Staying Alert: Mind, Body, and Spirit

During this topic, you will begin the practice of yoga, which combines physical and mental training. Yoga's development can be traced back 5,000 years, and continues to be a source of fitness and relaxation. Yoga aims to balance the entire person, which means that it combines the physical and mental aspects of a person's health and being. In history, it was practiced for meditation and prayer. Today, particularly in Western culture, yoga has become a means toward fitness; however, the people who practice it regularly can receive the holistic health benefits that yoga offers.

Essential Questions

• What are the physical and mental benefits of yoga?
• What are specific yoga poses and how do you produce the proper movements?