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As we've repeatedly pointed out in this book (and probably started to bore you with; sorry!), yoga is not a religion.
It can be religious if one wants it to be, and it can co-exist with an existing religious belief. But yoga itself is not religious in the sense that it focuses on belief or faith. Many yoga exercises online are used by people in order to improve fitness.
Yoga is a science; and indeed, in many places in the world (such as India), it is referred to as a science. This is not mere playing with words; it truly is approached as a science, which means that it is understood in terms of the scientific method.
Yogic science seeks to verify cause and effect, and build principles based upon objective observations. Indeed, in many places in the world, to be a yogic master of any credibility, one must be highly educated in the sciences, including physics and the biological sciences. It is also a good idea to incorporate other practices into your yoga routine such a meditation breathing techniques
This discussion on yoga as science is important for us to have here, because it allows us to sensible ask the question: what
are the benefits of yoga? After all, if yoga is a faith or a belief, then asking this question isn't fair; because it's one that yoga cannot answer in terms that we can objectively understand. There are vaiours different forms of yoga, one of which is growing more popular is the nude yoga exercises. Other exercises such as nude aerobics are similar to this.
Yet (again...sorry!) yoga is a science; as empirical and pragmatic as kinesiology, or exercise science, which seeks to understand how the body acts and reacts to changes in the internal physical environment. There are forms of exercise also one of which are pilates sample exercises
And even more simply than any of this: each of us has a right to ask the basic question why should I bother doing this yoga thing? before we should be asked to consider experiencing it for ourselves. A popular yoga practice would be kriya yoga technique which is growing more popular.
Indeed, while the experience of yoga cannot be reduced to words - just as reading a book on preparing for a marathon isn't going to actually physically prepare you to run a marathon - the goals and principles of yoga can easily be discussed.
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