Connecting with your inner voice and listening to your breath may sound a little mysterious. Stepping onto a sticky mat and moving your body in foreign directions may seem somewhat intimidating. Releasing emotional tensions through challenging physical poses while remaining noncompetitive and nonjudgmental may even appear impossible. However, through the practice of yoga, all this and more is achievable.

More Than Just Another Workout
While Hatha yoga, which emphasizes physical exercise, offers stretching and strengthening to the body, the effects resonate deeply into the spiritual and emotional needs we have as humans. The body is a manifestation of the spirit, and Hatha yoga works through the body to connect with the spirit – unraveling the emotional, mental and physical knots that bind us and prevent us from being open to our inner wisdom.

Through physical poses (asanas) and mindful breathing (pranayama), yoga encourages the body to move forwards and backwards, side to side, and to twist and invert as organs, tissues, musculature, bones and skin are massaged. Not only does this help the body function optimally, it also alleviates stress, increases muscular flexibility and tone, energizes the nervous system, strengthens the immune system, normalizes body weight, eliminates toxins from internal organs and blood, and much more.

Yoga encourages you to clean out your body and mind, offering a natural, holistic healing for body, mind and spirit. Yoga practices also encourage turning within to observe your own thoughts, reactions and feelings. By listening carefully to your body and breathing con-sciously, you can cultivate peace of mind, a greater sense of well being and improved creativity and efficiency.

A Short History
Dating back over 5,000 years, yoga is an ancient practice that embraces time-tested techniques for self-discovery. It is as applicable today as it was ages ago. The first yoga text, the Yoga-Sutra, was written 2,500 years ago in the Sanskrit language by an author named Patanjali. He defined yoga as “the cessation of the turnings of the mind.”

Patanjali also developed an eight-limb path. Although today the path for many begins through the body, it is only one of the eight limbs. As your practice deepens, you may be drawn to the other limbs: moral restraints in everyday life (yama), discipline in actions toward yourself and others (niyama), the practice of physical postures (asanas), breathing tech-niques aimed at cultivating the vital life force within (pranayama), withdrawal of the senses (pratyahara), concentration of the mind on one object (dharana), medi-tation (dhyana), and the transcendence of the self to feel interconnected with all living things (samadhi).

Where to Begin?
Although it is often practiced in a class setting, yoga is a journey that evolves organically for each person. As a new student, take the time to research and explore different yoga methods and find one that meets your needs and in-tentions. Try classes of different styles and seek out teachers who emphasize safety and clear teaching methodologies. Find teachers that speak to you and illuminate your path with truth and meaningful life messages. When you find yourself both comfortable and inspired, you will know you have found the right teachers and classes. It is often said by yogis that when the student is ready, the teacher will be present.

What to Expect in a Class
Although there are classes available for every body type and for special needs, many classes will include the following:
Seated, Centering Meditation allows students to come into the present moment and find their conscious breath.
Conditioners or "Warm-ups" gently bring awareness and allow students to get out of their demanding minds.
Sun Salutations (Surya Namaskar) are a series of poses linked by breath to allow for a gentle building of heat in the body. This internal heat makes muscles more pliable and the body more receptive to the movement of the poses to come.
Standing Poses provide grounding by waking up limbs, opening hips and energizing the spine; these also build strength, stamina and confidence.
Twists & Side-to-sides squeeze, massage and stimulate organs and muscles, bringing in fresh blood and nutrients and releasing toxins and wastes. Twists also reduce spinal, hip and groin problems.
Forward Bends rinse, squeeze and flush the abdominal organs, encouraging proper digestion and elimination. Bends also stretch and tone the organs in the back of the body and quiet the mind.
Backbends squeeze the kidneys and adrenals, stretch and tone the organs in the front of the body, and open the lungs and heart to bring more breath and circulation to the body.
Seated Poses help with posture, open hips and calm the mind.
Inversions reverse the normal flow of gravity to improve the blood supply to the lungs and brain and give the legs and heart a rest, and also improve sleep.
Restorative Poses (Savasana or Relaxation) relax and rest the body and mind.

If you decide to embark upon your own yoga journey, tight and rigid parts of your body may open and you may stand taller, feel more fluid and at ease. Your emotional state may shift so that you feel brighter, less clouded and more aware of all that is happening around you. You may find yourself wanting to treat yourself and others with more respect, compassion and generosity. Do not be surprised if that sticky mat becomes the ground for joyful personal transformation!

Tammy Lyons, RYT, is a certified yoga teacher at Inner Bliss Yoga studio in Rocky River. She can be reached by calling (216) 469-6689 or by e-mailing innerblissyoga@aol.com.

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