Benefits of Zen Yoga Back Stretches

Series Summary

The word "yoga" comes from the Sanskrit root “yuj” meaning "to bind, or join." Yoga is centrally the practice of union, whether joining the mind to the body, the human to the divine, or the individual to the infinite. The various styles of yoga that have made it to the West all share a common core: positioning the body into a particular posture while focusing mind and breath leads to physical and spiritual well-being. These arts of positioning the body have been passed on for thousands of years, and encompass one of the oldest cultural traditions known to exist. To practice yoga, then, is also to join with the ancient sages, drawing human history up into oneself and connecting with the past. Zen Yoga is a holistic practice that unites the three parts of the self: body, mind and spirit. It combines the graceful movements of tai chi, the energized breathing of qigong, and the relaxed stretching of Shanti yoga. In this free Zen Yoga video series, the founder of Zen Yoga, Aaron Hoopes, teaches back stretching yoga poses. Aaron covers the camel pose, crescent pose, child's pose and knee drops, as well as many other useful poses for the back.

Video Transcript

"We'll sit in a car, sit at the desk, sit at the table. Watch TV on the couch. Do things that eventually, lead us to have a sore back. And in this gentle back stretching series, I want to practice some exercises that are very beneficial for helping the back feel better. These exercises, these stretches are simple and easy. Available to anyone, regardless of fitness level, age or health status. They really only require a little bit of concentration and breathing to allow the back to open up and feel better, as we stretch. If you want to be sure that you're doing the proper breathing, take a look at the Zen yoga breathing series. Which will allow you to understand that deeper. And then we'll get started on our back stretching."