Slow Yoga: Embracing the Peace Within Your Body
Escape the stress and exhaustion of hard-hitting workouts, and find a more peaceful connection with your body through slow yoga practices.
Classes like “Power Yoga,” “Hot Yoga,” and “Yoga Burn” have become quite trendy over the past few years, but some yoga practitioners contend that these fads will soon fade, and we will see a return to more traditional, flowing, meditative, and slow yoga forms.
I love this quote from J. Brown’s yoga blog:
For many, power and hot yoga have become like that friend who you initially hit it off with and had so much fun with but now when you hang out it just feels negative and draining. Eventually, you drift apart.
Personally, I have become more and more involved with Kundalini yoga over the past few years, and have largely stopped doing the more intense and exhausting yoga workouts (see my post here on “Fitness Versus Health“). Since doing so, I have found I once again love yoga, and it makes me feel amazing!
Do you prefer slow yoga, or the more intense kind? If you’re not familiar with this term, here is a bit more on J. Brown’s definition of slow yoga:
The concept of “Slow Yoga” is not just about the pace with which we move our bodies. It’s a question of purpose. Are you doing yoga practice because you want to sweat? Are you doing yoga practice because you want to be stronger and more flexible? Are you doing yoga practice because you have pain and want relief? Or are you doing yoga practice because you just want to learn how to be well? Perhaps, all of the above. Whatever question you’re asking yourself and whatever the answer you may arrive at, space enough for the inquiry is going to be required. Slow Yoga takes emphasis off accomplishing something and puts it more on experiencing something.
What do you think? We’d love to hear what type of yoga you prefer! Just post a comment below, or chime in on our Facebook page.