By June Cheong

More people are embracing yoga in Singapore. With 55,000 practitioners, yoga was the 10th most popular sport here, going by the National Sports Participation Survey 2005 by the Singapore Sports Council (SSC).

That number is estimated by industry players to have grown to 100,000 last year.

The popularity of yoga - an ancient Indian practice which advocates the unity of mind and body - can be seen in the scores of yoga classes across the island, from community centres to upmarket fitness chains like Pure Yoga.

There is even Yogamania 2009, a yoga festival to be held here on April 18 and 19, which aims to attract 1,000 participants.

Yoga's origins are unknown. What is known is that yoga, as understood today, came from a compilation of yoga sutras by the sage Patanjali more than 5,000 years ago.

The word yoga comes from the Sanskrit word yuj which means to yoke, join or unite.

Mr Saumik Bera from yoga studio Real Yoga said: 'Yoga implies joining or integrating all aspects of the individual - body with mind and mind with soul - to achieve a happy, balanced and useful life.

'What is most distinctive, and separating yoga from other forms of physical activity, is that yoga actually aims at establishing a link between body, mind and soul.'

Among the many different yoga types, the most popular here are Hatha, Bikram (or hot) and Ashtanga.

Hatha, one of the oldest and most complete systems of yoga, is the physical branch underpinning all other practices.

Bikram yoga, or hot yoga, was founded by yoga sensation Bikram Choudhury in the 1960s and is a 90-minute series of 26 yoga postures and two breathing exercises performed in a room heated to 40 deg C.

Ashtanga yoga is an energetic form that combines power and flexibility with movement and breath.

Retiree Tan Tew, 63, is a fan of ashtanga and practises it four to five times a week. He said regular yoga practice has helped relieve his lower back pain, a problem which has plagued him since 2005.

He said: 'The pain factor is now reduced from 100 to 30, sometimes even zero. Once your back muscles are loosened by yoga, they won't push your spinal disc towards the nerves and you will feel great relief.'

Mr Tan is not alone in his espousal of yoga's healing powers.

Yoga studio Como Shambhala's yoga instructor Vivienne Spanopoulos said: 'Yoga primarily facilitates increased circulation, the cornerstone of good health.

'The movement of oxygenated blood through the body nourishes tissues and organs while removing waste products from those organs.'

Yoga studio Iyengar Yoga Centre's owner, Ms Riana A. Singgih, added: 'Yoga is about maintaining balance. It makes people who are stiff more flexible, those who are weak stronger and those who are overweight lose weight. Yoga makes you understand your body better and more sensitive to it.'

The curative powers of yoga extend beyond the physical too.

Ms Spanopoulos said: 'By paying attention during a yoga class, we are focusing the mind on one solitary but challenging activity. This actually rests the mind from its usual treadmill of aimless thoughts.'

As for the importance of yoga breathing and meditation techniques, Mr Charat Singh, a teacher at yoga chain Pure Yoga, said: 'When the mind is disturbed, your breath is short. When your mind is relaxed, your breath is long.'

Ms Andrea Furst, head of sports psychology in the sports science department at SSC, said: 'The breathing exercises in yoga create a point for the mind to focus on, which quietens the chatter (inner thoughts) and relaxes the mind.

'The physical poses also give the mind a chance to concentrate on something behavioural which also helps a person to focus. The regular practice of these skills creates behavioural and psychological habits which improve overall well-being by relaxing the mind and body voluntarily.'

Like in any exercise, however, injuries can occur.

Yoga teacher Katy Appleton said: 'If we fixate on achieving a posture without full awareness of the body, then areas such as the knees and lower back can take a lot of unnecessary strain.

'Unfortunately, many people push themselves too far and too fast without listening properly to the feedback given by the body.'

Pure Yoga's managing teacher Copper Crow has three golden rules for avoiding injuries.

Check your breathing. If you are breathing fast, you are doing too much.

Take every pose step by step.

As soon as you feel the stretch in a posture, stop there.

He said: 'Don't let your ego drive the car.'

a2

This article was first published in Mind Your Body, The Straits Times.

Related:

Tapping the power of om