The word Yoga is derived from the Sanskrit root yuj meaning to bind, join, attach and yoke, to direct and concentrate one's attention on, to use and apply. It also means union or communion. It is the true union of our will with the will of God. It thus means, 'the yoking of all the powers of body, mind and soul to God; it means the disciplining of the intellect, the mind, the emotions, the will, which that Yoga presupposes; it means a poise of the soul which enables one to look at life in all its aspects evenly.'

Yoga is one of the six orthodox systems of Indian philosophy. One who follows the path of Yoga is a yogi or yogin.

Hatha Yoga is a physical exercise regime that utilizes different "poses" called asanas, for the purpose of strengthening, opening, and cleansing the body. These asanas can be categorized by the movement they create in the body. For example, there are forward bends (like touching the toes), backbends (looking up), twists (turning around), as well as inversions, standing, and sitting poses. We practice Hatha Yoga here at Ladies Fitness Zone. Beginners and Fitness Yoga. Fitness Yoga has more standing poses and would be a little more challenging than the Beginners. Anyone can do either practice as we offer modifications for all poses.

We always finish our yoga with a mudra of Namaste. Namaste is pronounced "Namastay", and is a composite of two Sanskrit words, Nama, and te. Te means you, and Nama means to bend, incline or bow. The meaning of these two words together is a sense of submitting oneself to another, with complete humility.

The gesture (or mudra) of namaste is a simple act made by bringing together both palms of the hands before the heart, and lightly bowing the head. In the simplest of terms it is accepted as a humble greeting straight from the heart and reciprocated accordingly. It has been said that the right hand represents the higher nature or that which is divine in us, while the left hand represents the lower, worldly nature. Namaste can mean different things. The most common are:

"I honor the place in you where Spirit lives I honor the place in you which is of Love, of Truth, of Light, of Peace, when you are in that place in you, and I am in that place in me, then we are One."

"The Divine in me recognizes and honors, the Divine in you"

--Namaste--