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No, not yogurt, silly! Yoga! Yoga is an ancient form of postures and concentrated body movement that was formulated in India over three thousand years ago. In yoga, the mind is called upon to slow down and concentrate on the breath. You can imagine what very deep breathing and slow stretching movements can do for your state of mind. Well, with yoga, it only gets better and better each time you practice. Kids who do yoga really love the way it helps them relax and strengthen their bodies. By practicing yoga regularly, kids find that they can deal with stress and anger better. Their bodies become strengthened, and they feel they have better coordination and muscle tone.

There are different styles of yoga. You may hear of Ashtanga, Hatha, Iyengar or Mysore– but what they all share is a focus on the connection between the mind and the body. Remember the scene in “The Empire Strikes Back” when Luke is training with Yoda? That type of intense concentration and physical strength is what yoga legends are made of. However, yoga is meant to bring out the peaceful side of the human nature, so as to provide a sanctuary within the body and fill it with health and healing breath.

Breathing, or pranayama, is the core of the yoga practice. Think how important breathing is to you. You can go for a few weeks without food, and a few days without water, and your body would survive. But, a human being can only survive for a matter of minutes without oxygen. In fact, the average human only uses about one-seventh of his or her lung capacity. Consider the vitality a person must feel when he or she uses their lungs more fully, bringing the energizing oxygen to all of the muscles and organs of the body.

The active poses, or asanas, are ancient postures that help tone specific muscle and nerve groups, benefiting organs and endocrine glands and triggering brain cell activity. When the passive asanas are practiced, the body keys into age-old techniques of relaxation and deep meditation. All the while, the mind is concentrating on the in breath and the out breath, the easy flexion and extension of the specific muscles being used. Such an inward focus can really help a person be familiar with his or her body, and can effect their mode of being in the world.

As humans in the 21st century, we are inundated everyday by noise, pollution, advertisements and stress. Yoga provides a means by which people can exercise and tone their muscles while finding a place of peace and strength within themselves. May the force be with you!