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I<MFCLK@FE Yoga was once reserved for the Zen but today’s Sydneysiders are flocking to practise its centuries-old techniques and they can’t seem to get enough, writes KXkpXeX C\fefm%
“Om. Om.” There is only one moment, one thought, one entity. The class is chanting. All voices are in sync. All eyes are closed. All bodies are still. Breathing in and out, all energy goes into concentrating on one thing – nothing. Lately everybody is concentrating on nothing. Yoga is in. Visualise your boss, your teacher, your colleague or your friend doing the downward dog. As funny as your visualisation may be, it’s probably already happened. Yoga is no longer a niche market full of flexible females and lithe, healthy types. Footballers do it, dads do it, even kids do it. The yoga explosion in the West began well over a hundred years ago. Yoga schools have sprung in almost every corner of the globe and new manifestations are continuously developing. Originating in India, it dates back many centuries, though no one knows exactly how far. Images of a meditating yogi from the
Indus Valley civilisation are thought to be six to seven thousand years old, while the first written account of yoga appears in the Rig Veda, which began to be codified between 1500 and 1200 BC. Today yoga is a globalised phenomenon. It is practised in studios, gyms, schools, homes, offices and temples all around the globe. In India it is still a vibrant tradition with many practising it daily as a means to enlightenment. In the Western world it is a way to keep fit, a way to relax, a way to de-stress and escape the daily grind.“Yoga refreshes your mind and body,” says Surya, 28, an IT worker. “You can feel the difference in just few days.” Some do it purely for fitness, to lose weight or to tone muscles. Others do it to feel better in mind, body and spirit. While to some, yoga is a way of life.“Practising yoga isn’t simply about making your way to class two or three times a week,” says Tanya Mah, 24, a design manager.“It’s truly is a lifestyle choice.” And it seems it’s a lifestyle choice for many. If you go to gumtree.com.au you can register for Australia’s biggest free yoga class. Guided by the gurus from Body Mind Life yoga in Surry Hills, the free morning yoga event will be held on Friday October 3, from 6am to 8am at Bondi Beach.With the headline of the banner ad on the website saying“connect your mind, body and soul”, it seems hundreds of people may well do so this coming Friday. If you can’t make that, Google‘yoga’and your screen will fill up with pages of diverse results. In its many variations, yoga as we know it is generally associated with the asanas (postures) of Hatha yoga.“Asanas and pranayama (breathing) come from Hatha yoga and are designed to bring the body into a perfect state of wellbeing,” explains Christian Simpson, the principal