jogging

[Guest guest]

Sat Nam

 

Hi! A relative of mine loves jogging and said that jogging is yoga and I

said it wasn't really. Unless he considers it yoga because he goes into a

higher state of consciousness - that could be yoga. But then I realized that

I didn't quite know what I was talking about. So, I would like to ask if

jogging could be considered yoga and what I might tell my relative. Thank

you!

 

Sat Nam,

Amanda

[Guest guest]

Hi Amanda:

 

> Hi! A relative of mine loves jogging and said that jogging is yoga

>and I said it wasn't really. Unless he considers it yoga because he

>goes into a higher state of consciousness - that could be yoga. But

>then I realized that I didn't quite know what I was talking about.

>So, I would like to ask if jogging could be considered yoga and what

>I might tell my relative. Thank you!

 

Jogging and other forms of aerobic exercise are fun, and an important

aspect of a healthy life, providing benefits such as cardiovascular

improvement and stress relief, but they are not yoga. Yoga includes

many things that these forms of exercise don't, such as stimulating

glandular systems, strengthening the nervous system, cleansing nadis

and chakras and the subconscious mind, relaxation, releasing

emotional blockages, flexibility, meditation, etc.

 

Yoga is also a systematic approach to attaining higher states of

consciousness - jogging, for some people, at some times, might

provide a particular higher (or at least altered) state, but yoga is

a very sophisticated methodology for achieving a wide variety of

higher states, and maintaining them and/or returning to them as

needed in any aspect of life.

 

There is an aspect of Kundalini yoga that your relative might find

interesting, which is BreathWalk (combines breath and other

meditative techniques with walking). You can find out more at:

 

<http://www.breathwalk.com/>

 

Many blessings,

Sadhant