Yoga has come a long way since its origin. Over the years, many variations and styles of it have been formed to suit various situations and requirements. However, the main aim of all these styles and forms is to provide complete health benefit, which includes body, mind and soul. There are hundreds of Asanas and poses that yoga includes.  Each one has its own significance and benefit. Yoga can be performed by the people of all ages; it is especially beneficial to those suffering from chronic ailments and the pregnant mothers.

Various yoga asanas or positions are aimed at activating the chakras in our body. There are seven chakras in our body which are the centers of energy flow in the body. Each position has a chakra at its aim. By activating these chakras, the body gets energized. Originally, this practice was performed by the yogis to reach the state of meditation.

The various poses or asanas may seem a little difficult to a beginner, but, as you practice them regularly, your body strength and flexibility gets improved and you feel comfortable doing them. It is important to remember the basic positions of yoga while you perform the Asanas. For the various asana positions, deep stretching is at the core of it which is very helpful in curing various ailments like trauma disorders, tendonitis, tennis elbow and so on.  There are certain stretch exercises for pregnant mothers which are quite helpful during pregnancy and also make the child birth a lot easier.

There are some misconceptions regarding yoga that to perform it, one has to be absolutely flexible, chanting is a part of it, yoga is a very slow process, and so on. All of these are just myths and have no truth involved in them. The fact is that the yoga positions are very simple and easy to do. Yes, there are certain positions which everyone cannot do in the beginning, but after some practice these can be performed. Moreover, you are not bound to perform the positions that you are not comfortable in. Similarly, there are some asanas and positions which one should not perform in case of being pregnant or having back injury. In such cases, you should inform your yoga Guru before you start, and he would suggest you the asanas that would be good for your condition.

Yoga positions are to give you comfort and not to torture your body. So, just keep any position till the time your body allows it and is comfortable in it. Release a position very gently, without any jerk, or you may harm your muscles. Switch from one position to another very gently. This technique comes with regular practice.

With the right practice, there is a myriad of benefits that one can get through yoga. Muscle development, detoxification, and blood circulation improvement are to name a few. The women who are pregnant, feel a sense of calmness and relaxation, that makes their pregnancy comfortable and also benefits the fetus growth.  Certain positions help in relaxing the genital muscles, thus making the delivery easier.