Yoga authority Prashant S. Iyengar describes the difference between yoga practice and other exercise systems. He distinguishes yoga from "gym psychosis" in these three ways:
1. Gym psychosis separates the body. "When there is gym psychosis you will work on the legs in the standing poses. You will work only on the legs to develop the muscles of the legs, strengthen the joints and make the tendons and cartilages function well," but yoga is holistic: "You do standing poses in the yoga paradigm then you will work holistically. The legs will be connected to other parts of the body which are the locus of various parts of the mind. Your legs are connected to your brain. Your legs are connected to your senses, your eyes and ears."
2. Gym psychosis stresses the ego. "In gym psychosis you will say, ―'I did 150 leg lifts, or 100 leg workouts..' You keep yourself separate from the action of your legs. You say, ― I did my leg work.‖ Whereas, there is a unified state with an integrative mechanism when standing poses are performed as yogasanas. There is no ―I‖ different than the body."
3. Gym psychosis does not link breath with action. "There is no integrative mechanism in gym psychosis and workouts. Your breath is not connected to the body. You inhale and exhale; the breathe is connected only as far as the biomechanics are concerned but you do not integrate the breathe with the action. Breathe might accompany the action, but the breath is not integral to the action. In yoga, the breath will not merely be a component of an endeavor but it will become integral to it. "
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1. Gym psychosis separates the body. "When there is gym psychosis you will work on the legs in the standing poses. You will work only on the legs to develop the muscles of the legs, strengthen the joints and make the tendons and cartilages function well," but yoga is holistic: "You do standing poses in the yoga paradigm then you will work holistically. The legs will be connected to other parts of the body which are the locus of various parts of the mind. Your legs are connected to your brain. Your legs are connected to your senses, your eyes and ears."
2. Gym psychosis stresses the ego. "In gym psychosis you will say, ―'I did 150 leg lifts, or 100 leg workouts..' You keep yourself separate from the action of your legs. You say, ― I did my leg work.‖ Whereas, there is a unified state with an integrative mechanism when standing poses are performed as yogasanas. There is no ―I‖ different than the body."
3. Gym psychosis does not link breath with action. "There is no integrative mechanism in gym psychosis and workouts. Your breath is not connected to the body. You inhale and exhale; the breathe is connected only as far as the biomechanics are concerned but you do not integrate the breathe with the action. Breathe might accompany the action, but the breath is not integral to the action. In yoga, the breath will not merely be a component of an endeavor but it will become integral to it. "
(feel free to re-post and/or link to your social media)
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