Dedicated to all seekers of the true light within

In actual fact yoga can be practiced at any age, provided that the individual does not have any "serious" health concern prior to starting. It is not very uncommon for mothers to manipulate the bodies of their newly born babies into various yoga asanas ( postures ), under the understanding that they are massaging them for general physical health.( Needless to mention, there is nothing wrong with the above, provided that this activity is kept within certain limitations.)

At what age does yoga become dangerous for the individual?

There are individuals at the age of 100 years old- and above- who still practice yoga asanas and pranayama today. Frankly, there is no age limit, for as long as it feels good, there is no need to stop. Of course, as time goes by, the physical body has the tendency to age- to the point that certain asanas ( and some practices of yoga ) become difficult, but this is not the same for everyone. It would be a good idea to check with a medical expert- just to be safe- from time to time.

Does an individual need to have a Guru to practice yoga?

No, not necessary, although it is advisable to attend yoga classes in a � center � in the initial stages of your practice, or have a teacher present to guide you. It is very possible to teach yourself yoga from books, videos, etc., if you are very intuitive and �truthful� with yourself- depending on the individual, as the saying goes: �when the disciple is ready, the Guru will appear.�- (By that I also mean a physical Guru).

Does one have to be a vegetarian to practice yoga in their life?

No. This will depend on the individual and how far they wish to pursue yoga. For example, there are many yoga practitioners around the world who aspire to the scriptures of yoga philosophy (that is Raja yoga sutras; Patanjali�s eight limbs of yoga etc.) To many of such people, yoga is a way of life- a religion, therefore, they adhere to a vegetarian diet. But at the same time, certain branches within yoga- leftist organizations- (within tantric yoga) support meat eating in certain situations. In the western world in particular, it seems that many people are drawn to yoga because of its curative effects i.e., they use yoga as a therapy to relieve various �ill health conditions�. If you are using yoga as a therapy as described, and you are not a vegetarian, then, there is no need for you to change your diet- unless it has been recommended by a medical expert (to change your diet).

Would practicing yoga asanas help an individual to loose weight?

There are many 100s and thousands of yoga asanas, and under an �expert� guidance many of them can be utilized to gain strength in various parts of the human physiology- as well as loose or gain weight- as desired.

Is it necessary to meditate?

Yes. In a sense, we all go through life with some type of meditation, otherwise it will be impossible to focus our attention on anything for a significant amount of time. Yet still, whether you aspire to yogic scriptures or not, you will find that taking a few minutes a day to focus within (i. e., listening to the silence that comes from within, will be of a tremendous benefit to you- after a period of time). Surely, it will offer you a great advantage to be �with yourself �. After all, the goal of yoga is to help the individual to find equilibrium in union with themself.

What is Kundalini?

In short, Kundalini is a form of energy, which lies dormant at the base of the spine. By practicing yoga in all its various forms, many individuals attempt to awaken this energy. As a matter of fact, there are specific sequences of breathing, meditations and asanas and practices- in general-, which are aimed on arousing the Kundalini energy. Once this energy is awakened, it is expected to travel � ascend- through each of the chakras ( the seven subtle wheels of energy ) located within the spinal column (from the lower to the top chakra) to bring about spiritual illumination. In real terms, the issues concerning the awakening of the Kundalini are very complex. There are many individuals who claim to have knowledge of awakening this energy in others, and many charge huge sums of money for this purpose. But of course, one has to be aware of such people, because many are not genuine and some have been known to cause great mental and "spiritual" disturbances to unsuspecting individuals.

Does one have to practice yoga asanas everyday?

Not really. But in the beginning, it would be a wise decision to practice consistently- every day if you have to. Especially since many of the postures may be new to many people, they may need to, at least, be able to condition themselves by practicing regularly- and this may help ( especially ) those who are not used to sitting in cross legged positions for long periods of time. For those who are pursuing yoga as a way of life, after you have gained mastery over certain asanas you will find that you may only need to do a "handful" of postures regularly to ensure good �well being�.

When is it best to practice yoga asanas- before or after a meal?

It is very acceptable to practice asanas before or after a meal. The main thing to be aware of, is that one should not practice immediately after having a large meal. It would be better to wait for about 2 to 3 hours, for the food to digest- depending on the individual, of course- because some people might need more time and others might need less time. But it is not necessary to wait this long after having just a small snack.

An important point to consider is that it would not be wise to allow yourself to be very hungry before you initiate yoga asanas. Besides other issues, depending on the choice of asanas that are being practiced, some of the practices in yoga may induce some individuals to feel dizzy, especially, if they approach them while they are very hungry

Would practicing yoga asanas enable an individual to acquire great wealth- materially?

Well, this question can be addressed in various ways but, I personally feel that acquiring great material wealth would depend on the individual and their Karma. It is possible that a person can become rich- materially- after "taking up yoga�, mainly because they may have unconsciously conditioned themselves to become �wealthy� when they start practicing yoga. But this is not necessarily a prerequisite-( that one would automatically become wealthy because of yoga). I know that for the conscientious individual, yoga would enrich you mentally, and spiritually- more than you were when you initiated your practice.

© Copyright  Raymond Ribeiro