extra spring in my step and sleep much better. My older daughter tells me the secret to a long and healthy life is yoga and Pilates, so I will persevere with both.

bhicks@wokingham.today