Be it a breath of fresh air from the mundanity of your daily routine or an essential part of your exercise regime, Yoga is a wholesome experience for one and all. You must have heard your loved ones asking you to meditate for some time before you get back to that difficult presentation due Monday. It is no secret that Yoga also helps increase productivity. Yoga gives the gift of both rejuvenation and reconnection to your soul.

When is International Yoga Day?

Coinciding with the summer solstice, International Yoga Day is celebrated annually on June 21st across the globe. The summer solstice, also known as midsummer, is a time of year when the Earth’s axis in the Northern Hemisphere is at maximum tilt towards the Sun. This results in the Earth receiving its longest hours of daylight, and so June 21st is considered the longest day of the year. On June 21st, the Sun rises early and sets late for the Northern Hemisphere. 

What are the different types of yoga?

Yoga takes many forms but can be split into four main categories: Karma, Bhakti, Jnana, and Raja. Let’s take a look at these forms of yoga in more detail! 

Karma: Karma is a form of yoga completed through selfless acts of good. Acts of unconditional service are often required during training to become a yoga teacher (voluntary service for others).

Bhakti: Bhakti yoga involves devotional rituals, cultivating the expression of love. Bhakti yoga may be practiced through regular prayer, dancing, singing, chanting, ceremonies, and celebrations. For example, bhakti yoga is traditionally practiced through the devotional chant of Kirtan, where singers recite and discuss spiritual ideas and express love and devotion to a deity. 

Jnana: Jnana yoga is concerned with intellect and wisdom. For example, this could include studying sacred texts and being involved in philosophical discussions and intellectual debates. Fun fact: the philosopher Socrates is known as a Jnana yogi! 

Raja: Referring to the journey to personal enlightenment, raja yoga is also known as the “royal path.” The path of raja yoga involves balancing karma, bhakti, and jnana yoga while incorporating the eight limbs of yoga (Yama, Niyama, Asana, Pranayama, Pratyahara, Dharana, Dhyana, and Samadhi).

What are the eight limbs of yoga?

The eight limbs of yoga are derived from the Sanskrit word “Ashtanga.”

1. Yama (restraint in our environment)
2. Niyama (inward and positive duties towards ourselves)
3. Asana (physical posture)
4. Pranayama (breathing restraint or expansion)
5. Pratyahara (conscious withdrawal of the senses)
6. Dharana (concentration)
7. Dhyana (meditation)
8. Samadhi (integration into a whole, bliss, and enlightenment)

What are the benefits of practicing yoga?

The World Health Organization has endorsed yoga as a way to improve health in their global action plan on physical activity. While common reasons for practicing yoga include building strength and flexibility, it also plays a key role in many people’s mindfulness routines. This is because yoga is known to help focus breathing, making it useful for relaxation and managing stress and anxiety.

Yoga is an amazingly positive activity for children to participate in, helping them to develop various life skills and enjoy various benefits to their well-being, including:

• Reduce feelings of anxiety - Yoga is a great way to regulate breathing, helping children de-stress and relax.
• It helps children control their emotions - Practicing yoga will help children relax and maintain a peaceful mind, helping them manage their emotions by using yoga as a calming technique.
• Boost self-esteem and confidence - Finding a new form of exercise that they enjoy while improving their flexibility and balance.
• Gain awareness - Yoga poses allow children to mindfully move and hold their bodies in positions, helping to develop movement and motor skills.
• Improve focus - Children will be required to focus on their breathing as they move their bodies into the correct yoga pose.
• Develop strength and flexibility - Yoga is a fantastic way for children to build strength while improving their flexibility.
• Teaches discipline - Children will learn to clear their minds and perfect their poses. Such a routine will help to improve behavior within the classroom, providing children with a physical way to express themselves without causing disruption.

On 21^st June 2022, Tuesday, Halamama in association with Mom4amdoha, conducted a Mom and Baby Yoga session at Glow Yoga, Qatar. The Mom and Baby Yoga was a one-hour training that explored safe and effective yoga practices for both Mom and Baby as they get to know each other and build emotional bonds throughout baby’s life. The session also explored postpartum exercises, yoga postures including baby, and techniques for stress management, relaxation, meditation, and breathing.