Sadhana Yoga & Meditation Retreat In Nepal

Yoga is a term which is very common to the millennial ears. Most people know yoga as a kind of exercise which aims at developing strength and flexibility, connecting your physical body to your spiritual being or “soul”. To practice yoga, you learn a series of postures which are known as “asanas” in yogi language. It is basically putting your body into different positions and resonating your breathing pattern with your spiritual energy.

History of Yoga

Man Doing yoga in Himalayas of Nepal

So where did yoga come from? The history of yoga goes back at least 5,000 years and some people claim it dates back 10,000 years before this day. It was first developed in Northern India and was practiced by ancient rishi munis and sages at this stage was a spiritual as well as a physical form of exercise, connected with the roots of both Hinduism and Buddhism.

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, yoga was introduced to the Western world when Swami Vivekananda travelled to the United States to talk about yoga at a conference in Chicago in 1893. Others followed in the 1920s and 1930s, and by the 1960s yoga had become a very popular way of life even in the western society. Most people who practice yoga today not only do it for spiritual reasons. But also as a part of their lifestyle where they connect to the nature, out of this materialistic and worldly life.

Benefits of Yoga

There are thousands of claimed benefits of Yoga. Yoga is good for the mind and body. Regular practice of yoga helps people to improve their balance and stamina. Although you won’t really get out of breath, like you might when playing football or running, it does help to keep your heart healthy and it even helps you regulate weight. It can also help with pains and aches caused by inflexibility of the body. The breathing taught in yoga has been proven to help people to reduce stress and anxiety.

Man Doing yoga in Himalayas of Nepal

The correct breathing pattern is an important aspect of yoga practice. However, yoga is really more than just exercise. United Nations in collaboration with International Yoga Day is now celebrated on 21 June. This shines a little light on how prevalent the affects of yoga is in the modern hectic life. There are lots of different possible breathing patterns you can do when practicing Yoga. Yoga also improves concentration and helps people to sleep better, helping people with disorders like insomnia proving it to be great for anyone who’s under pressure at work or in their studies. There are lots of different types of yoga, so you can choose what suits you best. Hatha Yoga is often good for beginners, because you hold each position for a few breaths. In Vinyasa Yoga you change position much more quickly and you might get out of breath. It might get quite challenging if you haven’t done much yoga before but after a few sessions, your body and mind come in unison to practice it better.

A special type of yoga sometimes called ‘hot yoga’ is into practice these days. It is called so because the room where yoga is performed is heated to around 40 degrees celsius. Along with these and other more traditional forms of yoga, there are also some more unusual modern forms of yoga. For example, you might enjoy ‘laughter yoga’, where people do breathing exercises and laugh about nothing in particular because laughing is very good for your health. Or ‘Aeroyoga’, where you do yoga while you are hanging from the ceiling. It’s supposed to be very good for your back.

All these kind of Yogas and asanas which are quite common in south asia can be learnt in Nepal. There are different kinds of Yoga schools to learn and practice yoga in most of the touristic places like lakeside, Pokhara and Thamel, Kathmandu. Nepal is famous for its natural beauty and traditional ways of living and yoga is another beautiful art of living you can learn when you visit the country. There cannot be another step to step guide to your physical, mental and spiritual well being than practicing yoga asanas. So why not add another thing to your bucket list when visiting Nepal like learning some great Yoga postures among the natural beauty of the country?

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