January 2016 www.womanthismonth.com 40 FEATURE | health & fitness It probably happens every time. The festivities of the season go on to become unsightly bulges and paunches that seem to refuse to leave your body, like little reminders of all your indiscriminate indulgences. So between despair (will I ever be able to wear that little black dress again?) and lofty resolutions that eventually lose fizz (I will trudge to the gym five times a week), there’s yoga. Yoga is a Sanskrit word, derived from the word yuj, which, in contemporary terms, is interpreted as ‘union’. Its primary purpose is to unite the mind, body, and spirit. Celebrities swear by the power of the practice – several of them attribute their svelte figures and their ability to cope with life’s upheavals to yoga. It’s a misconception that this approach for a healthy mind and body is only for flexible folks. Given time and consistency, your body will surprise you. We spoke to Master Yogi and founder of the acclaimed holistic centre Namaste Bahrain, Weam Zabar, to shoot down your apprehensions. SO, WHY YOGA? Weam says that yoga is a healing practice. “It doesn't only look at muscles. It works with organs, bones, joints, energy, mental wellbeing, emotional health, releasing fear, finding balance and living a more skillful and meaningful life.” The rewards from regular practice are manifold in comparison to the time and resources spent. WHAT’S YOUR STYLE? Yoga as a practice has developed and evolved over the decades. If you are baffled by all the various styles of yoga there are, Weam puts it in a nutshell: “There are more styles of yoga than those that moved to the West. In the West, the main style that is normally referred to is Hatha Yoga, which involves the physical effort of Asanas (poses). Hatha Yoga is the branch from which many styles of yoga [Ashtanga, Vinyassa, power, yin, Bikram, Iyengar etc] have emerged.” She says there are also other schools of yoga that work towards the same goal: union of the mind, body and soul. Karma Yoga, for example, is based on selfless service, Bhakti Yoga is Om Sweet Om Whether it is to slim down or fine tune the body’s engine, your new year’s health related resolutions could be fulfilled by the age old philosophy of yoga, finds Behnaz Sanjana. The rewards from regular practice are manifold in comparison to the time and resources spent
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