How to Get Deeper into Your Yoga Practice with the Five Elements

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Yoga better understood as the “union of self” is a way to discipline and control your mind, body and soul with the help of numerous mental and physical exercises. More than being a form of exercise, yoga is a form of life that helps in proper growth and development of your mind and body, and maintains your health.

The five basic elements – air, water, fire, ether and earth – have a deep connection with the yoga and can affect your practice to make it perfect, if incorporated correctly and deeply. This form of yoga, known as the “Hatha Yoga,” aims at the unison of the strength and receptivity to create a balance between the masculine and feminine, i.e. matter and energy. Read on to know more.

EARTH:

Mother Earth is where we all born from and which provides us the base of our life. Earth symbolizes balance and structural integrity and is very essential for the formation of any asana or pose in yoga. An asana or pose is the position where different organs of your body are aligned proportionally in different positions and are yet stable. This represents the Earth element of yoga where we either balance our body or stand, sit or lie down.

FIRE:

Fire provides the strength or the energy to maintain your position. As you breathe in and out deeply, this energy rises from beneath and then moves upwards creating several energy blocks or “bhandas” which aim at redirecting and transformation of the heat within to synchronize the body completely and effectively. You need to pull your stomach in and up slowly and gradually. This would lead to formation of calm, neutral and clear state of mind.

WATER:

Water stands for calmness, fluidity, power and emotions. In the yoga philosophy, water is considered as the feminine element and allows you to increase your body’s receptivity, making you feel relaxed and calm. This element is represented when you learn how to move in and out softly in between the various poses with a focused soft glaze.

AIR:

Air is essential for the body, especially while performing yoga, since it directly relates to the quality of our breathing process. It is very important to control your breath and in yoga, it is termed as Pranayama. The breath called “Ujjayi” coming from behind the throat, making a sound, is believed to bring life to the body and maintains good health.

ETHER:

The pace or ether forms the last element in the practice of yoga and resembles the inward pause of the breath at the top and bottom of each single breath. The element is included in the technique of a concentrated and directed attention.

Summary:

Yoga is a way of life and practicing yoga with the help of the five elements will lead to a well-balanced and healthy life that has the ability to rejuvenate your life.

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