Is yoga a form of exercise? Yoga is a safe form of meditative exercise that helps to build strength and stamina, stability and flexibility, and helps one to relax and concentrate. Yes and no. Philosophically...
Yes and no. Philosophically speaking, it isn't exercise. Yoga is a way of helping the body to cleanse, to develop, and to become strong and supple, so that you can sit through the practices of pranayama and meditation. Yoga postures, depending on the teacher and the form, are generally a very safe and gentle form of exercise. I tell my students that yoga is actually like a fire that burns away the afflictions that keep us from moving on a spiritual path.
I'll try to put yoga into two terms or two categories: First, what is traditional, what is yoga about, or where did yoga come from? And second, how does it survive today? I mean if I sit here and tell you that yoga is not an exercise, but that it's the fire that burns away the afflictions that prevent us from moving on a spiritual path, are you going to come to class? Probably not. So what I try to teach my students is that yoga is a series of postures that help to strengthen and give flexibility to the body, and help you to relax to tone. Those are the things that are going to bring you to class, because those are the things that you can relate to. I try to make it practical, but then when I am teaching the course, I am also teaching people what yoga is traditionally and how it applies to us. In a nutshell, you could say that yoga is a form of exercise that helps to build strength and stamina, stability and flexibility, and helps one to be able to relax and concentrate.
