Changing Lives
Through the Practice of Yoga
How does yoga change our lives? Yoga is more than just a form of exercise. The sustained practice of yoga cultivates the mind, body, and spirit. Has the race for material success resulted in neglect for the well being of any or all of these fundamental aspects of you? If so, then perhaps the time has come to change your life through yoga. At East-West Yoga we are devoted to the health and well being of the total you. We are a community of like-minded people of all ages and walks of life.
We practice yoga to relieve the stress, anxiety, and restlessness caused by the turmoil of modern daily life. The way we practice yoga alters the chemical balance of the brain, activates glands, and nourishes vital organs with fresh, oxygenated blood. Each session relieves pain, relaxes the muscles and joints, and produces a state of mental well being. The longer our practice continues the more we understand the enduring physical, mental, and spiritual gifts this practice brings. For this reason, more than 2,000 years ago the sage Pantanjali codified sustained practice as the third internal ethical observance (Niyama) of yoga.
This sustained practice also cleanses us internally and renders us mentally content, and these states are considered to be the first and second internal ethical observances. Combined with sustained practice, this inner cleanliness and contentment produce the heightened awareness that enables us to pursue the fourth internal ethical observance: self-study (svadhyaya). Finally, the observance of self-study is what ultimately brings about the fundamental life-changing experience which opens the way to the inward journey to the soul.