5 PRINCIPLES OF YOGA

The Five Principles of Yoga are the basis of attaining a healthy body and mind through the practice of Yoga.

Principle 1: Proper Exercise (Asanas)

Yogic physical exercise is designed to develop both mind and body. It broadens mental faculties and spiritual capacities. Proper exercise is achieved through the Yoga postures or asanas which systematically work all parts of the body - stretches and tones the muscles and ligaments, enhances the flexibility of the spine and the joints, and improves blood circulation.

The asanas are designed to regulate the physical and physiological functions of the body. Practicing Yoga poses makes your body relaxed, gives you more strength and energy, and rejuvenates the various systems of the body, including internal organs and the endocrine system (glands and hormones). The Yoga posture goes together with proper breathing. Each movement and stretch should be guided by your breath, making your movement and your breath coordinated and feel like one and the same.

Principle 2: Proper Breathing (Pranayama)

Yoga teaches us how to use our lungs to their maximum capacity and how to control the breath. Proper breathing should be deep, slow and rhythmical, making use of all the parts of the lungs to increase oxygen intake. This increases vitality and mental clarity.

To achieve this, you need to be able to regulate the length and duration of your inhalation, exhalation, and the retention of air in your lungs or the pauses between breaths. Pranayama, or yoga breathing exercises, teaches us how to recharge our body and control our mental state by regulating the flow of prana - life force. This helps us achieve a calmer and more focused mind, and increases our energy level.

Principle 3: Proper Relaxation (Savasana)

When the body and the mind are constantly overworked, their natural efficiency to perform diminishes. Modern social life, food, work and even entertainment make it difficult for us to relax. Even while trying to rest, the average person expends a lot of physical and mental energy through tension.

Energy is also consumed by negative emotions: bad moods, anger, injury or intense irritation. The process of eruption and repression of violent emotions often grows into a regular habit. The result is disastrous for both the mind and body.

By releasing tension in the muscles and putting the whole body at rest, you revitalise your nervous system and achieve inner peace, making you feel relaxed and refreshed. This relaxed feeling is carried over into all your activities and helps you conserve your energy and let go of worries and fears.

Principle 4: Positive thinking and Meditation (Dhyana)

Meditation is a practice that facilitates the ability to be more aware and observant of the present. The ability to meditation - the mental ability to concentrate - is inherent to all of us. It is not extraordinary or mysterious, or something that a Yogi has to teach you. You already have the ability to shut out thoughts.

The way we think greatly affects our way of life – we ultimately become what we think we are. Practice keeping a positive outlook in life. This will facilitate a peaceful mind. Positive thinking and meditation will help remove negative thoughts and put your mind under perfect control.

Principle 5: Proper Diet

Besides being responsible for our physical body, the foods we eat profoundly affect our mind. Improper diet results in mental inefficiency and blocks spiritual awareness. Proper diet is one that nourishes both mind and body. Simple meals aid the digestion and the assimilation of foods and their nutrients. Eating foods from nature, grown in fertile soil (free from chemicals and pesticides) help ensure a better supply of nutritional needs.

A yogic diet also means eating in moderation and eating only when you are hungry. We sometimes eat when we are upset, using food to fill the gap or the emptiness that we feel. Bad eating habits will cause our senses to be dull. We won't even notice how much we eat or how it tastes and may result to diet related ailments like obesity and diabetes. Food should sustain our body. It should keep the body light and supple, the mind calm, and it should also help in keeping a strong immune system.