Yoga

When most people think about yoga, they envision lycra-clad bendy people, contorting their supple bodies into poses more than vaguely reminiscent of—if were being honest—a pretzel. Add to the bargain poses (asanas) with ridiculous names, like 'Half Lord of the Fishes' or 'Cow Face' and you could be forgiven for dismissing yoga as a very silly thing indeed. But if you can look past the names, and the impossibly fit and bendy people, you'll find that yoga has a rich history and a laudable purpose: to train the body AND mind to be more open and flexible. We live in an era where technology has connected us to the world, and each other, in previously unimaginable ways. But at what cost? Were often so overstimulated that we connect to everything around us, except for what is most important—our inner selves.

The history of yoga stretches across thousands of years, starting in India; but were going to ignore that rich and colourful history, because it's so, so long. Instead, lets start with Swami Vivekananda. Born in the late 19th century, he was a spiritual man throughout his life, who brought his message and yoga to America in 1893. Over the course of the 20th century, yoga saw its popularity rise and fall, but it finally gained a foothold in the 60s. In the 1980s, Dr. Dean Ornish pointed out that yoga was good for heart health, and finally people started to view it as something more than counter-culture or a fad. Popularity has been on the rise ever since.

The long history of yoga that we conveniently ignored, has seen it split into several different styles of practice, which we will get around to. And practice is a good word to use in relation to yoga, because those stereotypically bendy people didn't just walk in one day and perform an effortless One-Legged King Pigeon. They practiced and moved their way up, from a presumably princely pigeon, until they were crowned king of pigeons. Maintaining difficult or new asanas requires concentration, core strength, and steady breath. All of which contribute to a healthier you.

In an age of ceaseless distraction, perhaps it's best to embrace a practice that encourages, promotes, and even rewards focus. And if somewhere along the way you touch your toes for the first time since you had baby teeth, all the better.

Yogis, much like the cartoon bear they're named after, are nice and welcoming people. So don't worry about being comically uncoordinated and inflexible when you get started, everyone else had the same learning curve. Like other things in this world that are worth doing, you're going to be look and feel awkward, be unsure whether or not you're doing it right, and be wearing far less clothing than you're used to at first. It should come as no surprise then, that it will get better, and you will start to love doing it as often as possible. Some people even get addicted. Wait... what were we talking about again?

Seeing as yoga is so welcoming, you'll have an easy time finding a clearly marked beginner course nearly anywhere you look. Insofar as you look at your local gyms class schedule or a nearby yoga studio.