Throw the word ‘yoga’ at most people and visions of unachievable poses only possible for people with double-joints will pop up. Others also imagine yogis sitting cross-legged meditating for hours on end trying to achieve a higher state of consciousness. A few even believe yoga is a form of religion demanding hours of chanting and praying.
These were some common misconceptions I encountered when I started teaching power yoga in Malta. Luckily, none of the above really describe traditional yoga, much less power yoga, which is a vigorous, fitness-based approach to Ashtanga Vinyasa yoga.
The first recorded evidence of yoga dates to around 2,500 BC and was discovered in an archaeological dig in India’s Indus River Valley. Over thousands of years it has been refined and developed, with the most traditional form of modern-day yoga (known as ‘Hatha’ yoga) being developed in the 15th century by Yoga Swatmarama.
The past century saw yoga master Krishnamacharya and his student K. Pattahbi Jois discovering an ancient document, over 1,500, years old, written on palm leaves explaining a system of yoga that used fluid-linking movements (vinyasa) to connect yoga postures to one seamless exercise.
This was developed into a new system of yoga by Jois which he named Ashtanga-Vinyasa yoga. Think of Ashtanga-Vinyasa as the mother of power yoga, with Hatha yoga being the benevolent grandmother.
The term ‘power yoga’ came into common usage in the mid-1990s, when several great American yoga teachers like Bryan Kest and David Williams were looking for a way to make Ashtanga-Vinyasa yoga more accessible to western students.
Power yoga combines traditional yoga postures with fluid movements and key breathing techniques to deliver a powerful, non-stop aerobic workout.
Power yoga workouts are designed to maximise your power, energy and vitality – and deliver through a series of heart-thumping, sweat-pumping workouts that will leave you trim, energised and heart-healthy.
Imagine a 5,000-year-old system of yoga, with all its physical and mental benefits – toning all muscles and strengthening your heart. Toning the body and losing weight are just a few of the many advantages of this style of yoga.
Other health benefits of power yoga include: bringing down stress and enhancing relaxation; boosting physical strength, stamina and flexibility; bestowing greater powers of concentration and self-control; helping in rehabilitation of old and new injuries; helping the immune system function better; enhancing posture and muscle tone; improving blood circulation; cleansing and improving overall organ functioning; and bestowing peace of mind and a more positive outlook to life.
Power yoga is all about feeling good, feeling the blood surging through the veins, the energy pulsating through the nerves, bliss throughout your whole being.
www.poweryogaworld.com/schedule
Ms Abela is a full-time, certified Hatha, Ashtanga-Vinyasa and power yoga instructor.