Differences between the practices of yoga and other physical training methods

"There are numerous modern physical culture systems designed to develop the muscles. Physical culturists develop them by mechanical movements and exercises. Yogic exercises not only develop the body, but also broaden the mental faculties. Moreover, the Yogi acquires mastery over the involuntary muscles of his organism.

The fundamental difference between Yogic exercises and ordinary physical exercises is that physical culture emphasizes violent movements of the muscles, whereas Yogic exercises oppose violent muscle movements as they produce large quantities of lactic acid in the muscle fibers, thus causing fatigue. The effect of this acid and the fatigue it causes is neutralized by the alkali in the muscle fibers, as well as by the inhaling of oxygen.

It is on this theory that modern physical culturists work. They try to increase the intake of oxygen so that fatigue may be lessened while working. Although their theory seems sound enough, the founders of the Yoga system for many centuries possessed a knowledge superior to all modern theories. The Yoga system is not new; it had been taught for many centuries before the modern systems were conceived.

Muscular development of the body does not necessarily mean a healthy body, as is commonly assumed, for health is a state when all organs function perfectly under the intelligent control of the mind."


Swami Vishnu-devananda: The Complete Illustrated Book of Yoga

Still, there may a time in our lives when we feel that something more dynamic exercise we need like the Yoga.

My advice is that, try to choose an exercise that suits for you. To mention one example: currently is a trend to run as exercise, but careless application of serious injuries we can get, for example, our bone structure is too weight, our congenital of physique is inadequate for running, we do not use proper shoes, or simply not good terrain where we run, all factors which can irreversibly damage for our body.

Take care of yourself, to your heart, the bones, and do not overload your body, because it's not good for your health and to even destructive.

Om Namah Sivaya ✿