Manal Aquil

  YOGA IS ABOUT THE JOURNEY. While it involve practices that involve some of the movements and skills — such as splits, handstands, deep backbends, etc. — yoga is all about the flow and working through a sequence/journey to steadily arrive at each peak pose.

  Ashtanga has been considered one of the most popular forms of yoga in the Western world. Ashtanga centers on a vigorous physical practice that includes a series of poses linked together with breath to form a continuous sequence. The practice demands an intense level of physical strength, flexibility, and endurance, which explains why many people see it as a rigorous and challenging workout.

  Virabhadrasana III (Warrior Pose III) requires concentration and stamina to maintain a thoughtful calibration between push and pull—gathering energy in, and extending it out. “Virabhadrasana III asks us to stand grounded on one leg, rooted down into the earth, yet at the same time to lift the other leg and stretch horizontally from the tips of our toes to our fingertips, like a radiant star expanding into space.

Paschim Namaskarasana or the Reverse Prayer pose is an upper body strengthening pose that works specifically on the arms and the abdomen. It is also known as Viparita Namaskarasana.

The beginnings of  Yoga were developed by the Indus-Sarasvati civilization in Northern India over 5,000 years ago . In Ayurveda, the sister science of yoga and one of the oldest medical systems still practiced today, those five elements are  prithvi (earth), jal (water), agni (fire), vayu (air), and akasha (ether or space)