Healthy Conversation with yoga teacher Teuni Verhagen
Yoga belongs to a philosophical school of Hinduism. It originates from India, but is now also very popular in the west. We mainly use it as physical exercise, to become flexible and strong. But yoga also does a lot of good for the mind, says yoga teacher Teuni Verhagen in the Gezond Gesprek podcast.
Your inner corset
Yoga is more popular than ever in the Netherlands. In corona time, a lot of people have also started doing yoga at home, for example through online classes. Many people do yoga because they want to become more flexible or stronger. Doing yoga regularly has a positive effect, says Verhagen: “It mainly strengthens the muscles around your core, the muscles around the abdomen, lower back and hips. That is, as it were, your inner corset. With strength training you mainly work on the outer muscles. , which are well visible. With yoga you work more on the deeper muscles, and those muscles provide better posture and more flexibility.” Many people who practice yoga have less back pain or neck pain. It is also good for balance, and it improves blood circulation. And sometimes small everyday things improve, says Verhagen: “For example, I have a participant who says that she now looks back much easier on the bike.”
Good for the mind
But yoga is much more than stretching, stretching and building strength. It is also very good for the mind, says Verhagen. “It can feel like a moment for yourself, and as a moment of rest. You connect with your body and you become aware of how you feel that day. Many people live a lot in their heads, and are not so aware of how their body feels, or what their body wants. Feeling that consciously is an important part of the yoga class. The effect is that you also learn to recognize the signals of your body better after the yoga class, so that you can take action in time when, for example, stress A yoga class also makes you more relaxed and you get a calmer breathing.”
What types of yoga are there?
The mother of all types of yoga is ‘Hatha yoga’. In these lessons you take postures one after the other. It is a calm form of yoga. More dynamic is ‘Vinyasa yoga’, where you merge the poses one after the other, while also paying attention to the breath. Even more dynamic is ‘Ashtanga yoga’, in which a series of yoga postures are performed at a rapid pace. Power yoga is similar to that. There is also ‘hot yoga’, which is done in a very warm room, so that your muscles are warmed up and supple. A calmer form is ‘Yin yoga’, in which postures are held for a very long time. Finally, there is also ‘Yoga nidra’, a form in which you enter a state of deep relaxation through guided meditation.
Can you be good at yoga?
Some people think you’re good at yoga if you can stand on your head or bend your hands flat on the floor.” “But that idea isn’t right,” says Verhagen. “Anyone can be good at yoga. You do well if you consciously assume the posture and listen to your body. I recently read somewhere the statement: ‘You should not use your body to get into the posture, but the posture to to get into your body’. And that’s exactly what yoga is about. On the yoga mat you encounter your limits. How you deal with them is often also indicative of how you live your life. Do you force yourself into a posture and go thus crossing the boundaries of your body? Or are you gentle with your body? You often learn a lot about yourself through yoga.”
just in pajamas
Verhagen teaches online, especially early in the morning, between 7 and 7.30: “I call it Early Bird Yoga, and it’s a wonderful way to start the day. Because my participants take the class from home, they some people just go in their pajamas. I totally applaud that. A lot of people have the image they see on social media of yoga: hyper-slim and lithe women in tight sportswear, folding in all kinds of poses. The yoga I teach is not performance-oriented, but mild and with attention to the individual. With always alternatives for people who are not very flexible or who have injuries or limitations. And that’s how yoga should be.”
The Eightfold Path
What many people don’t know is that yoga is just one part of a set of Hindu guidelines for life. The so-called ‘Yoga sutras’ were drawn up around the second century. It describes the eightfold path: eight steps to finally reach enlightenment. The first and second steps consist of advice for a conscious life, such as being honest and not stealing. The third step is ‘Asana’, which are the yoga poses we know today. The path continues with steps such as breathing, concentration and meditation. The end goal is enlightenment, but, as yoga teacher Verhagen says: “No one actually achieves that goal in ordinary life, and that’s not what it’s about. It’s about the road to it.”
More information about Teuni Verhagen’s lessons can be found here† The podcast can be listened to below.
