A primer on Yoga

yogi peace
Originally uploaded by jecate.

Intro to Yoga / cmhs / Trudeau
notes from wikipedia.org

1. Americans learn Hatha Yoga, one of the 6 different types of yoga recognized by the people of India.
2. Yoga represents a holistic approach to health. It addressing the whole person (rather than the parts, as in much of Western medicine).
3. The postures or positions of Hatha Yoga are called asanas. Ex: tadasana, the mountain pose.
4. A series of asanas is called a vinyasa. An example is the series called the Sun Salutations, or Surya Namaskar.
5. Pranayama is essential to effective exercise. It has to do with the diaphragm rather than the typical large muscles. Pranamaya is all about deep inhalation & exhalations, or breath control.
6. Among the many conditions that may be ameliorated by
the practice of yoga: hypertension. That condition, endemic to Louisiana, is better known as ___ __ ___ .
7. Yoga may be used to offset long-lasting and unbroken bouts of pain, a condition known as ___ pain.
8. The practice of yoga has been ongoing over a period of __ thousand years.
9. Qi, or Chi, is thought to be enhanced through the practice of yoga. Chi is the east Asian word for your __ __.
10. Hatha Yoga has a distinct connection with Buddhist thought. T / F
11. The word “yoga” comes from one of the world’s most ancient languages: ___ .

12. “Yoga” refers to harnessing energy or making a union between man and the divine. A cognate for yoga in English is seen in the illustration of man, cart and oxen. Yoga seems and sounds like the ___ round the oxen’s shoulders and neck.
13. List 3 additional health issues that might be alleviated by the practice of yoga: stress, heart disease, asthma, back problems, insomnia.
14. Yoga is commonplace in the American upper middle class. T / F
15. Yoga instructors - sometimes called gurus in India - often give out small candies at the end of class to indicate which practitioners performed the best. T / F
16. Today yoga is still considered alternative medicine by many Americans. Soon we expect it will be thought of as ____ medical practice.
17. A yogini is the traditional term for a yogi of which gender?
18. The classic position for relaxation and correct breathing, or pranayama, is a cross-legged, seated position named for a famous flower: the ___ position.
19. The Sanskrit character for “om,” the holy syllable of Hinduism, is shaped like the Western numeral __ .
20. A word or phrase which, repeated, will aid one’s meditational focus and relaxation is called a a) mantra
b) karma c) shiva d) dharma.
21. A guru is a master or teacher. A sadhu, or fakir, or yogi, indicates mastery of ___ matters.
22. “The divine in me says hello to the divine in you:”
the classic greeting in Hindi, or ___ .