YOGA AND YCM

Today many people come to yoga through the practice of poses and are often plesantly surprised at the wealth of benefits that arise (better sleep, less stress, fuller breaths, greater joy) in addition to building stronger, more flexible bodies.

At the Yoga Center, our classes will help you not only gain instruction in the many asanas of hatha yoga, but will also introduce you to meditation, pranayama (breathing), and centering techniques. If you'd like to deepen your knowledge in the philosophy of yoga even further, check out our Workshops, Beginning Sessions, Classes, and upcoming Visiting Teachers. Don't forget to check out the "Community & Special Events" menu at the top for unique events.

Yoga was birthed out of an oral tradition where teaching was transmitted directly from teacher to student. The Indian sage Patanjali is credited with the summation of this oral tradition into his classical work, the Yoga Sutra, a 2,000-year-old treatise on yogic philosophy. Containing a collection of 195 sutra (or statements), the Yoga Sutra provides a kind of philosophical guidebook for dealing with the challenges of being human.

The word "yoga" is from the Sanskrit language and has several translations and interpretations. Stemming from the root "yug" and originally meaning "to hitch up" (as in attaching horses to a vehicle), other translations include "to yoke, join, or concentrate." Essentially, yoga has come to describe a means of uniting, or a method of discipline. A male who practices this discipline is called a yogi or yogin; a female practitioner, a yogini.

The discipline of hatha yoga—the physical aspect of yoga—was originally developed as a vehicle for meditation. This system of hatha yoga prepared the body, particularly the nervous system, for stillness, creating the necessary physical strength and stamina that allowed the mind to remain calm during meditation.